45 Mins
Shoulder/Balance Blast
Moving our arms in all directions, focusing on mobility around the joint as well as strengthening and toning the arms. We practice mobility drills, mixing up how we practice traditional poses and finish with some wrappy pretzel type poses just for fun :-)
Read More45 Mins
1/2 Lotus, Lotus Prep
Hip opening focused on working towards 1/2 lotus and full lotus. These are the final postures we attempt, along the way we focus on those movements that open and soften the hip joint, mobilise the legs in different directions as well as open the whole front body.
Read More45 Mins
Hippy Dippy
This will get you deep in to your hips joints, hip flexors and hip rotaors. We explore a way of practising standing poses on the floor that opens you up in a way you could never do whilst standing. Allowing for much greater freedom of movement and even the possibility of moving in to half lotus (maybe even full lotus).
Read More50 Mins
Tree Posing
Everything moves around the humble tree pose in this practice, combining hip opening, inner leg lengthening with side stretches is the perfect marriage. If we can work with the hip rotators and lengthen the inner thigh we can then begin to increase the distance between the pelvis and the ribcage, preventing ‘shrinkage’ and helping us to remain lifted and giving all our vital organs the space to function well.
Read More50 Mins
Open Palms Open Arms Pits Open Chest
Every action we make is connected to the next and in movement every body part we connect to and work with, links us to another along the chain. Whether this be kinaesthetic, muscular or skeletal. We can practice with total focus and mindfulness on how we can open the body this way. Here as the title suggests we look at the role of opening the palms and arm pits to open the chest and shoulders.
Read More45 Mins
Compression to Expansion
In this sequencing we explore hugging in and stretching out the legs. It is helpful to explore poses that require long extension of our limbs by first feeling how it feels to shorten the leg first, going from small to big. Still stretching but in a different way, we notice and feel different sensations in the body.
Read More60 Mins
Hip Compactness
Being held together is kind of how this feels. Moving with stability is key to increasing mobility safely and effectively. For this we need to learn how to feel our different muscles and how to engage them. Our focus here is mainly on the hips and how we can connect to them by how we position and use our feet. Lots of movement flow, hip openers and a delicious unwinding to close.
Read More60 Mins
Waist Extenders
Here we combine opening the hips and adductors with finding more length in the waist and side body. Freeing the ribcage and in turn creating more movement in the diaphragm and space for the lungs to breathe, to expand and open creating more space in the back and upper chest too. Strong legs, firm support in the hip joints and balancing the four ‘sides’ of the body to have support, stability, flexibility and strength.
Read More60 Mins
360 Leg Movements
The legs move from the pelvis; forwards, backwards, to the side and across. Not always with the same ease of movement on both sides but with the same possibility unless or until there are restrictions in the hip joint. I wanted to look at the different muscles involved in poses when we lifted the leg in different planes from differing base positions. By the end I think we would have explored movement in the hip joint and legs from a 360 degree perspective.
Read More60 Mins
Strong Abs - Core Centric
Good movement through the body and a healthy spine is reliant on a strong and flexible core. The beauty of many Yoga poses, practiced carefully and consciously at the appropriate time, both occur together. The beauty of this class is we include, hip stretches, arm strength, balance, backbends as well as direct abdominal work to really stabilise the core of the body so we can move our limbs in all directions and across different planes without bucking in the middle.
Read More60 Mins
Unwinding the Legs from the Pelvis
Unwinding, essentially lengthening the muscles that stretch from the pelvis down the inner thigh (adductors) and the back of the leg (hamstrings). Combining glorious hip openers with poses that open the back of the knee with intelligent hamstring lengthening. This may lead you towards practicing padmasana (full lotus) for those who’s hips allow, and playing with many other variations that work on the same premise and can be practiced in preparation for full lotus or in place of it.
Read More60 Mins
Feel The Ground - Extend & Expand
When we practice and really connect our feet to the earth our powers to extend and expand in all directions increases. Lengthening the side body, arms, legs; everything feels stronger, more even and the ability to hold a deeper position in the pose is possible and more beneficial. Here we practice lots of arm movements and directions to liberate the shoulders and side waist, combined with hip openers we have a winning combination for length and space.
