Yoga for feet, ankles and calves
Yoga for feet, ankles and calves is a great class for anyone. It's so important to bring awareness to our feet...most of the time, our foundation for many yoga poses plus we spend a great deal of time on our feet. If you wear shoes a lot (like most of us) then the muscles of the feet begin to atrophy. If you've mostly worn shoes for many, many years and you begin yoga later in life, you'll probably have a difficult time balancing until you start to strengthen the muscles in your feet. Ankles and calves need to be strengthened as well to keep us supported.
Yoga for shoulder flexibility
Yoga for shoulder flexibility. We'll stretch out our shoulders after strengthening them yesterday. Plus, I think I've thrown in a little ab work! :-)
Yoga Class Hip Openers and Fun Poses
Free Yoga Class Hip Openers and Fun Poses with Lesley Fightmaster
Yoga For Stress Relief: Yin and Yang
Yoga for Stress Relief: Yin and Yang is a class for everyone. Just in time for the holiday season to help us let go of stress. This can be a difficult time of year for many. This class starts with a "Yang" practice which heats up the body. Yang is associated with heat and light. It is male-dominated energy according to Chinese philosophy. Much of our world seems to be Yang dominant. Where I live in Southern California, there is so much Yang energy. A lot of competition to succeed...to "keep up with the Joneses" and to work, work, work. This creates stress for many. Our bodies spend way too much time in the "fight or flight" mode which wreaks havoc on our physical and emotional systems. Yin is the feminine passive energy associated with cold and darkness. It is a calming energy that allows us to relax and renew ourselves. Yin is as important as Yang and we need both in order to find balance in our lives and in our bodies and minds.
I highly recommend reading "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. It's a wonderful "hero's journey" that describes the importance of following your heart's desire, or dream, or "Personal Legend." It's so important to follow your heart to find your "Dharma" or what you were meant to do with your life. By following this, we all add love to the world.
To check out "The Alchemist" on Amazon:
goo.gl/iJ36er Thank you for your support!! :-)
Yoga for Runners
Yoga for Runners focuses on the areas of the body that get tight from running, mainly hamstrings, hips, hip flexors and thighs. This class incorporates strength building with stretching because both are advantageous for a healthy body. If you like this video, please push the "like" button, subscribe and share it with your friends! Thank you so much for your donations. All donations of any amount are extremely appreciated!! If you can't afford a donation, please share these videos to help get yoga to more people. If you have a suggestion for a video, please comment below. Thank you sooooo much for watching!!!!! :-)
Yoga for Flexibility: Splits and Backbends
Yoga for flexibility: Splits and Backbends is for all levels. However, please work at your own pace, rest when you need to and do not stretch deeper than your edge. Thank you to Ilse Nieman for requesting hamstring stretching, Angela Renzetti for asking for 30 minute clasess, Lucy Thaxter asking for flexibility especially splits (hanumanasana) and backbends and to Rebecca Bean for requesting hip opening and the "box split" or middle split (Samakonasana). There are options to go into some deep stretches in this video. If you have time, you could also practice the Yoga Quickie Flow video without Savasana for additional warming up.
Yin Yoga for Deep Stretching with Lesley Fightmaster
This Yin Yoga for Deep Stretching class has been the most requested class yet! This deep stretch class is very meditative. If you practice this 2 to 4 times per week, you'll be amazed at the increase in flexibility you experience. The poses are held for 3-5 minutes. You may find it very challenging to hold poses this long at first, but as you continue, you may choose to push the pause button for longer holds. As always, listen to your body and use as many props as you wish to make the pose more comfortable. You can always remove props as you hold the pose or as you practice more frequently. This sequence is inspired by Sarah Powers and her practice tips are: first, come into a pose at your appropriate edge, next become still as you would in meditation, finally, stay for a while. You can increase your holds as you continue to practice. Please subscribe and like this video (if you do) and tell your friends about Free Yoga Classes! :-)