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Class Description
These classes are designed for those who have practiced for at least one year or beginners who are athletes. Rather than focusing on outer form, instruction emphasises optimal alignment and balanced energy in the poses. Using the Anusara focal points, energy loops and spirals, students learn to keep energy balanced and their joints integrated and supported while moving deeply into postures. For example, instead of locking the elbows and over-pressing the hands in upward dog, which stresses the neck and shoulder muscles, students learn to bend the elbows slightly, float the armpits up, then move the head of the arm bones back as the breath lifts the heart up and forward. This is what we call "shoulder loop" and it is therapy for the shoulders and energetically opens the heart chakra. Students are also taught what John Friend calls "organic mula bandha". Using inner spiral of the thighs to widen the sit bones, the tailbone reaches down between the sit bones toning the pelvic floor and low abdomen connecting us to our core. This universal principle is applied in each pose to integrate the upper and lower body and move energy up from our creative center into the heart and out through our skin, toes and fingertips.
These and other Universal Principles of Alignment are emphasized in the classes to prepare students for an injury-free practice. More importantly, these alignment priciples are designed to awaken students to the natural flow of creative loving energy corsing through them and allow them an opprotunity to celebrate their innate goodness, power and glory.
Class begins with a short seated meditation to set an intention or make a dedication. Uplifting music takes us through our warm up flow as students are asked to deepen their breath and allow the breath to initiate the movement. Pulsing music takes us through our surya namaskar A and B variations which include challenging interludes (optional of course). Then we take it down to the ground for some serious core work before rising again for balancing poses. Satanding poses come next accompanied by meditative music for long holds. After that we open the thighs and move into back bends or open the shoulders and move into inversions. Sometimes we do both! We close with hip openers, spinal twists and usually a shoulderstand. A guided release where students are encouraged to "let go of the oars" and allow the current to take them down stream leads students into a deep and silent savasana.