A fluid Lila Flow yoga class that features twists, leg balancing and backbends, with Dhanurasana (bow) as the peak pose. This class opens with moving meditation and a simple invocation to the Divine Teacher within with the mantra om namo guru dev namo. Dance in your body with one breath per movement through sun salutations, lunges, leg balancing postures such as tree and warrior 3, before coming down to the ground for backbends. Complete your class with shoulder and upper back stretches and seated meditation.

Style: Lila Flow

Duration: 30-minutes

Level: open

Props: 2 Blocks

Focus: backbends

Location: Vancouver, BC

Music: Grace You Move Me Spotify Playlist

Moving Meditation

Come to stand in the middle of your mat.

Take your legs wider than shoulder distance.

Inhale and sweep the arms out and up, exhale out your mouth and flip the palms away from each other and take your arms wide and down to your sides.

Keep moving the arms with your breath.

May you open yourself to the moment and the possibility contained in each breath. Inhale to open your body, exhale to clear away the space within and around you.

Mantra

om namo guru dev namo

“I bow to the Divine Wisdom of All That Is”

“I bow to the Teacher Within”

Sun Salutations 

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Balasana (child’s pose)

Bhujangasana (cobra pose)

Balasana (child’s pose)

Uttanasana (forward fold) at the back of your mat

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

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

Anjaneyasana (lunge)

Parivrtta Ashtachandrasana (revolved lunge) variation

• Inhale and take your extended arm to the sky
• Exhale and draw big circles with your arm
• Repeat several cycles with your breath.

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.

Wave 1

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation

• Interlace your hands in Durga Mudra with the pointer finger and thumbs pointed at the sky.
• Inhale and reach the arms upwards with the back knee on the ground
• Exhale and lower your arms in line with your shoulders as you straighten the back leg
• Inhale and take the arms up the central channel as you lower your back knee
• Exhale and lower your arms in line with your shoulders as you straighten the back leg
• Repeat several cycles moving with your breath

Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose) option to use your blocks under your palms

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Phalakasana

Chaturanga

Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward facing dog)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

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

Parivrtta Ashtachandrasana (revolved lunge)

Parivrtta Anjaneyasana Variation 1 (revolved thigh stretch)

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

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (standing splits) variation at the back of your mat

• Bend your extended leg and take your heel towards your bum
• Option to take the opposite hand to your heel
• Hold and breathe

Vrksasana (tree pose) variation

• Option to lift the heel of the foot on the ground

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

Uttanasana (forward fold)

Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.

Floor Sequence

Dhanurasana (bow pose)

Shoulder stretch

• Stretched out on your abdomen, cross your arms like cow face
• Place your chin or forehead on the ground or a block
• Breath into the back of your shoulders
• Switch sides

Uttanasana (forward fold) variation

• Bring more weight into the balls of your feet
• Bend the knees a lot
• Place blocks under your palms, OR
• Take ragdoll arms by grabbing opposite elbows
• Breathe into your hamstrings and your back body

Come to sit on your shins and tuck your toes to stretch the soles of your feet.

• Inhale and reach the arms out to the sides and up
• Exhale out the mouth and take your arms down by your sides

Savasana or seated meditation to close.