Category: Yoga Practice Tips

Teacher Training: a natural next step

Posted on by Yogafurie

You love Yoga and Hot Yoga, and you’ve been practicing consistently for a while. You love the way it makes you feel, and you really notice when you can’t go for any reason. Life just seems simpler and more manageable when you practice regularly, even though nothing’s really changed. Sure, there are times when you feel like just staying at home and vegging out. But you get up and get to class anyway, because you know that you’ll be glad you did.

Does any of this ring true for you? Yep, you’ve got the Hot Yoga bug alright!

If this is you, then you’ve already come a long way. If you could see the person you were, if you could see your posture shapes the first time you went to class, then you’d be amazed at how much you’ve changed since then. It might feel like that’s all thanks to the magic of Yoga and Hot Yoga. And it is, but there’s more: it’s your hard work that’s moved you forward, and the good guidance of the studio and teachers you’ve stuck with.

Continue reading “Teacher Training: a natural next step” →

You Don’t Get The A** You Want By Sitting On It

Posted on by Yogafurie

Written by Kate Hardcastle, a Yogafurie Hot Yoga Instructor and a graduate of Yogafurie Academy Teacher Training

We may have heard of HIIT yoga, OM Yoga Weights and Fitness Yoga used to describe classes and workshops before. What does this mean? Why is fitness becoming a big thing in the many different types of yoga on offer?

Have you ever been in a yoga class and your instructor holds you in plank (uttitha chaturanga dandasana) for so long that you feel like collapsing in a puddle on the mat? How about that inward groan as you lower down into chair (utkatasana) for the twentieth time before you’ve even reached halfway through? Do you experience shaky legs after your class?

Continue reading “You Don’t Get The A** You Want By Sitting On It” →

Serratus Anterior – Yoga Anatomy

Posted on by Yogafurie

The quadricep, hamstrings, and hip flexors get a lot of attention in yoga. Yet, there is another muscle that is commonly used in yoga, but one that you may have never heard of. That muscle is the serratus anterior.

The serratus anterior is a deep muscle that supports and abducts the scapula. ‘Serratus’ is a Latin word that means, ‘saw-like’ and refers to the appearance of this muscle. The serratus anterior might not be mentioned very often in your yoga class, but you use it every single time you move into High Plank.

The serratus anterior in terms of an asana-based yoga practice

The serratus anterior slow our descent from High Plank into Chaturanga. When these muscles are weak, we come crashing down.

The serratus anterior originates at the side of the first through eight ribs. It runs laterally around the rib cage, passes underneath the scapula to insert on its medial border. The serratus anterior acts to abduct the scapula, or pull them away from each other. So when your yoga teacher tells you to, ‘push the floor away from you’ or to ‘lift up out of your shoulders’, it is the serratus anterior abducting the scapula which allows you to perform those actions. The action of the serratus anterior is critical for several other positions. Continue reading “Serratus Anterior – Yoga Anatomy” →

What’s with chatturanga dandasana (low plank)?

Posted on by Yogafurie

What does it mean?

The name comes from the Sanskrit words chatur meaning “four”, anga meaning “limb”, danda meaning “staff” (refers to the spine, the central “staff” or support of the body), and asana meaning “posture” or “seat”. Here is a picture showing utthitha (extended) chatturanga dandasana and chatturanga dandasana:serratus anterior

As you can see, four limbs really are supporting the staff of the spine! In one of the pictures, you can see that we have body-painted a teacher so that we can demonstrate more about the anatomical structure of the pose. You can learn more too – see below for details.

Continue reading “What’s with chatturanga dandasana (low plank)?” →

Yoga and Hot Yoga: deeper through anatomy

Posted on by Yogafurie

(Try this at home!)

How can the study of anatomy deepen your Yoga and Hot Yoga practice? Well for one thing it can provide scientific guidelines to help you keep your body safe. For example, did you know that the discs that stack between and cushion your vertebrae get rehydrated whilst you sleep, so your spine is literally longer after a nights sleep. Pretty cool fact but how can this apply to a Yoga and Hot Yoga practice. Well, because your spine is longer in the morning this means all the ligaments and tendons that hold the spine together are tighter in the morning than in the evening. And tight ligaments feel stiff and are easier to pull. So, if you are practicing in the morning you should expect the body to feel stiffer in backbends than later in the day, and perhaps you might warm the back up more or go lighter in backbending postures then you would in an evening practice.

hmmmmm…..

 

 

 

Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash

Continue reading “Yoga and Hot Yoga: deeper through anatomy” →

A few words on Patience

Posted on by Yogafurie

Wait, Breathe and Trust That All is Coming; why Yogafurie’s approach is to allow the mind and body to find space and time.

Patience is a virtue and that means patience is not easy.

Often we ask you to practice patience right at the start of a yoga class; whether that’s sitting mindfully, doing a breathing exercise or lying down in savasana. How often have you been thinking to yourself in that moment, ‘Gosh, can’t we just get started?’

Of course patient practice has already begun, not just for you, but for everyone else on the mat as well.

Continue reading “A few words on Patience” →

The whats, whys and hows of meditation

Posted on by Yogafurie

To meditate on something is to let it fill your mind. All your attention is on that one thing. If there is a thought, it’ll be about that one thing. As proficiency grows, there’ll be fewer and fewer individual thoughts during meditation. It becomes an unbroken flow of attention towards the chosen object of meditation.

meditation

There’s a few implications from this definition. First, attention and thought are treated as different experiences. You can pay attention to something without necessarily thinking about it. Example: driving. During the journey, you pay attention to the road but rarely think about the movements and decisions. Most thought is on the rest of the day, or other things important in life at the time. Here’s another example: say you’re on a course, or in a meeting, and it’s a bit boring. You know you need to pay attention, but your mind keeps wandering onto thoughts of what to do later, or other more interesting stuff. Clearly, attention and thinking really are different.

Continue reading “The whats, whys and hows of meditation” →

5 Elements Hot Yin Yoga class

Posted on by Yogafurie

We’ve spent the last few weeks exploring the acupuncture meridians through Hot Yin Yoga here at Yogafurie. We’ve looked at a different pair of meridians each time, and then at the extraordinary vessels. This blog gives detail about the meridians, and a simple yin yoga sequence you can practice to target them all.

Come along to one of our Hot Yin Tonic classes to learn about the safe application of each posture – or of course speak to a qualified Yin Yoga teacher. That way you can get the best out of this practice without risk of injury.

Continue reading “5 Elements Hot Yin Yoga class” →

Yoga Inversions – A simple guide for basic strength and mobility

Posted on by Yogafurie

The following exercises have proved helpful to me personally in building up an inversions practice. I’ve documented them here for you people who are attending the Yogafurie Inversions Course. Attendees will be coached in the safe execution of all of these: please don’t actually try these unless you’ve had the safety coaching face-to-face with a qualified Yogafurie instructor.

Continue reading “Yoga Inversions – A simple guide for basic strength and mobility” →