Yoga Teacher Training

Yoga Teacher Training

More Than You Bargained For

200 & 300 Hr. 

DECIDING ON THE BEST YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

Deciding to invest in a yoga teacher training feels like a no-brainer for some; for others, it may be a more challenging decision for a variety of different reasons. Whatever the process, I can guarantee that you’re going to get more out of it than you could have ever imagined. Of course, there are some obvious considerations, like curriculum focus and the style of yoga you’re interested in teaching, but what you’ll find is that there are things you simply cannot anticipate or prepare for. These things make a significant impact and can change the course of your life. Matt’s yoga teacher training courses tick all boxes at both the 200 and 300/500 hour levels. Your goal may be to support and guide others on a professional level, which does not change; however, the personal development that takes place is incomprehensible.

WATCH THE VIDEO

YOGA TEACHER TRAINING: MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR

DOES THE CURRICULUM FULFILL YOUR NEEDS?

The curriculum outline in a yoga teacher training program will significantly affect your decision to certify. It’s not uncommon to place more weight on a particular area of interest, and some training programs may have a greater emphasis in one area. What you’ll find is that when you decide to deepen your knowledge, one area of interest expands into others. In Matt’s yoga teacher training programs, you are receiving a well-rounded foundation in the 200 hour program, which then expands exponentially in his 300/500 hour yoga teacher training. Matt is known for his expertise in the areas of anatomy and biomechanics, but when you delve into the training, you’ll find out about the wealth of knowledge he shares in the areas of yoga philosophy, meditation, and pranayama.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

ACCESSIBILITY

Another extremely important factor is accessibility, which can be viewed from different perspectives.  

Not that long ago, the idea of an online yoga teacher training was not typical. It is now part of the norm. The fact that the training is online makes it more accessible to those that have wanted to practice with Matt but are unable to travel to an in-person location. This is a huge win! 

There may also be some hesitation if you’re feeling like you are not a good candidate for teacher training because you don’t incorporate more “advanced postures” into your own practice, but this is not the case. You will deepen your own practice as you learn how to teach. However, while the skills you learn in Matt’s yoga teacher training programs are tangible, it’s not about what you can do physically but about how you can create transformational experiences for your students.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

200 VERSUS 300 HOUR TRAINING: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The 200 hour training is perfect if you are not yet certified. It is specifically designed for you to create a solid foundation. You will learn more about the practice of yoga in the areas of philosophy, anatomy, asana, and teaching techniques. You will learn how to sequence a class and even how to use your voice.

If you’re already certified, the 300 hour program is going to exceed your expectations of how you’ll develop both personally and professionally. The 4 sections offered (Anatomy, Heart, Chromatic Level 1, and Leadership) are not only filled with valuable information but also designed in a way that is very practical, which allows you to actually apply your knowledge in a variety of yoga spaces (classes, private yoga, retreats, etc.) 

COMMUNITY

One of the most important thing you will experience in both training programs is community. There is a wealth of knowledge that’s exchanged between Matt, guest teachers, mentors, and fellow students. Comfort and safety is nurtured very early on in the training, which creates an environment of sharing that helps you to grow.  

Given all of these elements—a solid curriculum, practical skills, and community support—Matt’s yoga teacher training programs will more than fulfill your expectations.

Registration is open for June! Take advantage of an exceptional opportunity for growth and transformation.

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: 200 & 300 Hr. Teacher Training

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

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Shoulder Secrets

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read more
Twist Power

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read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

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Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

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Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Compass Pose

Compass Pose

Variations to Challenge Balance and Flexibility

balance & flexibility

COMPASS POSE VARIATIONS

Compass Pose, especially the variations Matt offers today, will challenge you, and not necessarily in the ways you might think. Most obviously, it will challenge you in the lateral flexion of the spine and the extensive amount of shoulder and hamstring flexibility required, but even more than that are all the lifts, drops, and turns, or maybe better said, the articulations and/or actions in the joints, that make it that much more challenging. However, with challenge comes reward. You’ll see that both variations provide an opportunity to deepen your understanding of the posture because of the step-by-step techniques you’ll follow and because of how your body responds within the posture. After reviewing today’s video clip, you’ll be empowered with 2 variations of Compass Pose that will test your ability to stay present while increasing strength, balance, and flexibility.

lotus pose online yoga classes

THE SPLITS

  • Improve flexibility of hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, and glutes
  • Hanumanasana Splits
  • Center Splits
  • Vishvamitrasana
  • Standing Splits / Ekapadasana
  • Extended Side Plank / Vashisthasana
  • Straddle entries for inversions, with modifications for all levels
  • Moderate Vinyasa style with alignment, technique, and biomechanics
  • Sequences are anatomically informed and carefully crafted
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

ANATOMY OF COMPASS POSE

Although Compass Pose is a seated posture, it does require balance. After all, one leg is lifted while the other is grounded to the floor. Lifting the top leg requires strength in the outer hip muscles (gluteus medius & minimus).  Because you grab hold of the foot of the top leg, you might argue that Compass Pose is both a passive and an active stretch. A healthy approach to this lifting and opening is to activate those outer hip muscles to create more abduction, rather than relying solely on the flexibility of the adductors and the hamstrings. Next up are your shoulders and back muscles. Gaining access to grabbing hold of the foot requires an engagement of the rhomboids to create more opening in the shoulders. In addition, there are 2 actions that are key to putting it all together.

WATCH THE VIDEO

COMPASS POSE: 2 VARIATIONS TO CHALLENGE BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY

COMPASS POSE VARIATION 1

It’s the 2 additional actions we’ll see now that bring the pose together.

In this variation, the bottom knee is bent. Matt shows you how to “snuggle” into your lifted leg while leaning and putting your weight into the bent (or seated) leg, seting you up for success. Leaning your weight to the side allows for a hike of the hip—the first action. This lifting, along with the activation of the rhomboids to pull your shoulder back, allows you to more easily guide your foot. Matt explains that keeping the hike of the hip means that your pelvis is at an angle in which your leg doesn’t have to fight against the hip joint, ultimately making it easier for shoulder opening. The second action is the internal rotation of the hip as you lift the leg. Internal rotation helps maintain the lift. 

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

COMPASS POSE VARIATION 2

In this 2nd variation of Compass Pose, the bottom leg is straight and mimics Center Splits early in the setup. Once you’re in the posture, extending the bottom leg all the way out further challenges your balance and flexibility. In order to maintain better balance, you can emphasize internally rotating through both legs for more stability in your base.  

Now, remember when I mentioned that Compass Pose can be viewed as both an active and a passive stretch? In the full class, Matt takes the pose to the next level and offers the option of letting go of the foot and relying on both the active flexion of the hip and the activation of the outer hips. Do these actions remind you of anything?  If you said Vishvamitrasana, then you’re right. So much of what Matt offers here is exactly what you need to prepare for Vishvamitrasana (also known, among other names in English, as Flying Compass Pose).

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

WITH CHALLENGE COMES REWARD

The challenges you encounter might be in those finer details (hiking up and internally rotating the hip), or perhaps the inability to balance on one side is preventing you from utilizing the flexibility available to you. If you do find balance, incorporating the internal rotation may either throw off your balance or make it hard to maintain. The truth is that building on one step at a time while honoring the current state of your body will help you reap the rewards over time.  

Matt’s current Splits Immersion will both challenge you and guide you toward the mastery of these techniques.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: The Splits

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

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read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

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read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

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read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Supine Standing Splits

Supine Standing Splits

Boost Your Hamstring Flexibility

strength & flexibility

SUPINE STANDING SPLITS

Tight hamstrings are a common complaint, right? They may be showing up by way of limitations in various yoga postures and/or in restrictions in the way you move in your daily life. If you’ve been practicing with Matt for some time, then you’re well aware that to increase flexibility, you need to factor strength into the mix. Additionally, you can figure on the quality of the time spent in specific postures—the utilization of specific techniques. The deepening of the neuromuscular connection takes place when you’re very intentional with your execution. Supine Standing Splits offers time to explore specific techniques in an accessible way. Today, Matt shares these techniques, along with other postures and their techniques, to prepare you for greater potential in Supine Standing Splits and eventually for the balanced variation of the posture.

lotus pose online yoga classes

THE SPLITS

  • Improve flexibility of hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, and glutes
  • Hanumanasana Splits
  • Center Splits
  • Vishvamitrasana
  • Standing Splits / Ekapadasana
  • Extended Side Plank / Vashisthasana
  • Straddle entries for inversions, with modifications for all levels
  • Moderate Vinyasa style with alignment, technique, and biomechanics
  • Sequences are anatomically informed and carefully crafted
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

PYRAMID STRETCH

First, the actions taken in this variation of a “Pyramid stretch” for the hamstrings offer an array of techniques for you to experiment with. It’s imperative to pay attention to the details. What’s comforting is that Matt offers very clear and explicit instruction. He starts off with a dorsiflexion of the front foot, which deepens the stretch sensation. Along with this lengthening, an important action is the tucking of the sit bone. Next, pressing down the front heel into the mat begins to incorporate the facilitated stretch (the strength component). This action is also important in minimizing the potential for injury by making the hamstring attachment at the sit bone less vulnerable. In the video, you’ll see the other options as regards the “direction of push.” Playing with diagonal activations targets other areas of the hamstrings and adductors.

WATCH THE VIDEO

SUPINE STANDING SPLITS: BOOST YOUR HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY

SEATED HAMSTRING STRETCH

Next, the Seated Hamstring Stretch in the video starts to take on more of the qualities of Supine Standing Splits. A more accurate description of this stretch includes the fact that the leg is lifted while you move your head towards the knee or shin. This action mimics the standing leg in the upright version of standing splits. This variation potentially allows for deeper hip flexion than Supine Standing Splits because, as you draw your leg towards your face, you are not limited by the floor beneath you; as you hold your foot, you can pull your elbows back further than what may be available to you when you’re lying on your mat. That being said, exploring this variation can still be revaling as to what’s available to you in regard to hip flexion and hamstring flexibility. Even more telling is when you release the grip of your foot to reveal your level of active flexibility versus passive flexibility.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

HAMSTRING SLIDE DRILL

Before diving into Supine Standing Splits, Matt offers a drill to encourage the refining of strength in your hamstrings and glutes. If you’re ever unsure if you are doing enough to strengthen your hamstrings, you won’t be mistaken with this drill.  It—is—intense!  

At first, trying it out without wearing socks will remove some of the sliding component (Matt is wearing socks in the video). This does not necessarily make the drill easier, but it may help you feel connected to the strength required for the progressions. Matt compares this drill to Bridge Pose, but one of the major differences is that you keep your legs as straight as possible. This action will ignite your hamstrings as your feet attempt to slide toward your upper body. Comparatively, wearing socks in order to build upon the drill will increase the slide and therefore the contraction in your hamstrings and glutes.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

POSSIBILITY AFTER PREPARATION

Finally, your body is more primed and ready for Supine Standing Splits after all that’s been explored. There’s a sense of freedom and possibility that carries into the pose. That lifted leg again utilizes techniques from Seated Hamstring Stretch, but with more strength from the slides. Straightening your bottom leg, with a very slight lift away from the floor, will also activate your core. Being on your back for this posture doesn’t mean that it’s more relaxed but instead allows for time spent activating your body while focusing on deep hip flexion and nurturing increased hamstring flexibility.

To conclude, greater preparation only elevates your potential. You can explore more drills and techniques like this in Matt’s current Splits Immersion.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: The Splits

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Vishvamitrasana At The Wall

Vishvamitrasana at the Wall

Techniques for Proficient Preparation

sage visvamitra

VISHVAMITRASANA AT THE WALL

There are many stops along the way to a peak posture, but without being empowered by effective steps and techniques to implement, you are left with untapped potential. Whether Vishvamitrasana at the wall is the final stop along the path for you or not, it literally flips the pose on its side so as to awaken the increased potential that exists within your body. Vishvamitrasana requires both strength and flexibility in the shoulders, quadriceps, hamstrings, and adductors. It also awakens the side body as you develop the height and mighty quality the pose possesses. In today’s video, Matt shares some impactful techniques and drills that support your ability to explore variations of Vishvamitrasana, including this option at the wall.

lotus pose online yoga classes

THE SPLITS

  • Improve flexibility of hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, and glutes
  • Hanumanasana Splits
  • Center Splits
  • Vishvamitrasana
  • Standing Splits / Ekapadasana
  • Extended Side Plank / Vashisthasana
  • Straddle entries for inversions, with modifications for all levels
  • Moderate Vinyasa style with alignment, technique, and biomechanics
  • Sequences are anatomically informed and carefully crafted
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

PREPARATION FIRST

Even though Vishvamitrasana at the wall may be considered preparation for the posture itself, it still requires a tremendous amount of flexibility and strength. The only way to accomplish this is to face what might arguably be more challenging: hanging out in the “trenches,” so to speak, that is, practicing foundational postures and drills with very specific techniques. The good news is that we don’t have to guess what to do. Matt lays out some very specific techniques and actions on a silver platter; it’s just up to us to take action. First, Matt outlines a Side Plank exercise, and then he demonstrates what actions to take in Side Angle preparation. What follows after that is a drill in Triangle Pose. Lastly, you’ll see how it all comes together in Vishvamitrasana at the wall.

WATCH THE VIDEO

VISHVAMITRASANA AT THE WALL:  TECHNIQUES FOR PROFICIENT PREPARATION

STRENGTHENING AND OPENING

Vishvamitrasana at the wall exposes where you need to strengthen and where you need to open. In the Side Plank variation from the video, you’re undoubtedly working on strengthening your side body. However, you are still bringing awareness to the openness of the chest and shoulders with the positioning that’s necessary to do the exercise effectively. The cue to bring the ribs towards the pelvis, and vice versa, multiplies your strength in that area.  Keeping that in mind, flexibility in the adductors and strength in the outer hips are crucial for the amount of adduction in the legs that is required. To this end, Side Angle preparation practically mimics the shape of Vishvamitrasana, and creating a facilitated stretch by pulling the feet towards one another increases the flexibility in your adductors. The placement of the top arm, which Matt demonstrates, also contributes to the openness that is a must in the upper body.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

DRILLS AND SKILLS FOR VISHVAMITRASANA AT THE WALL

In the 2nd variation, the key action that gets layered on is to lean forward. Even though more flexibility in the hamstrings is already required here, you are still working to develop their flexibility even further. Again, Matt encourages you to work at roughly 60%–70% of your end range. The act of leaning forward demands more of the hamstrings of the front leg, so continue to check in with what depth is appropriate. While you can begin to lean into the stretch sensation by going a bit deeper (once you’ve strengthened), doing so should never mean that you compromise strength and integrity. If you notice a laxity in some areas of your Splits, you can do things like curl your back toes under. This keeps the pelvis closed and maintains more activation in the hip flexors of your back leg.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

PEAK POSE CONSIDERATIONS

In Matt’s 200 & 300 hour training courses, he talks about the 4 elements and/or considerations of a peak posture, which include the following:

  1. Required Strength
  2. Required Flexibility
  3. Balance (weight shifting)
  4. Proprioception (knowing where your body is in space)

You can see that Matt carefully takes all of these elements into account in the techniques and actions explored within each posture and drill for Vishvamitrasana at the wall. The stops along the way are deliberate and specific. With all of this in mind, you can confidently step into any peak posture or its variation.  

Matt’s Splits Immersion begins this Saturday. In this immersion, Matt will be sharing a number of different anatomy-informed techniques that will help you to cultivate strength and flexibility in your inner thighs and hamstrings.  Beyond having proficiency in a posture, you’ll find proficiency in your preparation. 

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: June 2020 Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

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Shoulder Secrets

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Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

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Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

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Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

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  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Strengthen For Splits

Strengthen for Splits

Variations for Increased Flexiblity

hanumanasana

STRENGTHEN FOR SPLITS

If the Splits (Hanumanasana) had a personality, it might be one of the most vocal in the room. Aesthetically, it’s quite bold. The shape of the posture makes it evident that it requires a great deal of flexibility. In order to acquire the right amount of flexibility, you must strengthen for Splits. But if flexibility means to lengthen muscles and strengthening contracts muscles, how is this approach effective? In today’s video, Matt shares how employing techniques such as the facilitated stretch help increase flexibility while strengthening. Not only do you prepare your body more effectively for flexibility, but you also bring your body closer to balance. Because Splits is a deep posture, you need to be shrewd in your approach. As always, Matt offers cues that are both intricate and systematic, allowing you to safely explore while increasing your flexibility at the same time. 

lotus pose online yoga classes

THE SPLITS

  • Improve flexibility of hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, and glutes
  • Hanumanasana Splits
  • Center Splits
  • Vishvamitrasana
  • Standing Splits / Ekapadasana
  • Extended Side Plank / Vashisthasana
  • Straddle entries for inversions, with modifications for all levels
  • Moderate Vinyasa style with alignment, technique, and biomechanics
  • Sequences are anatomically informed and carefully crafted
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

FACILITATED STRETCH

First, what is a facilitated stretch? If you’ve been practicing with Matt for some time, you’ll know that this is a technique that he frequently utilizes in his classes. This is because it allows you to build strength and flexibility at the same time. A facilitated stretch occurs when a muscle is engaged while in a lengthened position. It’s essentially a conversation that takes place from the brain to the muscle and the Golgi tendon organ, which sends a message back to the brain about the amount of tension that’s taking place. When that happens, the brain recognizes the amount of engagement and sends a message back to the body to release the tension in the muscle. Instead of forcing a stretch, your body recognizes that it is in control and therefore safe to respond in kind when flexibility is required.  

