Connecting Yoga

30/10/2020

What I love about Ashtanga yoga Mysore style is that it provides space for us to explore one breath at a time at our speed. And there is room for play, for we can discover new ways of approaching asana so that it supports us at that moment. This pose Supta Vajrasana is a posture I'm personally exploring during pregnancy, as an alternative for the pose Bhekasana. It encourages a stretch at the front of the hips without having to lie on your stomach, and the reclined version allows you to be on your back (if that feels comfortable for you) while offering a small heart opener. It carves out time for rest which is essential for healing and nourishing ourselves and our little ones. Ashtanga can be sometimes perceived as an all or nothing practice however it's a system that can be navigated in many different ways. It's not about filling a prescription but allowing the postures fit you.

Weekly Classes:
✨ Ashtanga Monday 10.30 am
✨Beginners Ashtanga noon
✨Restorative Yoga Sunday 9am

24/10/2020

"It is important to let go again and again, noticing when we're distracted from the truth by personal needs and ego attachments. In this way perhaps we get a taste for freedom by fully embodying a sense of what could be called the "True Self", which is everything, everywhere."
-When Love Comes To Light - Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor

*Please join us for Restorative Yoga tomorrow at 9 am via Zoom at https://www.dallasashtangayogashala.com/

13/09/2020

The breath is the thread between the mind and body. It's what moves us from the dance between the silence and the noise into a place of stillness and awareness. Anatomically its the breath that massages and can rejuvenate the energy within the pelvic floor, and can calm our whole system. Breathe in a healing breath. Listen deeply. What is it saying to you? Your breath is your friend.

This week's classes:
* Ashtanga Yoga Mondays 10.30am
* Beginners Ashtanga Yoga Wednesdays Dallas Ashtanga Yoga Shala 12pm
* Restorative Yoga Sundays Dallas Ashtanga Yoga Shala 9am

01/09/2020

Yogi's! I'll be teaching a Restorative class on Sunday morning's at 9am at Dallas Ashtanga Yoga Shala. It will be a perfect opportunity to unwind after practicing ashtanga all week. Couple this with the weekly oil bath and it’s sure to be a game-changer. Props will be used in this online-only class so gather what blocks (or a small stack of books), straps, and bolsters (or pillows) you have in preparation for this Sunday’s class.

Zoom info can be found at www.dallasashtangayogashala.com

31/08/2020

Slowly Slowly we find a connection. After having a baby or when we've finished our menstrual cycle, we can find it beneficial to slowly re-enter our Ashtanga Yoga practice, by taking the time to find a our breath and observe how it can support our yoga postures. I personally used this SShh breath and these body connections to help heal my and to feel strong to practice plank again.
1) Find hands and knees position, release diaphragm on the inhale. Let the exhale draw the navel in towards the center of the body and draw the ribs in. Press hands down through the earth, and lengthen the crown of the head and sitting bones.
2) Engage the feet by reaching back through the arches and find the connection between the arches of the feet and sitting bones. Keep the pelvis in neutral whilst reaching the crown of the head forward and back through the feet.
3)Overtime, when you feel steady through the breath and feel a connection through the body, try straightening the legs by sending the front of the thighs up.
Let the breath be your guide

06/08/2020

Do you ever wonder what Mula Bandha is all about? The wonderful Richard Freeman explains the truth of Mula Bandha below ❤️❤️

Richard Freeman explains and chants verses from the Aparoksanubhuti. Learn the truth of Mula Bandha, it may not be as expected. Originally streamed live from...

05/08/2020

Greetings!
Zoom in for Beginners Ashtanga Today (and every Wednesday) at 12pm (CST) at Dallas Ashtanga Yoga Shala

Find balance from a strong foundation

16/07/2020

A breathing tool to help with a . This can also be done lying down on the floor with knees bent. Come to sitting on your sitting bones. Place a scarf or yoga belt around the lower rib cage, and drop the ribs, stacking them over the pelvis (the breath will help to do this also). Inhale deeply into the scarf, front side, and back (wide breath) while visualizing the diaphragm dropping and releasing down. Exhale making a SShh sound through the mouth whilst gently encouraging the lower naval, mid naval and the rib cage to draw towards your midline. Feel length through the spine while rooting down through the pelvis and reaching up through the crown of the head; connecting head and tail. This breath can be applied to your yoga postures, moving from a place of connection ❤️

09/07/2020

As this month is awareness month, I’ll be sharing a few ways to navigate diastasis through yoga. One of my biggest takeaways, when I was working on healing my diastasis, was to move from a point of connection; that connection is the breath. The respiratory diaphragm is a part of the ‘core’ muscles therefore the way we breathe has an effect on the intra- abdominal pressure. Learning how to relax the diaphragm so that it descends down on the inhalation and then increase the length of the exhale can help with finding that connection to the transverse and pelvic floor. A ratio of 4:8 breath and slowly increasing the length of the exhale to 10 / 12 count is something to explore. When practicing yoga with a diastasis, the breath should be the instigator for asana, along with body connections and self-inquiry. Let the breath be your guide ❤️

24/06/2020

Dallas Ashtanga Yoga Shala are sharing recorded Ashtanga classes, all can be found on the website when you pay for a monthly membership or a single drop in class.

Today, Sarah Hollingsworth and I recorded a Beginners Ashtanga class which will soon be included in the collection!

Watch this space! For live classes please zoom in tonight at 6.30pm CST for Beginners Ashtanga.

26/05/2020

A Great article!

The pelvic floor should expand downward, forming the hammock, but also release upward.

“When you inhale, the diaphragm softens, drops down like a parachute, and the pelvic floor responds, lengthening and softening. When you exhale, it’s the inverse,” Lindsey Vestal (Occupational Therapist) explains. “So instead of talking about Kegels, we should talk about breathing.”

A year after I gave birth, both of my knees had given out, and my hips ached constantly, and something just wasn’t right with my va**na. Conventional wisdom would have me feeling stretched out, but as I started to confide in other new moms, I…

17/05/2020

In life there are times where we feel we are being pulled in different directions. Our practice is to find balance.

Join me tomorrow and for at Divine Center of Yoga at 10.30am (CST)