Did you enjoy podcast #118 ??
Take your twisting skills to the next level with this vinyasa class emphasizing twists.
When you are caught up and agitated with life, twists help settle you, give a gentle energetic boost, allowing the mind to unwind the "knots of life."
The physical benefits of twisting poses:- boosting your digestive system, massaging your abdominal organs, enhancing your core strength.
Use the basics of class 118 to explore the energetic power that is released by twists.
Namaste.
(A stronger class, but even if you are new to yoga give it a gentle try ).
Twisting poses - to facilitate a healthy organ detox and to mobilize your spine.
This is the 5th class of a series of shorter Yoga Flow classes - if you have limited time available but need your yoga.
(Alternative 45min classes:~ #92, #99, #108, #118)
Class Guidelines:-
1. set your intent.
2. practice with a steady rhythmic ujjai breath.
3. focused awareness to movement and breath.
Then rest or meditate after the class.
You can practice this class before your pranayama and meditation practice - - -> for a steadier - easier meditation.
Namaste.
(this class is for all levels of practice)
If you love Vinyasa Yoga - this class is for you.
Vinyasa Yoga - meaning the yoga of consciously placing mind, breath and body consciously together - as one - in space-time.
"The yoga of being" ... The idea behind the practice is simple, but it does take practice to "perfect".
1. Set an elevated intent to direct you "beyond mind"
2. Dristhi - focused gaze - concentrates the mind (dharana in sanskrit)
3. Ujjayi pranayama - concentrates and directs energetic life force.
4. Asana - poses - and the transitions between poses are used to create a steady flow in the direction of the intent.
5. Bhanda - locks - are used to "fuse/merge" the mind-body system together as ONE - or yoga.
As a yoga, all you need to do is follow the above steps, success is guaranteed, but it does take time, in my case many years.
Namaste.
(suitable for all levels of yogi).
Simple and slower.
And if you have been following these podcasts you will know that this means that you have the opportunity to practice with a deeper focus.
This class is for all levels of yoga.
I hope you enjoy this class.
Namaste.
PS: I taught this class, and it was as if yogis entered a dream state, hence the name. Happy dreaming.
A full-core yoga practice in 60 minutes.
If you would like steadiness in your life, you need to work at promoting all aspects of your being that create steadiness of body, breath and a steady mind.
A steady core addresses your physical steadiness, which in-turn facilitates energetic steadiness through steady breath, which supports mental steadiness, through focused being.
Give this Jivamukti Yoga Class a try, and see for yourself.
Namaste.
(a class for the advancing yogi, take care if you are new to yoga!)
Here is a class that is open to all.
A gentle progression into a deeper vinyasa yoga flow.
Focus your mind on your breathing and "Let Go" of the external, while progressively shifting internally.
Namaste.
Emphasizing - Forward Bends and Hip Opening poses - to facilitate a release of emotional tension.
This is the 4th class of a series of shorter Yoga Flow classes - if you have limited time available but need your yoga.
(Alternative 45min classes, try #92, #99, #108)
Class Guidelines:-
1. set your intent.
2. practice with a steady rhythmic ujjai breath.
3. focused awareness to movement and breath.
Then rest or meditate after the class.
You can practice this class before your pranayama and meditation practice - - -> for a steadier - easier meditation.
Namaste.
(this class is for all levels of practice)
Yoga of Action requires us to act consciously so as to grow spiritually.
- No action is not an option, as there can be no growth.
- Acting in a way that causes dis-ease, or dis-harmony causes regression.
- Acting with equanimity or balanced "ease-iness" (as I sometimes call it) sows the seeds for steady spiritual growth.
From the Bhagavad Gita (chapter 3), Krishna describes the actions that are appropriate for such growth; for example, acting without personal gain will free you your mind from the results of the action. Hence a dedication for your actions in a Yoga Class.
Class Tips: -
- Offer your actions up for the benefit of another.
- Practice without an idea of success vs failure, enjoyment vs suffering, or good vs bad, etc. Instead practice each pose and take each breath with a steady, yet open "ease-iness."
- Check in at the end of the class, and during your day, and see what the outcome is.
Namaste.
(a class suitable for all levels of yogi)
"Our greatest obstacles to practicing yoga are our prejudices based on our preferences."
~ from Sri Bramhananda Saraswati's commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
If we can learn to be open and accepting to changes and differences around us, as experienced within us, we open ourselves up to non-attachment, a delicate balance of life which leads us to yoga.
By practicing Different Dimensions, you may experience the Push and Pull of Prejudice and Preference.
Be aware, relax, be open and accepting to whatever, as it arises, how it arises, let it come, but let it go.
This class (hopefully) will help you with your practice (abhyasa in sanskrit) of non-attachment (vairagya in sanskrit).
Namaste.
(a more challenging class, but open to all yogis, so long as you practice with self-compassion).
A Vinyasa Flow that is perfect for a day where you feel the need for a little nurturing and a little self love, yet still need to access the deepness of your being.
Such a day was on a rainy day for me, hence the name of this class.
Enjoy!
Namaste.
(all yoga levels)
Power up your practice with intent, a focused mind, steady and firm breath, focusing your awareness on the smoothness of transitions between poses, and steadiness while holding the poses.
A strong combo of poses for yogis wanting a sweat.
Class Guidelines:-
1. set your sankalpa, or intent.
2. practice with a steady rhythmic ujjai breath.
3. focused awareness to movement and breath.
4. practice with steadiness, and ease ("relax") into that steadiness - of mind, breath and body, sealed together with bandha (locks).
Namaste.
(a class for those with a regular and steady yoga practice)
A Shorter Vinyasa Yoga Flow class - if you have limited time available but need your yoga.
Emphasizing - standing poses and balancing.