WATCH THE VIDEO

STRENGTHEN FOR SPLITS: 2 VARIATIONS FOR INCREASED FLEXIBILITY

VARIATION 1: PUSH, PULL, TURN

To strengthen for Splits, it’s important to know the end range of your flexibility. Pull back from where you normally settle into as you set up this variation, so as to successfully implement a facilitated stretch. Being able to strengthen for Splits means moving away from your tendencies. As you’ll see in the video, there are opportunities to “push, pull, and turn” within your exploration. These actions will both change the level of sensation you experience and inform your next steps. For example, turning your pelvis closed might increase a sensation that provides the opportunity for you to press your front heel down and forward while pulling your back knee forward. These actions create a facilitated stretch for the hamstring in the front leg and the hip flexors of the back leg.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

VARIATION 2: LEAN IN

Now, in the 2nd variation, the key action that gets layered on is to lean forward. Even though more flexibility in the hamstrings is required here, you are still working to develop their flexibility even further. Again, Matt encourages you to work at roughly 60%–70% of your end range. The act of leaning forward demands more of the hamstrings of the front leg, so continue to check in with what depth is appropriate. While you can begin to lean into more of a stretch sensation by going a bit deeper (once you’ve strengthened), going deeper does not mean that you compromise strength and integrity. If you notice a laxity in some areas of your Splits, you can do things like curl your back toes under. This keeps the pelvis closed and maintains more activation in the hip flexors of your back leg.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

CARVE A NEW PATH

An intense posture like Splits will really speak to you. It will expose your tendencies, which may be hard to face. Often, the familiar path is to lean into the areas that feel open. But in order to strengthen for Splits, it’s imperative that you lean into the more “challenging” areas within the posture. Pushing beyond your limits is not the answer here; what is meant is that moving carefully minimizes the risk of injury. When this happens, you will not only come closer to the posture in the short term but also develop more balance in your body in the long term.

Matt’s Splits Immersion will guide you in creating “intelligent flexibility” in your hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, and glutes. Carving a new path and creating new patterns means more confidence in how your body moves, both on and off the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Mobility Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

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read more
Twist Power

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read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

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  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Prepare For Lotus

Prepare for Lotus

Standing Postures for Deep Hip Opening

flexibility

PREPARE FOR LOTUS

There are multiple ways to prepare for Lotus Pose. The 5 standing postures and the techniques that are highlighted today are from a portion of a sequence Matt shares in the first class of his current Lotus Immersion. Here, it’s not just about doing the postures themselves; it’s more about the execution and intention behind them. If your goal is to create a healthy range of motion in your hips, going through the motions simply won’t offer all that you need. In order to increase hip mobility, especially for a posture like Lotus, you must prepare your body. An integral part of the preparation is to strengthen the gluteal and abductor muscles. Utilizing techniques in standing postures like Forward Fold, Crescent Pose, Warrior 2, Extended Side Angle, and “Crisscross Pyramid” can be a wonderful first step in creating a solid foundation.

lotus pose online yoga classes

LOTUS

  • Anatomy-informed classes
  • Increase hip mobility and range of motion
  • Balance flexibility and strength
  • Skillful techniques for Lotus variations and many other hip openers
  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Unlock your Lotus Pose
  • Learn the 4 Quadrants of the Hips
  • 8 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$128.00 $108.00

FORWARD FOLD & CRESCENT POSE PREPARATION

External rotation and hip abduction are essential movements for Lotus Pose, as is a generous degree of hip flexibility. In order to prepare for Lotus, increasing flexibility requires strengthening first. You can start this process by strengthening your abductors in Forward Fold. In the video, Matt demonstrates a simple technique, in which you place your hands on your outer shins, that lights up your abductors.  

Strong glute muscles are also essential for Lotus because they assist in externally rotating your hip. For this reason, the next standing posture is Crescent Pose. Once again, a few simple actions help activate the glutes. Two of the main actions are the posterior tilt of the pelvis and the pressing down of the front heel. You’ll see in the video that beyond just “doing” the posture, taking the right actions brings your intentions for strength to life.

WATCH THE VIDEO

PREPARE FOR LOTUS: 5 STANDING POSTURES FOR DEEP HIP OPENING

WARRIOR 2 & EXTENDED SIDE ANGLE PREPARATION

What’s lovely about the techniques Matt offers for strengthening the glutes and abductors is that they are all self-adjustments. You have total control over the intensity, which is often conservative but still goes a long way to increase strength. Along with the self-adjustment in Warrior 2, Matt mentions paying special attention to the rotation of the back of the pelvis. Maintaining the proper direction of your pelvis is the difference between actually being able to activate your glutes and failing to achieve the desired result. You carry the same direction of the pelvis into Side Angle preparation. The techniques demonstrated here are great: Depending on the placement of your front arm, you can focus more on the glute activation or you can invite in more stretch for your adductors. Lengthening the adductors is also imperative in preparing for Lotus.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

“CRISSCROSS PYRAMID”

Whenever Matt instructs this kind of “cross action” in a given posture, it’s always so intriguing. He provides cues for certain actions that offer more than you anticipate. In “Crisscross Pyramid,” for example, you’ll experience a stretch sensation and therefore a lengthening in the outer hips. Because Matt always advises strengthening before lengthening, this posture is well placed in the sequence! Beyond the hips, if you want to truly prepare for Lotus, you must also consider the positioning of your feet and ankles. While Matt explores this in seated postures, he also begins to prepare you in this standing posture earlier in the practice. He advises you to press the big toe of your front foot into the mat while simultaneously lifting your middle toes. This action takes your ankle into eversion, which is the same as the articulation required in Lotus Pose.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY

Even though Matt carefully offers the techniques within these standing postures and demonstrates how extremely effective they are in strengthening and lengthening the muscles that are required to be primed for Lotus Pose, he also reminds you to carve your own path. Ultimately, you will have your own tendencies, patterns, and challenges that you may need to rewire, so incorporating other ways that will help prepare for Lotus are very much welcomed. That’s the beauty of being able to explore multiple techniques, postures, and actions within one immersion focused on Lotus Pose. Matt’s Lotus Immersion is packed with a multitude of ways to approach hip opening from an anatomical perspective. These 5 standing postures open the door, but there is always more to uncover. Register for Lotus in order to broaden your toolkit for better hip mobility.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Lotus Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Half Lotus Explorations

Half Lotus Explorations

Articulations for Your Hips, Knees, and Ankles

hip mobility

HALF LOTUS POSE EXPLORATIONS

Lotus Pose may become accessible at different phases of your practice, but it might not ever become attainable. Half Lotus Pose and variations are a great way to see what is possible. Practicing these preparatory postures and/or actions also provides what is actually useful: nourishment for the hips. Ultimately, creating health, longevity, and  functionality in the hips is much more rewarding than just being able to say “Hey, I’m in Lotus Pose!” 

The only way to get to know yourself and your body is to be willing to experiment in your practice. Diving into the options Matt provides in this video tutorial of Half Lotus explorations is the perfect opportunity. They are still deep hip openers, but they may provide more scope for how to articulate the hips, knees, and ankles.

lotus pose online yoga classes

LOTUS

  • Anatomy-informed classes
  • Increase hip mobility and range of motion
  • Balance flexibility and strength
  • Skillful techniques for Lotus variations and many other hip openers
  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Unlock your Lotus Pose
  • Learn the 4 Quadrants of the Hips
  • 8 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$128.00 $108.00

EXTERNAL & INTERNAL ROTATION OF THE HIP

Executing Half Lotus doesn’t mean that you will find it easier; it’s simply an alternative entry that allows you to maybe more fully examine each side of your body in more isolation. Early in today’s clip, Matt breaks down “Half Lotus Half Hero Pose” as one of these Half Lotus explorations. Here, you have one leg in external rotation and the other in deep internal rotation. This is not only an excellent variation to explore if it is more accessible to you but also a way to examine where you are along the spectrum of the posture. More importantly though, it helps you increase mobility in your hips by working on both internal and external rotation. The hips are in external rotation in Lotus, but working on the opposite internal rotation creates more balance and health in the hip joint overall.

WATCH THE VIDEO

HALF LOTUS EXPLORATIONS: ARTICULATIONS FOR YOUR HIPS, KNEES, AND ANKLES

ARTICULATION OF THE KNEES

In this Lotus article , I discuss how Matt explains the importance of the “closed” angle of the knees. This is vital, and there are some specifics to look at in these Half Lotus variations, especially regarding the use of props. Some ways to utilize props support the variations, and other ways can defer your progress. First, Matt recommends that you elevate your hips by sitting on a block or blanket. Bringing the hips higher allows you to keep your knees at a safer angle. Initially, once you externally rotate your hip, your knee might be quite high, so placing a block underneath it for support can also be beneficial. Matt explains that once you increase your range and develop the ability to bring your foot further across your body, you may notice that your knee will rest closer to the ground.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

ARTICULATION OF THE ANKLES

There are also specific joint actions that are necessary at the ankle. One of the ways to practice this is in “Half Virasana Half Cobbler’s Pose.” At the end of the video, Matt shows how to create eversion of the ankle. Having one leg in Cobbler’s Pose gives you a little bit more freedom to articulate this movement. You’ll see a demonstration of eversion of the ankle early on in the clip, but that variation may be less accessible. Why is eversion essential? It takes the stretch away from the outside of the ankle, which may cause injury. With eversion, you are shortening the outer ankle. When coming into any Lotus variation, performing this action can inform where to place your attention, which may be to create more opening at the hip and/or further closure at the knee.   

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

HALF LOTUS FOR LIFE

Words like “resilience” and “fortitude” come to mind when we think about the Lotus flower or posture. In life, these qualities are essential to push through adversity and overcome obstacles. Sometimes working on finding more mobility in the hips can feel like a laborious task, but it’s through adversity, whether on or off the mat, that we truly learn about ourselves. Approaching these Half Lotus variations may take you right into the mud, so to speak, and it may be quite mucky and taxing, but when your experience begins to shift and you start to notice the possibilities, this is when you’ll rise and come into the light of your potential. Achieving Half Lotus may be exciting, but being able to say “Hey, I’m able to do all of the activities I love” is the true reward.

Register for Matt’s March 2023 Immersion Lotus to unleash your potential.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Hips & Hamstrings Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Fire Log Pose

Fire Log Pose

3 Actions for Increased Hip Mobility

agnistambhasana

FIRE LOG POSE

There’s such a joyous feeling when you’re unwrapping a gift and caught up in the anticipation of finding out what’s inside. This can be similar to the process of exploring a specific yoga posture, and the process of setting up and exploring Fire Log Pose (Agnistambhasana) can provide this kind of excitement. There are quite a few actions to take to prepare for this hip opening posture. Its initial setup reveals much about the state of your hip mobility at the time, which doesn’t mean that’s where you’ll reside forever. In today’s video, Matt shares 3 essential actions you can implement right away. Once you start to include these actions, which target the muscles that surround and facilitate hip opening, you can create a brand-new experience and reveal an entirely new gift of increased hip mobility.

lotus pose online yoga classes

LOTUS

  • Anatomy-informed classes
  • Increase hip mobility and range of motion
  • Balance flexibility and strength
  • Skillful techniques for Lotus variations and many other hip openers
  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Unlock your Lotus Pose
  • Learn the 4 Quadrants of the Hips
  • 8 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$128.00 $108.00

A GREAT PLACE TO START

The key to a great start with Fire Log Pose is in the alignment. Yes, you can probably say this about any posture, but the way in which you set up your body in Agnistambhasana is the difference between getting feedback about your hip mobility or moving away from that awareness. Matt stresses that creating a “stack”—knee over ankle and ankle over knee—is what truly exposes where you are in regard to your own hip mobility. Now, if you’re quite mobile, this will be quite accessible. If the opposite is true, then this setup may seem unachievable. In both scenarios, however, the 3 actions that Matt provides will work to create strength, stability, and flexibility, and therefore increased mobility. In the video, you’ll see how Matt utilizes props in order to allow for the sensational feedback required to unravel what’s happening within.

WATCH THE VIDEO

FIRE LOG POSE:  3 ACTIONS FOR INCREASED HIP MOBILITY

ACTION 1

Part of improving hip mobility is activating the muscles that surround the hip in order to be able to mobilize the thigh bone inside of the hip joint. When it comes to Fire Log Pose, your hips are in an externally rotated position. The first action Matt invites you to take is to ignite the internal rotators. As in the video, if your left leg is on top, you’ll place your open palm on top of your left knee while pushing downward. At the same time, you’ll press your knee diagonally up into the hand, across to the right shoulder. In order to fire up the muscles on the other side, you can place your hands on blocks while pulling your right knee up into the ankle. This demonstrates how important the “stacking” is: It provides a more stable nook to execute this action.

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ACTION 2

In this next action, you’ll be firing up the external rotators of the hip. Depending on what you’re experiencing, there are a few options you can take. Matt still recommends that you set your hips back and bow forward. Here’s where you can play with different options though: You can use your hands, forearms, or blocks to press your feet into. The next detail is the “micro” tuck of the tailbone, and it makes a significant difference in supporting the movement of external rotation and the activation of those muscles. Even though it is a “micro” movement, it really has a notable impact on the level of awakening you will feel in those muscles. After spending some time here, check in with yourself. Now that you’ve been working on exhausting the muscles, you may notice a difference in your ability to “stack” in Fire Log Pose.

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300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

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  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
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ACTION 3

This final action is tied into the previous one, but it may be more up your alley. It could be the better option if you’re still not feeling enough sensation in your hips. Instead of pressing into your feet (as in Option 2), you can place your hands on your knees and press your knees into your hands. This will activate the abductors. Along with the micro tuck of the tailbone, an essential cue to consider here is the action of rotating your upper thigh bones out, externally. An easier way to think about this cue may be to press your knees down and out.

All of these actions facilitate increased hip mobility. Like Lotus, discussed in a previous article, Fire Log Pose is a deep hip opener and should be approached with an understanding that the preliminary work is what actually provides the benefit.

TRUST THE PROCESS

It’s important not to rush the process. When exploring these actions in Fire Log Pose, spend time breathing while holding the position in order to activate the muscles and give your nervous system time to adjust and create new patterns. This is what initiates change and transformation in your experience. The gift is in the groundwork.

Register for Matt’s March 2023 Lotus Immersion to dive deeper into more techniques for improved hip mobility.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Hips & Hamstrings Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

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Lotus Pose Variations

Lotus Pose Variations

Is There a Safer Option?

padmasana

LOTUS POSE VARIATIONS

One of my favorite episodes of Three’s Company is when John Ritter’s character (Jack) laughs at Joyce Dewitt ( Janet) and Suzanne Somers (Chrissy) when they are doing Lotus Pose during a yoga practice. He eggs them on about how easy it is, so they dare him to give it a try. Could he use the Lotus Pose variations that Matt offers? Most definitely! It wouldn’t be as hilarious though. In the episode, Jack struggles to get into the posture, pulling at the tip of his sock to set the top leg in place. It’s even worse when he tries to get out. Janet and Chrissy leave him begging for help. Definitely a good laugh and worth a search online. In our real life practice, however, we must be more intentional in how we explore Lotus in order to discover the safest options.

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IS LOTUS POSE FOR YOU?

First, how can you answer this question? The answer may be easy, or it may be quite layered. If you have room for exploration, Matt not only offers these Lotus pose variations to try but also reminds you to examine the sensations in your hips, knees, and ankles while practicing. Lotus pose is a deep hip opener, so there is a lot involved. Besides the hips, the state of your knees is one of the biggest considerations when it comes to deciding whether the posture is for you. And as much as you may associate the posture with extensive flexibility and mobility, it also requires stability. Generating stability in your knees, for example, is quite important and may be more accessible than you think.  The magic exists in the finer details, so paying attention to your knees and ankles may ultimately provide the answer you’re looking for.

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LOTUS POSE VARIATIONS:  IS THERE A SAFER OPTION?

KNEES AND ANKLES

Now, your body can change at any time. A definitive answer for the safest option for Lotus Pose doesn’t really exist, but it’s through the exploration of these Lotus pose variations that you can always find the answer you need at any stage of your yoga practice.  

The angle of your knees is a great point of focus. The 2 variations Matt offers in today’s video are Lotus on Your Back and Lotus Seated Upright. In either variation, the angle of your knees is a factor in determining whether or not you will find the full posture. The more “closed” you are at the knee joint, the more stable your knees, which minimizes the chances of injury. Once you are in Lotus, a respectable amount of eversion of the ankles is imperative to reduce the pressure that may build from inversion—which is also required.

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THE HIP JOINT

This deep hip opener requires great attention to detail and a tremendous amount of preparation. Part and parcel of this preparation are patience and focus. From an anatomical point of view, you may tend to focus on the external rotators of the hip. This is not wrong, because the shape of the posture requires that they perform efficiently to open the hip. What is also vital, however, is preparing in a way that honors the integrity of the hip as a whole. If you’ve practiced with Matt before, you’ll be familiar with what he calls “the 4 quadrants of the hips.” To delve into this concept, I highly recommend the Hips & Hamstrings immersion. Loosely defined, the 4 quadrants include the adductors, abductors, hamstrings, and hip flexors & quadriceps. Activating these muscle groups helps to exhaust the muscular system until they are ready to stretch, lengthen, and open.

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300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

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LOTUS ON YOUR BACK VS. LOTUS SEATED UPRIGHT

Matt offers Lotus on Your Back as the safer option when comparing it directly to Lotus Seated Upright. In the video, Matt talks about the risk of straining the knees in the upright variation. Sometimes the use of props may minimize this risk, but again, it’s about exploring what works for you. There may be less risk on your back. In the video, Matt’s entry to Lotus on his back shows that in this variation, you have more time and room to consider the sensations in your knees, particularly the second leg. The floor under your legs is out of the equation, so you can roll to the side, and you can play with how much you press the first knee away from your body to see if it is accessible for you to place the second leg on top. This doesn’t mean that the variation is easy, but it does offer more room to play.

NAVIGATING THIS DEEP HIP OPENER

Attention to your body is paramount in this sophisticated posture. In both Lotus Pose variations, the hips are flexing and abducting while in external rotation, the knees are in flexion, and the feet are in plantar flexion. Add to this the key action of some eversion of the ankles, and the pose can be quite complicated to navigate.

Jack’s pursuit of the posture in the Three’s Company episode is hysterical, but definitely not the model to follow. Forcing ourselves into postures can only lead to unwanted outcomes like injuries. In the full class, Matt reminds us about what yoga truly is by saying, “Postures are something we can utilize in order to pursue the practice of yoga: the practice of self-inquiry and self awareness.”

