New Class

Hey all! Long time no blog...

Starting next week I will be leading a new class on Tuesday nights. It's late, 8:30-9:30 pm, so it will be a great opportunity to get rid of tension and relax before bed!

In honor of the new class I wanted to share some yoga poses to try at home to promote relaxation on days when you can't make it to class:
1. Alternate nostril breathing: a great way to calm and balance the mind
2. Cat/Cow: helps ease back tension, a good way to unwind after sitting at work
3. Child's pose: relieves low back tension, a place where so many of us hold on to stress
4. Thread the needle: a great way to open up through the neck and shoulders
5. Take 5 minutes in a quite place to sit and meditate

Aaahhhhh......

Pose of the week: Tortoise

Here is a breakdown of the new pose we introduced in class this week!

Pose name: Tortoise
Sanskrit name

Getting into the pose


Holding the pose

Moidification

Advanced

Hard to find a picture of this one! So weird pic but it shows the idea

Benefits: Strengthens abdominals. Stretches the hip adductors, hamstrings, upper back and shoulders.: Wiggle feet towards each other in front of the head until they touch. Wrap hands around the low back until they are clasped.: Keep the knees bent and chest open and moving forward.: Inhale and lengthen. Exhale and sink the chest to the floor. Allow complete release at the hip, low back and legs. The release in the legs will encourage the body deep into the pose. Continue moving the heart toward the floor with deep sinking breaths.: From a seated straddle, bend the knees up to create room for the arms to reach under the legs. Spider walk the fingers out so the arms stretch out under the legs in opposite directions. Inhale to open the chest and lengthen the spine, exhale to release the legs onto the arms as the body folds forward toward the floor. Take care to make sure that your upper arm bones are under the legs, not the elebows.: Kurmasana

Pose of the week: Stork

We did this balance pose in class tonight! It is one I recently learned at my Level 4 YogaFit training.

Name: Stork OR Half Bound Lotus Standing Forward Bend

Sanskrit name:  Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana

Getting into the pose: From standing balance pigeon, with the left ankle on the thigh, begin drawling the foot further up the thigh. Important: keep the foot in in contact with the thigh the whole time, if it lifts off you will be twisting the knee. If it is comfortable, draw the edge of the foot into the crease of the leg/hip for half lotus (this half lotus is optional). If possible, take a bind by reaching the left arm around the back and grabbing onto the left toes, then extend the right arm into the air.

Holding the pose: Hinge from the hips, bend the right knee and push the sitting bones down while keeping the right arm extended. Allow the right finger tips to make contact with the floor before slowly ascending back to standing.

Repeat on the other side

Modifications: Stop and balance at any point along the way or just hinge and lower as much as possible without touching the floor. Or to deepen the pose, place the palm on the floor and lower the face toward the knee.

Benefits: Balance, stability, hip opening

If your foot makes it all the way to the crease between your leg and torso, then there are 3 options as demonstrated by these pictures.