Recent Articles in Flexibility

Duration: 19 minutes

Emphasis:  Had a long day? Feeling tired or hot and bothered but still want to do some yoga? We'll be lying down for the whole of this class but still getting a good stretch.

Props needed:  None required except a blanket for Savasana if required.

Mat direction: Long side of the mat facing the screen so you can turn your head to see more easily.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis:  Move the spine in all different directions to increase mobility with this sequence of twists, cat and cow pose and child's pose.

Props needed:  A blanket for under your knees when kneeling if required.

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

Duration: 26 minutes

Emphasis:  It feels good to stretch and open up the front of the body, especially if you've been working at a desk or sitting in a car all day. In this slow class we'll do some gentle backbends to open the chest, create more room to breathe and more room for the internal organs too. You'll strengthen the back of your body too while you're doing it.

Props needed:  Blocks, bricks and a blanket or, if you don't have these, use 3 folded blankets and a couple of thick hardback books instead.

Mat direction: Long side of the mat facing the screen will give you the best view when you're lying down.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis:  Warm up with a Surya Namaskar A then try some variations on a Surya Namaskar B which include some press-up dips to strengthen the upper body and some seated twists to finish. Please note: I'm having some problems with the focusing of my camera at the moment - having played with all the various settings to no avail I think it might be time to retire it and get a new one. You might notice the video goes out of focus a couple of times for which I apologise. I hope it doesn't spoil your enjoyment of your class.  

Props needed:  Blocks or a thick book to sit on in Virasana (Hero Pose) if required.

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

Duration: 18 minutes

Emphasis:  An all-round flow with lots of standing postures which will strengthen and stretch your legs and move your shoulders through their range of movement. There are some forward bends, gentle backbends and side stretches, all done in quick succession to give you a complete full-body class in under 20 minutes.

Props needed:  None needed except maybe a blanket for Savasana if required.

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

Duration: 8 minutes

Emphasis:  Learn how to do Wild Thing (Camatkarasana). This deep backbend, although less challenging than Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana), can be difficult if you have any shoulder or wrist problems so there are also two modifications to make it more of a possibility if needed. Take care, listen to your body and have fun with this invigorating pose. Any questions, please leave a comment below and I'll endeavour to help.

Props needed: Possibly a blanket to put under your knee if you are practicing on a hard floor but make sure it doesn't slip!

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

Duration: 45 minutes

Emphasis:  Practice familiar standing poses in the precise 'Iyengar' style for strength, focus and good alignment of your body, and enjoy a nice long Savasana afterwards.

Props needed: 2 blocks, a blanket and a strap to loop around your foot if needed.

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

Duration: 29 minutes

Emphasis:  Practise some familiar poses such as Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana) and Tree Pose (Urdhva Vrksasana) with a chair to help you into better alignment, plus some poses we don't practise so often such as Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) and Revolved Triangle Pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana). Using the chair will help to make these more challenging poses more accessible and with regular practise you'll be able to do them without the chair.

Props needed: A sturdy chair.

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

Duration: 21 minutes

Emphasis:  This practice will stretch the front of your body in some simple backbends - Sphynx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana), Half Frog Pose (aka Quad Stretch) (Ardha Bhekasana) and Camel Pose (Ustrasana), and twist the torso in some kneeling twists.

Props needed: None - except a blanket under your knees if required.

Mat direction: Short side of mat facing the screen.

Duration: 45 minutes

Emphasis:  A strong flow class with 6 rounds of Sun Salutations with a quad stretch and a backbend in each one.

Props needed: A blanket to put under your knee, possibly a block for under your hand and a strap to loop around your foot if you can't reach it.

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

Duration: 27 minutes

Emphasis:  Some supine poses to stretch the front, back, inner and outer legs. A good practice to do after you've been exercising or if you're looking for more flexibility in your legs and hips.

Props needed: 2 blocks or a book, a strap and a blanket.

Mat direction: Long edge of the mat facing the screen so you can turn your head to see the poses.

Duration: 24 minutes

Emphasis:  Childs Pose, Cat & Cow Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Thread the Needle Pose, Malasana and a Standing Leg Stretch will all stretch the back of the body - finishing with Sphynx as a counter-pose and a face-down relaxation in Crocodile Pose.

Props needed: 2 blocks or 2 books (one thick and one thinner) and a blanket to kneel on if required.

Mat direction: Short edge facing the screen.