Register for Matt’s March 2023 Immersion Lotus to safely navigate this beautiful and elaborate posture.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Hips & Hamstrings Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

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read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

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  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
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Pigeon Leg Lifts

Pigeon Leg Lifts

Ignite Your Core-Hip Connection

pigeon drill

PIGEON LEG LIFTS

Pigeon Leg Lifts are the perfect example of how you can flip a common yoga posture on its head. You may have explored several variations of Pigeon Pose, but this out-of-the-ordinary drill/variation requires something quite different. Pigeon Leg Lifts boost your ability to feel how much of a role the psoas plays in how you experience your core. In fact, the psoas is considered to be part of the core, but it is not always part of the conversation. Its location in the body, combined with the knowledge of how to highlight it in your yoga practice, helps to bridge the gap between your core and hips. Tapping into this results in greater strength and stability in your yoga practice.

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

THE PSOAS 

The iliopsoas (often referred to as the psoas) is actually a combination of two muscles, namely the iliacus and psoas major, but is often thought of as one. It’s unique in that it’s the only muscle in the body that crosses over between the upper and lower body. The psoas is a deep muscle that attaches to the lumbar spine and the inner thigh bone. Due to its location in the body, one of its main roles is to stabilize the lumbar spine. The psoas is both a hip flexor and external rotator of the hip, playing a significant role in how you move, on and off of the yoga mat. Contracting this muscle in Pigeon Leg Lifts promotes deeper range of motion and helps you connect more deeply with the abdominal muscles that are part of the core (i.e., rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and obliques).

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PIGEON LEG LIFTS:  IGNITE YOUR CORE-HIP CONNECTION

THE CORE-HIP CONNECTION

The psoas works in conjunction with the other core muscles. As mentioned, it’s both a hip flexor and hip external rotator, but it also creates flexion of the spine. Spinal flexion is an entry point to understanding the core-hip connection. In my previous blog, Rectus Abdominis Handstand Drill, I discussed how Matt very intentionally utilizes the activation of rectus abdominis in order to create spinal flexion. Both the psoas’s ability to create the same action and the placement of its attachment points reveal that the psoas is essentially a bridge between the core and the legs. Understanding the link between the core and the hips has the ability to transform your yoga practice.

Activation and strengthening of the psoas is not often illuminated in unique ways in yoga classes. Practicing Pigeon Leg Lifts offers the opportunity to heighten the sensations within the core and the hips.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
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  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

WAYS TO EXPLORE PIGEON LEG LIFTS

In today’s video, Matt demonstrates 2 ways to execute Pigeon Leg Lifts. In the 1st option, you’ll see that it’s almost like a “push-up” action with multiple repetitions. The pushing up, however, comes from driving your hips up as far away from your mat as possible. In both options, your arms stay straight, but the 2nd requires that after you lift your hips, you sustain and hold for a few breaths. If you’re looking to fire up the core, then Pigeon Leg Lifts will do it!  You can’t escape the intensity of what’s involved. As you lift your hips all the way up, you are simultaneously creating more spinal flexion while your front upper thigh is in external rotation to maintain the “Pigeon position.” If that’s not enough, the action of pressing down the ball mound of the back foot also ignites the psoas and the hip flexors of the back thigh.

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300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

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  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

WHY IS THIS USEFUL?

The strengthening of the core, including the psoas, along with deeper spinal flexion is no doubt the “show stopper” of these Pigeon Leg Lifts. Doing this drill will promote greater stability and mobility for enhanced movement on and off of the mat. What’s incredible about the way Matt teaches is that he always provides a compassionate push. In the full class, he says that deliberately engaging muscles in your practice helps you understand what you struggle with the most. Once revealed, this understanding provides opportunities to work on those areas in order to achieve fuller body participation. Within all of this physical awareness, what ends up happening is an unfolding of the mind. Your ability to confront your perceived limitations also strengthens.

Join Matt’s Breath of Fire Immersion to experience the fullness of your practice.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Breath of Fire Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

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Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

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read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

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Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Rectus Abdominis Handstand Drill

Rectus Abdominis
Handstand Drill

The Key Component for Control

abdominals

RECTUS ABDOMINIS HANDSTAND DRILL

This rectus abdominis handstand drill takes the fear out of inversions. That may be a bold statement to make, but it’s true. If you don’t have prior experience and/or training in any inversions, fear can be one of the most common barriers. The drill that Matt presents in today’s video is about intention and focus. You may have done the drill before, but have you done it like this? Drills offer an opportunity to focus on an action in your body. However, this doesn’t mean that you no longer require focus, attention, and effort as regards the other areas of focus, and drills provide more than just the development of a certain skill. They offer the confidence to move forward and progress in other ways.

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THE RECTUS ABDOMINIS?

The rectus abdominis is a flat muscle and is the most superficial of the abdominal layers. It runs from the bottom of the sternum all the way down to the pubic bone. Its central role is to create spinal flexion. In your yoga practice, the use of the rectus abdominis shows up in forward folds. The muscle also supports your ability to stay stable in balancing and plank postures, although the deeper muscle layers take on more of that responsibility. This doesn’t mean that it’s not essential, and we are centering our focus today on the rectus abdominis handstand drill. As previously mentioned, it’s about intention and awareness and about the specific actions you take that bring the rectus abdominis more to the forefront. For example, the amount of engagement, or activation, of the rectus abdominis depends on what’s required in a specific movement or drill.

WATCH THE VIDEO

RECTUS ABDOMINIS HANDSTAND DRILL:  THE KEY COMPONENT FOR CONTROL

HANDSTANDS

You can think about what’s required in Handstand in a number of different ways. Handstands are referred to as both arm balances and inversions, and the list of what’s required may seem lengthier than for other arm balances. You can be sure, however, that Matt always has a phenomenal way of breaking things down into tiny bits so you can work through the process. Some of the areas of focus are your hands, which grip the ground; the wrist flexors; or “joint stacking.” In one of my previous articles, L Pose Handstand Training, I outline more details about the core and about how Matt shows you how to utilize your hip flexors. The conversation surrounding the rectus abdominis is another important one because it’s another opportunity to intelligently call upon a “simple” action in your body to get you closer to Handstand.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

UNDERSTANDING THE DRILL

The simple action in this rectus abdominis drill is to bring your ribs and pelvis closer to one another, but the action is more deliberate than simply leaning forward and allowing gravity to do the work. A level of activation is required to utilize the strength necessary for the inversion. You’ll see in the video that Matt encourages you to prioritize this action over stacking the hip and shoulder joints. This stacking can be quite intimidating at first, and the rectus abdominis drill removes this barrier. Executing this drill with a wall behind you offers even more encouragement and permission to explore kicking up into Handstand with more confidence and control. Keeping your front body shortened trains you to stay away from relying on the wall. The action may shorten your hops, but this simply means that you are successfully keeping your awareness on the rectus abdominis.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

Yes, going upside down is more than front-body awareness and activation; it’s also about connecting the dots. Taking an approach like this one helps clarify what’s required in Handstand as a whole posture. You are not only training your physical body but also creating an indelible mark on your nervous system that you’ll be able to call upon naturally and intuitively. In other words, the approach goes beyond being just a rectus abdominis Handstand drill. It is something you can rely on in your approach to other inversions and to how you go about putting the pieces together when exploring postures that are challenging for you.

Matt’s current Breath of Fire Immersion goes further into how to intelligently utilize your core within your yoga practice.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Breath Of Fire Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder Secrets

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read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

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Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

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  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
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  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Strengthen Your Diaphragm

Strengthen Your Diaphragm

Resistance-Band Breath Technique

breathe

STRENGTHEN YOUR DIAPHRAGM

Strengthening your diaphragm. Is that a thing? It absolutely is, just like any other muscle you develop and strengthen in your body. The diaphragm is arguably one of the most important because it is one of the main muscles that helps you breathe. How do you strengthen the diaphragm? One way to work with this muscle is to engage it. This happens naturally when we inhale, of course, because of the natural movement that occurs: The diaphragm moves downward towards the lower vertebrae in order to create space, while the vacuum of pressure pulls air into the lungs. What Matt demonstrates today is not this natural engagement but instead a sustained engagement in order to work on the endurance and strengthening of the diaphragm.

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA

Maintaining the sustained engagement of the diaphragm may sound reasonably simple; however, it may be quite uncomfortable if it’s something you’ve never practiced before. In order to train your body and nervous system for the mechanics of each movement and/or drill ahead, Matt prepares you in his current immersion, Breath of Fire, with a breath technique at the beginning of each class. 

Bhastrika pranayama is the ideal pairing for the resistance-band technique that Matt demonstrates in today’s video. Bhastrika pranayama is referred to as Breath of Fire, or Bellows Breath. This breath technique involves emphasis and effort on both the inhale and the exhale. Practicing a few rounds with multiple repetitions gets the brain on board, particularly with the action of the inhale. The action of pushing your belly out on the inhale provides more force, focus, and movement of your diaphragm.

WATCH THE VIDEO

STRENGTHEN YOUR DIAPHRAGM: RESISTANCE BAND BREATH TECHNIQUE

HOW DOES BHASTRIKA COMPARE TO KAPALABHATI?

So, why not Kapalabhati pranayama as preparation for the resistance-band technique Matt explores today? It’s because the difference between Bhastrika and Kapalabhati is where the emphasis is placed in the breath. With Bhastrika, the inhale is quite active, whereas with Kapalabhati, the inhale is passive. This creates more emphasis on the exhale and the movement “in and up” of the transversus abdominis. Visually, the two breathing practices may appear very similar, but the sensation and experience are quite different.  

Matt advises you to build gradually. For example, you may start with 15 repetitions and then gradually move your way up to 30. The goal is to gradually become more familiar with pushing your belly out, thus moving the diaphragm down in order to train it for strength. What becomes apparent is that you actually affect more than the diaphragm. You tap into connections with other core muscles.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

MORE THAN YOUR ABDOMINALS

Your core is much more than just your abdominal muscles. The exercise Matt breaks down today requires quite a bit of work from your iliopsoas muscles, which are also part of your core. Creating strength in the diaphragm includes exploring sustained engagement outside of isolation, and activating the iliopsoas in conjunction with the diaphragm means that you are incorporating more of your core muscles and therefore creating more integrity within the whole “core system.” The act of pushing your belly down and out on both the inhale and the exhale also supports the connection with the core muscles in your back body (e.g., erector spinae and multifidus).

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

RESISTANCE-BAND BREATH TECHNIQUE

First of all, if you’re familiar with the core exercise called Dead Bug, you’ll be familiar with the basic mechanics of this exercise. What may be new for you is the consistent activation of your diaphragm while executing the core work.

What role does a resistance band play with this breath/core technique? Well, as Matt explains it, the band acts somewhat like the transverse abdominis and is there to entice you to pull your belly in and up. What you will actually do is push your belly down and out, into the band.

This action, in addition to the cross action of pressing your opposite hand into your thigh and the thigh into your hand, is what engages your iliopsoas muscles.

This is much harder than it appears. Of course the level of difficulty is increased due to the balance factor, but it’s really the engagement of your diaphragm that multiplies the sensations in this technique.

Expand on this experience in Matt’s current immersion, Breath Of Fire. Delve into deeper knowledge of your core muscles in order to both breathe and move better.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Breath Of Fire Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

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read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

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read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

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Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

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Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

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Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Breathwork & Chapasana

Breathwork and Chapasana

Deep Core Work for Greater Opening

heart opener

BREATHWORK AND CHAPASANA

It’s pretty well understood that the way we utilize our breath in our yoga practice will affect our experience. We also can’t escape the fact that this understanding leads to how we breathe off of our yoga mats. Quite frankly though, it doesn’t mean that it will be an improved experience. There may be an expectation that if we integrate various breathwork practices consistently, then we will see improvement. Even if we do see improvement, there’s always room to grow. We can learn more, and we can even take action, but how much of a deep dive are we willing to take? This is why we are fortunate to have teachers like Matt who go deeper into the mechanics of breath. In today’s video, he demonstrates how to actually strengthen the deepest core layer of our abdominals (the transverse abdominis, or TVA) via breathwork and a pose called Chapasana.

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

WHAT IS BREATHWORK?

First, let’s gain a clearer understanding of breathwork. In simpler terms, breathwork encompasses a variety of breathing techniques that may involve pace, rhythm, and/or specific patterns where the inhales and exhales vary. We may also encounter the word pranayama, which is the Sanskrit term for breathwork. More deeply, pranayama is also one of the 8 limbs of yoga from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Discussions surrounding pranayama may include energy flow and/or energy management for body and mind. As we go deeper, we begin to learn that it’s imperative to spend time on strengthening the muscles that are involved with the mechanics of breath to actualize the positive outcomes we desire. These positive outcomes may include more ease and greater capacity of breath.

WATCH THE VIDEO

BREATHWORK & CHAPASANA: DEEP CORE WORK FOR GREATER OPENING

THE MECHANICS OF BREATH

In a recent live video from Matt’s Instagram page, he thoroughly breaks down the mechanics of breathing. This is what I’m referring to when I say that Matt goes beyond simply teaching a technique. What we actually receive is why and how the mechanics of breath are vital to our yoga practice. Within the context of Chapasana, we not only learn how to strengthen the TVA with a “diaphragmatic breathing” technique, but we also gain insight into how to stretch the more superficial core muscles (rectus abdominis), allowing for increased space for breath capacity and opening within the backbend itself. All of this translates into how it also connects with our extremities (through its impact on the serratus anterior and scapulae) for greater shoulder mobility in the posture. Examining breathwork and Chapasana as a unit helps us grasp the importance of breathwork in any posture.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

CORE CONNECTION THROUGH BREATH

In the video, Matt demonstrates a diaphragmatic breathing technique. The technique lays the foundation for Chapasana in that we need to have the ability to engage the TVA at specific points during the execution of the pose. Engaging the TVA within the context of breathwork means that we are pulling the belly back during a forceful exhale. In the live video I previously mentioned, Matt explains that during the exhalation process, a pressure is created within the torso by the squeezing in of the ribcage, intercostal muscles, and TVA. The air is forced out of the lungs in the process, which involves the diaphragm relaxing, expanding, and returning to its dome-like shape at the base of the ribcage.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

CHAPASANA

Practicing the breath technique from today’s video in repetitive rounds is what helps to strengthen the core and muscles involved in respiration.

How is this relevant in Chapasana? Even though there is less focus on the backbend today, it’s almost impossible not to achieve greater opening. First, Matt creates a softening on an inhale for greater expansion in the front body. What’s simply incredible though is that you’ll see that expansion multiplied with the exhale and action of engaging the TVA. He pulls his belly back and up, which drives the ribcage out to the sides and up towards his shoulders. That’s the link to the extremities. This expansion leads to further spreading of the serratus anterior, creating more movement in the scapula and ultimately a better reach to grab the foot. It’s unbelievable to witness the transformation, all from the catalyst of the breath. 

The Breath Of Fire Immersion starts this Friday.  You won’t want to miss this opportunity to deepen your relationship to your core and the impact it has on the rest of your body.

See you on the mat!  

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Strength Immersion

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

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read more
Twist Power

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read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

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Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Learn To Fly In Side Crow

Learn to Fly in Side Crow

Get to the Core with 3 Variations

ARM BALANCE

LEARN TO FLY IN SIDE CROW

Getting to the core of this arm balance will awaken a potential in your body that you may not be aware is even present. Learning to fly in Side Crow actually goes deeper than going through the motions of different variations. If you’ve been practicing with Matt, then you know that he teaches and applies very specific techniques within a posture and/or its variations; these techniques show you how to intellectually approach the execution of a yoga posture. The 3 variations you’ll see in today’s video will show you how to properly activate the muscles (obliques, abductor group, adductors, and hip flexors) in order to tap into the potential that awaits you.

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

THE 2 MAIN ACTIONS

The clips from today’s video are taken from the Anatomy of Arm Balances immersion. In the full class, Matt invites you to step back from balancing in the posture so you can actually connect with your core muscles. How is this done? It’s the positioning of the arm that’s furthest away from your body that allows the core connection to take place. You’re left with no choice but to utilize the obliques to gain height. Action #1 then is to hike the top hip up towards the same-side shoulder (obliques and gluteus medius activation). Action #2 requires the activation of the hip flexors. Here, you’re pulling your knees towards your chest while energetically pulling your bottom knee (if it’s the right) towards your right shoulder. This common thread runs through all 3 variations in some form. Let’s examine the techniques involved.

WATCH THE VIDEO

LEARN TO FLY IN SIDE CROW: GET TO THE CORE WITH 3 VARIATIONS

SIDE CROW: NO PROPS

Starting with this variation provides a nice baseline for you to see where you may need to place more emphasis. You’ll see how wide the distance is between Matt’s hands. Spreading your hands far apart forces you to lift the hips up as high as possible, which turns on the upper obliques. Dropping the hips (which is common) significantly minimizes your use of the obliques. These 2 main actions, along with leaning more forward and of course gripping your fingers into the ground, are the keys. If you are challenged anywhere along the chain of events, dial it back and work on the sensations of the activations (e.g., hands wide while lifting and lowering the hips with a contraction in the obliques). Still unsure what to feel? Have a look at the variations with props.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

SIDE CROW WITH A STRAP

This Side Crow variation with a strap is a great option to explore if you require more awareness of the upper obliques. This particular variation also places weight on the activation of the tensor fasciae latae (TFL). The TFL is both a hip flexor and internal rotator. The internal rotation helps to fire up the abductors of the bottom leg. Doing this creates more stability and provides greater access to the posture. Adding a strap doesn’t make it easier, but what you will receive is feedback. Pressing into the strap is like pressing into the guiding hand of a yoga teacher. You won’t be able to ignore the sensations here, I promise you. The abductor muscles will speak to you, and it will be quite the conversation!

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

SIDE CROW WITH A BLOCK

Lastly, Matt demonstrates Side Crow with a block. Placing a yoga block between your thighs or shins helps you to squeeze everything into the center. Here you’ll feel the adductors while you try to hold the block in place. This option is closer to the first variation as regards shape, so it’s a great one to incorporate into your practice to encourage the 2 main actions with your legs hugged in towards one another.

EXPLORE AND INTEGRATE

In conclusion, unlearning some of the habits you’ve patterned that don’t require you to focus on just how strong can become in Side Crow will pay off in the long run. When the effort is appropriate, it is what drives you forward—as Matt always teaches, “explore and integrate.” Thinking about the possibilities available to you is actually pretty exciting. When you focus on building strength, you can learn to fly in Side Crow. After strength, weightlessness and lightness in the posture follow. A challenging arm balance like Side Crow will then emanate more ease than effort.

