Journey Into Yoga

Working with a yoga block to build strength and deepen our connection to the core, I'll guide you through supported curl-ups and show you how engaging the thighs around the block activates the muscles from your pelvis all the way to your navel. Whether you have a foam block, a towel, or a folded blanket, you'll be able to join in and feel the difference this simple prop can make. Let's breathe, move, and build strength—together.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Turning today to a part of the body that can be a hot bed for many of us - the calves. A very common complaint, tight calves can happen for a multitude of reasons, which will look at today.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We have touched on the quads in past episodes, but today we are going to a bit deeper. When we work with releases into the quads, it's important to be kind to yourself and not move into the area of being in pain.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our work in today's episode will be to attempt to release the glute muscles using a tennis ball - this work can be deep so it is important to breathe and soften into the tennis ball.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we continue releasing tension from the body from top to bottom, today we will be working on the area at the bottom of the ribcage. An interesting spot, which may have some or a lot of tension.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The area we will be working on today is the upper shoulder area, an often tight part of many of our bodies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we will be working through a passive practice or a receiving practice, meaning you will be more in a receptive role to the feed back the tennis balls are giving to you - it should feel like a massage if done correctly, or a release, so we will make sure the positioning of the tennis balls is correct so that this can happen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thunderbolt not only stretches the feet but also encourage proper alignment of the spine, In addition promotes healthy posture and relieving tension in the back muscles. This pose also provides a beautiful stretch to the ankles and feet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This pose provides a very deep stretch into the sole of the foot and is very beneficial to the health and wellness of the feet, as our feet hold a lot of tension.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rolling a ball under the foot is an extremely effective way to relax and loosen the bottom of the feet which I like to refer to as an overused area of the body - we literally out all of our weight on this part of the body so yes - it needs some attention.Also! Avery has a weekly Substack called Declutter U. It is full of great ideas to declutter your life. Sign up now and start making space in your life.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we continue on with our journey into the feet, I want to encourage you to do these actions whenever and wherever you want - they are easy and quick and can bring a lot of relief to not only the feet but also to the legs.Also! Avery has a weekly Substack called Declutter U. It is full of great ideas to declutter your life. Sign up now and start making space in your life.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our feet take a beating and its important that we try and take care of them. For the next few weeks I am going to look at a few different yogic actions that can help strengthen and stretch the feet, kicking off this series today with something I like to refer to as “finding space between the toes.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The sun salute in yoga is a sequence designed to warm the body inside out. When people talk to me about “hot yoga” I most typically respond with “Do enough of these and you will be hot, trust me!” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we re-visit downward facing dog, we arrive at a pose that strengthens arms, core, legs, wrists, and shoulders. It Stretches the hamstrings, spine, and shoulders and also energizes the body and mind. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cobra and upward facing dog both help to open the chest, strengthen the back body and also stretch out the abdominal muscles. Both poses do similar things, with upward facing dog being a more challenging version. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's episode we have a choice in our pose as we journey through a sun salute - should I lower all the way down to my mat or should I hover half way in the more energizing chatturanga - decisions decisions!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Plank pose is a strong and energizing pose that you have most likely heard of in some way. It is definitely challenging so I am for sure going to give you options as it requires a lot of strength to do. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our next posture will include a choice. Lunge or low lunge will be our next posture and which ever option you choose, it provides many benefits.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Standing forward fold and Standing half forward fold are the next poses in the sun salute journey, and we will explore both of them today as they go nicely together, like peanut butter and jam!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we will continue on our sun salute journey moving to the next posture in the sequence which is upward salute. Even though this pose is sometimes overlooked as a connector pose, it is important in and of itself.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I have titled this episode “prayer pose” as the start of us embarking on a little adventure in our yoga journey. We are going to journey into each component or pose that make up a complete sun salute beginning with prayer pose! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Peri-menopause and menopause affect many of us during our life, and some people are affected more than others. There are many ways to manage the symptoms that sometimes come with these stages of life, and yoga is an excellent starting point in my opinion. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Recently I was asked the question: I seems to have low back pain and am wondering what yoga poses can help alleviate this issue?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The answer may surprise you, and it is: yes and no! Sometimes we mistake tight hamstrings for an arm length issue, as the tighter the hamstrings the more difficulty we will have touching the floor in standing poses. However, longer arms definitely helps, and because we canot change the length of our arms, there are other things we can do to compensate!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I have noticed that when I do a Downward dog, my heels do not touch the ground - why is this??See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Recently, I have been asked a very interesting question about the much dreaded foot cramp…why do I get them when I am doing yoga, and what can I do so as not to get them? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

