It was an incredible week at Dream Space Yoga in Shenzhen, with strong Shiva Power classes each morning, and afternoon’s looking at Anatomy and breaking down the poses.
Handstand Workshop in Beijing!
We’ve got a Core Strength Workshop coming up this weekend at Space in Shanghai! If you want to be able to do arm balance poses and handstands you need to have a strong core, and this doesn’t just mean the superficial abdominal muscles. Join me this weekend and learn about the function of all the core muscles on the front, back, and sides of the trunk. We touched on a little of this work in the Handstand Workshop. We even did 108 Yogi Bicycles! A very auspicious number! Thank you to everyone who came out to practice and went deep with me in this Handstand Workshop! Hope to see you in class or at a future workshop!
Backbending Workshop at Space Academy yesterday!
This was a big workshop yesterday. We packed a lot of information into 2.5hrs. We discussed yoga theory, philosophy, anatomy review, Asana Breakdown, the spine, the tug of war actions, why we backbend in yoga, and we looked at a number of backbends in greater detail. When we backbend we are primarily looking at movement in the saggital plane, and poses that take the hips into extension, the spine into extension, and the shoulders into either flexion or extension.
Backbending Workshop at Space Yoga in Shanghai!
Backbends have never been easy for me. My hip flexors are incredibly tight. I’ve been working on opening them up for a long time. The progress is slow but I’m making progress. And it’s incredibly rewarding!
One of the challenges I see in our yoga community is the rise of yoga as a business. You have to be very careful as a yoga teacher. Many of the things that your students need are not the things that they want. You can see how they are out of balance and you can help them find more balance. But if your goal is to be popular or if you are running a business you have to be careful you aren’t just trying to please your customers and always giving them what they want. Swami Satyananda has this great quote where he says, “first I find out what my students want and then I try to give them the opposite.”
Hip Opening Workshop this Saturday.
On Saturday we had a big hip opening workshop as part of our Shiva Yoga 50hr Intensive! We focus on the hips a lot in yoga. When we have full range of motion at the hip joint we can do a lot to prevent injuries to the low back and the knees. The hip is a ball and socket joint, which provides a lot of movement. We can move at the hips in all three planes. We can flex and extend the hips in the Sagittal plane. We can abduct and adduct the hips in the Coronal plane. And we can externally rotate and internally rotate the hips in the Transverse plane. If we have limited range of motion in the Saggital plane — then the low back could become compromised. The spine wasn’t meant to flex and extend the way the hips can flex and extend. Transverse plane. If we have limited range of motion in the Transverse plane, especially external rotation, then the knees can become compromised. The knee joint is a simple hinge joint. There a small degree of movement right to left at the knees but, mostly, this joint was meant to flex and extend. If your hips are not able to externally rotate, this can put a lot of pressure on the knees to try to make up for this lack of movement and this can lead to injury. Protect your low back and your knees, release stored tension and find balance, and prepare for seated pranayama and meditation practices. Some of the reasons it’s a good idea to open your hips! Great work on Saturday, everyone!!! Thank you for going into the fire with me.
Pranayama Workshop!
In Hatha Yoga — pranayama is used to balance the nervous system, bring clarity to the mind, and remove the veil of darkness that is covering the inner Light.
In Raja Yoga — pranayama is used to make the mind fit for concentration and is a preparation for meditation.
A very powerful evening working with the breath. Great job, everyone!
Some questions to consider: Why do we have two nostrils? Why would you want to predominantly breathe through the nose vs. the mouth?
This workshop kicked off a big weekend of Shiva Power classes, Shiva Meditation classes, and a Hip Opening and Arm Balancing Workshop! 🙏❤️Thank you to everyone who came to the workshop and thank you to Baja Soul Yoga for hosting. We have Asana Breakdown all week and then another big weekend coming up. Hope you can join us!
Handstand Workshop!
Handstand Workshop today at Aladdin Yoga in Shenzhen! We kick off our 3 Day Weekend Intensive today. Excited to work with these students. There are so many poses you can practice to improve your Handstand. Plank Pose is one of the best warm up poses for Handstand. If you have a solid Plank Pose and a solid Chatturanga (Low Plank) you are strong enough for most arm balances, including the Handstand.
Weekend 1: Foundation & Form - Alignment Weekend
