A playful and strong vinyasa yoga class that features twists, leg balancing, inversions, and Revolved Halfmoon as the peak pose. This class includes a little bit of everything; build heat and strengthen your core with plank variations, boat pose and work with the block between the inner thighs. Handstand hops, warrior 3, and revolved halfmoon test your ability to endure. Close your practice with a supported fish pose to express and open the chest and front body and Nadi Shodhana pranayama to calm the nervous system and ground.

“Suffering can’t be avoided. The way to happiness is to go into the darkness of yourself. That’s the place the seed is nourished, takes roots and grows up, and becomes ultimately the plant and the flower. You can only go upwards by first going downward”.

• James Broughton as told to interviewer Jack Foley in the Alsop Review. Clara read this from Pronoia by Rob Brezsny.

Style: Vinyasa

Duration: 60-minutes

Level: open-levels

Props: 2 blocks

Focus: twists, leg balancing, revolved half moon as the peak pose.

Location: Lila Familia Production Studio, Vancouver, BC

Spotify Playlist for this class

Meditation

Come to a seat on your mat or lay down where you are comfortable. Close your eyes, and express a deeper breath. Dropdown into your pelvis and feel the weight of your body against the earth. As you feel your sits bones anchor into the ground, lift the crown of your head to the sky.

To grow, we must go down into the depths of ourselves to gain a deeper understanding and awareness of who and what we are.

Mantra 

Chant the bija seed mantra for the root chakra, 21 times.

Bija seed mantra for the root chakra is LAM.

Chant this sound over and over; hook your thumbs into your hip creases.

The root chakra is at the tip of the tailbone and is the first of the seven chakras.

To learn more about the root chakra, read this blog post or listen to the podcast.

Movement

Balasana (child’s pose)

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

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

Come to Uttanasana (forward fold) at the top of your mat.

• Bring one palm to a block under your nose at the center of your mat
• Take the opposite hand to your waist
• Twist your torso

2x Sun Salutations 

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)

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)

Phalakasana (plank pose)

• Lower your knees to the ground
• Set a block on the second width between your inner thighs
• Hold and take 8 breaths

Chaturanga with the block between your thighs

Shalabasana (locust pose) variation with the block between your thighs

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

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

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

Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2 pose)

Viparita Virabhadrasana (reverse warrior)

Baddha Viparita Virabhadrasana (half-bound reverse warrior pose)

Prasarita Padottanasana (wide-legged standing forward bend)

Parivrtta Prasarita Padottanasana A (revolved wide-legged standing forward bend)

Rotate to face the back of your mat

Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation

• Inhale and bend into your front knee and reach your chest forward
• Exhale and straighten both legs and round your spine

Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose) variation with the back heel lifted

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (standing splits)

Ardha Matsyendrasana (seated spinal twist)

Navasana (boat pose)

Setu bandha sarvāṅgāsana (bridge pose) variation

• Take the block and place it on the second width between your inner thighs
• Inhale and lift your hips off the ground
• Exhale and lower your pelvis to hover
• Do this for 10 cycles, squeezing the block as you move and breathe

Utkatasana (chair pose)

Repeat the same sequence on the other leg

Wave 2

Tadasana (mountain pose) with feet together

Virabhadrasana III (warrior 3 pose)

Parivrtta Ashtachandrasana (revolved lunge pose)

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

Eka Pada Phalakasana (one legged plank pose)

Chatarunga

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

Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)

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

Adho Mukha Vrksasana (handstand) variation with hops

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

Peak Wave 

Tadasana (mountain pose) with feet together

Virabhadrasana III (warrior 3 pose)

Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana (revolved half moon pose)

Utthan Pristhasana (lizard) variation

Phalakasana (one-legged plank pose)

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)

Adho Mukha Vrksasana (handstand) variation with hops or standing splits

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.

Cooling Flow

Matsyasana (fish pose) variation with blocks

Ananda Balasana (happy baby pose)

Savasana or seated meditation for Nadi Shodhana.

Nadhi Shodhana benefits:

This style of pranayama carries more oxygen to the blood than regular breathing; it also soothes the nervous system, helps create calm in the body and mind, and balances the subtle body. Nadi Shodhana lowers the heart rate and reduces stress and anxiety as it purifies the subtle energy channels so the Prana (breath, life-force) can flow with ease.

Two energy lines traverse Shusumna—the spine—called Ida and Pingala. Sushumna is the body’s central channel and largest energy line. It is the home to the seven chakras. Ida and Pingala represent the other two main energy lines that move from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. These two energy lines refer to the right and left sides of the brain; through these energy lines, or Nadis, we create balance in the body and connect the two hemispheres through the breath.

Pingala represents solar energy, masculine, extroverted, bright, left hemisphere.

Ida represents lunar energy, feminine, introverted, dark, right hemisphere.

We need both energies to be whole. We need both energies to feel balanced in body and mind. When we connect such dualistic expressions, we create our reality. Without the opposition of the other, there is no creation story.