Water Earth the benefits of Yoga Postures

After teaching my regular Tuesday night Flow Class I couldn’t help but analyze what the class was about.  I was excited to present a slower version of the past two-week’s class, yet challenge the students.  They had asked me to slow it down a bit so that they might find the poses, before moving to the next posture.  That I did.  Taking my lead from a Baron Baptiste Athletic yoga class, I interpreted my own flow and integrated my training style into a one-hour series.  I start the class with transitional openings starting from the neck, shoulders, and mid-back and low back.  I then moved into the standing postures, but added length and strength challenges to build strength, balance and stamina.  We moved into a hip opening series that was more challenging than the past classes, received some groaning, but smiles of relief when we finished.  And then ended with twists and relaxing the mind and body, and breathing.  Nice.

Well, I have to admit that the faces at the end of the class puzzled me.  

As a teacher, “developing the group” who attend class, is one of my favorite things.  The pace of the class with the flowing vinyasas had “stoked” the group in past weeks.  My goal with the new challenge was to add a lot more “earth”.  The “root”.  “Grounding.”

And we did.  Bringing awareness to the benefits of our yoga practice that we might not readily think of.   

“The Flow”, to me, in the movement represents “water”.  A practice that is flowing is desirable when we find our selves stuck, stagnant or in need of some “movement”.  I love this about the flow class, you really feel invigorated.  

“The Earth” represents stability.  Grounding.  And a yoga class full of grounded poses, working the root of our body, is a way in which to balance and ground the craziness of our daily life.  To feel stability physically and mentally.  

Recognizing that a yoga class is not just a great work out,  which it is, but that a yoga class is your time to work out all the stuff of everyday life and balance it.  This is so you can walk out of that class feeling whole.

The beauty of the yoga poses is that they really do have an effect us that way.  On our mind, our thinking process, our emotional process, our faith in good things happening.  Joy.  The poses we choose, the practice we do, will have so many benefits in balancing out our daily imbalances, if we allow it.    Namaste.