Read More60 Mins
Hip Love & a Dash of Arm Balancing
The majority of hip asanas in this practice are from the wide leg family of poses that open the hips, stretching the adductors and externally rotating at the joint. Our approach is to also create mobility around the whole joint and experience different ways of moving in and out of poses and creating a feeling of mobility even in the stiffest of hips. We add in a couple of weight baring poses based around the side arm balance to play and experience essentially the same pose from many different angles.
Read More70 Mins
Hips & Hammies
There is a lot of hamstring lengthening here but we also explore widening the top of the thigh to help get more support as well as length. Our focus is on poses that require the hamstrings to lengthen but also for the area at the top of the thigh front (hip flexors) and back (hams) and the hip joint to mobilise the pelvis for not just forward bending but also squatting movements that are required in our daily lives and for longevity of movement. Although these Yoga movements may not appear to be actions we make on a daily basis, the muscles involved are.
Read More60 Mins
Lengthening and reaching out
Continuing what seems to be the theme for this series of classes this month we find length in the torso by extending and reaching out of the ribcage. Here we focus on doing this through twists and side body stretches. The benefits of lengthening our torso is improved postured, improved spine mobility, more space for abdominal organs and their optimal function. This practice also focuses on strengthening our hip joint for greater stability when it comes to wide leg postures, whist stretching out the adductors (and semitendinosus, our inner most hamstring) at the same time.
Read More60 Mins
Expression - Expanscious and Luminous
This practice is expansive, we are moving both our arms and our legs outwards. The arms from the chest and the legs from the pelvis. This is the perfect anecdote to closing in, feeling confined or shrinking. We identify the base; the foundation from which we move and then we find a way to illuminate from this point outwards, all the way to the tips of our fingers and toes. Being able to express ourselves, feel awake in this world and know where we are coming from are corner stones to our yoga practice; source, clarity and luminosity.
Read More65 Mins
The Quads & The Psoas - The Body-Leg Connection
Often when we practice we can identify with an area that is being ‘worked’, or we can identify an area in our body where we feel ‘something’ - whether it be from a feel of lengthening, contraction, discomfort or total ease. In each case our awareness is shifting and the more we can get inside our body the more we can look around and discover what is going on. We may notice we have ‘tight’ quads, or hip flexors and a lack of movement in our spines but when we stretch our minds inside we can see how everything is connected and we can open much more of ourselves. Here we focus on front body lengtheners that target the quads and the psoas and also incorporate chest openers, back bends and twists. This frees the chest and the lungs to lift and expand, helps free the shoulders too, something you probably wouldn’t expect when stretching the front of your thigh.
Read More60 Mins
Hip Huggers & Arm Lengtheners
Learning to lift up and out of our pelvis by hugging in the outer hips unlocks the key to greater lift and length in the abdomen and chest. Posturally it prevents sinking and slumping in to the lower back and distension of the abdomen. Alongside this we choose postures that widen the legs apart, lengthen the adductors of the inner thigh and open the hamstrings. Exploring how the hugging of the hips allows us to better connect the legs to the torso and for the whole body to move connectively.
Read More28 Mins
Luscious Hamstrings
This is a 25 minute practice which can be condensed in to a much smaller time frame once you are familiar with it. It requires you to have a belt, preferably one you can create a giant loop with. If hamstrings are not so friendly and don’t like being straight I suggest using an open belt and using the support of blocks/a bolster/or cushions/a chair depending (or be near a wall or sofa) on what you have access to at home and depending on how tight your hamstrings and hip rotators are as suggested in this tutorial. This is my practice post run or gym when my legs are tired.
Read More65 Mins
Standing and Understanding
This was filmed during a heat wave and is the perfect practice for when the body is depleted and doesn’t need to be over heated or over stimulated. And when it doesn’t want to move in and out of things quickly. We use the belt, the wall and the floor for our support and feedback and explore how opening the sole of the foot helps us engage all the muscles in the legs up to the pelvis with poses like trikonasna, ardha chandrasana, anantasana, Supta padagustasana 1 & 2 and uttitha hasta padangustasana. I love practicing this way, it gives you both the time and support to feel what the body is doing and with how much more range and ease with which you can move.
