It’s important, both for regular practitioners and teachers, to take what they know about poses in theory and give themselves some extra time and space during their daily sessions to test this knowledge out in practice. Yoga done this way is very grounding because it teaches you not only to observe the action but also the reaction to it, both in the short and long term. This approach to one’s practice then promotes awareness and heightened observation in other areas of life, too — areas that go beyond the realm of yoga practice.
In this mixed standing pose and backbend class, we will observe how the things we know about the poses relate to the things we actually experience as we perform them. The class can be done at any point during the day but is especially good for the evening due to the nature of backbend asanas. They promote good organ health and have an uplifting effect on the mood. That said, they don’t overstimulate but rather help to relieve tension and restore our energy balance, making them perfect after a long stressful day: they elevate the spirits but also calm us down and allow us to enter a more neutral and easy-going state of mind.
Video stills from this sequence