(Alternative 45min classes, try #92, #99)
Class Guidelines:-
1. set your intent.
2. practice with a steady rhythmic ujjai breath.
3. focused awareness to movement and breath.
Then rest or meditate after the class.
You can practice this class before your pranayama and meditation practice - - -> for a steadier - easier meditation.
Namaste.
(this class is for all levels of practice)
This is a shortened (perhaps easier) version of the 90 minute Jivamukti Yoga classic, Class 7 – BackBending.
This compact 60 min class leads you through opening postures that prepare your body to safely experience back-bending, so you can proceed to the deeper back-bends and open your heart with enthusiasm and confidence.
It is a simplified version of Jivamukti Yoga Class 7, leaving out some of the very challenging poses of the full class (e.g. hanumanasana, kapotasana), thus making this class a little more accessible to the average yogi.
Even if you are relatively new to yoga, you will still be able explore the fundamentals of back-bending in this Vinyasa Flow in a safe way, using the alternative poses that are suggested to you.
Namaste.
(a challenging class, open to yogis with a regular practice, but not for beginners level)
A gentle yoga class to help release tightness in your back muscles.
- mobilize - lower, middle, upper back and shoulders so that you will feel free.
Have a yoga-block handy for this class !
It is accessible to all levels of yogi. As safe as this class is, please take care, and always consult a medical professional, especially if issues persist.
Namaste.
A dedicated yogi who practices with non-attachment will attain self-mastery of mind afflictions – and freedom from delusion. This advice can be found in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 1:12: abhyasa vairagyabhyam tan nirodah (practice with non-attachment brings mastery of mind modifications).
This is the task you will face in this challenging Jivamukti Yoga vinyasa class. The intensity of the sequence is guaranteed to create waves of thoughts and subtle emotions which will arise and which can only be mastered, by releasing them and “letting go” through acceptance.
The class leads you through opening postures that prepare your body and mind for the challenges that arise later in the class. A pose may be enjoyed, disliked, a good or bad emotion may be triggered, feelings may change. The skill required to be learned is - "Allow thoughts to come, but allow them to go. Allow everything to come, but allow everything to go."
Hint: focus your awareness on the sound and or feeling of your ujjayi breath, which will help you “let go” of thoughts and emotions that may arise in a particular pose, and, through consistent practice help teach you non-attachment.
Namaste.
(this can be an intense class in places, so if you are a beginner, please proceed with due caution, and take rest when needed)
Practice a series of poses from the Ashtanga Primary and Intermediate Series in a way that is more accessible for the average yogi.
Ashtanga Yoga is a form of yoga as made popular by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, as taught to him by his yoga teacher Sri T. Krishnamacharya. It is a strict vinyasa yoga practiced in a fixed sequence of poses, where movement, breath (ujjayi pranayama), locks (bandha), and steady gaze (drishti) lead the yogi consciously from pose to pose. The name comes from Maharishi Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, where the aspirant practices 8 limbs (or steps in a practice) of yoga for self-mastery.
Vinyasa Yoga sequences, when practiced regularly (abhyasa), with dedication and non-attachment (vairagyabhyam) will lead the yogi through self-mastery (nirodah) - to a steady, calm, peaceful state of being that is free from afflictions.
Namaste.
(this is a challenging class, if you are a beginner, please practice a beginner class which you will find elsewhere in this series of podcasts)
This is a shortened (perhaps easier) version of the 90 minute Jivamukti Yoga classic, Class 6 – Balancing.
- where you get to root back to Earth, and re-establish your connection to Mother Earth.
Through this connection you feel more stable, more balanced, and more confident to “LET GO” and release your tensions worries and concerns, opening up to the life force - prana - which balances, internal world and external word, creating a new harmony within.
This Jivamukti Yoga class leads you through opening postures that prepare your body to safely experience standing balances as well as inversions, so you can proceed with confidence to more challenging classes.
Even if you are relatively new to yoga, you will still be able explore the fundamentals of balances in this Vinyasa Flow in a safe way, using the alternative poses that are suggested to you.
Learn and practice the foundations of balancing, and your practice will always be grounded. All this in 60 minutes.
Namaste.
(this can be a challenging class in places, so if you are a beginner, please proceed with due caution)
An invigorating back-bending yoga class!
Whether you enjoy back-bending classes or avoid them, this yoga class will help you deepen your practice.
Backward bending poses open us to the future by helping us release tension stored in thighs, hips, belly, our chest and our shoulders, which "hold us back" in the past. Once free from these restrictive tensions, we can approach the future with confidence, openness and ease.
This Jivamukti Yoga class leads you through opening postures that prepare your body to safely experience back-bending, so you can proceed to the deeper challenging back-bends and open your heart with enthusiasm and confidence.
Even if you are relatively new to yoga, you will still be able explore the fundamentals of back-bending in this Vinyasa Flow in a safe way, using the alternative poses that are suggested to you.
Namaste.
(a challenging class, and not for beginners level)
Life needs a gentle balanced approach (see podcast #97).
But sometimes life throws us into a twist and a turn.
Be prepared! - take life on, confidently and openly with a balanced center, skillfully negotiating whatever twists and turns come your way -
This yoga class is like a mirror for your life... giving you the opportunity to prepare... get your balance, take on the twists.
(This is a stronger class with a fun element).
Namaste.
A "Win-Win" accessible yoga flow with two heads-up sides to the coin. Give the coin a flip . . .
- Heads - focus on slimming your waistline and building your core strength.
- Tails - stimulate your metabolism, burn fat, detox and stimulate your excretory functions.
Heads you win & Tails you win.
You should practice this class at least 2x weekly to experience the benefits.
Namaste.
(a class for all levels, but be prepared for a sweat).