A vinyasa class featuring arm balancing as you move towards mayurasana, peacock pose. Twists, back strengthening, hip opening, wrist stretches, and neck release are featured in this class. Consider the challenges you’re experiencing on an individual or a collective level. What lessons keep showing up? The arduous events in your life provide an opportunity for you to level up, shift your perspective, and step outside of the norm. You always have the option to grow. This is the alchemy; you respond to the call to be active in your life and alchemize your experience.
One of the greatest forms of alchemy is to turn something toxic into something nourishing. Some of the oldest yogis were alchemists, turning metals into gold. They came upon the pranayama, mantra and meditation practices and realized they could change their own alchemy.
Mayurasana is one of the oldest yoga poses. You will find it in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, along with paintings of yogis in the pose. It is said to stimulate your Agni (spiritual/digestive fire), help you digest poisonous foods, and help you digest emotional poisons such as anger, greed, jealousy, anxiety, and spiritual ignorance.
Read the blog post on how to relieve abdominal pain for better gut health with the Forrest Roll.
Style: Vinyasa
Duration: 60-minutes
Level: open
Props: 1-block
Focus: arm balancing, inner thigh opening, twists.
Location: Vancouver, BC
Music: Spotify Playlist
Opening Flow
This class opens with a posture from Forrest Yoga.
Create a little snail by rolling up your mat.
***If you ate in the last hour, please take child’s pose, OR make two fists and tuck your fists into the lower abdomen and then take child’s pose. The fists create stimulating knots on the lower abdomen; it’s less pressure than the roll.
Stay on your roll or in child’s pose for 2-4 minutes.
Benefits of this pose:
Come off of your roll and lay your mat back down on the ground.
Balasana (child’s pose)
10-15 breath to move as you like, options:
Come to Tadasana at the top of your mat.
Opening Flow
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation
Bharmanasana (tabletop pose) with wrist release
Come to a seat at the back of your mat with your toes tucked to express the soles of the feet for Kapalbhati pranayama.
Kapalbhati Breath (skull shining breath) is an internal kriya used to cleanse the body. It may clear the nasal passages, relieve congestion, reduce bloating, and increase the lung’s capacity.
Kapalbhati is the perfect pranayama to do in the morning if you’re feeling cold, sluggish, congested, bloated, or heavy. This style of breath targets the solar plexus and draws the energy up Sushumna (the spine), which is the body’s main energy channel. When we draw the energy upwards, we bring the focus to the third-eye center. Pregnant yogis or those with heart conditions should avoid this pranayama.
As you do Kapalbhati pranayama, extend your arms overhead and flick your fingers away from your palm quickly each time you exhale. Do this pranayama for about 45-60 seconds.
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Peak Flow
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2 pose) flowing variation
Skandasana (wide-legged squat over one leg) variation moving with your breath.
Prasarita Padottanasana (wide-legged standing forward fold)
Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2 pose) facing the back of your mat
Utkata Konasana (goddess pose) variation with cactus arms
Prasarita Padottanasana (wide-legged standing forward fold)
Sirsasana B (tripod headstand pose) with legs wide
Peacock Pose:
Swan Pose:
Cooling Flow
Come to sit on your mat or take child’s pose to rest after the peak pose
Setu bandha sarvāṅgāsana (bridge pose)
Urdhva Dhanurasana (wheel pose)
Bharmanasana (tabletop pose) with Lion’s Breath
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose) variation with the legs crossed
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Baddha Konasana (seated bound angle pose) with neck release
Matsyasana (fish pose) supported variation with your blocks under your shoulders and the back of the head.
Savasana or seated meditation to close.