75 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 More70 Mins
When we practice ‘live’ we often move with the season. This class is the first class back after Christmas and I always focus on lengthening the abdomen (just in case there’s been more time sat on the sofa/eating/drinking etc). This is not the case for everyone and there are many times through the year where we feel we need to fully stretch out the body and this class is perfect for those moments. There are the key elements to lengthen, strengthen and tone the abdomen with a literal twist thrown in here and there. We primarily focus on igniting the lower abdomen through strengthening the legs (inner line/pelvis connection). This is all the things I love to do in one class, weaving in creative changes to familiar poses brings a feeling of newness and regeneration to our practice.
Read More70 Mins
When we look at shape and motion we can start to see that there is a reciprocal effect of one part moving on another. Spreading your palm for instance doesn’t just open your hand, it brings life to a pose, opens the chest and lengthens the side waist. This can change the whole landscape of your practice, once you start to experience the wholeness of an action rather than seeing it as separate from everything else. Here we look at the backbend family of poses that rely on strength in our backs and length in our hip flexors. Not my personal favourites but interesting in that the body as a whole really does come together to create the shape and the motion.
Read More70 Mins
I have mentioned before that what we have with a back bend is that we are moving in a direction where we can’t see where we are going. Not only do the poses and movements require almost every part of the body to be involved we also have to have awareness and the proprioception to feel where we are going. For Instance in Camel (ustrasana) we go back and then try and find our feet, without knowing for sure where they are. This class integrates lots of movements that not only increase flexibility in the back but strengthen it too, not forgetting how important the glutes and the legs are in the whole process of integrating backbends for their healthiest benefits.
Read More