Sally Kempton explains that in yoga, our consciousness can free itself from concepts, beliefs and limiting ideas. How do we do this? By learning how to let ourselves be, with conscious awareness of our own inner Awareness.
This week’s featured classes will help deepen our practice through the cultivation of strong awareness of the body in all of the asanas, and strong focus on the breath.
- Cultivate Deep Awareness to be Present with Kathryn Budig: Use your asana to cultivate deep awareness of the present. Long, thoughtful holds in Sun Salutation B induce focus and the realization that it’s all good! Solid flow with focus on pranayama.
- Access Your Inner Awareness with Sally Kempton: In deep meditation, our consciousness can free itself from concepts, beliefs and limiting ideas. How do we do this? By learning how to let ourselves be, with conscious awareness of our own inner Awareness. This powerful meditation accesses the natural state.
- Conscious Awareness with Steven Espinosa: This energetic class begins with a steady opening warm up leading into a vigorous Standing Pose series focusing on moving with conscious awareness. Followed by Arm/Hand Balances, Hip/Thigh Openers, Back Bends and Spinal Twists. Also includes a brief tutorial for the wrists in Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Facing Bow).
- Enhance Awareness of Your Heart with Elena Brower: A really nourishing Hatha sequence with a few meditative movements to enhance awareness of how your heart is reflected in your hands, your thoughts and your expression. Hold spacious attention in your hands, heart and mind through a some hip opening, standing poses, forearm stand, backbends and meditation.
- Deepen Your Practice Through Awareness with Jodi Blumstein: This class moves through most of the primary series, skipping select postures. The emphasis here is on deepening your practice through the cultivation of strong awareness of the body in all of the asanas, and strong focus on the breath and bandhas. Advancing your Ashtanga Yoga practice is not a function of doing more advanced asanas. Here we explore how to deepen our practice through greater awareness.
- Yoga for Core Strength and Awareness with Tara Judelle: Strong class to activate the core as the centralizing magnet of movement. Strong focus on the bandhas, using standing poses, working into arm balances, eka pada koundinyasana II (extended leg arm balance dedicated to sage koundinya, parsva bakasana (side crane) eka pada koundiyasana I. Class focus is on utilizing the core as the center of digesting awareness in order to cultivate center in challenging experiences.
- Calm Your Overactive Mind, Develop Deep Awareness with Jo Tastula: Tune out from the overactive mind and simply be in deep awareness of the movement of breath and energy as it needs to happen today. Honoring any tension and tightness we start slowly with seated forward bends and supported backbends. Then embrace core work to build the heat to fuel this transformative practice! Lots of hamstring and quad stretches and of course… my beloved side plank (vasistasana). Extended Hand-To-Big-Toe Pose (utthita hasta padangusthasana) warrior 3 (virabhadrasana) and side crow (parsva bakasana) provide some balance challenge. Freeform backbends (self sequencing is wonderful to strengthen anyones home practice) and pigeon for desert.
- Infinite Awareness with Noah Maze: Shoulder stretches and upper back openers will prepare you for a progression of forearm balance (pincha mayurasana–peacock feather) stages. Expand your infinite awareness, as the eyes of the peacock feathers.