Calling all yogi’s!
I’m excited to announce a series of workshops I’ll be leading starting this Friday, 9/27 and reoccurring the 4th Friday of each month through November (10/25, and 11/29) at SoderWorld Wellness Center in Willowbrook, IL. This is a wonderful class for those looking to de-stress, unwind, stretch and reward yourself for all that you do throughout the week! Join me THIS Friday to find your yoga bliss:
Yin & Vin
A night of Yin Yoga followed by Wine
Like pairing a perfect wine with your meal, Yin yoga is a perfect compliment to the more vigorous, flowing movement of traditional (yang) styles of yoga like Hatha or Vinyasa. Yin yoga is a challenging, grounding and relaxing practice generally geared towards the connective tissues of the hips, pelvis, lower spine and shoulders. Poses are held for longer periods of time (3-5 minutes) to safely stretch and soften these tissues with the aim of increasing circulation and improving flexibility as well as stimulating the energy meridians (or qi) which are believed to help improve organ health, immunity, and emotional well-being. This is a wonderful physical yoga practice for all levels and a great way to unwind after a hectic week! At the conclusion of the workshop, we invite you to enjoy another perfect pairing, wine and the amazing company of your fellow yogis.
6:00 – 8pm
Cost: $35 / $50 a couple
*NOTE: Must pre-register for this workshop as space is limited. Call 630-455-5885 to register or stop in at the front desk. Please allow a 24 hour notice should you need to cancel so there is availability for other students.
Pigeon – Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
October 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Personally I like to start Pigeon Pose from Down Dog however you can start from table just as easily. For the purposes of this pose guide, lets come from table pose. Hands are under your shoulders, knees are below your hips.
- Exhale and bring your left knee in towards your chest
- Lower your knee behind your hands with your left foot pointed towards your right thigh
- Extend your right leg straight back, pressing your thigh, shin and top of foot into the ground.
- Turn to the right, looking behind you to make sure that your leg is in a straight line from your hip, down to your toes. We have a tendency to sickle our foot out when we bring the leg back, so make sure that all 5 toenails are pressing down into the mat
- Inhale and make your side body long (lengthen thru your sides, roll the heads of those arm bones back)
- Exhale and sink your hips lower to the ground if you can
- Take a few breaths here and see how you feel.
- For a deeper stretch, lower your forearms to the floor in front of you, shoulder width apart and sink your torso forward OR you can extend your arms out in front of you, and lower your head to the mat. NOTE: Pay attention to your breath, if it feels like your straining to breathe, you need to readjust where your arms are, until you’re more comfortable.
- There are many variations of pigeon, this is the one that I typically start teaching to a new class. This gets the hips open in a big, delicious way!
- Take 6-10 full breaths here, making sure to breathe into the areas that feel tight
- Hint: After you complete your 6-10 breaths, curl your toes under, slide your hands back under your shoulders and inhale as you lift your hips into down dog. Pedal out your feet a bit, it will help to pamper your legs after a deep stretch like that.
- Repeat on the right side
Tree – Vrksasana
October 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
- Start in Mountain Pose
- Begin to lean your weight to one side and bring the top of that thigh back
- Bring the sole of the opposite foot to touch either the calf, above the knee (never on the knee) or into the inner thigh (wherever your comfortable) of the standing leg
- Square your hips forward to the front of the room
- Focus on a point in front of you, and soften your gaze
- Bring your palms together at your heart
- Once you’ve found your balance, inhale and extend your arms up over head in line with your ears, keep your arms shoulder width apart, palms facing each other
- Spread apart your fingers, wide like a starfish to help hold your balance
- Continue to softly gaze at your focus point and breathe
Sun Salutation A
October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sun Salutations (Suryama Namaskar) are a great way to stretch your major muscles, develop concentration, and create energy by building heat within the body.
Forward Fold - Uttanasana
October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
- Exhale and fold forward
- Keep belly away from your thighs
- Relax your head and neck down towards the mat
Four-Limbed Staff – Chaturanga Dandasana
October 3, 2011 By 1 Comment
- Begin in Plank Pose (think of your body similarly in position to a high push-up)
- Keep your neck in line with your spine
- Hands are directly under your shoulders, arms are straight, but not locked. Look at the pits of your elbows, they should be facing each other
- Spread your fingers wide like a starfish, middle fingers center with the front of your mat, and press your hands down through the knuckles
- Create side body long – roll the heads of your arm bones back, drawing your shoulder blades closer to your spine as you extend your legs back and flex your feet. Lengthen your tailbone down towards your heels
- Bring your belly in towards your spine so that the waist doesn’t dip down
- Exhale and lower your body half way down, so that your upper arms are parallel with the floor
- Hold for 3 smooth breaths than release yourself all the way down to the mat on your last exhale
Warrior II – Virabhadrasana II
October 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
- Start in Mountain Pose at the front of your mat
- Step your right foot back (about 3-4 feet) and turn your torso to the right
- Your back foot (right foot) should be turned to a 90 degree angle, your front foot should point forward to the front of the room
- Look down at your feet, the heel of your left foot should be in line with the arch of your right foot
- Inhale and raise your arms so that they are at shoulder height and parallel with floor, make sure to roll the heads of your arm bones back so that your chest remains open
- Exhale and bend your front (left) knee until its directly over your ankle
- To get proper alignment for this pose, make sure your left knee lines up with your middle left toe
- Turn your head to gaze out over your middle left finger
- Press all four corners of both feet into the mat and lift the top of your right thigh back and lifting up towards the ceiling to really feel the work in this pose
Tall Mountain – Urdhva Hastasana
September 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
- Inhale and raise your arms above your head
- Keep arms straight and shoulder width apart
- Spread your fingers
- Extend from your hips all the way up through your fingers to create length
Plank Pose – Phalakasana
September 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
- The goal is to hold your body in this pose in as close to a straight line as possible, literally think of your body like a plank
- Extend your legs out behind you as far as you can to mimic that straight line
- Wrists are directly under your shoulders
- Fingers spread wide, line up your middle fingers with the front of your mat and press index fingers into the floor
- Strong straight arms, elbows should not be locked, heads of arm bones rolled back to create and opening in your collarbones
- Bring your belly in towards your spine