Register for Matt’s February immersion, Breath of Fire. This immersion will go deeper into how you can access your core muscles in order to progress in the awareness of your body and your practice.

See you on the mat!  

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Anatomy Of Arm Balances

Yoga for Core and Breathwork

BREATH OF FIRE

  • Moderate Vinyasa-style classes
  • Core strengthening & integration
  • Master your breath with pranayama practices
  • Access your core in arm balances, heart openers, twists, forward folds, inversions, and more
  • Learn where and how to breathe in challenging postures
  • Each class will include one pranayama (breathwork practice) and several core strengtheners
  • Access your core muscles: deep, superficial, anterior, posterior, and lateral 
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Create Fluency In Your Flows

Create Fluency in Your Flows

Workshop These Vinyasa Transitions

FLUIDITY

IS IT “FIND” OR “CREATE” FLUENCY IN YOUR FLOWS?

It’s most definitely possible to say “find” fluency in your flows when it comes to a Vinyasa-style yoga practice, but I believe “create” is a more appropriate word to use here because it implies that you have to take action to make fluency happen. It’s vital to be very intentional about your approach when you are integrating something into your life, and it’s no different with regard to your yoga practice on the mat. Matt teaches specific techniques and strategies to make it easier for you to be intentional. Sometimes you have the yearning, but you don’t know what steps to take. In today’s video, you’ll see how Matt workshops how to utilize strength, the creative use of props, and harmony between breath and movement for a perfect equation to create fluency in your flows.

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

NAVIGATING TRANSITIONS

A Vinyasa-style practice is associated with almost seamless, flowing-type movements on your mat. The synchronicity of movement with breath elicits a certain pace and a “push” quality, since you are always looking ahead or moving towards the next posture. Doing this requires a degree of strength in order to flow with confidence.

It’s also important to understand that moving with control and elegance on your mat is so much more than the aesthetics. You can’t deny that watching someone gracefully move across their mat is beautiful, but what you’re actually witnessing is the time and effort that has gone into developing strength. Navigating your way through a sequence of postures requires not only focus in the moment but also anticipation of what is coming next.

The clips from today’s video are from Matt’s MOVE Immersion. In the clips, he teaches you, with explicit instruction, how to transition from Warrior II to Half Moon Pose and how to Jump Back into Chaturanga from Standing Splits. Woven into the instruction of both transitions is how to utilize strength and how the power of props helps to pattern the fluidity of these transitions into your nervous system.

WATCH THE VIDEO

CREATE FLUENCY IN YOUR FLOWS: WORKSHOP THESE YOGA TRANSITIONS

WARRIOR II TO HALF MOON

First, let’s look at Warrior II to Half Moon. I would say that this is a fairly common transition, but without a deeper understanding of how to utilize your strength for balance, it can easily fall apart. For you to learn how to find fluency, Matt first advises you to come to the long side of your mat. From here, you can root down into your mat with your front foot. Next, he instructs you to take your back foot off of the mat. Doing this will help with the glide that’s necessary to “push” forward into Half Moon. What’s the best way to glide? The prop that’s used here is a sock on your back foot to glide across a hardwood floor or similar surface. The way to home in on strength here is to activate your gluteus muscles. Rooting down through your front heel encourages the activation of the glutes in the front leg. This firming down supports your ability to neatly drag or glide your back foot towards the front in order to lift into Half Moon. What happens when you return to your mat? You’ll see how Matt progresses you to the point where you can eventually take the contact of the back foot away from the floor completely. The return to Warrior II is simply the reversal of all of the steps. What you’re left with is powerful yet free-flowing movement that appears weightless.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

JUMP BACK FROM STANDING SPLITS

This transition exhibits an explosive amount of power. One of the keys to unleashing the power for the lightness of the float in the jump back is to strengthen your hamstrings and glutes. You’ll see how Matt utilizes a block to maintain the activation in these muscle groups. To create the foundation, you’ll also use socks as a prop to learn to pattern a smooth sweep back into Chaturanga (the progression here happens without the block). The lift of the top leg in Standing Splits requires glute and hamstring strength. Maintaining this lift while jumping back is what contributes to the buoyancy. Of course, the upper-body strength required is not to be neglected, but breaking it down and layering each aspect will assist in finding the fluency required here. In the video, you’ll also want to pay attention to Matt’s hand placement when he’s setting up “Standing Splits preparation.” This detail is essential for preparing the upper body to harness more strength.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

LET IT ALL GO

Finding fluency in your flows means that you’ve found this beautiful collision, where strength meets softness. There is a level of push and action while giving over to the flow of momentum. Fluency is accessible and possible.  Cultivating strength is the foundation. The use of props can assist with strength and create ease. It’s true that your breath anchors it all, and it’s also what helps you to let go and flow freely.

There’s still time to register for MOVE, where Matt shares a plethora of techniques and tools to move with grace.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Clips Extracted From: Move Immersion

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

Continue Learning

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Build Strength & Endurance

Build Strength and Endurance

Infuse Calisthenics Into Your Yoga Practice

resilience

STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE WITH CALISTHENICS

There are both simple and more complex ways of infusing calisthenics into your yoga practice, especially as you get stronger and build upon various skills. First of all, movements associated with “basic” calisthenic exercises are already woven in many ways into asana practices such as Vinyasa and Ashtanga styles of yoga. What we need to understand, however, is that alongside the more traditional approaches, there are creative and innovative ways of incorporating calisthenics into our physical practice. Ultimately, what we are building over time is strength and endurance.

Matt breaks down exactly how to do this in the clips that you’ll see in today’s video, from his current MOVE Immersion. What is the reason for wanting to increase strength and endurance? Well, key components of overall health include both. If you consistently practice calisthenic exercises and/or incorporate them into your yoga practice, it’s inevitable that you’ll develop increased strength and endurance both physically and mentally.  

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

WHAT ARE CALISTHENICS?

When you hear the term calisthenics, I wouldn’t be surprised if what comes to mind are some seriously strong folks doing pull-ups, chin-ups, a rude amount of push-ups or some “crazy” complicated movements requiring what may appears to be an obscene amount of coordination. You wouldn’t be wrong. The idea of incorporating calisthenics into your movement practice can be quite intimidating. The good news is that there are entry points, and they may be more accessible than you think.

Essentially, calisthenics are defined as a form of exercise where you’re using your own body weight for resistance. Exercises often associated with calisthenics are pull-ups, chin-ups, squats, lunges, planks, and push-ups, to name a few. How many times have you done chaturanga “yoga push-ups” in your practice?  How many times have you moved in and out of Malasana? Runner’s Lunge? Can you see the crossover? There is a great deal of benefit both physically and mentally. Let’s have a look.

WATCH THE VIDEO

BUILD STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE: INFUSE CALISTHENICS INTO YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

PHYSICAL STRENGTH & ENDURANCE

Without a doubt, calisthenics are going to help you to build a solid and strong foundation. Incorporating them into your asana practice means that your approach on your mat will be an intense one. To acquire the benefits of muscle  strength and/or cardiovascular endurance, there must be repetition and vigor in your output of each drill or exercise, with minimal rest in between.  

Although calisthenics have an impact on all muscle fibers, they are said to primarily work the slow-twitch fibers (type 1 fibers). These muscle fibers are associated with endurance. Because exercises like push-ups, lunges, and squats typically involve repetition, you can see how they are easily incorporated in the context of an asana practice. The physical demand and strain on your muscle tissues creates the stimulus for them to break down and therefore adapt and ultimately grow. In your yoga practice, the capacity at which you are working does not equate to muscular hypertrophy but to a remarkable amount of strength and integrity in your body.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

MENTAL STRENGTH & ENDURANCE

The attention to skill and technique requires a great deal of focus and concentration. Depending on the level of coordination and difficulty involved in a particular exercise, you’re also building resilience and mental toughness. The drive to complete and “push through” various calisthenic exercises means that you’re also fueling yourself with confidence. You’re actually proving to yourself that you can confront the opposition in your mind that may be telling you that you can’t possibly go any further. As long as you are free from injury and pain, taking action and pushing through is what actually allows you to experience benefits like increased focus, confidence, and tenacity. The resilience you build on your mat will ultimately lead to the same type of resilience in other areas of your life.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

FIVE WAYS TO INFUSE CALISTHENICS INTO YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

In today’s video, Matt outlines 5 ways to infuse calisthenics into your yoga practice. He includes both simplified and more complex options.  

First, Chaturanga Dandasana is great for strengthening your core, chest, triceps, shoulders, and the muscles in your lower body. In the clip, Matt demonstrates the transition from Downward-Facing Dog to Plank (on knees or on toes), then he doubles the Chaturanga before coming all the way down to the ground. This may be a “simpler” way to increase intensity and muscle strength, but if you are not used to using this transition, it will take some time to feel stronger and more confident in your execution.

Second, Matt demonstrates a Boat Pose to Chaturanga transition. He breaks this one down into stages in which you can slowly build your way up to a full jump back into Chaturanga. This exercise will undoubtedly challenge your cardiovascular system and build more heat in your body. It also requires more coordination and timing as you progress into the jump back.

Third are the Adductor Slides With Socks and Blocks. This one is particularly innovative: Not only do you get the cardiovascular benefit, but you also build strength in your adductors (a muscle group that can often be neglected). In the full class from which this clip is extracted, Matt repeats the drill with a timer. He encourages you to perform it quickly while paying attention to very precise articulations in the hips and feet.

The fourth calisthenic exercise involves Plank—you might call this one a Side Plank (Vasisthasana) Crunch. Here, the focus is on strengthening your oblique muscles. It requires a great deal of muscle strength to balance while holding up your body weight and performing the “crunch” in the side body with control. This exercise definitely creates fire in the body! You will feel the elevation of your heart rate. 

Lastly, Matt demonstrates another Plank variation. This one might be referred to as Side Plank (Vasisthasana) With Adductor Leg Lift. In this exercise, you are again strengthening your oblique muscles but adding in the strengthening of your adductor muscles. If you’re looking for a challenge, THIS—IS—THE—ONE! Again, the movements may appear to be quite innocent, but there is always more than meets the eye.

TRANSFORM YOUR PRACTICE

You can see that the intricacy of all of these exercises requires mindfulness, focus, and physical intensity on your part.

When you watch the video, you’ll see how Matt specifically outlines the techniques for each drill in order for you to gain the maximum benefit. This is important because what might appear to be a minor change in body positioning (e.g., the articulation of the feet as they move in and out in the Adductor Slides) can have a drastic impact on the experience within the exercises and the actual muscle groups you’re affecting.

All of the clips are from Matt’s MOVE Immersion. In each and every class, there are so many ways that Matt teaches how to incorporate calisthenics, for strength and endurance, into your yoga practice.   

If you want to practice with more strength and grace, then this is definitely the immersion to sign up for.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Clips Extracted From: Move Immersion

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

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read more
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read more
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read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2

Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2

Five Drills for Greater Access

flying splits

EKA PADA KOUNDINYASANA 2: STRENGTH AND POISE

The elegant long lines of a posture like Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2 require a great deal of strength and preparation. The pose also requires both ease and poise. Strength is required for more than holding the posture; it also contributes to the element of ease. There’s no doubt that this arm balance is a challenging one. If you believe that confidence is essential for a posture like this one, then you’re right! What’s appealing about working towards a posture like Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2 is that you develop confidence through the preparation. How do you prepare? In today’s video, Matt demonstrates 5 drills that will help you develop the strength and poise that is expressed in the pose.  

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

GROUNDWORK WITH YOGA BLOCKS

Breaking up the actions between the upper and lower body can really help to refine the execution of Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2. In the first drill, Matt demonstrates an option with yoga blocks set up underneath your chest to relieve some of the effort in your arms. Doing this helps you focus on the techniques utilized in the hips and legs, which create the height and length required for balancing the posture.  

You’ll see that the first drill sets the foundation for all of the drills in the video. 

Here are the core steps in Drill #1:

(left leg forward)

  1. With hands wide and slightly behind either side of the blocks, place your left leg onto your upper left arm
  2. Lean forward and place your chest on a block or blocks (depending on the height required for your body)
  3. Create an anterior tilt of your pelvis while internally rotating the upper thigh of your left leg
  4. Take the option to straighten the front leg—your back knee may stay on the mat 

In the 2nd drill, you are repeating the same actions as above; however, you are adding on by straightening the back leg. Matt demonstrates this with socks on, making it easier to practice by gliding your back foot on the floor rather than on a yoga mat. This is the first step in creating those elegant lines.

WATCH THE VIDEO

EKA PADA KOUNDINYASANA 2: FIVE DRILLS FOR GREATER ACCESS

STATIC ENTRY WITHOUT YOGA BLOCKS

Drill #3 invites you to attempt entry into Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2 from a static position, without the use blocks. Matt reminds you that entering the posture from a static position is muscularly demanding and that without the help of the blocks, it’s vital to create more stability in your upper body. If you’ve practiced with Matt before, then you know that one of the essential elements of an arm balance is to grip the ground with your fingers. As you grip the ground in Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2, it’s imperative that you lean forward to offset the weight in your lower body. While executing the actions of the hips (anterior tilt of the pelvis and internal rotation of the upper thigh bone), another action will help to solidify the pose: squeezing your thigh into your arm. This will strengthen the adductors and create maximum stability. From there, you can start to lengthen the legs out in opposite directions.  

Practicing this posture in socks and on a hardwood floor can be extremely helpful in emphasizing a more graceful extension and easier access. Matt also offers the option of bending the knee of the back leg in order to gain a little more height before you straighten the leg out.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

STATIC ENTRY WITH YOGA BLOCKS

In this variation of Drill #3, the blocks support the back leg. The core actions remain the same, and you’ll see in the video that Matt stacks 2 yoga blocks on top of each other. Once you have both sent your weight forward into your hands and lengthened your front leg, you can take a deep bend of your back leg (while your back knee is resting on the blocks). You can experiment with either keeping the knee down or furthering the play with balance and lifting your back knee up away from the blocks.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

ENTRY WITH MOMENTUM

In Drill #4, you’ll explore coming into Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2 with momentum. This allows you to practice a more dynamic way of entering the posture, which requires a great deal of coordination. Matt explains that less effort is required of the muscular system, but you’ll notice that you’ll require a slight pull back to keep yourself from falling. This means that the gripping of the fingers into the ground will also be key in maintaining balance.   

Here are the core steps for entry with momentum:

(left side)

  1. Begin in a short Downward-Facing Dog
  2. Lift your left leg up
  3. In one continuous motion, follow the steps to place your left leg on your left arm while creating the actions in your pelvis, upper thigh, and adductors

Drill #5 reintroduces the yoga blocks to get you started at a higher height. Matt places 2 blocks, stacked one on top of the other, underneath the foot of the leg that will extend behind you. This creates a “shelf” to help you gather greater height and momentum for the movement of your front leg. A tip is to place the blocks more directly behind the leg that will eventually come forward. You’ll see in the video how this really informs your ability to shift your weight more forward. 

ONCE YOU KNOW, YOU CAN FLOW

Matt advises you to practice these drills and variations repeatedly. As you experiment with them, you’ll build strength and confidence in the posture itself, and you’ll also build confidence in how you move your body as a whole. Repeating these drills creates an imprint in your body and puts your body “in the know,” or creates muscle memory. Once your body knows, you can release a little bit of focus as regards technique and allow yourself to flow and move between postures with more grace and ease. It’s not that you leave technique behind, but you develop a trust in your body’s ability to move with a sense of assuredness. You’ll access Eka Pada Koundinyasana 2 with more strength and poise, and you’ll reveal a seamlessness in your practice that helps you find your flow.

You’ll want to sign up for Matt’s Move Immersion to dive deeper into your movement potential.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Vinyasa Immersion

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Smooth Seated Jump Throughs

Smooth Seated Jump Throughs

Skillful Transition Techniques Simplified

movement

SEATED JUMP THROUGHS

It’s true that seated jump throughs are an example of how to seamlessly create a link between two yoga postures, but they also provide a lot of information about how you move. It’s easy to find yourself more focused on the alignment, shape, and/or position of your body within a specific asana. This is not without good reason, because there is definitely a lot going on in a given posture, especially when you are considering when and how to create the appropriate muscle engagements in order to maximize the posture’s benefits. How you move and transition between each posture, however, also carries a great deal of weight within your yoga practice. In other words, what happens between each posture is extremely important. Moreover, your ability to control your body in order to maintain balance and safely move on your mat translates to how you move when you are off of the mat.

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

HOW ARE TRANSITIONS IN YOGA CONNECTED TO HEALTH?

Seated jump throughs are often used in Vinyasa- and Ashtanga-style practices to enter into seated postures more smoothly. Given the nature of these practices, which are more dynamic, this comes as no surprise. The pairing of movement with breath requires you to move with more “flow.” More vigorous practices like these provide benefits like increased strength or coordination and may even offer cardiovascular benefit. The benefits are not limited to the physical; these practices also improve cognitive function. Learning how to execute seated jump throughs offers much more than graceful ease on the mat.

WATCH THE VIDEO

SMOOTH SEATED JUMP THROUGHS: SKILLFUL TRANSITION TECHNIQUES SIMPLIFIED

MOVEMENT & CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE

Practicing a skill such as a seated jump through requires more sophisticated movement and repetition. Even if it is a “simple” transition for you, doing it repetitively throughout your practice will definitely build heat in your body and increase your heart rate. If seated jump through is a more ambitious endeavor, then practicing the skills Matt breaks down will both build heat and provide the cardiovascular benefit of this type of movement.

“It is widely accepted that regular physical activity is beneficial for cardiovascular health. Frequent exercise is robustly associated with a decrease in cardiovascular mortality as well as the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.”

Nystoriak MA, Bhatnagar A. Cardiovascular Effects and Benefits of Exercise. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2018 Sep 28;5:135. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2018.00135. PMID: 30324108; PMCID: PMC6172294.

When you watch the video, you’ll see the layering within the drills Matt offers. The effort involved in practicing the drills for the transition, along with this style of  practice as a whole, will undoubtedly challenge you physically. Consistently practicing this way is the key to unlocking the benefits.

