We started to build warm-up sequences in most classes, all with the idea that these in-class practices can eventually - once we've carefully unpacked them - become at home self-care pieces that you can practice on your own between your weekly yoga classes.

 

As we get more familiar with these short full-body warm ups, we will start moving through them a little faster each week, so they can provide some challenge - in addition to warming us up. This will also free more of our time to focus on the meat of our programs - be it building more stability, more mobility, or both!

 

Here is our foundational sequence.

Obviously it varies from class to class; yet, the basic shape of it remains the same across all classes. As we get stronger and more familiar with these yoga moves, we will add some more challenging variations of this basic sequence.

 

Try it at home!

 

 

 

Q: How come you don't teach guided meditations?

A: I've trained in the meditation tradition that views meditation as an introspective practice.

 

The logic of non-guided meditation approach: we spend the majority of our waking hours directing our attention outward and interacting with the world around us. Meditation practice recognizes that there is an equally vast and complex world inside of us, and it creates the time and the space for us to explore that internal world.

 

While guided practices are lovely - who doesn't like to imagine lying on a warm sand while listening to the sound of waves crushing on the shore... - they still draw our attention outward, to the voice of the instructor and to some imaginary place.

 

When we give our mind something to focus on (like breath, or touch, or our weight on the mat) and then remove external distractions, we give ourselves an opportunity to experience our mind's habits first-hand.

 

Do you get an overflow of thoughts? Notice that...

Feel irritable? Notice that...

Feel sad? Notice that...

Do you tense up trying to push a certain feeling or emotion away?

Notice that, too.

 

~ we've noticed and focused on sensations around the rim of the nostrils

~ we've noticed where the movement of breath is most obvious in the body

~ we've worked our way through a body scan (sensing the body, one part at a time)

~ we've noticed the sensations of touch and the weight of the body on the mat.

 

 

 

Here are a few steps to make it easier:

 

 

 

Most beginner meditators grapple with feeling overwhelmed by thoughts, fleeting attention, lack of focus, and many, many, many preconceived notions about what meditation practice should look like. Know that it is absolutely, totally, completely normal to feel that way - and that you aren't alone in how you are feeling! Remember, whenever in doubt, gimme a shout:)