A strong vinyasa class with arm balances and inversions builds to Mayūrāsana (peacock) as the peak pose. This posture requires a strong core and an open side body. Mayurasana is one of the oldest yoga poses and is said to destroy all sins in the Vimanarcanakalpa, an ancient text about Hatha Yoga from the 10 Century. This class includes several different pranayamas with Brahmari (bees breath), Kapalbhati (skull shining breath), and Kumbhaka (breath retention).

Style: Vinyasa Yoga

Duration: 50-minutes

Level: Intermediate

Props: 2 blocks

Focus: Inversions

Location: Vancouver, BC

Music: Anniversary Spotify Playlist

Meditation

Come to a seat on your mat. Close your eyes and breathe deep into your body.

Consider all the things that you digest on a physical and energetic level. What are you ingesting? What kind of information and experiences are you assimilating right now? How does it feel in your body?

Brahmari Breath 

Brahmari Breath (bees breath) three cycles with various hand mudras. We’ll place the palms where we typically ingest information.

• Hands placed on the eyes
• Hands placed on the ears
• Palm at heart and on the belly

This style of pranayama has a calming effect on the mind and body. Brahmari is also known as bee’s breath, as it sounds like a bee humming when performed. This pranayama grounds the body to calm the nervous system and helps relieve stress, anxiety, or anger.

Benefits of Bhramari breathe include:

• Calming of the mind
• It soothes the nervous system, thereby lowering blood pressure and decreasing feelings of stress and anxiety.
• Stimulates the pineal and pituitary glands.

10-15 breath to move as you like, options:

• Balasana (child’s pose)
• Adho Mukha Shvanasana (down dog)
• Uttanasana (forward fold)
• Bidalasana (cat pose)
• Bitilasana (cow pose)

Use this time to connect to your ujjayi breath, inhaling and exhaling through the nose.

Ujjayi breath translates from Sanskrit as ‘victorious breath and is used in vinyasa yoga to build heat, connect the body to the breath, and create a rhythmic quality to the flow of the class. When we build heat from the inside with our breath, we massage the internal organs as we begin to move. Ujjayi is sustained for the duration of the solar portion of the class and released as we enter the softer, lunar part of the class, where the exhales lengthen to help the body cool down.

This style of pranayam stimulates the nadis (energy channels) to enhance mental clarity and focus.

Benefits include:

• Feeling a sense of groundedness and ease
• It warms the body from the inside
• Massages the organs
• Stimulates the flow of prana to clear the nadis
• Releases tension in the body
• Improves concentration in the mind

Come to tadasana (mountain pose) at the top of your mat.

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)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Chaturanga

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

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

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

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

Utkatasana (chair pose)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Balasana (child’s pose)

Come to sit on your heels at the back of your mat for Kapalabhati breath.

Kapalabhati translates from Sanskrit as Kapal, meaning the forehead, and Bhati, meaning light or knowledge. Kapalabhati is an energizing pranayama, also known as Skull Shining Breath, clears the lungs. This pranayama brings lightness and clarity to mind and frontal cortex of the brain.

This style of pranayama involves sharp, active exhales through the nose to stimulate the clearing of the lungs by clearing the stagnant air that collects around the sides of the lung cavity. The sharp exhale pulls the stale air in toward the center of the lungs and pushes it out. Energetically, we’re drawing the air upwards to revitalize the mind and body. The inhale is passive, and as kapalabhati breath is performed, the abdomen repeatedly contracts on the exhale and releases on the inhale. This pranayama is best done on an empty stomach during the earlier partition of the day as its excitatory and stimulates the digestive fire.

Benefits include:

• Enhanced mental focus and clarity
• Clearing of the lungs and nasal passages
• Excitatory to stimulate blood flow and boost circulation
• Tones the abdomen and lower organs
• Sharpens senses and concentration
• Balances nervous system
• Stimulates the digestive fire and appetite
• Purifies the nadis (energy channels) of the body through prana (breath)

Take Kapalabhati for 45-seconds. If this doesn’t serve, take ujjayi breath.

Balasana (child’s pose) variation

Create two fists with your hands and tuck them into your pelvis: below the belly button and above the hip bones. Press the fists into your lower abdomen and take your forehead to the ground in a child’s pose.

• Massage the fists into your abdomen as you breathe deeply.
• Option to take regulate child’s pose if you’re pregnant or have digestion issues.

Sasangasana (rabbit pose) variation

• Curl your toes under
• Take your hands to the outer arches of your feet
• Curl your chin to your chest as you press your forehead to the ground
• Lift your hips off of your heels
• Pull against your feet and round your spine

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) variation

• Make a fist with each palm
• Extend the arms wide to either side of your mat
• Press the hand down toward the ground
• This expresses the top of the hand to relieve the back of each wrist
• Take a couple of breaths in this shape

Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2) variation with Sukhasana Garuda Arms (eagle arms)

Prasarita Padottanasana (wide-legged standing forward fold)

Parivrtta Prasarita Padottanasana (revolved wide-legged standing forward fold)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Tadasana (mountaing pose)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.

Wave 2

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Utkatasana (chair pose)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Balasana (child’s pose)

Come to sit on your heels at the back of your mat for Kapalabhati breath.

Sasangasana (rabbit pose)

Mayūrāsana (peakcock)

Sirsasana A (headstand)

Come to sit on your shins with palms up against your thighs.

Kumbhaka (breath retention)

Kumbhaka is a form of breath retention; do not do this pranayama if you have difficulty breathing or anxiety. Breathe normally with longer inhales and exhales. If you take kumbhaka pranayama, hold to a point where you don’t feel any discomfort.

Benefits of Kumbhaka include:

• Better oxygenation improves overall health, and concentration occurs when we retain the breath, increasing the carbon dioxide level. This event activates the respiratory center in the brain and leads to a greater exchange of oxygen.
• Improvement of lung capacity
• Strengthening of the diaphragm

How to do it:

• Inhale for the count of 6
• Hold for the count of 4
• Exhale for the count of 8

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)

Utthita Parsvakonasana (side angle pose)

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)

Utthita Parsvakonasana (side angle pose)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

Balasana (child’s pose)

Mayūrāsana (peacock)

Sirsasana A (headstand) OR Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) OR Viparita Karana (legs up)

Floor Series

Bidalasana/Bitilasana (cat/cow pose)

Gomukhasana (cow face)

Matsyasana (supported fish pose)

Savasana or seated meditation