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Lisa V.

Been a while since I’ve done a yoga class… this was a perfect reintroduction-nice space and great teacher. Really enjoyed it.

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Yoga is more fun when we do it together! 🥳 Spring workshops in the planning for all you big kids 🌈 Let’s play!🤸🏼‍♀️ #playtimeforadults #partneryoga #acroyoga #rainbowyoga #yoga #kidsyoga #play #laugh #joy #connect #togetherness #balance #yogaplay #yogagames #loveandalliscoming 📸 from @rainbowkidsyoga training in 2018

Ahh Chaturanga to Up-Dog... that funky yoga press-up! Teaching us control, core engagement, upper body strength, & harnessing our inner power! 🔥 I love it. As yogis, we may perform this move hundreds, if not thousands of times over, especially if you practise vinyasa flow 💪🏽 But it is a tricky one 🤨 This week I’ve been encouraging my students to really slow down investigate how and where they are moving in their bodies during this transition. Using the wall is a great way to practise without putting strain on the wrists 🙌🏽 Step 1- tuck your tail under, lift your pubis up towards your lower ribs, abdomen engage 🍎 Step 2- bend the elbows straight down towards the floor, keep your body rigid, think like a stick- avoid sagging in the middle, no bananas here! 🍌❌ 3. The hardest bit (in my opinion) -transition from Chaturanga to Up-Dog. Try this- drag your hands down the wall (without actually moving them), roll your shoulders away from your ears, keep your chin in and back of your neck long, and send the chest and rib cage forwards and up the wall 🖐🏽💪🏽 feel the deeper opening in your chest when you don’t throw your head back! ❤️ ➡️ Perhaps the most important thing here is keeping the lower back strong and safe- DON’T drop your hips forwards & sag into your lower back, instead keep it lifted & empowered & engaged!! In this method, your hips should pretty much remain fixed in space as you open instead from your chest and the centre of your heart 💖 maybe you straighten your arms, or maybe not 💁🏼‍♀️ When we stay strong in this transition, we are harnessing all of that potential strength & energy we’ve just created for ourselves! Don’t shortchange yourself, you deserve a strong & healthy chaturanga! 🔥 Side note- Compression in your lower back, done mindfully and gently, can feel really great & free up more movement in the short term, but be careful that it doesn’t become a habit! Stay adaptable, stay strong, stay safe ✨ #yogalove #yogaforlife #yoga #goodmovement #healthymovement #chaturanga #upwardsfacingdog #vinyasa #flow #healthyyoga #yogatechnique #yogateacher #lowerbacklove #lowerbackhealth #compression #openyourheart #chestextension #loveandalliscomi

There’s a LOT going on in downwards facing dog! 🙃 ‘Externally rotate your upper arms’ is a common verbal cue in Down Dog posture, intended to encourage you to release tension from your neck. But without hands on adjustment directly from your teacher it can be difficult to understand what ‘external rotation’ actually means, especially once you’re upside down and weight bearing 🤷🏽‍♂️ So here’s how I teach it- encouraging students to find it and FEEL it for themselves in child’s pose, BEFORE advancing it to weight bearing through the hands 👍🏼 Give it a go, see what you find, and let me know 😘 1. Start in child’s pose. Have your hands shoulder width distance apart, reach forwards, flip your palms up to the sky, & slide your little fingers forwards slightly. Try to reach with your thumbs to the ground on each side, see if you can feel the ‘External Rotation’ happening from up in your shoulders (almost like your trying to turn your elbows straight down into the earth). Try and breathe between your shoulder blades in this position. Keep the same ‘external rotation’ in your shoulders, but this time flip your palms face down and ground through your thumbs 👍🏼 2. Now try in down dog- tuck your toes, lift your knees from the floor and reach your tail up and back behind you. Now see if you can find that same ‘external rotation’ in your shoulders that we practised in child’s pose, it might feel as if your armpits are turning in to face each other- but at the same time keep plugging down through the thumb side of your hands, balancing the forces of the body 🙃 When we externally rotate the upper arms not only do we release unnecessary tension down the neck, we also lock the energy and strength in, not losing it through sagging in the shoulders ➡️ See the difference in my posture in the video. Hopefully this cue will help to make your down dog more comfortable, more balanced, and ultimately more sustainable so that you can keep practising the yoga you love for life 🙏🏽 #downdog #downwardsfacingdog #yogatips #yoga #inversion #weightbearing #externallyrotate #movement #yogateacher #yogacues #necktension #shouldertension #yogaforlife #energy #strength #loveandalliscoming

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