Read More70 Mins
This class is juicy. We lengthen, lift, revolve and extend through our side body. Starting by opening the groins and lengthening the inner thigh we create more room for the diaphragm to move in space. In turn this allows us to lift out of our pelvis, open our chest, twist and side stretch with increased ranged of movement. This sets us up perfectly to move and balance in more challenging standing pavrittas (twists). This can all be developed from simple asanas practiced passively at first to enable us to hold for longer periods and in turn see more significant change in the body that helps us develop the more complex movements and asanas with greater ease.
Read More65 Mins
Some instructions can seem so obscure that at first you have no idea how to ask your body to respond. Something seemingly insignificant, like pressing your big and lifting your toes or wrapping your outer calves in. But when the brain and the body do connect with the action you start to feel some profound changes and make some new discoveries about your body and how no part in disconnected from another. Put simply the action of hugging the calves makes us engage the whole leg better and allows the glutes to ignite and for the hip socket to feel more compact and for us to be able to lift up out of our pelvis, lengthen the spine and to lift and open the chest with greater ease as a result.
Read More65 Mins
As well as having a love for adding belts in to a practice I also love using the brick between my thighs. It completely revolutionised my practice. It switched on a way of activating sleepy muscles in the legs that lift us out of our pelvis, stop the outward migration of the hip socket, strengthens the legs and actually makes us taller with greater control and stability being increased at the most central parts of our body, the pelvis. We use the block between the thighs a lot in this practice, then we take it away having woken up the muscles to work without the block, educating feeling and sensation in the body to work and function where we otherwise may have left these muscles laying dormant and relied on familial patterns to move from.
Read More65 Mins
I love adding a belt in to my practice. It can feel experimental if you are not used to it but then you begin to see how much more accessible some postures are, especially if the belt adds the extra length to the arms to reach the toes, countering the need to round the upper back when getting to the toes is a struggle or restricted by the length of the hamstrings. Belts also help us feel and see the connection of the arms to the shoulders and the chest, that these are moving parts of a whole and not separate entities. I hope you enjoy this practice with the belt as much as I do.
Read More75 Mins
Many postures and movements require the joints in the ankles to be flexible, this requires good movement in the knees and the hips above. Here we play with poses where we can look at angles in these 3 joints, opening them out and closing them in like an accordion. In turn creating length and flexibility to the muscles connecting them. I have really enjoyed the creativity and experience of movement in this sequencing. Enjoy …
Read More70 Mins
If I am going to receive a mobility test for my hips and or my shoulders there are a few poses that highlight where my restrictions are. For lotus, the hip is key and no amount of force to the knee or ankle should be necessary if the hips external rotation is good. Same for binding, long arms helps but it is more about a full circumferential rotation to get the hands to wrap behind you. Good chest rotation is key for the binds as is the ability to revolve the femur bones correctly in lotus. As always it is not the end goal that marks success but the journey and the awareness this journey gives you in to the mechanics and workings of your body. Your response and the work on your own practice towards full body awareness is the essence.
Read More70 Mins
Splitting the legs requires our legs to be out of equilibrium. For one leg to go one way and for the other to go in the opposite direction and upwards requires different muscles to work in different ways. The keys muscles that connect to the pelvis have to balance and stabilise the body, rather than just be asked to be flexible and lengthen we are asking them to get strong too. So have fun, balance on one leg, take one leg back, one leg forward, one leg up, one leg down. You will strengthen, lengthen, open and explore different planes of movement.
Read More65 Mins
I think I’ve said this before. Happy arm pits, happy life. It comes from a BKS Iyengar quote where he tells his students that if you lift your chest and open your arm pits you can’t be depressed. This does play in to the image of the drooping shoulders, curved spine, down turned lips etc. So in this class we creatively explore how to open the arm pits by lengthening the side body, revolving the spine and opening the chest. Using tadasana, down dog and virasana (extended childs pose) as our neutral base from which to move from and come back to. Also using these poses between sides to observe changes and developments as we move from one side to the other.
