Your Best Yoga Outdoor Yoga Class Recap!

I wanted to say a big thank you to all who came out to the Your Best Yoga Outdoor class this evening!! It was such a great class - with the levels of experience ranging from 1st time Yogi's, people with limitations/injuries, experienced Yogi's, and of course a lot of eager Yogi's. I love taking my Yoga practice outside in the summer and am glad you did too! I really hope to see you all in September when Your Best Yoga starts regular programming sessions again. Have a great Summer everyone!!

Snacks for pre or post Yoga Practice

Triangle pose legs

Short Savasana before the mosquitoes came out :) 

For more information about the Your Best Yoga Program and to subscribe to the mailing list so you don't miss out on September classes - click here! 

Your Best Yoga Manifesto: Props are Helpers not Hinderer's

Photo found here

When I decided that I wanted to start my own Yoga program, it wasn't just because I wanted to teach more. It was because I wanted to create a space and program that I could infuse with my own thoughts and values about practising Yoga. I feel like my manifesto for the Your Best Yoga program touches on each of the values that I hope to bring to the program and I want to spend some time "breaking down" each line of it for better understanding. Today we are at line 6 of the Manifesto - if you need to catch up here's part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4! 

In my day (ie: non-Yoga)  job we talk about adapting the environment to be a good fit for a person – for example you don’t expect a person in a wheelchair to navigate stairs, you build a ramp. I’d like to think that Yoga props are the environmental adaptation that some people need in order to enjoy a safe and effective practice. When I first started practising yoga I was attending studios that didn’t use or feature Yoga props prominently, so when I was first introduced to props I admittedly was a bit hesitant to use them. I wasn’t sure how to use them or really what they were for. Since learning how props can help support the body and provide access to correct alignment for people I would definitely consider myself a prop enthusiast, however, there are some people who still hesitate to use props as they feel like they are used as a “crutch” instead of a helper. In my experience, this doesn’t have to be the case. 

When I am teaching a beginner class, if props are available, I will almost always show the pose using the prop. Why? Because props allow people to access poses in a safe and correct way that they may not be able to otherwise. I have seen many a collapsing Triangle pose, where the persons chest is facing the floor and they are trying to get their hand to the ground. By providing the block under their hand they are able to find the opening in the chest, keep the working in the legs and actually hold the shape of the pose for a few breaths. You aren’t losing out on anything or weakening your practice by using the prop, quite the opposite really. Correct alignment that allows you to open the body and access the breath is more important than “deeper” incorrect stretching, in my opinion. So I will always show the beginner Yogi how to use props, and hopefully the more they practice and the more open their body becomes, the less they may need the props – Virasana is a great example of this as people often start sitting on a high support when they’re quads are very tight and eventually they can sit on a small height or none at all as they lengthen their muscles. Alternatively, if the challenge in a pose is due to something like body proportion, they may always have to use a prop, which should certainly not be considered a hindrance or crutch. 

Tell me, are you team "Yoga Props" or do you prefer not to use them in your practice??

Yoga Pose: Triangle Video Tutorial

Triangle - Trikonasana - is a beautiful and challenging standing posture. It stretches and strengthens the legs - specifically the quads, hamstrings, and hips - strengthens the core, lengthens the spine and the sides of the waist, and opens the heart space. Keep reading to learn how to safely move in to this posture and how to modify it to fit your needs. Check out the video at the end for visual cues! 

Difficulty Level: Beginner - Intermediate

Step one: Beginning in tadasana, facing the long edge of your yoga mat, take a wide step bringing your feet about  a leg length apart or a little wider. Check to make sure the baby toe edge of the feet are parallel with the short edges of the mat. 

Step two: With an exhale, turn the right toes out 90 degrees. Make sure that you are turning the leg from the top of the thigh so that the right knee is pointing the same direction as the toes. If it is comfortable in your body, you may try turning the left toes in slightly. 

Step three: With an inhale, bring the arms up to shoulder height. Extend through the finger tips so the arms stay long and strong!

Step four: With an exhale, side bend from the right hip crease, keeping both legs straight if possible. As you side bend, reach forward through the right arm, finding the length through the spine and the side body. 

Step five: Bring the right arm down either to the block behind the right calf, or in front of the right shin (see video for details), stretching the left arm straight up. 

Step six: Breathe and Stretch

Continue lengthening the spine by reaching through the crown of the head. 

Continue grounding through the feet and legs. 

Lift the left shoulder up and back, lifting the heart space so the chest opens. 

Try staying here for 5 deep breaths. 

Step seven: To come out, press into both feet, firming into the legs, lifting the upper body back to standing. Then release the arms, turn the right toes to face the same direction as the left, and heel toe the feet in. Give those legs a little shake out and move to the other side! 

Note for beginners: To help with stability in this pose, try it with the baby to edge of your left foot pressed into a wall. Also, if the block is too low for you to reach when on it's highest height, you can use a chair instead!