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200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
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  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

MOVEMENT & COGNITIVE FUNCTION

The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is largely responsible for memory and learning. The researchers in this study “found the volume of the left hippocampus to be significantly greater among yoga-practitioners compared to age- and sex-matched controls with similar physical activity and fitness levels.”

Gothe, Neha P. et al. ‘Yoga Effects on Brain Health: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature’. 1 Jan. 2019 : 105 – 122.

The study finds that specifically asana has a significant impact in this area. Understanding this confirms the importance of movement and its impact on both the physical and the mental.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

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  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

SKILLFUL EXECUTION OF A SEATED JUMP THROUGH

As previously mentioned, Matt layers on each skill in order to make the practice of seated jump throughs more accessible.  

In the video, you’ll see that Matt advises you to start from a “shortened Downward Dog” position, with hands wider than usual. From there, you’ll place one leg in front in order to cross at your shins as you glide your feet forward and then gently drop to a seated position. You have the option to then send both legs forward in order to start imprinting the full pattern of movement into your nervous system. In order to take the drill to the next step, you have the option to jump into the cross-legged seated position (important to note that you should land on the tops of your feet). This undoubtedly makes it more active (increasing your heart rate and the cardiovascular component). What is more, when you come to the tops of your feet, you’ll see how Matt demonstrates a play of buoyancy in the hips. This balance on your hands is also a great preparation for arm balances and for the strength required in the seated jump through when you start sending your legs forward with more fluidity.

Repeatedly practicing the skills required for seated jump throughs will only refine your movement and help you tap into the physical and mental benefits. There is so much more to uncover, as this only skims the surface. 

Register for Matt’s next immersion, called Move, so that you may delve into your ability to move with ease and confidence on and off of the mat.

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Vinyasa Immersion

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

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read more
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read more

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Seated vs. Standing Dandasana

Seated vs. Standing Dandasana

Prepare for Seated Forward Fold

staff pose

SEATED VS. STANDING DANDASANA

Seated vs. Standing Dandasana (Staff Pose)—why compare the two? Not only are we going to examine how they differ, but we’re also going to dive in and really look at the parallels between these 2 yoga postures and how they inform one another. There is no way around the foundations of your yoga practice, and in today’s video, Matt demonstrates Seated versus Standing Dandasana. Not only are they substantial enough on their own, but they also serve as an important preparation for Seated Forward Fold. Matt also intricately demonstrates Seated Forward Fold at the end of the video, so that you’ll be able to see the direct correlation among all of these postures. Let’s take a look at how you can level up these foundational postures.

TWISTS & FOLDS

TWISTS & FOLDS

  • Strengthen core muscles of rotation and side bends
  • Improve spinal mobility
  • Improve spinal flexion for seated postures
  • Strengthen your back and deep core
  • Access greater flexibility of the hips for seated postures
  • Classes will bring you to a sweat and back down to a relaxed state
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00 $138.00

PASSIVE VERSUS ACTIVE FLEXIBILITY

Unless you have been exposed to practicing asana in a way that offers a balance between active and passive flexibility, it’s likely that your body is widening the gap between the two. What is the difference between active and passive flexibility?  

Active flexibility happens when a particular joint moves through a range of motion without any external assistance (e.g., a yoga strap, wall, or chair). The opposite is true for passive flexibility, which occurs when you are utilizing an external force (including gravity) to explore a given range of motion.

For example, Standing Forward Fold, when approached more passively, is not necessarily the best preparation for Seated Forward Fold because a greater amount of muscle engagement is imperative to safely and successfully execute the postures.  

However, it’s not just about the postures. In his classes, Matt teaches us about the benefits of learning how to be more conscious of how and when to engage and release muscles. Being more conscious and intentional in this way means that the communication between your nervous system, brain, and body has become more intelligent and capable. Your ability both to move more dynamically and to hold postures/positions on and off the mat has multiplied because you are more proactive, rather than reactive. This also means that you have narrowed the gap between the two, and your body becomes more willing to surrender passively after you have spent time actively engaging muscles. This is where Seated versus Standing Dandasana comes in.

WATCH THE VIDEO

SEATED VERSUS STANDING DANDASANA: PREPARE FOR SEATED FORWARD FOLD

SEATED DANDASANA

As Matt demonstrates in the video, Seated Dandasana (Staff Pose) is a great precursor to Seated Forward Fold because of the muscle engagements involved. 

One of the first steps involved in Seated Dandasana is to sit more upright. This involves lifting your belly in and up to engage your transversus abdominis. Once you’re sitting more upright, you’re also getting your back muscles involved, muscles like the quadratus lumborum (QL), particularly as you bring your pelvis into more of an anterior tilt. This anterior tilt, in conjunction with maintaining a strong lift of your chest and belly while keeping your legs straight, really helps to fire up your hip flexors. When you watch the video, you’ll see that Matt outlines a couple of key actions that also contribute to this hip-flexor firing. Those actions are creating dorsiflexion in your feet and pulling your kneecaps up in order to support the action of drawing your femur bones in towards the hip sockets (this helps to sustain and deepen the engagement of the hip flexors). All of these actions within Seated Dandasana help to create strength in a part of the body, the hip flexors, that is neglected in many. That alone validates the importance of this posture as one to incorporate into your practice on a regular basis. It equally validates why it offers excellent preparation for Seated Forward Fold.

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  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

STANDING DANDASANA

In Standing Dandasana, there are wonderful opportunities to work on a great deal of muscle engagement for the hip flexors; this may also allow time for a greater examination of how to engage the lower back muscles. In the video, you’ll see how Matt pushes his heels out isometrically in order to activate the tensor fasciae latae (TFL), which is a hip flexor. Additionally, the placement of your hands really informs how much sensation and strength you can create in the lower back. Lengthening your arms all the way out in front of you increases the effort and dance between keeping your sit bones lifted (which is the same anterior tilt required for Seated Dandasana and Forward Fold) while maintaining the lift of the chest. This is surely a recipe for the firing of the QL and erector spinae muscles.

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300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

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  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

HIP FLEXORS & HIP FLEXION

As already explained, one of the most important actions for Seated Forward Fold is hip flexion (the thighs moving closer to the chest, closing the hip joint). We’ve also established that hip flexor strength is essential for Seated Forward Fold. When attempting to gain strength of the hip flexors when it comes to Seated Forward Fold, you need to apply your understanding of the difference between active and passive flexibility. Allowing gravity alone to create the shape of Seated Forward Fold would likely simply create frustration due to the length of time it takes to see the results of going deeper into the posture. With the development of hip flexor strength and the practice of the articulation of the pelvis in postures like Seated and Standing Dandasana, you simply can’t go wrong when it comes to Seated Forward Fold.

SEATED FORWARD FOLD

After exploring Seated and Standing Dandasana from the perspective Matt offers, your body will display its readiness. During the setup in the video, you’ll see where Matt marries the passive and active in this posture. You’ll tap into the strength of your lower back with the same lift of the belly and chest along with the anterior tilt of the pelvis. Just like in Standing Dandasana, you’ll push your heels out isometrically, which will internally rotate your upper thighs, switching on TFL.  Once you’ve performed the actions you practiced in Seated Dandasana, that is, plugging the femur bones into the hip joint and pulling the kneecaps up, you can lean more forward. This is the crucial point at which you may begin to relax your back muscles and transition to a more passive state in the posture. The negotiation that takes place in the body, however, is that while your back relaxes, you’re still maintaining the suctioning of the quadriceps and tensioning of the hip flexors. This creates an exciting conversation within your body. It creates a marriage between active and passive, which Matt describes as the nervous system more fully participating in the experience and improving the health and functionality of your muscular system overall.  

Practicing in this way unleashes the potential functionality of your body. Registering for this month’s immersion will take you on a journey of deeper understanding, and it will help bring new life to foundational postures like the ones examined here. 

You can register for Twists & Folds here.

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Twists & Folds

MOVE

  • Access your movement potential
  • Sweat and raise your heart rate
  • Master your breath/movement coordination
  • Increase mobility at all major joints
  • Learn to gracefully transition between postures
  • Improve your flexibility
  • Strengthen your hips, back, shoulders, and core
  • Improve your balance
  • Each class will raise your heart rate, bring you to a sweat, and return you back to a relaxed state of mind and body
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

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read more
Twist Power

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read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

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Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

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Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

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  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Transversus Abdominis

Transversus Abdominis

Connect to Your Core With This Twist Technique

spinal rotation

CONNECT TO YOUR CORE

Once you are exposed to transformational techniques for your yoga practice, there’s no turning back. In the context of asana, these techniques open you up to a whole new world and perspective as to what is possible on the mat. Techniques like the one Matt offers in today’s video provide an awakening within your body and help you truly connect to your core while exploring twisting postures. Connecting to some of your deeper core muscles may feel elusive, but it is indeed possible. The transversus abdominis (TVA) is at the deepest layer of the core; when active, it can create spinal rotation, and it also stabilizes the spine. How is it possible to transform your experience and more deeply connect to your core?

TWISTS & FOLDS

TWISTS & FOLDS

  • Strengthen core muscles of rotation and side bends
  • Improve spinal mobility
  • Improve spinal flexion for seated postures
  • Strengthen your back and deep core
  • Access greater flexibility of the hips for seated postures
  • Classes will bring you to a sweat and back down to a relaxed state
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00 $138.00

UDDIYANA BANDHA AND TRANSVERSUS ABDOMINIS

The transversus abdominis can be activated on both the inhale and the exhale. Activation on an exhalation is called Uddiyana Bandha. Bandha means “lock” or “hold” and serves the body by stabilizing it during your practice. Uddiyana Bandha is the abdominal lock. Drawing the belly in and up is the necessary action to create the lock; this is exactly what engages the TVA. Contracting the transversus abdominis compresses the abdomen, and this is the first step in creating a deeper connection to your core. It’s still important to allow prana to flow! A deliberate mind-muscle connection must be established in order to feel and maintain stability while sustaining the flow of breath. As always, setting a foundation for the nervous system will enable you to direct your brain and body to respond to the action you desire—in this case, it’s spinal rotation. How can you continue to prepare your core for twisting postures?

WATCH THE VIDEO

TRANSVERSUS ABDOMINIS:  CONNECT TO YOUR CORE WITH THIS TWIST TECHNIQUE

KAPALABHATI PRANAYAMA AND CONNECTING TO YOUR CORE

One of the most relatable cues to begin to understand Kapalabhati Pranayama is to compare it to coughing, which is also an appropriate cue in order to understand TVA activation. This does not mean that you have to cough in order to activate TVA, but it helps to feel how the belly pulls back and that it’s a quick, firm action.

Today’s clip is extracted from Matt’s current immersion, Twists & Folds. At the beginning of the class, Matt guides you through Kapalabhati, which is the practice of “forcefully” breathing in and out in a repetitive manner. The exhale happens via pulling your belly back. The purpose of starting the practice in this way is to begin to wake up and tone the TVA. It’s these more subtle energetic practices that lay the foundation for you to connect to your core. This connection to your core has the potential for you to increase spinal mobility and go deeper into twisting postures.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

TWISTING POSTURES

“The abdominal muscles are the core prime movers in the twisting postures.”

Long, Ray. The Key Muscles of Yoga, Vol. 1 . Bandha Yoga Publications LLC. 2005. Pg.126

Bringing TVA to the forefront of your awareness is important when utilizing the twist technique from today’s video. Connecting to your core, the TVA specifically, also requires an awareness of the erector spinae and quadratus lumborum muscles. These muscles lift the torso and aid in creating an anterior tilt of the pelvis. Without this upright position, it’s impossible to truly access the lifting and pulling back of your belly. This awareness is key to being a full participant when engaging in twisting postures in your yoga practice. You’ll be guiding your body, rather than having your body guide you. For example, if there are vulnerable instabilities in the hips, utilizing the strength in your core muscles will offer a sense of steadiness and safety in any given twisting posture. How is this expressed in Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose)?

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

TRANSVERSUS ABDOMINIS (TVA) TWIST TECHNIQUE: ARDHA MATSYENDRASANA

A seated twist like Ardha Matsyendrasana is a great way to explore this technique, although it can be applied to multiple twist postures. A seated twist is a great option because it removes the added challenge of balancing in a standing twist posture. This offers more time to explore your breath within TVA activation.

Here are the steps:

  1. Find a tall spine (place blankets under your seat if it is difficult to find more spinal extension)
  2. Place hands at the low back and encourage the top of your pelvis to push forward to find more anterior tilt (low back muscles are active)
  3. Lift the belly in and up and spiral up as you twist
  4. Inhales are for preparation and length, exhales for twisting (spinal rotation)
  5. Your back arm can be placed down for support
  6. Your front arm can gently grab the thigh as you continue to rotate (minimize usage of front arm as much as possible in order to maintain core connection)
  7.  Continue to rotate your belly button
  8. “Wring out a towel”—right belly towards left side of spine creates the transversus rotation

TRANSFORM THE CONNECTION TO YOUR CORE

If you’ve practiced with Matt before, then you know that strengthening muscles on your mat promotes increased mobility. Contacting your TVA means that you are cultivating strength. Connecting to the TVA, the deepest layer of your core, is going to transform how you experience twisting postures. You will find greater mobility while feeling more stable in your body.

Maya Angelou said, “When you know better, you do better,” and this is so very true on the mat. The education you come away with from Matt’s classes helps you to do exactly that. You will know better and in fact do better beyond your expectations.

You can sign up here for Matt’s Twists & Folds immersion.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Twists & Folds

UPCOMING TEACHER TRAININGS

NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

Continue Learning

Inversion Success

Inversion Success

Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

read more
Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder Secrets

Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

read more
Twist Power

Twist Power

Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

read more
Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

read more
Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Hip Flexor Strength

Hip Flexor Strength

Access Deeper Forward Folds

uttanasana

HIP FLEXOR STRENGTH OVER HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY?

Hip flexor strength for deeper forward folds over hamstring flexibility? It’s not a matter of one or the other; it’s about how one can inform the other. It’s also about how, through the process of connecting with developing strength in your hip flexors, you not only learn and discover more about your body, but you also build a deeper, more intimate connection with your body’s potential. In today’s video, you’ll get a glimpse into one of the formulas Matt utilizes to gain access to a deeper forward fold. The method is very specific and intentional. You’ll learn to execute how you have the potential to strengthen and articulate specific movements of the pelvis and spine. Within specific techniques that Matt breaks down, you’ll witness the evolution of your new approach to accessing deeper forward folds.

TWISTS & FOLDS

TWISTS & FOLDS

  • Strengthen core muscles of rotation and side bends
  • Improve spinal mobility
  • Improve spinal flexion for seated postures
  • Strengthen your back and deep core
  • Access greater flexibility of the hips for seated postures
  • Classes will bring you to a sweat and back down to a relaxed state
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00 $138.00

REVERSE YOUR BACKBEND

Coming into a forward fold position, whether seated or standing, can be an almost “effortless” action if that’s your intention. This may be all that is necessary in a specific scenario, but there is so much more available to you. It’s funny how you would never take this “effortless” approach going backwards into a backbend. It’s easy to conceive and appreciate how calculated and thoughtful you must be to safely execute a backbend like Wheel, for example. Folding forward, however, presents opportunities to be just as deliberate. Matt compares the approach to a forward fold as almost the “reversal of a backbend.” If you’ve practiced with Matt before, then you’ll be familiar with the concept of bowing the spine (lifting the belly in and up while flaring the ribcage forward) in order to reduce spinal compression by creating increased length between each vertebra.

A similar approach is taken in a forward fold. In this case, it’s important to be aware of finding more of an anterior tilt of your pelvis—this may require sitting up on blankets—and then drawing the mid-section back to find more flexion of the spine. There is much more involved in the approach, but reversing a backbend is probably one of the most accessible visuals.

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HIP FLEXOR STRENGTH:  ACCESS DEEPER FORWARD FOLDS

SPINAL FLEXION & DISC INJURIES

It’s extremely important to note that spinal flexion is not advisable if you’re experiencing any disc injuries—a herniated disc, for example. Aggravating this condition with spinal flexion may cause further compression of the nerves or spinal cord, causing more pain and/or dysfunction. When you practice with Matt, however, you’ll learn very quickly that there are always ways and opportunities to transform the experience in your body. Focusing on hip flexor strength for deeper forward folds might be the only aspect you work on, if that is all that’s possible in your body at a given time.

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THE ROLE OF THE HIP FLEXORS

Focusing on hip flexor strength for deeper forward folds is integral to your practice because it both informs the articulation of the pelvis and helps increase flexibility in the hamstrings. This happens via a technique called reciprocal inhibition: activating the muscles that oppose the muscles that are stretching. Yes, hamstring flexibility is necessary, but it can be challenging, and if that is an area of tension for you, it can be extremely vulnerable to injury.  

In today’s video, Matt demonstrates (from an Ardha Uttanasana, or Halfway Lift, position) that when you push your heels out (causing internal rotation of the upper thighs) and lift up through your sit bones, you will activate the tensor fasciae latae (TFL) muscle. In addition, Matt explains that if you lift your kneecaps up, it will also activate the rectus femoris, a quadricep muscle that is also a hip flexor. A bonus effort is to pull your big toes towards one another to activate the pectineus, a deep adductor muscle; as mentioned, it will support bringing the pelvis into anterior tilt. Activating these muscle groups while the hamstrings are lengthening is in fact reciprocal inhibition. These steps offer an essential foundation to help you intelligently move into a forward fold, safely and deeply.

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THE FINAL STEPS

Once you’ve implemented the above steps, and if spinal flexion is a safe shape for you to explore, following these next steps will offer deeper access:

  1. Bow forward
  2. Lean more into your fingers and toes
  3. Pull your front ribs back to round the spine and create more spinal flexion (with a focus on the thoracic region)
  4. Think about the back of your skull reaching towards the ground
  5. Lean more into your toes and fingers once again to support your balance
  6. Pull your front ribs in and look towards your belly button

Finally, stay there to breathe and enjoy the new sensations and patterns you’re creating for your body and your nervous system.

Working on hip flexor strength for deeper forward folds will actually offer a gateway to a vast number of other yoga postures. You can continue to explore the possibilities in Matt’s current Twist & Folds immersion.

See you on the mat!