Read More75 Mins
Essentially all the variations on taking your leg out to the side, straight or bent, standing, supine, prone, kneeling. We can explore this rotation with static poses but also with movements and momentum.
Read More75 Mins
Our hips move around a ball and socket joint. Muscles attach that rotate and move the pelvis, legs and torso in all directions. The pelvis is in two halves, and although it’s symmetrical in design, it’s more likely to be imbalanced and as we move in different directions we will see that are capacity to move freely from the hips is asymmetrical. In this class we explore the movements and ranges of motion in our hips, what ‘they’ like to do, the directions they don’t and the difference between the sides and the impact this has on movement and extension above and below (legs and torso).
Read More75 Mins
There is no doubt our arms and legs have different functions. If we were meant to walk on our arms, they would be our legs. But there are lots of poses in Yoga where we are asking our arms to hold and carry the weight of our body or share the load with our legs. That doesn’t mean this is about handstands, we do it downward facing dog, side arms balance etc. And very often we shift our body weight from one to the other and back again. By looking at ways to use the arms to support our body weight, how our connection to the arms from our torso (front, sides and back) needs to be balanced and stabilised in the shoulder joint so we can move with confidence, without struggle and see how our arms can be as supportive as our legs.
Read More70 Mins
Lengthening the inner leg muscles involves increasing the range of motion in our external hip rotators and vice versa. In this class we explore both, external hip rotation and lengthening the inner thigh to provide greater range of motion and a longer in seam!! Finding space in the groins benefits our breathing as the muscles here connect us with our diaphragm and when tight can hinder the depth of our breathing and also reduce the space we are giving our internal organs.
Read More70 Mins
One of the things I like to practice most is all the different shapes and poses I can do with straight legs. Sometimes both together, sometimes wide apart, sometimes going off in different directions, sometimes balancing on one and lifting the other, sometimes folding, sometimes revolving. There are in fact endless possibilities and ways in which we can explore our range of movement in these different plains. It does require us to develop both length and strength in the hamstrings but this doesn’t mean we have to experience discomfort if our hamstrings are not overly flexible. We learn our range and movement potential as it applies to ourselves, with adjustments and supports in place the same practice is possible for everyone with this sequencing.
Read More65 Mins
Moving the arms and legs in directions where they move away from and towards the midline of our body is called adduction and abduction. It’s an interesting way of exploring movement and the directions we can take our limbs in and the effect this has on our experience. What patterns can we discover in our bodies? it’s strengths and weaknesses? This class is both strengthening and lengthening with it’s possibilities and also requires us to balance our opposing sides when we focus on the opposite, our awareness is drawn in all directions around the body. Ultimately always coming back to the midline.
Read More75 Mins
During hot summer days we need to balance our energy before we become depleted. In times when we over heat we need to devise ways to soothe our body and nervous system and try not to over stimulate or exhaust ourselves. In this class we trace the ebb and flow of energy and try to incorporate practices that have a cooling quality. This is especially important if your body has a tendency to over heat or become hyper reactive when it is hot or when we feel over heated (when feeling angry or reactive). In Ayurveda Pita types are particularly prone to becoming over heated when it’s hot outside and need to avoid over heating and becoming over stimulated to avoid total combustion. Chill.
Read More75 Mins
I was thinking about the concept of being on the ‘straight and narrow’ whilst reading a book called The Practice Is The Path by Tias Little. The concept of trying to keep oneself on this path and those we care for on a similar ‘straight and narrow’ pathway is not only very limiting but nye on impossible. In this class we navigate our practice by looking at the movement patterns we use to come in and out of poses creatively. Sometimes it’s not the pose itself that’s difficult to experience but the path we take towards it. I would say this class focuses on hip mobility and our own agility when it comes to movement in Yoga.
