A 4-minute Yoga Practice

I received this standing flow practice a number of years ago from my teacher, David McAmmond.  Here, the beautiful and sacred surroundings of Ho’nau’nau on the Big Island of Hawai’i inspired me to practice spontaneously, and David’s flow came naturally.

If you are familiar with the practice of hatha (physical) yoga, I invite you to watch once or twice, and then practice this vinyasa (flow) on your own from memory. Notice that I have included no verbal or written cuing, no music.  My challenge for you is to see what comes up for you as you embark on this simple, and short, but potentially transformative practice.

But please, use your own prudent, judgement on the suitability of the flow for you.  Perhaps you have a neurological disorder and balancing poses are contraindicated without supervision.  Or perhaps a shoulder or lumbar region injury could be complicated by the arm movements or the movement out of the forward bend.  In such cases, err on the side of caution and practice only those parts that can be done safely.

I’d love to hear your comments as to what the practice evokes in you, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually!

 

[youtube]http://youtu.be/hZpw_FsJlYk[/youtube]

 

 

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Being a Yoga Innovator: Building Your Own Yoga Flow

Yoga Flow:  A Fun Way to Practice Your Own Yoga

Developing your own yoga flows can be a fun, active, and creative way to bring yourself to your yoga mat every day.  But before you do, you may want to know a little about the semantics, benefits, pitfalls, and guiding principles for working with yoga in flow.

man and instructor standing side bend xsmallWhat is a Yoga Flow?

Yoga poses strung together in certain ways are called flows, or, in Sanskrit, vinyasa (from Wikipedia, accessed July 17 2013, “nyasa” meaning “to place” and “vi” meaning “in a special way”).  I’ve always thought of vinyasas as poses joined together by the breath, but this is an oversimplification.  I like Maty Ezraty’s definition in a Yoga Journal forum for yoga teachers:

Vinyasa means a gradual progression or a step-by-step approach that systematically and appropriately takes a student from one point and safely lands them at the next point. It is sometimes described as the “breathing system,” or the union of breath and movement that make up the steps.

Key words in Maty Ezraty’s definition are “step-by-step”, “systematically”, “appropriately”, and “safely”.

I’d like to propose a simple methodology for those of you who have not spent much time flowing, and for others of you who may be looking for a fresh approach.  Continue reading

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Summer 2013 News

In this issue:

  • Black Strap Proceeds Donated to Flood Relief
  • Blog on Yoga for the Inner Critic Posted
  • Cancelled this Week:  LFY® Chakra Clearing Meditation
  • Early-Bird Pricing for Weekly Fall Classes Expires July 19th

Black Strap Workshop Proceeds Donated to Flood Relief

Proceeds from the Black Strap mini-workshops held during the last week of June have been donated to the Siksika Nation Disaster Relief Fund.  Thank you, yogis, for supporting this compelling cause while relieving back tension, improving shoulder and hip mobility, and improving posture!  I hope you are enjoying your new and improved instruction “manuals.”  I will be working on the few remaining pieces this summer.

Blog on Yoga for the Inner Critic Posted

You can read it here.

This Weeks’s LFY® Chakra Clearing Meditation Workshop Cancelled Due to Insufficient Registration

Perhaps due to vacation, Stampede, or my not sufficiently communicating the benefits of LFY Chakra Clearing, these two workshops did not attract enough registrants.  Watch for future opportunities to learn this remarkable mind-clearing protocol!

Fall 2013 Weekly Class Registration is Underway – Early Bird Pricing Expires July 19!

Classes will be offered Monday evenings, Tuesday midday, and Wednesday evenings, all at our intimate little log cabin nestled above the ravines in Shaganappi Community.  For the details, see here.

 

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://yoginsight.com/summer-2013-news/