Yoga & Stretching

Primer

Kirsten, Josh, and Meredith discuss the principles surrounding yoga practice, as well as some basic modifications in preparation for the yoga class series.

Yoga: Grounded (12/9/24)

Join Mikaila for a grounding yoga flow designed to help you decrease stress, move mindfully, and stay present during the holiday season.

This flow will incorporate breathwork, grounding poses, and gentle transitions to support your mental and physical health this holiday season.

Yoga: Balance (9/30/24)

This flow helps to develop strength, coordination, and balance while you hold the poses and transition between them.

A mantra to consider for class: 🧘‍♀ Balance is not only found in stillness but also in the transitions between movements—just like in life.

Yoga: Posture (8/5/24)

Yoga is not always a one-size-fits-all practice, and it’s always best to consult a professional based on your medical history and goals. That being said, our bodies are resilient and our flow this week will focus on strengthening poses for the core and spinal extensors without excess spinal strain in any direction.

Yoga: Breath & Community (6/24/24)

This yoga class with Mikaila practices the link between our movement to our breath, with focus on the many benefits of yoga on our cardiovascular, nervous, pulmonary, and musculoskeletal systems!

Yoga: Walking Health (4/8/24)

A tailored yoga program for older adults may improve gait characteristics like hip extension and stride length, which could help prevent or reduce age-related changes in gait function!

Our APYB Yoga flow will focus on pelvic position awareness, hip extension, and single-leg stability/balance.

Yoga: Heart Health (2/26/24)

Join Mikaila and Molly for a for a heart-focused yoga flow!

Yoga can improve heart health in several ways related to stress reduction, improving HRV, increasing circulation, and lowering blood pressure.

Yoga: Mindful Movement(12/11/23)

Kirsten will move us through a flow of asanas, using the body to build heat and the breath to ground us in the present moment.

Using our breath and bodies to help us be present, we will focus the mind and pull the attention to what grounds us – especially during this busy holiday season!

Yoga: Awareness & Grounding (10/16/23)

Sarah will walk us through awareness, grounding, and being present with sensations in the body – acknowledging sensory input (such as pain) without attachment.

Join us for a yoga flow demonstrated in both standing and seated positions.

Yoga: Spinal Movement (8/21/23)

Our spines are naturally curved and are meant to move in all three planes, not to be straight or maintained in a “perfect posture.”

There is no single ideal posture, but our bodies do best when they’re regularly moving between several different positions.

In yoga, we are always flowing between poses, but on Monday we will focus on flowing through all movements of our supple, strong spine, as well as many other joints!

Yoga: Sun Salutations (6/26/23)

This week, Kirsten and Mikaila will be leading a rejuvenating yoga class inspired by the radiant energy of the sun. These solar-themed yoga flows will awaken your body, uplift your spirits, and ignite your inner light.

Yoga: Release (2/20/23)

Chronic pain can have negative effects on your heart health. For simplicity, we can follow this association:

Pain is a stressor

Chronic pain is chronic stress

Chronic stress is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease

And what is a great tool for managing both stress and pain? Yoga!

Yoga: Connection (1/9/23)

This week, we will connect over several poses that may challenge our attitudes and promote our independence. 🛡

Yoga: Warmth (11/7/22)

Expect a fun, fiery flow to warm the body, work the muscles, stoke the breath, and calm the mind led by Kirsten for this yoga session!

Yoga: Balance (9/12/22)

Yoga is often a balance of effort and ease. This week, we are focusing on balance in our practice, where we will improve our mind-body connection, our focus, and our stability through various coordinated poses.

Yoga: Breath (7/18/22)

This week will be a mix of active and passive pranayama practice to really connect with the breath! We will incorporate Nadi Shodhana (aka nostril breathing).

Nadi = channel or flow, and Shodhana = purification. This breathing technique will allow us to clear and purify the channels of the mind-body to allow the physical practice to be more intentional.

Yoga: Heart Openers (3/28/22)

This week’s class will focus on heart openers. Kirsten will start with some pranayama, stoke the breath even more with some flows, and finish with some yin inspired expansive heart opening poses. Mikaila will offer assistance with seated modifications.

Yoga: Twists (1/17/22)

This week's yoga class will allow us to focus on supporting the body throughout these winter months as we navigate the beginning of the new year.

We will move mindfully through poses and introspective asanas including forward folds, happy baby, and restorative twists. This will encourage reflection and refocus to keep us on track as we move into 2022! 🎉

Yoga: Yin style (12/20/21)

This class focuses on slow, mindful movements utilizing longer holds of positions. Yin yoga focuses on longer holds to allow the breath to soften and relax into each posture.

Yoga: Grounded (10/25/21)

This yoga practice will be themed around feeling more grounded by focusing on the root chakra at the base of the spine. This is where we find stability, safety, and our home base. We will also focus on how we ground through our feet as we move through the world.

Yoga: Flow (8/30/21)

Join Mikaila for another APYB Yoga class! Expect to explore forward folds, gentle backbends, spinal twists, and some strengthening in this class.

Yoga: Shoulder Mobility (8/2/21)

In this yoga practice, we will stretch our shoulders with a juicy yoga flow targeted around the shoulders and upper body. Get ready for some intentional mobility flows to work through any residual muscle soreness, improve blood flow, and increase flexibility.

Yoga: Twisting (7/5/21)

This yoga flow will include mindful movement around the spine, hips, and shoulders to hydrate tissues and move around the axis of the spine. We will also be exploring the contrast between constructions and expansions.

Yoga: Hip Mobility (5/10/21)

Koop takes us through a yoga flow with special time and attention on hip strength and mobility. Her sister Ari demonstrates the sequences with chair modifications for comfort at all levels!

Yoga (4/12/21)

Take a moment to breathe and flow with another APYB yoga session! Koop has 2 flow sequences for us, followed by Mikaila showing a yin sequence to cool us down.

Yoga (1/4/21)

Kirsten leads us into the New Year with another great Yoga session! Her sister demonstrates chair variations for each exercise, and a long Shavasana brings focus to the end of practice.

Yoga (12/7/20)

Kirsten takes us through a simple but fun yoga flow with chair variations and modifications available as needed.

Asana (9/28/20)

Kirsten leads another fun and relaxing yoga flow incorporating a variety of floor and standing poses.

Yoga: Restore (8/17/20)

Kirsten leads us through a slower, more restorative yoga flow with focus on stretching and mobility.

Introduction (8/3/20)

Kirsten leads an introductory yoga class that includes seated variations of all poses and movements.