Read More75 Mins
When we cross over from right to left or from left to right it involves a twist/revolving movement through the spine. It also allows you to focus on feeling and stretching one side of the body at a time, principally the back side. We can also see how a twist or a turn can impact our ability to breath in to each lung. We also experience that there is asymmetry between our two sides. There is lots of exploration in this class, not just twists but cross body movements and accessible arm balances and transitions. Good training for the vestibular system too, learning about our sense of balance and spatial orientation. Have fun :-)
Read More75 Mins
I started a little investigatory research in to the lymphatic system and it’s function and purpose for our bodies. Teaching people I always notice certain areas where people are ‘stuck’, where the body doesn’t respond to movement instructions to ‘open’, that can look confined, shortened or congested. In brief the lymphatic system maintains fluid levels in our body, it acts as a drainage system that moves fluid from body tissue in to blood circulation, it helps us fight infection and gets rid of any waste cells make. We need to maintain it’s flow for a healthy immune system and one way we can do this is through diaphragmatic breathing and through Yoga. Specifically where we incorporate postures that open and stretch across the chest, arm pits, groin and where are legs are inverted. This all helps lymphatic flow and drainage, and helps dust off feelings of lethargy and sluggishness. Hopefully this practice will energise you and get things moving. Enjoy :-)
Read More45 Mins
In this fundamentals class we focus on sequencing together many of the standing and seated poses we have covered so far in this series. In order to fit these in to a 45 minute session we highlight here the poses where our legs are wide; warrior 2, trikonasana, parsvakonasana, ardha chandrasana, badha konasna, upavista konasana to name but a few. The key movement patterns and elements that make up these poses are the rotational elements in the pelvis, in the majority of the standing poses one thigh internally rotates whilst the other externally rotates. But there are some variations to this rule as we include poses that give an all round perspective to the different rotations in the pelvis/hip joint and we move the legs together, individually and separately.
Read More60 Mins
In this fundamentals class we focus on Prasarita Padotanasana, a pose where the legs are wide apart and we fold forward. We also explore similar poses that require the legs to move wide apart and where there is an element of forward ‘bending’. What movement patterns and key elements make up these poses and how we can make it more accessible and/or experience it in different planes. This can be experienced intensely in the hamstrings and the inner groins and requires a fair amount of ankle stability to ensure we don’t overstretch in the outer foot. The distance we take the legs apart depends on our hips and often the shape of our pelvis and the amount we can ‘fold’ depends on the flexibility of our hamstrings and our ability to move into, stay in and move out of the pose. By striking a balance between stretching and strengthening, the placement of our feet, where we bare weight, we can have a much healthier forward extension that doesn’t comprise the integrity of the spine or make us feel like we can’t move forward.
Read MoreThrough balancing we learn about our imbalances. We can see what we may perceive as ‘weaknesses’ more as explorative movements in how we can seek and find better balance. Most of this practice explores the balance of the pelvis, a two sided structure that acts as the junction between the upper and lower body. This can influence everything from balancing on one leg, to the extent we can move in different directions and how wide or narrow we can take the legs. We are generally not symmetrical, we generally are not balanced. As we take the ideas of this practice in to the world we can explore the wider implications of allowing our imbalances to highlight how we can find balance.
Read MoreThis is my go to practice when I want to stretch and open as many parts of me as I possibly can in one practice without moving in to any advanced postures or leaning too far in one direction. Finding length in the torso, lifting from the pelvis, relief in the hips, opening the hamstrings, fullness of breath. Side bends, forwards bends, back bends: all in small doses but designed to open me up and wake me up all over. This is a wonderful all round flow and suitable for all levels. If you have a yoga belt or something that could substitute as one this would be helpful for this class.
Read MoreIn this class we attempt to explore the range of motion in the hips. Playing with all round hip flexibility and strength. By moving the leg at different angles in relation to the pelvis, lifting, rotating and extending to the side, back and front we can see what range of movement we have. We can then see what motion we have in the hips and how this influences how we can move in to and out of a pose and the extent to which we can improve flexibility and balance around the whole circumference of the pelvis; hip flexors, hip rotators, the hip joint, sacrum, and adductors. This is a great class to prepare your hips for padmasana (full lotus), although we practice to half lotus here.
Read MoreExploring range of movement in the hips for increased mobility and greater ease of movement in all directions. Challenging different transitions and how the hip joint moves differently depending on the pose we are asking it to do and the orientation we are in.
Read MoreReleasing the fight or flight response by opening the groins and freeing the diaphragm
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