Wednesday Yoga (8/29) ~ Core Theme

Sorry for the delay in posting a theme, but I was away all weekend and didn't return until late last night. As promised last week, this week, I would dedicate 15 minutes at the end of practice for abdominal work. Therefore, to complement the ab work, we worked on focusing on the core. Since last week's class was a hit, we incorporated 15 minutes of sun salutations towards the end of practice.

As always, any comments or suggestions about tonight's class are welcomed and in fact very much appreciated!
Tomorrow, I will be teaching from 730-830PM at Bally's Townline, and it will certainly be a restorative day (especially after tonight's practice!). I hope to see you tomorrow...

Cheers,
Sammi

Wednesday Yoga (8/22) ~ Stuck in a Routine?

As you may notice, class format is generally predictable - 15 mins warm-up and salutations followed by wave sequences and ending with some final stretches and focus on the theme.

To break that habit, this week's class will be completely different (well, not completely...). I will be changing the formats around a little, and perhaps surprise you here and there.

Getting stuck in a rut is no fun, so to change things up a little, I have decided to take a different approach this week. The theme will be... well, "no theme and just go with the flow" as vinyasa teaches us to do. Some of you may love it, and some of you may be indifferent, but what I will guarantee is that you will have a good workout and stretch!

After this class, I will rely on some of you to provide me with feedback as it is a different style than what we have grown so accustomed to. Please be candid - it takes a lot of offend me, so no worries.

I look forward to seeing you in class tomorrow! Cheers!

Wednesday Yoga (8/15) ~ Finding Humor in Balancing Poses

Classes may have seem a bit intense lately with all the vinyasa flows back-to-back-to-back, so let's bring back some humor and fun to class with some balancing poses. Balancing poses often appear exotic and sometimes, it appears to be a lot harder than it actually is.

There are two types of balancing poses - one that focuses on the lower body (standing balances) and on the upper body (arm balances). Throughout our practice, I will try to incorporate both types; however, with the time limitations, we may only be able to focus on one.

If you have any suggestions for balancing poses that you would like to see incorporated into this week's class, send me a note! Speak, or forever hold your silence (and deal with what I plan for the class).

I look forward to seeing you and as always, bring your energy and your sense of humor! It will be a fun class (as always, right?). :)

Wednesday Yoga (8/08) ~ Hip Hip Hooray!!!

So many poses in yoga depend upon stable hips and bring attention to one's hip placement - "squaring hips", "stacking hips", "opposing hips", "opening hips", you get it!

This week's focus will be on opening the hips and learning its placement within every pose. As promised, we'll keep it simple yet challenging this week - no tricks this week. :)

If you have any suggestions related to hip-opening poses, please let me know of them.

I look forward to seeing you Wednesday! Hip Hip Hooray!!! ;) (like the title?)

Wednesday Yoga (8/01) ~ Vinyasa Flow ~ Going With the Flow

So I know this post is a little bit late, but I figured I post it anyway for those who missed out on tonight's class and was curious to know what we did.

So you hear me say in classes all the time, "vinyasa flow", but often times, we go through it so quickly that we forget how exactly to do it properly. Vinyasa flows are incorporated throughout a vinyasa yoga practice so much so that it feels like it's a class full of push-ups, or in yogic terms, chaturangas. So tonight, we practiced the proper way to do vinyasa flows, introduced a variety of different ways and modifications for them, and of course, repeated them over and over and over and over and over..... and yes, over again! It's about learning to synchronize it with our breath, allowing the breath to trigger the next move.

Thanks to those who came out, and for those who are new to yoga, don't be disappointed if you felt the practice was too challenging for you, because tonight's class was a bit more advanced than what I normally teach. With practice, patience, dedication, and a sense of humor, anything can be achieved. Vinyasa teaches us to "go with the flow", which is essentially what vinyasa means. It teaches us to ride the wave and not fight it. Learn to accept where we are today and see the potential to grow tomorrow...

Om shanti...