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Mobility Immersion

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Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

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Spinal Freedom In Revolved Low Lunge

Spinal Freedom in Revolved Low Lunge

5-Part Twist Technique

anjaneyasana

REVOLVED LOW LUNGE TECHNIQUE

You’re going to multiply the benefits of twisting postures with this 5-part twist technique. There are already benefits you may knowingly and/or unknowingly receive from incorporating twist postures into your asana practice, but this is going to take it to a new level. This technique is going to show you how you can strengthen your body and be more intentional about how you execute twist postures. In today’s video, Matt breaks down this technique in Revolved Low Lunge. The technique can be applied to other twisting postures in your yoga practice, but Revolved Low Lunge is a great way to explore the technique with a solid base.

TWISTS & FOLDS

TWISTS & FOLDS

  • Strengthen core muscles of rotation and side bends
  • Improve spinal mobility
  • Improve spinal flexion for seated postures
  • Strengthen your back and deep core
  • Access greater flexibility of the hips for seated postures
  • Classes will bring you to a sweat and back down to a relaxed state
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

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THE BENEFITS OF TWIST POSTURES

So, what are some of the benefits of twist postures? At the most basic level, there’s nothing like the “feel good” sensation they provide. Twist postures are often a nice go-to when you are experiencing tension in your back. It’s almost an intuitive response of the body to twist when we want to “get the kinks out,” so to speak. Twists also play a role in increased circulation and mobility. “Twists do affect our mobility (movement of organs in relation to each other) and our motility (movement within an organ),” which also promotes increased circulation. This is not to say that no other factors are involved, but there is a contribution. Twists are an important part of creating a more balanced asana practice.

Kaminoff, Leslie & Matthews, Amy. Yoga Anatomy, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL 2012

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SPINAL FREEDOM: 5-PART TWIST TECHNIQUE

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SPINAL HEALTH & FREEDOM

“The spine is literally the ‘core’ of the body. It is the deepest, most centrally located structure.” David Keil, in Functional Anatomy of Yoga, goes on to explain that there is a variety of structures in the body that are directly and indirectly attached to the spine. This delineates the importance and weight that the spine carries in your body.  

In order to experience “spinal freedom,” you must have a level of both strength and fluidity in the spine. Your experience on your yoga mat always depends on your intention regarding a particular pose and/or practice. It also depends on what you know about your body. In regard to twists and the 5-part technique he utilizes in Revolved Low Lunge, Matt talks about this approach to the technique. You’ll see in the video (and read in the breakdown) that there are several muscle activations that take place. These activations can be executed to suit your body’s individual needs. Matt details that if you are hypermobile, which he talks about in the full video from which today’s clip is extracted (see below), it may be more appropriate to hold onto each activation as you continue up the ladder of steps. This will help to create more stability. If the opposite is true, then you may perform the activations one at a time, because implementing the activations one at a time helps create more movement. Whether your intention is to stabilize or to create more movement, both are necessary in order to maintain spinal health. 

Keil, David. Functional Anatomy of Yoga: A Guide to Practitioners and Teachers, Lotus Publishing, Chichester, England. 2014

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MOVEMENTS OF THE SPINE

Within this twist technique, there is so much more than rotation in order to increase your body’s potential. The technique, demonstrated in Revolved Low Lunge, shows you how to create movement with the strength of the rotators of the spine and the abdominal muscles. Instead of relying on a more passive execution, using the strength and push of the rear deltoids and triceps to deepen the twist, this technique provides an opportunity to create more strength and integrity so as to support spinal stability and freedom of movement. You’ll see in Matt’s demonstration that multiple movements of the spine are implemented in order to fulfill the technique. You’ll also see a degree of axial extension (lifting and lengthening in order to activate the transversus abdominis); spinal flexion (to initiate the twist); a degree of lateral flexion on each side of the body; and lastly, spinal extension in order to create the backbend within the twist. Exploring all of these movements of the spine supports the ambition to create stability, strength, flexibility, and mobility. Let’s break down the steps of this technique in Revolved Low Lunge.

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5-PART TWIST TECHNIQUE

In truth, the technique can probably be broken down into 4 parts, but there’s no getting stronger or going deeper in any yoga posture without setting a foundation and becoming more aware of your breath within each step.

In the video, Matt goes through the steps multiple times to offer a focus on the technique itself, the muscle activations taking place, and the breath-pairing alongside the technique.

Steps in Revolved Low Lunge

(Left foot forward)

  1. Set the foundation—pull your knees together and pull your belly up
  2. Round the upper back and twist
  3. Side bend up to the sky (left waistline shortens)
  4. *Pause and wait, breath in, then side bend back towards the thigh (close the gap—right waistline shortens)
  5. Backbend (with option to open the arms)

Breath-Pairing Steps

  1. Take a breath in and pull the belly in and up as in Cobra; as you exhale, round the upper back and initiate the twist
  2. Inhale, side bend the left ribs up to the sky (you can also hold the side bend for some of the twist)
  3. Inhale in the side bend; on the exhale, the right-side body gets short, so side bend towards the ground
  4. Inhale backbend
  5. Twist more on the exhale

REQUIRE MORE FROM YOUR TWISTS

Approaching twists in this way offers you the opportunity to be in more control of your body, both on the mat and in your everyday functional movement and activities. Moving in this way creates more confidence. It may be more challenging to ask more from your body, but the payoff is extraordinary. Not only will you experience a deeper twist, but the sensations you are left with also reveal the strength and integrity you are creating in your body. The advantage of exploring this twist technique in Revolved Low Lunge is that you can remain closer to the ground, which removes the added balance element. You can safely delve into the technique and then later apply it to more complex twisting postures. Take the opportunity to dive deeper into the possibility of twists in Matt’s December 2022 immersion, Twists & Folds.

See you on the mat!

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Spinal Awakening

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TWISTS & FOLDS

TWISTS & FOLDS

  • Strengthen core muscles of rotation and side bends
  • Improve spinal mobility
  • Improve spinal flexion for seated postures
  • Strengthen your back and deep core
  • Access greater flexibility of the hips for seated postures
  • Classes will bring you to a sweat and back down to a relaxed state
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that's convenient for you

$168.00 $138.00

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

King Pigeon Variations

King Pigeon Variations

Full Body Awareness for Your Shoulders

mobility

KING PIGEON

If you’ve practiced with Matt before, you’ll be aware of the domino effect or the ripple effect of how a yoga posture unfolds. Matt brilliantly breaks down every pose with care and intricate detail. This helps you not only to understand a pose intellectually but also to physically feel this unfolding take place in your body; it’s like the satisfaction you feel when you hear the snap of the correct puzzle piece connecting into the right place. King Pigeon is a perfect example of this unfolding. One action intimately informs the next.

SHOULDER MOBILITY

Access Your Active Range of Motions

  • Increase strength and flexibility
  • Decrease risk of injury
  • Release shoulder tension
  • Learn anatomy and biomechanics
  • Access a wider range of postures
  • Stabilize the rotator cuff muscles
  • Learn binds, heart openers, and arm balances
  • 12 all-levels, 75-minute online classes
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all

SHOULDER ACTIONS

At first glance, it appears that a great deal of shoulder flexion is required for King Pigeon Pose. That’s not false, but there is more to that than meets the eye. The setup of King Pigeon additionally requires shoulder extension, elevation, a balance between internal and external rotation, and retraction of the scapulae. In other words, it can appear and/or even feel quite complex because there are a lot of muscle engagements and contracting actions taking place. More specifically, it’s how these actions are carried out.  

If you’re not familiar with how Matt teaches Downward-Facing Dog, you should check out my previous article, Downward-Facing Dog Shoulder Alignment. There are parallels that are extremely helpful. Once you are in King Pigeon, the key to safer alignment is the elevation of the shoulders and then the pulling of the armpits back (hollowing of the armpits). These 2 actions take place in Downward-Facing Dog to help minimize the possibility of shoulder impingement. In King Pigeon, these actions will also help to create greater shoulder mobility while reducing the potential for pain in the front of the shoulders and in the upper trapezius.

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KING PIGEON: FULL BODY AWARENESS FOR YOUR SHOULDERS

MORE THAN THE SHOULDERS

In order to diminish potential strain or pain in the shoulders, there are other actions and muscle activations that also hold great importance. Understanding the rest of the posture will help you find more ease in your execution. For example, creating a more robust backbend (spinal extension) will help reduce the amount of pressure in the shoulders. This will of course require the activation and then stretching/opening of the chest.

One of the most valuable actions is actually the pressing forward of the inner elbow. This is the catalyst for the external rotation that brings the arms up into flexion. When the arms are here, the armpits lift and pull back, through which, with awareness and intention, you can actively create scapular retraction (activation of the rhomboids, upper and middle trapezius, and rear deltoid muscles). Let’s look at the ripple effect.

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KING PIGEON WITH A YOGA STRAP

(Right leg in front)

  1. Come into Pigeon Pose. A block underneath the right-side buttock is a great reminder and support to keep the hips more leveled. You can still stabilize and be intentional about activating the glute muscles.
  2. Loop a strap around your foot.
  3. Grab the strap with your left hand (palm facing up).
  4. Turn your chest towards your foot.
  5. Do a side bend by sending the right ribs forward.
  6. Use hamstrings to pull your foot closer.
  7. Pull your elbow in. 
  8. Rotate the arm so it is externally rotated.
  9. Elbow comes up.
  10. Once the elbow is by your face, you can close/turn the pelvis.
  11. Lift your hips up.
  12. Grab the strap with other hand.

It’s almost like a checklist—once you have completed one action, you will see how the others intuitively get checked off and naturally fall into place; in other words, once you maintain the side bend and pull your foot closer, your elbow will naturally pull in closer to your body.

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KING PIGEON WITHOUT A STRAP

(Left leg forward)

This variation will require deeper spinal extension and more shoulder mobility. Following Matt’s Chromatic formula—the layering of actions—helps you to move towards the reality of achieving the posture. In the video, you’ll see directly how with each step taken, the body reacts.

Here are the steps:

  1. With a block under the left buttock, come into Pigeon Pose.
  2. Turn towards your right foot to grab hold with the right hand (palm facing up with foot flexed and toes turned away from your midline).
  3. Turn the chest and lift the hips up.
  4. The elbow now comes in close to the body.
  5. Rotate the arm into external rotation.
  6. The chest goes forward significantly.
  7. Other hand also comes around to grab the foot.

King Pigeon is not a posture to jump into! It demands awareness, patience, and understanding. Full-body awareness is the key to unlocking access to this posture.

There is still time to join in on the Shoulder Mobility immersion. Practicing these classes will help close the gap, in more advanced postures like King Pigeon, between what can seem like overwhelm and a deeper understanding of your own body in these postures.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Shoulder Revelation

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Inversion Success

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read more
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read more
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read more
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read more
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Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

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read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

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  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Reverse Plank Pose

Reverse Plank Pose

Scapular Retraction for Back Strength

PURVOTTANASANA

REVERSE PLANK POSE

Asymmetry is a common issue when it comes to our asana practice. Opportunities to work on strengthening muscles in the back body are much less frequent than opportunities to strengthen our front body. Improving mobility and strength in the shoulders for a posture like Reverse Plank Pose has a direct influence on strengthening the back body. Reverse Plank Pose is easily neglected, but as Matt stresses in today’s video, it’s probably one of the most important postures we can include in our asana practice.  

It’s easy to spend a considerable amount of time in Plank Pose and/or use it as a transition in a given asana practice, but we don’t necessarily flip it very often. Flipping the pose upside down and incorporating Reverse Plank Pose into our practice can create extremely therapeutic effects.

SHOULDER MOBILITY

Access Your Active Range of Motions

  • Increase strength and flexibility
  • Decrease risk of injury
  • Release shoulder tension
  • Learn anatomy and biomechanics
  • Access a wider range of postures
  • Stabilize the rotator cuff muscles
  • Learn binds, heart openers, and arm balances
  • 12 all-levels, 75-minute online classes
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all

THERAPEUTIC OUTCOMES

If you spend a lot of time with a rounded spine, it’s easy to default into that shape on a regular basis. Even if you attempt to offset your body positioning to open up the chest and come into a more upright or even a backbend position, it can feel abnormal and/or hard to sustain. When this is the case, it can lead to things like chronic neck and back pain.

In the very first class from the Shoulder Mobility immersion, Matt explains how the muscles of the back body are commonly underused. We can see this not only in our yoga practice but also in everyday activities off the yoga mat. Increasing attention and action in this area of the body can help us reap the therapeutic benefits that are available. 

WATCH THE VIDEO: REVERSE PLANK POSE FOR BACK STRENGTH

WHY BACK STRENGTH IS IMPORTANT

Seems like common sense to know that any type of strength development in the body is not only important but essential. Unfortunately, we don’t always seek or develop balanced strength within our bodies when it comes to our asana practice. It’s human nature to resist things that bring challenge, and engaging the muscles in the back body can be tiring and difficult. The action of drawing the shoulder blades together feels good because it offsets forward shoulder-rounding and increases the stretch in the pectoral muscles. The pectoral muscles spend a lot of time in a shortened position, so retraction of the scapulae in poses like Reverse Plank Pose creates the desired length and stretch in the front body.

Retraction of the scapulae will help strengthen the rhomboid muscles and the middle fibers of the trapezius. This is important because it informs the quality of your daily posture.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

HAND VARIATIONS IN REVERSE PLANK POSE

In the video, Matt offers both Reverse Side Plank and Reverse Tabletop. In exploring these variations, you’ll find different ways to place your hands. The reason this is so important is that a specific hand position might be more suitable for your current state of shoulder mobility. It also provides opportunities for you to retract the scapulae from both internal and external rotation of the upper arm bones (humeri). This can help you better understand how to isolate the area of the rhomboids and trapezius. Specific actions, like pulling the hands towards one another and/or apart, can help activate the rear deltoids as well.  

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300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

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Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

REVERSE PLANK POSE SETUP

  1. Find a seated position, with legs stretched out ahead of you and fingers pointing towards heels (internal rotation of upper arm bone)
  2. Lift shoulders up to the ears 
  3. Pull shoulders back
  4. Move chest forward (increases activation of back muscles)
  5. Flex or point feet
  6. Press down through heels (using glute, back, and shoulder muscles to lift up into Plank)

You can see that Matt goes into great detail with each action, helping you maximize the benefit of generating strength in your back. If you’d like to actually see a difference in your posture and a reduction of pain, retraction of the scapulae is much more than just pulling your shoulder blades together.

Matt’s Shoulder Mobility immersion continues for the month of November. Register now and you’ll be able to practice live for the rest of the month, or else practice the classes in your own time. You’ll have lifetime access to all 12 classes once complete.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Shoulder Mobility

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Crow Pose On Blocks

Crow Pose on Blocks

Take Your Shoulder Stability to New Heights

STABILITY

CROW POSE 

It’s not unusual to have a healthy amount of fear and hesitation when it comes to finding balance in crow pose: Will I fall? Am I strong enough? Will I hurt myself? One of the most amazing things about an asana practice, however, is how we learn so much about our bodies. We learn through exploration. When you have a teacher like Matt, he not only provides inspiration to explore, but through his extensive knowledge of the body, he offers a myriad of specific actions for you to experiment with that allow you to move towards a desired result. In today’s video, Matt demonstrates the dual action for you to take for improved shoulder stability in Crow Pose. The use of yoga blocks in this variation of the pose serves as an excellent support to take your shoulder stability to new heights.

SHOULDER MOBILITY

Access Your Active Range of Motions

  • Increase strength and flexibility
  • Decrease risk of injury
  • Release shoulder tension
  • Learn anatomy and biomechanics
  • Access a wider range of postures
  • Stabilize the rotator cuff muscles
  • Learn binds, heart openers, and arm balances
  • 12 all-levels, 75-minute online classes
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all

HYPERMOBILE VS. HYPOMOBILE

Whether you are hypermobile or hypomobile, working on stability in your yoga practice is a must. What’s the difference between the two?  “Joint hypermobility is a clinical condition in which the joints move beyond the expected physiological range of motion.” When this is the case, understanding your body and knowing your individual “end range” can help you know when to pull back in order to minimize instability and possible injury. On the other hand, hypomobility means that there is a decrease and a significant limitation in the range of motion that is actually possible within a specific joint. When it comes to the shoulders, both states are common, and both have the potential to result in pain. It may seem counterintuitive to work on stability when hypomobile, because you may associate the toughness or rigidity with stability. Stability is just part of the equation when developing healthy muscle tissue, but it is an important part of the equation.  

Atici A, Aktas I, Akpinar P, Ozkan FU. The relationship between joint hypermobility and subacromial impingement syndrome and adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder. North Clin Istanb. 2018 Sep;5(3):232-237. doi: 10.14744/nci.2017.35119. PMID: 30688930; PMCID: PMC6323568.

WATCH THE VIDEO: CROW POSE ON BLOCKS

SHOULDER STABILITY

An essential part of shoulder stability happens when the muscles around the glenohumeral joint (rotator cuff muscles) have the ability to contract and help the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) stay centered and secure in the joint. Having the ability to contract means that these muscles actually have less rigidity; it means that there is a suppleness to the tissues which allows them to contract, expand, move, and glide as they should. An arm balance like Crow Pose requires a sizable amount of shoulder stability.

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THE 2 MAIN ACTIONS

The actions Matt demonstrates in the video for shoulder stability in Crow Pose are protraction and external rotation. He explains that in scapular protraction, the tendency will be to internally rotate the humerus; however, if you can externally rotate the arm bones while in protraction, it will create a vast amount of shoulder stability in your arm balances. There’s actually a counteraction taking place. The goal is to apply these two actions simultaneously. Matt teaches us that internal rotation is fine—it’s actually something we want—but in the context of this arm balance, if you counteract the protraction with external rotation, there will be a tremendous amount of muscle activation that surrounds the joints. This in turn translates into better stability and better balance.

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  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

IMPLEMENT THESE KEY ACTIONS FOR CROW POSE ON BLOCKS

Executing Crow Pose on blocks is not as simple as only doing the 2 actions (protraction and external rotation) for the shoulders, but bringing your focus and attention here might just be what is missing from actually realizing your full potential in the posture.

