Counting Breath: Admittedly a little funny, this breathing technique helps us to fully empty our lungs. We add some sound (counting) to our exhale and keep going until there is no exhale left. Then we drink in a full inhale. It is a quick way to keep carbon dioxide in our body for a little longer so that when the oxygen floods in with the inhalation it can be distributed efficiently.
Maha Lakshmi Tutorial: A longer, more challenging but absolutely beautiful chant invoking the goddess Lakshmi, called the Mahalakshmi Astakam found in the Padma Purana. I chant the first three verses but have listed the rest below for your further exploration. I learned this melody from Stephanie Snyder.
Circulation & Heart magic: ‘The human heart is the shape of your entire body, it is not a pump, but the place where blood refreshes its movement’ (Gil Hedley). Explore embodying your vascular system, blood flow, beating heart, pulsation and breath. This is a dynamic, at times strong and explorative practice that gets your circulation going and enlivens our felt relationship to our heart and all that that entails. We close with seated hip releases, a delicious rest, an inspiring peace mantra, and remember how to rest our mind into our hearts.
A process of becoming: A creative practice exploring backbends and the process of folding & unfolding ourselves into being. Integrating philosophical references from the recognition sutras, we start with a floor based flow finding space around the heart, ribs and spine, and then move into some creative core work and leg strengtheners as we find our fluid flow. Opens into backbend sequences and closes with a floor sequence to release. Props: 2 blocks (or 1, or large books)
Nurture & Invigorate: An accessible and well rounded stretchy flow that could be a nice wake up or a bit of invigorating nurturance at any time of day. Move through some non linear side body stretches, lunges, twists, forward bends. Build strength and stability and also find your flow. Close with some seated forward folds and twists and a short, sweet meditation.
Floor based flow: A supportive and somatic floor based practice to wiggle and roll on the ground moving though spinal rotations, shoulder release, playing with weight shift, free form flow and fully unholding into the support of the ground. Nurturing, gentle and powerful. Just over 35 minutes running time.
Heart Flow & Lower Body Strength: A fun and varied practice tuning into our vascular system and heart, with a focus on waking up the back body and building strength and support in our legs, glutes, feet - basically the antidote to sitting :). Play with yummy stretchy balance variations in supported side plank, handstand hops to get your heart moving and half moon, and close with some seated twists and a sweet rest at the end.
Collective Heart: A beautiful meditation that I use to cultivate a felt relationship with my physiological heart as well as the heart of awareness itself. Open to a felt sense of appreciation, call in what you need and offer up what you can. A beautiful practice to connect and rest your mind into your heart, exploring the relationship between the personal and the universal.
10 Minute Flow: A short and sweet flow for when you’ve only got 10 minutes and you want to get your practice in and bring some movement and presence into your day. Props: 1 block (you can do without). Enjoy!
Integrating Opposites: Contemplating a leadership skill Brene Brown calls: the capacity to hold two opposite things to both be true. How does integrating opposites and holding both to be true reveal itself in our practice on a physical and philosophical level? The podcast that sparked this contemplation was Brene Brown’s podcast Dare to Lead, in her conversation with Barack Obama - I highly recommend checking it out!
Guru Mantra Tutorial 2: A slightly more complicated but beautiful chord progression for the Guru Mantra that I learned from Stephanie Snyder, with a peace prayer added at the end. “The teacher is in all the beginnings, all that is sustained, all of the change and loss and challenge. The teacher is nearby and beyond the beyond, I bow down to that teacher that is indeed everywhere.“
On Boundaries: Contemplating the porousness of our boundaries looking at writing and ideas from ancient and contemporary sources. Perhaps we are not as ‘fixed’ as we imagine? What does it mean to be in relationship with our environment? What is your felt experience of the collective? I refer to: Radical Wholeness by Philip Shepherd, Small Arcs of Larger Circles by Nora Bateson, The Recognition Sutras (Ksemaraja, translation Chris Wallis), and Basic Neurocellular Patterns by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen.
A little bit of everything: A well rounded flow that nurtures a lot, challenges a little, moves between specific and free form movement, and invites options for playful balance explorations. We close with a yummy rest and some chanting. Great for when you need a little bit of everything.
Downward facing savasana: A guided rest practice exploring downward facing savasana. Soften your skin and ease into the support of earth beneath and space above; relish and replenish. Can be used as a practice on it’s own, or before or after another shorter class when you want some extra quiet rest. You can do this without props, but if you have the following they can be wonderful additions: A bolster or two (or 3 sleeping pillows), a yoga block (or rolled up towel), a blanket or two, and an eye pillow (or rolled up hand towel)
Post run practice: Some of my go to practice favourites after a run to release and refresh. Starting with some myofascial release for our feet using a tennis or therapy ball (quick to skip if you don’t have one) and moves into a leg focused flow with some supported backbends and floor based stretchy goodness at the end. Props: Ball, yoga strap, block. This can of course also be done without the run (!) to release tired legs & feet.
