Staff pose / Dandasana

step by step instructions:

• Sit with your legs together and stretched out in front of you. If you find it hard to sit with a straight back, sit on a block or folded blanket. Place your hands next to the hips on the floor.
• Your feet are flexed, extending out through the heels. Pull your thighs up in your hips, the top of the thighbone (femur bone) descends to the floor. Actively press your sit bones into the floor and a little to the back, to help you sit straight, your spine lengthens, the lower back arches a little forward towards your belly.
• Open your chest by puling your shoulders back and down along the spine. The bottom of the shoulderblades curl in towards the chest. Keep your front ribs soft. Your neck is long.
• Check that your shoulders are over the hips and your ears in line with the shoulders.
• On an inbreath you can take your arms out and lift them overhead. if you feel your upper back rounding with your arms all the way up, lower your arms a bit so you can see them from the sides of your eyes, so you can maintain the length in the upper back.
• Stay in this position between the 5-15 breaths, you can really feel your core working to maintain this pose.

Click on Dandasana to see the benefits of this pose.

Seated Forward Bend / Paschimottanasana

step by step instructions

• From dandasana, sitting with your legs outstretched in front of you and your feet flexed. If you cannot sit with a straight back it means you have to sit on a block or folded blanket.
• On an inhalation lengthen your spine, gently pressing your sitting bones into the floor (or block) backward. Slightly arch your lower back forward towards your belly. Your hands are next to the hips on the floor, press into your hands to help elongate your spine .
• Pull up the thighs and let the top of the thighs than descend to the floor.
• Keeping the front of the body open and long, on an exhalation you gently begin to fold forward hinging from the hips, not bending in the back.
• Keep length from the pubic bone till the breastbone, moving first your belly, than your ribcage, chest, than your forehead towards the legs.
• Let your arms slide down along the floor, if you can, hold the feet, wrapping your 1st two fingers and thumbs around the big toes, if elbows are bend doing that keep them lifting away from the floor out to the sides and keep your shoulders away from the ears. if you can’t hold your feet, loop a strap around the soles of the feet holding the strap with both hands, keep arms straight.
• To go deeper into this pose, with every inbreath you remind yourself of the length along the front of the torso, lifting your head slightly, on an outbreath you see if you can fold deeper into the pose, still with a long spine hinging from the hips. Keeping your neck in line with your spine. If you hold a strap, just walk your hands slowly in as you go deeper, straight arms.
• In time you may be flat over the legs, spine long and you can maybe stretch your hands out beyond the feet on the floor, maybe even holding the opposite wrist.
• You can hold this pose anywhere between the 5 breaths and 5 minutes.
• to come out, on an inbreath lift head, chest and lengthen out through the front of the body, press into the sittingbones, ground tailbone down, coming up to straight.

Click on paschimottasana to find out about the benefits of this pose.

Baddha Konasana / Bound Angle Pose

Benefits:

• Helps in opening your hips.
• Stretches groins, inner thighs and ankles.
• Uplifts your mood.
• Stimulates abdominal organs.
• Beneficial for menstrual pains.
• Stimulates the circulation in the pelvic area.

Click on Bound angle pose to find out how to perform this pose step by step.

Hi everyone,

I made this yoga video when I got back from a holiday myself. I spent some time in London and Brighton, and it was absolutely lovely there, but I didn’t do too much yoga… I expect neither did many of my yoga students, so to help them to get back in shape before my classes start again, here you go….

As well I’m demonstrating basic standing postures and made this the 1st part of a sequence of 3 video’s you can follow in a sequence, to have an all rounded and extended yoga practice.

The poses I demonstrate here are:

Cat pose / Marjaryasana

Cow pose / Bitilasana

Downward facing dog pose / Adho mukha svanasana

High lunge

Mountain pose / Tadasana

Warrior I / Virabhadrasana I

Warrior II / Virabhdrasana II

Extended side angle pose / Utthita parsvakonasana

Triangle pose / Utthita trikonasana

Warrior III / Virabhadrasana III

Half lord of the fishes pose /Ardha Matsyendrasana

Hi Everyone,

For all of you dare devils out there, who ARE familiar with how to do a headstand safely, try this. In this video i show you how to get into a headstand from the wide legged forward bend.

Its fun, takes concentration, awareness and strength. Do it with a wall behind you, and mind yourselves.

I hope you will get as much joy out of it as me!

This is NOT for beginners!

Esther

The poses I demonstrate in this video are:

wide legged forward bend / prasarita padottanasana

tripod headstand / mukta hasta sirsasana

Patanjali is the author of the Yoga Sutras, the most revered to and sacred text written sometime in the third century before Christ, Patanjali describes the yoga philosophy in a series of 196 aphorisms.

Patanjali clearly describes 8 steps that you can follow so you can live in harmony.

All the limbs are connected and will help you to experience the ultimate truth.

The 8 limbs consists of the following:

• Yamas and Niyamas : These are 10 ethical precepts that allow us to be at peace with ourselves, family and community.
• Asanas : These are yoga postures, they help us to keep our body strong, flexible and relaxed.
• Pranayama : breathing practices, they help us to move prana, life force.
• Pratyahara : Drawing of ones attention to silence rather than towards things.
• Dharana : Focussing attention and cultivating inner perceptual awareness.
• Dhyana : Sustaining awareness under all conditions.
• Samadi : return of the mind into original silence.

Soon I’ll describe the Yamas and Niyamas.

This yoga routine is to help you strengthen the mid and upper back. I use 3 variations of the locust pose / salabhasana for this sequence (I will upload a photo in the poses section soon!). Important is, when you follow this video and my instructions, that you focus on the muscles you’re looking to strengthen, feel them. Also make sure you’re not contracting more muscles than necessary…, like your face, keep smiling and have fun.

Esther.

The poses I demonstrate in this sequence are:

cat pose / marjaryasana

cow pose / bitilasana

downward facing dog pose / adho mukha svanasana

plank pose

locust pose / salabhasana

child pose / balasana

I this yoga video I take you through a moment of centering yourself , before you start your asana practice. I personally always do this before I start, and would recommend it to everybody. Just for a moment checking into yourself to observe where you are, how the body feels, landing into your body in a way, so you start being present to what is going on for you at that time. Your yoga practice will never be the same, some days you’re going to have plenty of energy, other days you’re going to be more tired. It is good to be aware of this before you start, you can than adapt your practice, to your needs.

Esther

What does having your period means for your yoga practice?

I think it really depends. Being on your menstrual cycle for many women means being somewhat low on energy. Honoring your body always sounds like a good idea, but what does that exactly mean? Is it the same as giving in to the bodies cravings, like taking it easy, doing nothing and just feeling the blues, giving in to the chocolate and sugar cravings?

I personally don’t think so. It is very possible that that is what you crave, but we’re not really honoring the body (more…)

Vrksasana / Tree Pose

Benefits:

• Improves balance
• Opens the hips
• strengthens the ankles, legs and spine
• Lengthens the spine
• Teaches concentration

Click on Tree Pose to find out how to get into this pose step by step.

Hi Everyone,

I made this for all of you who are feeling less than great during you menstruation. It helps you through it by relieving back pain and relaxing you in general, it definitely helps me through it anyway, try it out and see what you think!

The poses I demonstrate in this sequence are:

supta baddha konasana / reclined bound angle pose

head to knee forward bend / janu sirsasana

wide angle seated forward bend / upavishta konasana

supported bridge pose / setu bandha sarvangasana