YogaHour is a challenging but accessible, fairly athletic, alignment-focused flow appropriate for most “fit beginners” with no major injuries or serious limitations. Options are given for All Levels so you can amp up or scale back your practice as needed.
Practice at around 80% capacity, balancing strength with stretch, to sustain your practice from decade to decade, not just day to day.
Find your roots in Tree pose, then move through different takes on Gate, Side Plank, and Endless Pose, followed by leg lifts, Half-Boat ,and Both Big Toes pose to build core strength. Use that to take flight in Crow and balance in Half-Moon options and Eagle. Try out Funky Monkey and Sideways Bridge, roll out your Wheel and shoot your bow with Tibetan Weaponry. Conclude with juicy openers for back, quads and hips and then REST in Savasana for as long as you’re able!
The Vimeo showcase below was recorded during the 2021 season of Lent. This series included six roughly 45-minute and six hour-long practices in the style of YogaHour, as well as six yoga nidra sessions to facilitate deep relaxation through reclined meditation and reflection on a sankalpa (heartfelt intention) for a 40-day sadhana.
The “Invite the Light” showcase below, recorded in Fall 2020, includes videos for a 40-day sadhana intended to help combat seasonal affect disorder and connect with gratitude, warmth, light, and love during the final weeks of the year and the approach of Winter.
A bit more challenging than the neighboring Picnic Day Play video, this “sister sequence” includes Twisted Pigeon variations open you up for a full Wheel (Upward Bow), and Tibetan Weaponry opens hips, quads, hamstrings to set you up for a nice nap on your picnic blanket in Savasana.
Celebrate National Girl Scout Day with a poem to remind you that, when a clear path does not appear, you can set your sights higher, take flight and scout a new path. Have a block & strap handy.
Begin reclined for back and hip ease, then move through Chair, Crescent Lunge, Warrior options, Triangle, and Half-Moon. For strong and open hips, find Pigeon shapes in Down Dog, a standing balance, forward fold, and either a prone or supine option with a twist. Backbends include Bridge and Locust. Wring out tension with Half Lord of the Fishes and then HANG OUT in Savasana.
Recorded for my Fall 2020 Invite the Light Sadhana, this video invites you to connect with gratitude, light, and warmth. Take it with you as you strengthen and open core, shoulders, legs, and back with powerful poses like V-Sage, Wild Thing, One-Legged Upward Bow and Standing Sage variations.
Use this 45-minute short-but-FULL flow to fill your cup. Begin reclined and open your heart. Play with a variety of Pigeon shapes to open hips as well, cultivate core strength to help you balance in Sugar Cane. Then tie up your practice with a pretty Bow and finishing postures to soothe and relax your whole body.
Strengthen and open hips, hamstrings, glutes and core with Tiger, Endless Pose, and Side Plank options. Standing poses include Tree, Warriors, Extended Side Angle, Eagle, and Revolved Standing Sage. Cool down with seated and reclined postures, then rest and digest!
Affirm your own RESILIENCE with this practice from the next-to-last day of 2020. Equal parts grounding and invigorating, this sequence opens the whole body, including those pesky IT bands.
This “YH101” practice may be more accessible for those new to YogaHour.. Begin with 5 minutes to center and connect with your breath, followed by 45 minutes of mindful movement, and 5 minutes of rest in Savasana. Find balance in Half-Moon, open your anterior spine with various backbends, and stretch & strengthen hips and the whole posterior chain with a variety of lunges.
Be kind as you move through this YogaHour-101 style flow, recorded for my 2021 Lenten Sadhana. Practice ahimsa. Stay connected with your breath and never push to the point of pain so that your practice feels sustainable and nourishing, not punitive. Have a block for a yummy Supported Bridge.
Treat yourself to 45 minutes of mindful movement with this abbreviated YogaHour-style flow that packs a “lot in a little.” Open hips and heart and twist out tension with Cowface, Down Dog, Locust and Pigeon variations, and find a little levity with Levitating Sage and Dead Bug play.