Recent Articles in Dynamic

Duration: 46 minutes

Emphasis:  In this circular flow you'll warm up with Sun Salutation A and then in the next round poses such as Half Splits (Ardha Hanumanasana), a variation of Revolved Triangle Pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana), Side Lunge (Skandasana) and Revolved Wide Legged Forward Bend Pose (Parivrtta Prasarita Padottanasana. The sequence is repeated once with kneeling poses and then again with standing poses and it will take you from the front of the mat to the side of the mat to the back of the mat, and around again to finish where you started from. Some supine leg stretches finish the focus on the legs and lead you into Savasana.

Props needed: A blanket to kneel on, two bricks and a yoga belt.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 23 minutes

Emphasis:  Strengthen your arms, shoulders and abdominals (plus a little bit for your outer thighs and buttocks) in this short but effective weights class.

Props needed: Some hand-weights - not too heavy (I used 1.5kg), a blanket to kneel on .

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 21 minutes

Emphasis:  A great class for when you're short on time but want to move your whole body. These two short sequences are done entirely on the knees. We move from one end of the mat to the other doing poses such as Balancing Table Pose (Dandayamana Bharmanasana), Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II) and Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana) variations, Gate Pose (Parighasana), Half Side Plank Pose (Ardha Vasisthasana) and a twist. The second round contains a couple of extra challenges for you to try! ;-)

Props needed: A blanket as padding for your knees.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 43 minutes

Emphasis:  This class features 5 rounds of Sun Salutations - 2 basic ones to warm up and then 3 more rounds, each with a Hand to Big Toe Pose (Padangusthasana) varation at the end of the sequence. Usually Padangustasana is done with the lifted leg straight, but in this class you'll do it with the leg bent. You'll then come down to the ground and repeat the shapes of these 3 poses lying down, before relaxing in Savasana.

Props needed: No props needed except maybe a wall to put your hand on to help you with the balancing poses.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 54 minutes

Emphasis:  In this Vinyasa Flow class you'll warm up with some arm swings followed by a standard Sun Salutation. The next two rounds feature shoulder stretches in Crescent Moon Pose (Anjaneyasana), Revolved Side Angle Pose variation (Parivrtta Parsvakonasana), Warrior 2 Pose (Virabhadrasana II), Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana) and One Leg Downward Facing Dog Pose (Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana). Seated poses include Child's Pose (Balasana), the Deer Pose variation of Bharadvaja's Twist (Bharadvajasana) and Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana) and some relaxing supine poses such as Supported Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana), Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana) and Reclined Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana). Finally, there's a lovely long Savasana to help you relax and restore after your physical practice.

Props needed: 2 blocks or a brick and a yoga belt.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 38 minutes

Emphasis:  Enjoy some empowering Sun Salutations with the added arm strengtheners of Revolved Lunge Pose (Parivrtta Utthita Ashwa Sanchalanasana) and Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana) followed by some arm and wrists stretches and Bound Hands Warrior 1 Pose (Baddha Hasta Virabhadrasana I). There's also some seated and supine stretches too.

Props needed: A yoga belt and a blanket to kneel on if required and for Savasana.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 41 minutes

Emphasis:  Move your spine in all directions in this Sun Salutation based challenging flow. After warming up with two rounds of straight Sun Salutation A, which moves the spine repetitively from flexion to extension, the next three rounds include a variety of standing twists to rotate the spine. Moving down to the floor, you'll enjoy a couple of seated twists including Gate Pose 2 (Parighasana II), the supine Stomach Twist (Jathara Parivartanasana) and then a lovely long Savasana to help you relax after your hard work.

Props needed: Two bricks.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 1 hr 14 minutes

Emphasis:  In this class we start with some supine warming-up with a focus on the abdominal muscles and the hip joints. We then move on to Sun Salutation A and then some rounds of Sun Salutation B, adding more core and hip work into the sequence. Some seated poses and a lovely relaxation complete the class.

Props needed: A blanket, 2 blocks and a yoga belt.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 27 minutes

Emphasis:  You'll warm up with a round of Sun Salutation B and then, in following rounds, Eagle Pose (Garudasana) and Revolved Forward Bend with Bent Knee variation (Parivrtta Uttanasana) are added in at the end of the flow. Blocks are offered to help with your balance and to stretch the leg straight in these poses but you'll notice that even your yoga teacher loses her balance sometimes!

Props needed: 2 blocks.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis:  After warming up with Sun Salutations we move into a sequence that will strengthen your legs with Chair Pose (Utkatasana), a repetitive challenging transition from Standing Single Leg Balance (Tadasana Pavanmuktasana) to High Lunge Pose (Alanasana), strengthen your core with the balancing and Plank Pose with one leg lifted (Eka Pada Phalakasana) and work the hip area with Warrior 2 Pose (Virabhadrasana II) and One Legged Chair Pose (Eka Pada Utkatasana). Expect to work hard in this sequence but have fun with the unfamiliar transitions. Some restful seated stretches follow the flow and you will definitely enjoy your Savasana!  Please note: there was a minor camera malfunction halfway through the class so there's a very slight continuity blip! It won't affect your class at all but I thought I'd better 'fess up' in case you notice it and wonder what happened:-)

Props needed: None required.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.

Duration: 1 hr 10 minutes

Emphasis: After practising Surya Bhedana (Sun Piercing Breath) to increase circulation, stimulate the nervous system and raise the energy, we move into 3 rounds of repetitive creative flow - expect poses such as Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) and Twisting Chair Pose (Parivrtta Uttkatasana) twice, plus the balancing pose Extended-Hand-To-Big-Toe Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana) that we've been working on this half-term. We then move to seated poses including Head to Knee Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) and Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana), and finish with Chandra Bhedana (Moon Piercing Breath) to calm the nervous system and slow the heart rate before Savasana. 

Props needed: A bit of wall space to help you balance if required, a block or blanket to sit on plus a yoga belt if needed to hold your foot in the standing balance.

Duration: 26 minutes

Emphasis:  This repetitive flow will invite some foot mobility in the form of bending the toe joints and circling the ankle. After warming up with Sun Salutation A, the sequence changes, moving from Chair Pose (Utkatasana) to Half-Chair Pose on tiptoes (Ardha Utkatasana), High Lunge with bending knee (Alanasana), Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana) with lifted heel, Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana), One Legged Downward Facing Dog Pose (Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana) before going through a vinyasa to take you back to Chair pose again. The sequence is repeated three times on each side. Two seated poses give you time to quieten and settle before resting in Savasana.

Props needed: None needed.

Mat direction: Short edge of the mat facing the screen.