Yoga outside in the sunshine above West Beach Cafe, Porthmeor, St Ives. This was the first class of the summer.
Standing poses are a main stay of these sessions because they are pretty accessible to all I hope you enjoy your practice alongside the St Ives crew, as much as we enjoy being there.
Listen to your body’s needs.
Love and light,
Lucy
What to say? Dan said it all; “Happy standing poses!”.
The winter brings such joy when the sun shines.
You might notice that I have shoes on my mat… the shoes were clean and new. I bought them last summer but i had no-where to wear them out. They have come into their own now though. It was a little strange wearing shoes on my yoga mat at first, I got used to it pretty quickly and they are so much more comfortable than slipping around in socks (toe-socks or otherwise)
Join me as i run (well, stand and jump) through these poses.
Enjoy, and work within your own capacity.
See you soon, love and light
Lucy
Standing poses to strengthen and ground you, bird pose will let you fly. Bring your awareness to the base of your poses and notice how the energy rises up, when you are secure in your grounding. This may take a little while to feel, connect to the floor with the pressure from your feet or hands then you will start to feel feed-back through the arms and legs. Please pay attention to your wrists when you come into the bird balance, the weight of the body can overload them, wedges can help if you know how to use them. Stay comfortable in your practice. be sensitive and caring Love and light Lucy
These standing poses will wake up the back of the legs.
Give the poses and your legs time. Muscles take a while to increase their length, so, just like you would not expect your muscles to grow immediately (think Pop-eye) don’t expect to be as bendy as Olive oil immediately either.
The stretch should feel more like a wide stretch in the main part of the muscle rather than a sharp pointy stretching sensation at the top of the leg near the buttocks.
Keep each stretch within your own capacity and enjoy the sensation of fresher feeling legs.
I’m tired. I don’t feel like doing anything. I especially don’t feel like anyone looking at me…
These are the times when our practice can become a real friend. It whispers to you “relax, take your time, be gentle, take care, breathe smoothly, breathe quietly, becalm”
This practice is perfect as a post-work, pre-evening practice.
Be gentle , listen to your body and don’t push.
Enjoy
Using the wall for support brings a whole new clarity to the leg work in this practice.
The wall gives stability allowing our balance to come more naturally, allowing the feeling within each pose to go a little deeper.
Working from Utthita Trikonasana through to sarvaganasana this practice takes just over an hour. I tried to guide you through savasana so many times but the noise over the hedge was just too much this time. So please settle yourself for savasana well at the end of this session
Shine bright
Lucy
Please work to your own capacity and be gentle with yourself 🙂
Who needs the Gym? Why work out when you can work in 🙂
A 30 minute focus on working towards chaturanga dandasana (the four limbed staff pose).
This pose is a whole body/mind work out.
Undo press-up patterns to engage new muscles, toning the backs of the arms, the core and the legs.
Not suitable if you are pregnant or have carpal tunnel syndrome.
The ability to play with warrior 3 requires an awareness to the standing leg, a good strong action through the arms and an aligned spine.
I hope this little introduction to this stamina building pose will introduce these actions to you.
Please use a good solid wall for the arm balances.
Shine bright
Enjoy
Lucy
I’ll be honest, Navasana (boat pose) does not come naturally to me.
Note to self, it’s a practice, not a perfect. Although it’s much easier than it used to be.
This practice draws attention to the hip, thigh and abdominal area, bringing with it strength and tone.
Please excuse my spelling mistake adha should have been ardha (half), you’ll hear it. As Homer Simpson once said “I am so smart, I am so smart , s m r t , s, m, a, r, t. ”
This sequence is not suitable for people with low back problems, menstruation or pregnancy.
Enjoy!
Lucy
40 minutes goes so quick! OK so just shy of 40.
Standing poses build strength both mentally and physically. We need to develop strength and flexibility simultaneously.
In this practice i use just the mat.
Look after your body, treat it well.
Shine bright
Lucy