Principles of Womens’ Practice: Deflating and Elongating the Abdomen (Level Intermediate)
In this session we explore one of the essential principles for efficacy of a woman’s practice: deflating, lifting and elongating the abdomen. This session is part of the Short Course The Principles of Women’s Practice (Short Course; Level Intermediate) We recommend working with the other recordings in the the Short Courses for a complete practice. […]
Varied Arm Actions that Lead to Success in Forward Bends and Back Arches
This session starts with moving and positioning the arm in various ways – first done in isolation; and then incorporated in standing asanas. These actions are very important to bring back flexibility and strength to arm muscles, and is therefore relevant to everyone desk-workers, those who have minor cervical conditions, who experience stiffness in shoulders […]
Deskworkers Antidote – Part 2 for Exp. Beginner Level: Firmness and Weight Bearing on Legs and Shoulders
This session is part of a series of classes to strengthen the legs, align the hips, keep the groin area (the hip flexors) soft, and move the shoulders and upper back – in other words, an antidote to sitting on chairs for long hours. Not just deskworkers, but anyone engaged in any sporting activity that […]
Deskworkers Antidote – Part 1 of 2: Unfreeze Hips, Keep Shoulders Mobile
This session is part of a series of classes to strengthen the legs, align the hips, keep the groin area (the hip flexors) soft, and move the shoulders and upper back – in other words, an antidote to sitting on chairs for long hours. This session focusses on moving the hips (and the shoulders) in […]
Ribs, Shoulders, Quadriceps, Breath: The Front of the Body in Back Arches
Back arches are categorised as ‘purva pratana sthiti’ (expansion of the frontal plane) in Sanskrit. This session explores the involvement of the frontal plane of the body as we prepare for back arching Level: Experienced Beginners Duration: 50 mins. Props needed: yoga strap, a couple of blocks, one blanket
Gentle Cooling Practice for a Hot Day
A combination of supported standing asanas, twists, and forward extensions, ending in breath-work in supine positions This session is ideal to be done on a hot day for a cooling effect. Duration: 45 mins. Props needed: a sturdy chair, a stack of blankets
Chest and Abdominal Separation, pt. 1 of 2: Lecture & Demonstration (FREE Resource)
A brief introductory lecture and demonstration of how we can attempt to have a subjective experience of the breath in our bodies. This session also introduces the vocabulary that we often use in our classes to indicate the movement of the breath in the different regions of the body. This is the short first part […]
Chest and Abdominal Separation in Breathing, pt. 2 of 2: Demonstration & Experience (FREE Resource)
This is the second part on the introductory lecture/ exercise/ experience on experiencing the breath in the body. The session introduces one of the most common positions in which pranayama preparation is introduced in our tradition: a supine position with a support for the chest. This session is best done in combination with the first […]
Taking a stable ‘Seat’ for the Experience of Breath (audio) (FREE Resource)
‘breath explorations’ are preparatory actions for pranayama. while such explorations can be done in all asana positions, some are more conducive – allowing for longer stays with stillness and stability, with no mental strain. we usually do them in supported supine positions. the set-up and basic instructions of many such positions are available in the […]
Hip Health: Balancing Flexibility with Firmness
Stiff/ ‘tight’ hips, are connected to lower back pain, wearing out of the hip socket, arthritis of the knee, menstrual discomfort etc. To maintain the overall health of the hips, it is important to include many kinds of hip actions in our practice. Asanas like baddhakonasana and supta baddhakonsasana, upavistakonasana and padmasana, are often referred […]