FULL DISCLOSURE ALERT! I debated doing this pose as it is a bit complicated to guide into, especially auditorily - but it's a lovely twist and I really wanted to include it in this series so here goes nothing!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In terms of a small recap of the pose which I feel bares repeating, legs up the wall is one of the most wonderful yoga poses to combat anxiety and stress. It helps to stretch and lengthen the hamstrings, opens the cheat, and places the body in an inversion which changes the flow i our bodies assisting in calming the nervous system.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, we will explore a restorative posture that will just help you rest and relax - the fact that it can help to ease the lower back is just an added bonus!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Todays, we will explore a restorative posture that not only opens the heart, but also can help alleviate feelings of sadness or the blues. This gentle backbend will allow you to rest and relax, and the help of a support will make it all the more delicious!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Considered a deep rinse into the internal organs, twists help to bring fresh flow of blood and oxygen and fluids in the internal body. Twists do many things for our internal bodies including encouraging digestion and good functioning of the organs, and todays pose Alexander twist to a support is new exception.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Supported bridge pose encourages some gentle energy into the legs and a nice stretch into the quadriceps muscles. It helps to lengthen the entire front of the body and on an emotional level it can help boost the spirit, provide energy and stave off any sad feelings or depression. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Supported child's pose, a posture that is a forward folding pose, helps to create calm and ease in the body and mind. This posture aims at helping to alleviate stress and anxiety in the body and mind that we may feel from time to time. A hip openers, it also helps to open the ankles and feet, as well as lengthen and stretch the entire back body including the head and neck.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This pose is a heart opener and helps to open the shoulder and chest. It is a wonderful way to boost the heart and is thought to assist in alleviating depression or sadness that we may feel from time to time. It's also thought to bring energy and calm to the body and can be held for many minutes. Additionally it helps to open the hips and groins. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amongst other things, peaceful warrior is a heart opener where we find an open heart both physically and emotionally. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Think of your body as a tree - your leg is the trunk and the upper body is the branches free to move with the wind because we know that the trunk will remain steady and strong and deeply rooted into the ground. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This pose incorporates an element of balance, as well as strength and is also seen as a full body stretch posture. The nature of the pose is often thought to be energyzing and also rejuvenating to the nervous system. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sometimes referred as the half chair pose or “funky chair pose,” this posture is also wonderful for providing a hip opener as well. Sometimes it feels like the hip opener is incidental because so much of our focus tends to turn to the balancing portion as we literally bring attention to staying upright and steady.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When we worked with pose supta bhadda konasana, we saw a nice gentle posture that addressed the groins, and today, we will also work with a posture that helps to bring a nice stretch to this area, albeit a bit deeper.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's posture, figure 4 lying down pose also works into these areas but is typically seen as a bit of a lighter variation as compared to pigeon pose. If you have very tight hips and struggled with pigeon, don't worry you are not alone.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Balance in yoga is a practice that goes well beyond the physical body. Yes, the pose is done physically, but if the mind wanders the balance is very hard to maintain. Staying present with your mind, body and breath are crucial to help stay steady in a balance pose.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are many reasons why we tend to have tight hips, one of them being that we spend way too much time in chairs. When we sit in such a way, the hips end up being compressed and tightening up. This sitting behaviour is also hard on the posts muscles which trend to be tight in many of us.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we are going to work into a posture that will really help to open up the shoulders, although I must confess, this posture does not have a formal name per se…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A deep twisting pose, revolved triangle strengthens and stretches the legs, opens the chest to improve breathing, relieves mild back pain, and improves your sense of balance. This pose especially opens the hamstrings and hips and as a result, it is often helpful to have a yoga prop available in order to help be in this pose, such as a yoga block.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sometimes if you have tight hips and groins, uppavista konasana can be more difficult so I will give you some options to create more ease in the posture if this applies to you. One of the wonderful things in this pose is the delicious stretch to the spine so it's important to be able to adjust the positioning of the hips so this stretch can happen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I discuss the different variations of Bridge Pose, a heart-opening yoga posture. I'll explain proper alignment and breathing techniques for the unsupported version and demonstrates the supported variation using a prop underneath the sacrum. Both variations offer benefits, including opening the chest area and stretching the shoulders, legs, back, and neck.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Utthita Parsvakonasana is our pose of the day, in english we refer to it as extended side angle. When I first did this pose I was very challenged by it. Similar in some ways to warrior 2 as it strengthens and works strongly into the legs, knees, and ankles, it also provides a deep stretch into the legs. Often just referred to as parsvakonasana, It also works the upper body strengthening the arms and opening the shoulders. This pose also provides some opening into the heart or backhanding shape, and also helps to open up the sides of the body from ankles to wrists. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sitting on the floor takes us back to our roots - there was a time when we didn't even think twice about doing so and the body could do this easily. Habits through the years creates differences in the body that can make this kind of sitting not as easy as we age. So for today's posture, I want us to sit on the floor but also to find ease. We are going to do both variations - c crossed legs and also legs extended. We have covered these two poses previously - sukasana (episode 28) and dandasana (episode 31) but today we are going to do each of these poses a bit differently - with our backs resting into a wall. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The quadriceps are a group of muscles present on the front of the thigh. They consist of four distinct muscles: the rectus femoris, the vastus lateralis, the vastus intermedius, and the vastus medialis. To me, the important thing to remember is that these muscles tend to be tight…very tight in many of us. These muscles work a lot and because of this, they need to be stretched.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Although in the warrior family, it does have some differences from warrior 1 and 2, particularly in the positioning of the feet and legs, but we will get to that in a bit. Before I do, I want to discuss some of the benefits this pose has to offer. Active warrior brings both strength and energy to the body and mind; the legs are strengthened and also stretched. There is a beautiful stretch into the hamstrings and also the hips are strengthened and stretched in active warrior. The pose does challenge our balance as well and can strengthen the muscles of the core. Turning to the upper body, the arms are active and strong which brings strength and length to the upper body as well. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fire log - whether you love this pose or hate it, there is no question it provides a deep stretch to the outer hips {sound effect DEEEEEEP}. I have always liked the name firedog because this pose will, without a doubt, bring some heat into the body particularly into the hips. In addition to bringing heat to the body, it is also beneficial to do this pose after the body has been warmed so ideally this pose is does closest to the end of a yoga session or after the body has been warmed somewhat. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.