Here are the steps:

  1. Stack 2 blocks horizontally on their first height
  2. Place your hands wide on the ground, just ahead of the blocks
  3. Step onto the blocks 
  4. Lower your hips down towards your heels
  5. Take your knees wide and out to the sides (*The height of the blocks allow you to have a better handle on allowing your shins the space to rest on the upper arms for better support)
  6. Squeeze legs into the chest
  7. Get your fingers active (grip the ground)
  8. Lean forward into fingers
  9. Rotate elbows in (external rotation of the humerus)
  10.  Squeeze knees in towards your midline (activating the adductor muscles)
  11. Push the floor away to protract the scapulae more (round your back more)

TAKEAWAYS

What you end up finding out about your body is whether or not your proprioception is accurate: Is your physical body able to respond to the cues so as to follow through with these actions? Do you require more strength? This helps you to map out your next steps and course of action.

A good step in the right direction is to sign up for Matt’s Shoulder Mobility immersion. In this immersion, you’ll learn more about how to strengthen key muscles of the shoulders. Matt also be teaches techniques that assist in increasing both active and passive range of motion.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Shoulder Revelation Immersion

UPCOMING TEACHER TRAININGS

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Side Angle Pose

Side Angle Pose

Shoulder Fix at the Wall

upward rotation

SIDE ANGLE POSE

Stop for a moment and think about how many times you lift your arms overhead in any given asana practice. There are plenty of opportunities, aren’t there? Side Angle Pose is a perfect example.  

Also think about how this action is an everyday occurrence off of your yoga mat. It doesn’t even have to be in another movement practice, or maybe reaching up to grab something out of a cupboard. It could simply be a natural bodily instinct when you feel like you need a little stretch after sitting at your work desk for most of the day. An action like this can be so easily taken for granted. Lifting your arms up over your head without pain is a privilege for so many, and it can be quite frustrating when you want to engage in such a “simple” movement/action but have difficulty doing so. The same thing rings true when you consider a foundational posture like Side Angle Pose. This pose seems  “innocent” enough but may not be so simple when there is pain that keeps you from lifting your top arm overhead.

Unfortunately, pain from this action is commonly rooted in the myth that it is better to draw your shoulders away from your ears even when your arms are overhead. This is often communicated in yoga classes, but let’s bust this myth with some anatomy of the shoulder.

SHOULDER MOBILITY

Access Your Active Range of Motions

  • Increase strength and flexibility
  • Decrease risk of injury
  • Release shoulder tension
  • Learn anatomy and biomechanics
  • Access a wider range of postures
  • Stabilize the rotator cuff muscles
  • Learn binds, heart openers, and arm balances
  • 12 all-levels, 75-minute online classes
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all

SHOULDER ANATOMY

The acromion process is almost like a little bone that sticks out and is essentially the front part of the scapula. If you were to palpate and travel along the “spine of the scapula” (on the upper border of the scapula) and follow that along towards the top of the shoulder, you would feel a small flat surface underneath your fingers.

Underneath the scapula is the supraspinatus (a rotator cuff muscle), which exists underneath this acromioclavicular joint (AC joint). Within this space, you’ll also find soft tissue called the bursa. Bursae are like little liquid-filled sacs that help minimize friction between the moving parts of the joints throughout your body. Underneath the “shelf” of the AC joint, you’ll find the subacromial bursa and the subdeltoid bursa.  

The action of pulling your shoulders down while trying to lift your arms up may cause compression, pinching the soft tissues. This can lead to issues like bursitis (inflammation of the bursa), tendonitis, or, in some more extreme scenarios, the tearing of the supraspinatus. When these types of issues arise, they create what’s often referred to as shoulder impingement: “Patients with shoulder impingement syndrome suffer from painful entrapment of soft tissue whenever they elevate the arm.” In order to avoid this entrapment, Matt explains that it’s imperative that we learn how to upwardly rotate the shoulder blades.  

Garving C, Jakob S, Bauer I, Nadjar R, Brunner UH. Impingement Syndrome of the Shoulder. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017 Nov 10;114(45):765-776. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0765. PMID: 29202926; PMCID: PMC5729225.

WATCH THE VIDEO: SIDE ANGLE POSE: SHOULDER FIX AT THE WALL

SHOULDER IMPINGEMENT

Once you understand the mechanics, it’s easier to understand why shoulder impingement may start to present itself in Side Angle Pose and other yoga postures where your arms go past shoulder height.  

In the following study, we learn that shoulder impingement is both common and can be more complex:

“Shoulder pain is the third most common musculoskeletal complaint in orthopedic practice, and impingement syndrome is one of the more common underlying diagnoses. On the pathophysiological level, it can have various functional, degenerative, and mechanical causes. The impingement hypothesis assumes a pathophysiological mechanism in which different structures of the shoulder joint come into mechanical conflict. The goal of treatment is to restore pain-free and powerful movement of the shoulder joint.”

Garving C, Jakob S, Bauer I, Nadjar R, Brunner UH. Impingement Syndrome of the Shoulder. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017 Nov 10;114(45):765-776. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0765. PMID: 29202926; PMCID: PMC5729225.

Asana practice does not replace treatment where necessary, but you can be proactive in trying to avoid shoulder impingement by moving with more intention and understanding. An asana practice may also serve as support to medical treatment.

So how can you move with more intention and understanding in Side Angle Pose?

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MOVE WITH INTENTION

Part of the intention in Side Angle Pose and other postures that require the action of lifting your arms overhead is to protect the subacromial space underneath the acromion process. You can reduce collision and obstruction by accentuating the movement of the angle of the joint. This happens by lifting the collar bone up and tilting the scapulae upward. As your arm goes up, the angle of the glenohumeral joint changes because the bottom tip of the scapula rotates up and forward. This change in the articulation of the joint helps reduce or possibly remove any pinching in the area, thus preventing pain.

When your arms go up, there are a number of muscle co-activations that are taking place to facilitate the bones’ movement (i.e., collar bone and scapulae). As the supraspinatus engages, it (hopefully) lifts the clavicle. The serratus anterior helps to pull the shoulder blade forward, and the co-activation of the lower and upper fibers of the trapezius will help with the rotation of the scapulae. In order to maintain the subacromial space, your shoulders need to lift up towards your ears. Setting yourself up at a wall for Side Angle Pose assists in the deeper understanding of the anatomy and biomechanics of the posture.

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SIDE ANGLE SHOULDER FIX AT THE WALL

(right foot forward)

In the video, you’ll see how Matt uses the wall to deepen the sensation of engagement/activation of muscles. A wall in Side Angle Pose is a great prop that reminds you to reach not only through your hand but also through the shoulder blade.

Here are the steps:

  1. Set up your mat perpendicular to a wall
  2. With your right toes facing the wall, place your right forearm on your thigh, with groins back
  3. Hand is by your side like in Tadasana 
  4. Externally rotate the upper arm bone (will retract scapula)
  5. Reach down and away (point the finger to emphasize the reach)
  6. As the arm comes up, make sure that outer line of the scapula is reaching; get your shoulder to touch your ear. In this way, you’ll find that you have a greater range of motion
  7. Touch the wall with your fingertips and push into the wall with the hand 
  8. Turn chest underneath. If your armpit goes forward here, suck the armpit back as you push

This is where a progression may be possible: The right forearm might leave the thigh, and you can place your hand next to the pinky side of your foot. If this is the case, your head may lower, creating more space between your shoulder and your ear. It is important to continue reaching through your hand and pulling your armpit back. 

It’s these seemingly tiny actions that create a huge impact on the experience in your body. Building in this kinesthetic awareness can help you to reduce the occurrence of injury and help you increase your range of motion in the shoulders. Shoulder Mobility starts Saturday November 5th.

See you on the mat!

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Anatomy In Motion

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Inversion Success

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read more
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read more

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Open Splits

Open Splits

Follow This Flexibility Formula

SAMAKONASANA

OPEN SPLITS

Open Splits is one of those postures that may not always make it into your asana practice, but there are a number of good reasons for it to start showing up more often. It does require a considerable amount of flexibility, and Matt lays out the perfect flexibility formula in order to safely execute the posture. What it does is offer much more than the result: It takes you on a path toward greater balance in your body, more specifically in the hips. The adductor muscles don’t often get as much of the limelight as some of the other muscles of the hips (e.g., glutes), so Open Splits (Samakonasana) is an opportunity to create more muscle integrity in the adductors, tensor fasciae latae (TFL) muscles, hip flexors, and inner hamstrings.

 

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HIP MOBILITY

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  • Increase active and passive range of motion
  • Learn anatomical techniques to improve functionality
  • Access a wider range of seated postures and hip openers
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  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

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MORE INFORMATION

MUSCLE INTEGRITY

What is muscle integrity? It’s essentially the health of a muscle or muscle group. This can still be vague—what is a healthy muscle? Part of having healthy muscle tissue means that you have the ability to control the contraction of a particular muscle or the amount of contraction and relaxation within a group of muscles, at any length. This is important in Open Splits, because even though your legs are out wide, you should have the ability to contract back inwards. One of the most important things to do to maintain safe execution is to never go to your full end range. Staying at approximately 70% of your range will help minimize the chance of injury.

WATCH THE VIDEO: OPEN SPLITS: FLEXIBILITY FORMULA

MORE THAN MUSCLE ACTIVATION

There are specific articulations in your body that are key components of the flexibility formula for Open Splits. These articulations will help you achieve the desired activation of muscle tissue and joint placement. For example, the anterior tilt of the pelvis assists in the activation of the TFL (an internal rotator). Once you bring your awareness to this sensation, you can layer on the additional and contrasting action of spiraling the thigh bones outwards in order to ignite the outer hips (abductors) as well.

The most important thing is to always take it step by step. Let’s examine from the beginning each action that Matt breaks down in the video.

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FOLLOW THIS FLEXIBILITY FORMULA

There are a number of actions and co-activations that need to happen in order to maintain safety and build upon muscle integrity in Open Splits. As mentioned before, once you get into a straddle position, it’s important to remain mindful and stay away from going to your complete end range. You should recognize a subtle sensation of stretch in the inner thighs and hamstrings. Staying within this range and then isometrically activating your adductors, hamstrings, and TFL is the formula to follow. The stars of the show, however, are patience and restraint. Staying behind your end range and having the patience to allow your muscles to adapt and continue to grow into new flexibility will promote increased healthy muscle tissue.

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300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

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  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

OPEN SPLITS EXECUTION

In the execution of open splits, remember to layer each action:

  1. Dorsiflex your toes and point both knees and toes to the sky
  2. Send inner groins down to the ground
  3. Micro bend your knees (to alleviate pressure here) and press your heels down into the earth (to light up the hamstrings)
  4. Push outward now while pushing toes out and pressing legs apart, so pelvis goes more into anterior tilt (legs stay as they are)
  5. Once you feel the stretch in the adductor muscles, start to press your heels down and micro tuck the tailbone (more posterior tilt of the pelvis), or suction the thigh bones into the hip sockets, so the TFL starts to ignite and pull feet towards each other. It is more about stability here, rather than straining. 

Playing with different articulations is helpful in deciphering what areas continue to require attention (i.e., what feels tight and/or what feels hypermobile). For example, if you want to continue bowing forward, you may return back to pressing legs apart and groins back or hips more forward. This will offer a deeper stretch in your adductors. Going back and forth between push and pull actions helps increase hip mobility.

Matt’s current Hip Mobility immersion offers a deep dive into the breakdown of specific asanas related to increased flexibility, strength, and mobility of the hips. More importantly, it puts hip health at center stage. Direct your experience and elevate your practice by registering today.

See you on the mat!

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Hips & Hamstrings

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Inversion Success

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read more
Shoulder Secrets

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read more
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read more
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read more
Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

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Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

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Leg Over Head Preparation

Leg Over Head Preparation

Access Deeper Hip Opening

FLEXIBILITY

LEG OVER HEAD PREPARATION

Looking at a posture like Leg Over Head Pose, you might think that this extreme hip opener is completely off the table in terms of incorporating it into your yoga practice. Don’t turn away from it just yet. As always, it’s the preparation you need to place on a pedestal. Leg Over Head preparation is potentially the key that will unlock your access to this and other hip-opening postures.

 

Online Yoga for Hip Openers and Flexibility

HIP MOBILITY

October 2022 Immersion

  • Strengthen and lengthen your hips
  • Increase active and passive range of motion
  • Learn anatomical techniques to improve functionality
  • Access a wider range of seated postures and hip openers
  • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
  • Lifetime unlimited access to all
  • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

$148.00

MORE INFORMATION

CHASING THE POSTURE

Let’s be clear that accessing postures is a nice outcome, but it’s the journey of self discovery along the way that is the true gift. Leg Over Head Pose, even the preparation if you will, can look quite intimidating. It might be a pose you completely reject and turn away from, or it might become a posture you choose to pursue. If you choose the latter, it’s important to understand that “chasing” the posture is not the answer. It’s an extreme posture, so taking your time through the process, unfolding your individual needs, and allowing yourself to be patient with all that’s required is the best approach.

Relentlessly chasing the posture may take you further away from feeling the benefits it has to offer. A healthy amount of discernment regarding when to push forward and when to pull back will provide a more positive experience. 

WATCH THE VIDEO: LEG OVER HEAD PREPARATION

RESTRICTION OF THE HIPS

Because so many parts of the hip play an active role in its execution, Leg Over Head preparation is an excellent posture to include in your practice when restriction/tightness of the hips is an issue. The muscles that need to be lengthened are primarily the hamstrings, adductors, and outer hips. The pose also requires extreme hip flexion and rotation. 

Restricted hip mobility has shown a strong correlation with various pathologies of the hip, lumbar spine, and lower extremities. Restricted mobility can consequently have deleterious effects not only at the involved joint but throughout the entire kinetic chain.”

Reiman MP, Matheson JW. Restricted hip mobility: clinical suggestions for self-mobilization and muscle re-education. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2013 Oct;8(5):729-40. PMID: 24175151; PMCID: PMC3811738.

Limited hip mobility leaves the door open for potential injury. This may be expressed as back pain, pelvic instability, everyday and/or athletic performance hindrance, and more. Focusing on benefits such as increased range of motion, better alignment, and increased flexibility will steer you in a positive direction.

NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

LEG OVER HEAD PREPARATION STEP BY STEP

Level I Preparation

(on the left side)

  1. Get into Lizard position
  2. Place 1 or 2 block(s) under your left foot
  3. Move back and up with hips
  4. Take your left arm underneath your left leg and grab your ankle or the block with your hand
  5. Place your forehead on a block (try 3rd or highest height of the block)

Along with the setup of the posture, it’s the following 3 actions that promote increased flexibility and range of motion in hips:

  1. Pull your front heel down and back
  2. Widen left buttock out to the left
  3. Squeeze front shin in

Activating these muscles until you feel like there is no more stretch sensation left is the signal that it may be ok to explore going deeper into the posture. In these instances, going slowly in order to stay safe will increase compliance of the tissues, making the goal of increased hip mobility a reality.

Matt also suggests that you go several rounds on each side to really prepare. Adding in a little gentle movement within the posture, to become aware of the sensations, can also be extremely helpful.

ADDITIONAL ACTIONS FOR DEEPER HIP OPENING

In order to take your experience even further, Matt recommends some additional actions:

  1. Your back leg can maneuver around in order to accommodate the front leg; maybe the back knee more in line with the left knee will allow for movement back for a deeper hamstring stretch. It’s important to be aware of the sensations in the knee. If your front knee feels off, then back off of the straightening
  2. Pressing the front foot forward activates the quadriceps
  3. Pressing hamstrings and sit bones apart might give more range of motion (although pressing the heel down and back are the main actions) 

    Explore one action at a time so as not to be overwhelmed with all of the possibilities. This approach also allows you to come into a fuller understanding of how each action feels in your own body. 

    Sensations may be different within a given practice, which is why moving mindfully is essential.

    Online Classes to Increase Hip and Hamstring Flexibility

    HIPS & HAMSTRINGS

    ONLINE YOGA IMMERSION

    • 12 classes to increase flexibility of the hips and hamstrings
    • Maximize your strength through range of motion
    • Access your pose potential
    • Release tension of hips and back
    • Sensation-based practices
    • Unlock and strengthen major muscle groups
    • Active, passive, and isometric stretching
    • Improve mobility and stability
    • So much more!

    $148.00 $128.00

    MORE INFORMATION

    UNRAVEL YOUR POTENTIAL

    Leg Over Head preparation does not have to be intimidating. It’s a posture you can get excited about because there are so many techniques and variations to explore. Turn towards what you initially may have wanted to resist. You may surprise yourself with the breakthrough that’s on the other side.

    Register for Matt’s upcoming Hip Mobility immersion in order to unravel your potential.

    See you on the mat!

    The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

    The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

    Article by Trish Curling

    Video Extracted From: Hips & Hamstrings

    CHOOSE YOUR PATH

    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

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    Inversion Success

    Inversion Success

    Inversion SuccesshandstandINVERSION SUCCESS We all have different definitions of success.  Success in our yoga practice could look anything like effortlessly engaging in inversions, being able to participate in breathwork techniques, and/or simply showing up for a...

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    Shoulder Secrets

    Shoulder Secrets

    Shoulder SecretsbhujapidasanaSHOULDER SECRETS When approaching arm balances, it’s not unusual to go straight to a focus on the wrists.  Having to bear our weight into the wrists while balancing our body weight can be an intimidating thought (especially if we don’t...

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    Twist Power

    Twist Powerparsva bakasanaTWIST POWER It’s interesting what unfolds along our journey with our yoga practice.  As we grow, learn, and begin to understand more about ourselves things change, we change.  Not only do we learn so many things along the way, but in the yoga...

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    Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

    Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

    Lizard Like You've Never Seen Itutthan pristhasanaLIZARD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT Familiarity in a yoga posture can feel really good.  There’s a comfort in knowing exactly what to do when we get on a mat.  The thing is, we can get caught up in thinking that the more...

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    Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

    Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

    Internal Rotation: Strengthen from the Inside OutShoulder MobilityINTERNAL ROTATION: STRENGTHENING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s not unusual for us to find ourselves spending too much time in a slouched position. It could be due to a job, our poor habits on our electronic...

