The heart. The single most important and powerful organ in the body. A closed heart can lead to all sorts of physical and emotional problems. But when the heart is open, the possibilities are endless. We become more accepting, humble and genuine. Our joys become greater and our sorrows bearable . . . not to mention all the physical benefits that come from having an open heart. So if you’re looking to open up your heart a little more, you’ve come to the right place. Yoga can help the heart, through both the mind and the physical body.
This week’s featured classes invite you to open your heart to possibility, to forgiveness and change this holiday season.
- Power to the Heart with Kia Miller: Enjoy this wonderful healing class for the heart, that promotes a heart centered consciousness. Class includes a chant meditation that activates the higher centers of the brain leaving your feeling lifted and lighter. The more we align our physical and subtle bodies the stronger the inward pull and our ability to walk with grace in the most ungraceful of times.
- Healthy Ego, Humble Heart with Steven Espinosa:Our practice of yoga as a way of cultivating a healthy ego while maintaining a humble heart. Gentle warm up leading into a vigorous standing pose series with primary focus on lower body stability to create upper body flexibility. Includes hip opener with Eka Pada Raja Kopatasana (Pidgeon), backbending with Danurasana (Bow) and concluding with spinal twisting. Also includes a brief explanation of front and back body expansion as it relates to the theme of healthy ego and humble heart.
- Return to Your Heart with Tara Judelle: Use a seated experiential meditative journey to help bring you into the meditative felt sense of your own heart. Explore the anatomy of your heart, use visualization combined with breath, and be redirected into the loving compassion of being, that is your essential self. Prop Suggested: A blanket to sit on.
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Core Heart Opener with Jo Tastula: Welcome back to your yoga mat from your holidays, travel, or just too much work and re-enter with this sweet core strengthening/heart opening flow. Lie back in a supported heart opener and begin to realign the energies of the body and the mind. Abdominal core work kicks off our strengthening practice followed by a simple warm up of backbends to Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar). Forward bends (Uttanasana), Crane/Crow (Bakhasana), Plank Variations (Vasistasana) and Warrior 2 Flow sequence (Virabhadrasana) bring suppleness to the spine and strength to the arms and core. Our peek posture is Half Moon Sugar Cane (Ardha Chandra Chapasana). With the body nicely heated we move into backbends Locust (Salabhasana), Bow (Dhanurasana), Bridge (Setu Bandhasana) and Upward Bow (Urdhva Dhanurasana). Marinate with the heart energy in a finishing hip opener of your choice! - Manifest Heart Opening with Claire Missingham: A back bending practice that focuses on positioning of the rib cage and spine to opening the Anahata Chakra and incorporating readings regarding the space behind the heart that is often referred to as the place there is an ‘inner tree’ that fulfills all wishes once it is in good alignment. In yoga there are these two beautiful terms: one is the Hridaya Kasha which is the space in the heart where purity resides, just behind the unstruck or unhurt place of Anahata Chakra. The second is the ‘Wish Fulfilling Tree’ named the Kalpavriksha. It is said to be a tree (real or metaphoric) that if you create a wish, or intention (Sankalpa), it would become manifest. So we use this as the basis for creating back bending and opening the heart.
- Rediscover Your Heart with Elena Brower: Gain access to your heart with a challenging practice to help ease and strengthen your wrists and shoulders. Engage in the depths of your breathing and return to your heart center with poses such as cat cow variations with flipped wrists, forearm stand and reverse namaste practice. Finish with breath of fire and a deep savasana meditation. Props Needed: Two blocks.
