This class opens the hips, hamstrings, and heart, a fluid vinyasa practice in honour of Saraswati, the Goddess of Creation & Communication. Dance in your body with your breath as you move through sun salutations and three waves, featuring Shiva Rea’s Wave Theory. There is no peak pose for this class. The invitation is to feel each sensation and enjoy the playful and flowing transitions with twist and leg balancing as you move through the standing series. This class closes with seated forward folds, a neck release, and seated meditation.

To consider during class:

Is there anywhere in your life you’d like to bring more fluidity and lessen the resistance?

The poem featured by Hafiz: 

I Got Kin 

Plant

So that your own heart

Will grow.

Love

So God will think,

“Ahhhhhh,

I got kin in that body!

I should start inviting that soul over

For coffee and

Rolls.”

Sing

Because this is a food

Our starving world

Needs.

Laugh

Because that is the purest

Sound.

Style: Slow Flow

Duration: 60-mins

Level: open

Props: 2 blocks

Focus: full body yoga class with a little bit of everything

Location: Lila Familia Production Studio, Vancouver, BC

Music: Saraswati Flow Spotify Playlist

Opening Meditation

Come up to stand at the top of your mat

• Inhale and take the arms wide and high
• Exhale and bring your hands through prayer toward the ground
• Repeat several cycles moving with the flow of your breath

Bring your hands to prayer in front of your heart for I Got Kin by Hafiz.

2x Sun Salutations – flow on your own or follow the cues

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog) to Phalakasana (plank pose)

• Create a wave in your body as your roll forward and back
• Inhale and wave the spine forward to plank pose
• Exhale and bend your knees as you lift the hips up and back to DD
• Repeat several cycles moving with the breath

Chaturanga

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)

Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation

• Take one arm to the ground.
• Reach the other hand overhead for a wide-arm twist
• Inhale and reach the top hand to the sky
• Exhale and reach it down and back
• Keep drawing circles with the extended arm as you breathe

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.

Wave 1

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Utkatasana (chair pose)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Chaturanga

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)

Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2)

Viparita Virabhadrasana (peaceful warrior)

• Take your back hand to your front ribs
• Breathe deeply into your palm
• Take your front hand to the back of your head
• Lift the elbow toward the sky

Trikonasana (triangle) variation

• Draw circles with your top hand
• Move the arm with the cadence of your breath

Ardha Chandrasana (halfmoon pose)

• Option to hover the bottom hand off of the ground
• Option to take both hands to a soft prayer at the heart

Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2)

Utthita Parsvakonasana (side angle pose)

Utthan Pristhasana (lizard pose) variation

• Spin to face the side of your mat
• Take your hip to the ground
• Option to extend your back hand to the opposite side of your mat for a gentle twist.
• Breathe into your side body

Ardha Matsyendrasana (seated twist) with a number four-leg

Ardha Purvottanasana (reverse tabletop) with a number four-leg

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.

Wave 2

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Utkatasana (chair pose)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Chaturanga

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)

Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2)

Viparita Virabhadrasana (peaceful warrior)

Trikonasana (triangle) variation

Ardha Chandrasana (halfmoon pose)

Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2)

Utthita Parsvakonasana (side angle pose)

Utthan Pristhasana (lizard pose) variation

• Spin to face the side of your mat
• Take your hip to the ground
• Option to extend your back hand to the opposite side of your mat for a gentle twist.
• Breathe into your side body

Ardha Matsyendrasana (seated twist) with a number four-leg

Ardha Purvottanasana (reverse tabletop) with a number four-leg

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.

Wave 3

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Utkatasana (chair pose)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Come to shins with a number four-leg crossed in front

• Inhale and take both hands to the sky
• Exhale and lower one arm down to lengthen the side waist
• Take the opposite arm to the rib on the side that is elongated
• Breathe into your palm
• Take a couple of breaths as you are
• Eagle arms
• Inhale and curl the chest and arms forward and up
• Exhale and round the spine take your hips toward your heel
• Repeat several cycles

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose)

• Option to use the blocks under your palms

Rollerskating pose

• Shoot your back leg forward
• Keep your front leg straight
• Bend the knee of the foot on the ground
• Lower your butt to the earth

Ardha Matsyendrasana (seated spinal twist)

Ardha Purvottanasana (reverse tabletop) with a number four-leg

• Option to extend the heel of the bent knee towards the sky

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Chaturanga

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)

Come to shins with a number four-leg crossed in front

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg from this pose.

Floor Series 

One backbend for 8 breaths

Setu Bandha Sarvāṅgāsana (bridge pose)

OR supported bridge with the blocks under your sacrum

OR Chakrasana (wheel pose)

Ananda Balasana (happy baby pose)

Baddha Konasana (bound angle pose) variation

• Inhale and arc the spine
• Exhale and round the spine

Upavistha Konasana (seated wide-legged forward fold)

• Option to place blocks under your forearms or forehead

Neck release with a block

• Come to lay on your back.
• Place the block on a diagonal, so the edge of the block aligns on your occipital ridge where your neck and head meet
• Hold and breathe for 8 breaths

Benefits:

• Relieves tension at the back of the neck
• May assist with headaches

Savasana or seated meditation to close