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    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

    read more

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    Fire Hydrant Pose: Hip Technique

    Fire Hydrant Pose: Hip Technique

    Stability & Mobility Unleashed

    hip mobility

    FIRE HYDRANT POSE: HIP TECHNIQUE

    Part of the equation for improved function and mobility of the hips is building and creating strength, but first you have to understand how to actually do so. It’s not just about knowing which postures to include in your physical yoga practice; it’s really about the execution. Understanding how to implement specific anatomical techniques will help you go beyond what you may believe your body is capable of. This Fire Hydrant Pose hip technique is the perfect example of how to more fully understand your body and know exactly how to unleash stability and mobility in your hips.

     

    Online Yoga for Hip Openers and Flexibility

    HIP MOBILITY

    October 2022 Immersion

    • Strengthen and lengthen your hips
    • Increase active and passive range of motion
    • Learn anatomical techniques to improve functionality
    • Access a wider range of seated postures and hip openers
    • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
    • Lifetime unlimited access to all
    • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

    $148.00

    MORE INFORMATION

    HIP ABDUCTION

    There are 4 main muscles that work together to create hip abduction, which is what creates the shape of Fire Hydrant Pose. These muscles are the tensor fasciae latae (TFL) and the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. It’s not as simple as just lifting your leg away from your midline. Lateral rotation of the hip also plays a significant role in unlocking the strength that creates increased stability and mobility in the hips. In order to more deeply grasp this, we must understand a few things.

    In the posture itself, we maximize its benefits by executing specific articulations. Knowing the anatomy is extremely helpful because you get a better mental picture of what is happening as you are engaging in these movements/articulations. This strengthens the neuromuscular connection.

    WATCH THE VIDEO: FIRE HYDRANT POSE: HIP TECHNIQUE

    CONCENTRIC VS. ISOMETRIC CONTRACTION

    The action of lifting one leg out to the side (abduction) in Fire Hydrant Pose creates a concentric contraction in the glute muscles. A concentric contraction causes muscles to shorten through movement. In a different way, this is also happening in the standing leg: In this case, it’s the lateral tilt of the pelvis. Although the standing leg is fixed, in order to get a greater range of motion in the lifted leg, the “hugging in” of the hip of the standing leg also creates a shortening of the glute muscles. Once you are fixed in your variation of the posture, maintaining the contractions/activations without movement is what creates an isometric contraction. This sets the foundation for stability, but how can you take it to the next level?

    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

    HIP STABILITY

    The gluteus maximus and TFL attach to the iliotibial band, and when they co-activate, they help to abduct the hip joint. This doesn’t discount the other muscles that contribute here; glute medius and minimus also play a major role. These muscles are known as the abductor group, but they also stabilize the pelvis. For stability to occur, there must be an equal or balanced amount of co-activation from the muscles that surround the hip.  

    You’ll see in today’s video the specific anatomical techniques and articulations that Matt takes you through so as to take this experience to the next level.

    FIRE HYDRANT POSE PREPARATION

    Here are the steps:

    1. Bend your knees like in Chair Pose and place your hands on your right knee
    2. Hips go back, and bum tilts up
    3. Left foot out to the side, turning thigh bone in (internal rotation)
    4. Keep internal rotation and lift up through the heel (more concentric contraction is occurring to lift the left leg; once static, you are in isometric contraction)
    5. Meanwhile, squeeze right hip in (the abductors of the right hip are activating to allow the pelvis to open up)

    It’s the internal rotation that helps to activate the TFL. When your upper thigh bone is internally rotated, you can more easily lift through your heels. This is how to execute the co-activation that’s so important in creating more integrity and health in your hip joint. You’re now recruiting more muscle groups that surround the hip in order to create more stability. Increased hip stability (along with flexibility) establishes increased hip mobility.

    12 Online Yoga classes to Learn Anatomy

    ANATOMY IN MOTION

    APRIL 2022 Immersion

    • Embody anatomy
    • Learn key muscles, bones, and joints
    • Visualize your movements internally
    • Improve proprioception
    • Sensation-based practices
    • Unlock and strengthen major muscle groups
    • Active, passive, and isometric stretching
    • Improve mobility and stability
    • Get VERY geeky

    $168.00

     

    HIP MOBILITY

    This Fire Hydrant Pose hip technique gives you an opportunity to flex your “hip mobility muscles.” Mobility is the ability to find better range in the joint with more control and strength, and these techniques provide just that. Better hip mobility means better function in your everyday life. In the context of your yoga practice, this means greater confidence on your mat during transitions and the execution of specific postures.  

    In Matt’s Hip Mobility immersion, you’ll come away with a better understanding of your hips and of what you need to focus on specifically in your yoga practice to take you to new heights.

    See you on the mat!

    The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

    The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

    Article by Trish Curling

    Video Extracted From: Anatomy In Motion Immersion

    CHOOSE YOUR PATH

    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

    Continue Learning

    Inversion Success

    Inversion Success

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    read more
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    Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

    Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

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    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

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    read more

    THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

    When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

    • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
    • exclusive online course discounts
    • exclusive blogs and videos
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Hip Rotations: Techniques For Increased Mobility

    Hip Rotations

    Techniques for Increased Mobility

    range of motion

    Hip rotations for increased mobility

    Injury, pain, and tightness are unfortunately just a few of the things that are commonly associated with the hips. Making efforts to improve hip mobility can help you manage these conditions. What is mobility? Mobility is your ability to control a limb through a specific range of motion. This is why exploration is such an important aspect of a physical yoga practice. After all, exploration is how you get to know yourself: You come to more deeply understand your current physical state each time you step on the mat. More importantly though, you find the keys to unleashing your potential. Practicing hip rotations for increased hip mobility can take you on the path to increased stability, strength, and flexibility in the hips. Hip rotations for increased mobility can be explored in more unique ways than you might think.

     

    Online Yoga for Hip Openers and Flexibility

    HIP MOBILITY

    October 2022 Immersion

    • Strengthen and lengthen your hips
    • Increase active and passive range of motion
    • Learn anatomical techniques to improve functionality
    • Access a wider range of seated postures and hip openers
    • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
    • Lifetime unlimited access to all
    • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

    $148.00

    MORE INFORMATION

    ANATOMY OF THE HIP

    First, let’s talk about the anatomy of the hip. The hip is a ball-and-socket joint, which means that the femur bone (upper thigh bone) has a little ball on the end and inserts into the side of the ilium (pelvis). This ball, or head of the femur, rotates around in that shallow opening of the pelvis, where ligaments keep the head of the femur bone in the socket (hip joint). Ligaments provide stability in the hip joint, while the muscles that surround the hip create movement. Activating muscles, particularly through range of motion, serves to support people who are hypermobile in the hips just as much as people who feel restrictions and/or tightness. Engaging muscles through range of motion helps to mobilize the thigh bone inside of your pelvis. 

    WATCH THE VIDEO: HIP ROTATIONS: TECHNIQUES FOR INCREASED MOBILITY

    ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE RANGE OF MOTION

    Understanding the difference between active and passive range of motion is essential to being able to understand the body. It’s possible to believe that you have the capacity for quite a large range of motion, but this may be due to either hyper-mobility or flexibility, or it’s because it’s available to you passively by using the support of someone or something to move the joint to a particular degree. Active range of motion means that you have the strength to move the joint to a particular degree without any assistance other than your own muscle strength.

    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

    HIP ROTATION TECHNIQUES

    In the video, you’ll see the unique techniques Matt offers for you to explore hip rotations within each option. The actions/techniques can be quite humbling. This is where patience is a must.

    Here are the steps:

    Option 1

    • Sit and take your feet wide, with toes forward
    • Bring your feet up to the sky
    • Externally rotate the right leg (like Happy Baby Pose) while internally rotating the left leg in as much as possible
    • Breathe as you alternate
    • To maintain better control and balance, you may leave hands or fingertips on the ground in front of you or behind you

    Option 2

    • Feet are on the ground and wide apart
    • As you externally rotate one thigh, the other internally rotates (creating a 90-degree angle with both legs)
    • It may be helpful to turn your torso towards the leg that is externally rotated
    • Lift the foot of the back leg (the thigh that is internally rotated) and then lower. Special note: Evert the ankle as you lift the lower leg away from the ground
    • Switch to the opposite leg (the thigh that is externally rotated) and lift the foot. Special note: Invert the ankle while lifting the lower leg away from the ground

    Option 3

    Matt also refers to this option as “Unhappy Boat Pose”:

    • Both feet are wide, with knees and toes turned out (external rotation)
    • Reach your arms forward for counterbalance
    • Add in hip flexion by alternating the lift of each leg (activating the adductor muscles and core)
    • Lift both legs up at the same time (Unhappy Boat Pose!) while continuing to turn your legs out as much as possible, as if to turn the toes down towards the ground
    • Finally, release and rest with a passive internal rotation (feet wide, hands back behind you, and knees folding in to rest towards one another)

    Online yoga to improve mobility

    MOBILITY

    ONLINE YOGA IMMERSION

    • Key techniques to increase flexibility
    • Strength development for mobility and range of motion
    • Learn postures: Hanumanasana (Splits), Extended Side Plank
    • Active and passive mobility for shoulders, hips, and spine
    • Improve spinal twists, heart openers, shoulder openers, and hip openers
    • Find greater ease in seated postures
    • Improve mobility and posture off the mat
    • When and how to do active, passive, and isometric stretching

    $148.00

    MORE INFORMATION

    HOW DOES THIS HELP?

    With these techniques, you’re attempting to use the muscles of the hip to encourage active range of motion. If you take hold of your foot at any time to assist (passive range of motion), you will likely see a difference in what is available to you. By working on the active range of motion, you are essentially trying to decrease the gap between what is available to you passively versus actively. This will help to minimize injury and improve performance because you will have the strength and stability to control the way you move with less outside force.

    These techniques merely scratch the surface of how you can really tap into your potential. Register for Matt’s 12-class immersion called Hip Mobility.

    See you on the mat!

    The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

    The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

    Article by Trish Curling

    Video Extracted From: Mobility Immersion

    CHOOSE YOUR PATH

    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

    Continue Learning

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    read more
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    Internal Rotation: Strengthen From The Inside Out

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    read more
    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

    read more

    THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

    When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

    • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
    • exclusive online course discounts
    • exclusive blogs and videos
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    theyogimatt on deep rooted bliss podcast

    DEEP ROOTED BLISS PODCAST INTERVIEW

    FINDING FULFILLMENT AS A YOGA TEACHER & ENTREPENEUR

    COURAGE

    DEEP ROOTED BLISS INTERVIEW

    OVERCOMING BURNOUT AND FINDING FULFILLMENT AS A YOGA TEACHER

    In 2014 Rebecca Doring, founder and host of the Deep Rooted Bliss Podcast, came to me seeking support. At that time, I had just launched what became my first online offer, called “The Mentorship Mastery Program.” My time mentoring Rebecca was as important to my growth as it was to hers. We were both on the path toward making huge shifts in our career, but of course we didn’t know that at the time. Rebecca went from full-time massage therapist to full-time yoga instructor to where she is today: meditation coach, podcast host, and online entrepreneur.

    As for me, in this time I went from teaching full-time in Manhattan to leading workshops and trainings around the US, Europe, and Asia to where I am now, leading online yoga immersions and 200-hour and 300-hour teacher trainings.

    Following your passion, your dreams and authentic expression is not as glorious as it seems.

    Today, business coaches, entrepreneurs, and yoga teachers alike will glorify self-employment, making it seem like the grass is always greener when you can work for yourself. And indeed I can’t disagree, but if you are thinking of making the leap, or if you already have done so, there are some things you should definitely consider. In this podcast, Rebecca and I discuss some of the struggles of being a yoga instructor and/or entrepreneur, and what you can do to to achieve success without burnout.

    I highly recommend subscribing to Rebecca’s podcast, Deep Rooted Bliss, on your favorite place to listen to podcasts. I personally listen in weekly to get inspired to live my life on purpose. She provides incredible insight for meditation, personal growth, and living a life filled with bliss.

    LISTEN TO THE PODCAST WITH REBECCA DORING AND MATT GIORDANO

    UPCOMING ONLINE EVENTS & TEACHER TRAININGS

    Online Yoga for Hip Openers and Flexibility

    HIP MOBILITY

    October 2022 Immersion

    • Strengthen and lengthen your hips
    • Increase active and passive range of motion
    • Learn anatomical techniques to improve functionality
    • Access a wider range of seated postures and hip openers
    • 12 Classes: All levels appropriate
    • Lifetime unlimited access to all
    • Attend the livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

    $148.00

    MORE INFORMATION

    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

    FREE VIDEO & BLOG TUTORIALS 

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    read more
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    read more
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    read more
    Lizard Like You’ve Never Seen It

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    read more
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    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

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    L Pose Handstand Training

    L Pose Handstand Training

    Activate Core and Hip Flexors

    handstand prep

    L POSE HANDSTAND TRAINING

    We’re all aware of the importance of taking baby steps when we have a bigger goal we’d like to achieve. L Pose Handstand training falls under that category when it comes to taking steps towards Handstand. Matt refers to L Pose as the “first entrance to handstand.” Before you take flight, practicing L Pose in different planes is one of the best ways to really prepare and understand the biomechanics involved in the posture. Practicing L Pose on your back provides a more controlled opportunity to learn how to really engage the hip flexors and core muscles.

    Handstand and meditation online yoga classes

    HANDSTAND & MEDITATION

    ONLINE YOGA IMMERSION

    BREAK THROUGH MENTAL & PHYSICAL BLOCKS

    • Learn the most effective drills to safely build your Handstand
    • Practice essential meditation techniques to break through mental barriers and build confidence
    • Improve focus and breath support right side up and upside down
    • Build strength and the necessary skills for balancing Handstand
    • 12 classes: All levels appropriate
    • Lifetime unlimited access to all
    • Attend livestream OR practice the replays any time that’s convenient for you

    SALE PRICE: $168.00

    MORE INFORMATION

    THE MYTH OF THE CORE

    Core strength might be the first thing you believe you need to develop while preparing for Handstand. Matt explains that there’s no doubt that this is a necessary part of the equation, but if you’ve conquered the action of the “push” in the shoulders (shoulders up towards your ears), the use of the core is a refinement only when the shoulders are out of alignment. If this is the case, you’ll have to utilize your core a lot more to keep your back straight and possibly pull the legs from behind you.

    WATCH THE VIDEO: L POSE HANDSTAND TRAINING


    CORE MUSCLES & HIP FLEXOR ACTIVATION

    What is the core? The core muscles are a great deal more than the superficial muscles of the rectus abdominis. In terms of Handstand, a large part of the focus is the deeper core muscles (the psoas major and the iliacus, also referred to as the iliopsoas). These muscles are a key component when it comes to stabilizing the pelvis and thighs in a handstand. With L Pose as the first entrance to handstand, an awareness of the importance of the activation of the hip flexors is paramount.

    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

    IMPLEMENT THESE ACTIONS: L POSE ON YOUR BACK 

    Here are the cues for L Pose Handstand on your back:

    1. Take your arms overhead (be sure to actively lift your shoulders up towards your ears)
    2. Straighten your knee as you pull one leg closer to your chest. It’s the strength of the hip flexors that will help you bring this leg in as close as possible  
    3. The opposite leg stays close to the floor, with your heel only about 1 cm from the ground
    4. Pull your front ribs down (this will engage your abdominals)
    5. Continue to pull the top leg close to your chest without lifting the bottom leg up 

    The desired outcome is to maintain all of these actions simultaneously. L Pose Handstand training on your back lays the foundation for when you’re ready to explore the shape in other planes (including other postures, like Warrior III). It also helps you to feel the alignment in your body. Drawing your rib cage into the floor, for example, creates the pattern of the stacking required above your pelvis.

    STRENGTH

    ONLINE YOGA IMMERSION

    Yoga for Strength: Strengthen Your Weaknesses • Maximize Your Physical Potential

    • 12 classes: Each class targets a specific muscle group
    • Strengthen your core, back, hips, shoulders, wrists, ankles, legs, and arms
    • Learn creative ways to strength train within the context of a yoga practice
    • Increase mobility by balancing your strength with oppositional muscle groups
    • Joyful accountability to help you reach your practice goals

    SALE PRICE: $138.00 $128.00

    MORE INFORMATION

    THE GROUNDWORK

    Groundwork? In this case, the pun is intended. L Pose Handstand training literally has you on the ground in order to lay a solid foundation. Essentially, it can take the fear out of the equation—going upside down can be quite intimidating. Approaching the “bigger goal” of having a handstand practice by utilizing bite-size drills and techniques can give you the confidence to progress to the next level. You have to crawl before you can walk, and this is essentially the Chromatic way. When you take this approach, you gradually build upon each layer and strengthen the neuromuscular connection. Handstand training becomes more approachable when you prepare your body via time, patience, and effort. If you’d like to build on this foundation, take action by registering for Matt’s immersion Handstand & Meditation.

    See you on the mat!

    The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

    The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

    Article by Trish Curling

    Video Extracted From: Handstand & Meditation Immersion

    CHOOSE YOUR PATH

    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!
    NEXT TRAINING BEGINS FEBRUARY 2024 ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN!

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    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana To Half Lotus

    Janu Sirsasana to Half LotusKurmasanaJANU SIRSASANA TO HALF LOTUS There’s never one single route to a posture we’re exploring. There are individual specifics we always need to consider.   When it comes to hip opening postures like Janu Sirsasana and Half Lotus, we may...

    read more

    THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

    When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

    • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
    • exclusive online course discounts
    • exclusive blogs and videos
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    BLACK FRIDAY: 30% OFF ALL ONLINE IMMERSIONS & WORKSHOPS !
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    BLACK FRIDAY: 30% OFF ALL ONLINE IMMERSIONS & WORKSHOPS!
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    BLACK FRIDAY SALE! Congratulations, your 30% discount code has been applied and will be reflected at the very bottom of the checkout page. All Immersions & Immersion Bundles are included in this sale. To get more info on each immersion click on the photo. On Demand and Lifetime Access To all
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    BLACK FRIDAY SALE! Congratulations, your 30% discount code has been applied and will be reflected at the very bottom of the checkout page. All Immersions & Immersion Bundles are included in this sale. To get more info on each immersion click on the photo. On Demand and Lifetime Access To all

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