This class opens with a quote by Katherine May. You’ll move through two simple flows featuring Venus Mudra, lunges, warrior 3, variations of side plank and gate pose, and camel pose to express the front body. Close your practice with a twisted child’s pose and a brief meditation or savasana.
Style: Vinyasa
Duration: 25-minutes
Level: open-levels
Props: 2 blocks
Focus: Backbends
Location: Vancouver, BC
Spotify Playlist: Resting In My Thoughts
Quote to anchor the class:
“By closing my eyes, however briefly, and resting my thoughts on the core of my perception, I can gain some of the peace that meditation brings me. I have come to think of it as a prayer. Although I ask for nothing and speak to no one within it. It is a profoundly non-verbal experience. A sharp breath of pure being amid a forest of words. It is an untangling. A moment to feel the true ache of desire, the gentle wash of self-compassion, the heart’s swell of thanks. The tic-tic-tic of existence. It is a moment when alone, I am at my most connected with others.”
— Excerpt from Wintering by Katherine May.
Wave 1
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Urdhva Hastasana (hands to sky)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Anjaneyasana (low lunge) flowing variation with Durga’s sword
Utthan Pristhasana (lizard) variation
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged down dog)
Anjaneyasana (low lunge) variation
Anjaneyasana (low lunge)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Urdhva Hastasana (hands to sky)
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Wave 2
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Virabhadrasana III (warrior 3)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation
Virabhadrasana III (warrior 3)
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (standing hamstring extension) with hands to the sky
Virabhadrasana III (warrior 3)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation with the back knee on the ground
Vasisthasana (side plank) variation with the bottom knee on the ground
Parighasana (gate pose) variation with the toes of the extended leg lifted
Utthita Parsvakonasana (extended side angle pose) with the bottom knee down
Ardha Hanumanasana (half splits pose) with hands inside the front foot
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged down dog)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation with back knee lifted
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Floor Postures
Ustrasana (camel)
Parivrtta Balasana (twisted child’s pose)
Savasana or seated meditation to close.