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Repeat What You Want to Reinforce: 20-minute Ashtanga Yoga Strength Supplements

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Challenge Overview

Are you interested in increasing your mental and physical strength for your practice? Do you want to learn to use props in fun and creative ways to support your transitions?

In these workshops (which are intended to supplement an Ashtanga practice but are also applicable to many other styles of yoga), you’ll learn a variety of skills and exercises that will help you build strength and practice key poses and transitions more efficiently.

You’ll first work with alignment and strength-building in foundational poses such as plank and chaturanga and then move on to transitions (lift-ups and jump backs). You’ll then work on developing greater core and whole-body integration as you prepare for, practice, and hold inversions such as headstand and shoulderstand. At the end of the course, you’ll practice several arm balances (and variations of them) from the first and second series, like bhujapidasana (arm pressure pose), bakasana (crow pose), and mayurasana (peacock pose).

Get ready to use lots of props and play with dynamic movement techniques that you can integrate into your practice right away!

Certificate of completion

3 CEU’s Upon Completion

Self Paced Learning

Challenge Outline

2hrs to complete

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Section 1
  • In this short introduction, David explains that the focus of this course is to help you develop better form and efficiency in your vinyasa practice. You’ll learn how to use short, intense supplemental practices to enhance your technique and boost your overall strength so that you can practice sustainably and with precision. You’ll also learn how to use props* in your regular practice in order to make the poses and transitions more accessible and to enhance your alignment. *Although this course requires many props (eight to ten blocks, two chairs, two to three blankets, a strap, and a timer), you...
Section 2
  • Build whole-body strength in this comprehensive tutorial and practice. You’ll begin with an exploration of plank and chaturanga alignment and then use chairs to learn more accessible variations of both. After that, you’ll use the chairs to do lift-ups (to prepare for jump-back transitions) and practice plank and chaturanga with blocks at different heights (and then without blocks) to deepen your experience of whole-body integration.
Section 3
  • Continue to build strength and integrity with a practice that includes chair-supported knee-to-nose core work, chaturanga holds, and lift-ups using chairs and then blocks. You’ll also learn the key actions of navasana (boat pose), do strengthening movements in it, and conclude class with headstand prep work.
Section 4
  • In this class, you’ll put elements from the previous two classes together in a flow and then learn strength-building techniques for inversions. As with the previous classes, you’ll focus on alignment and integration throughout the practice. You’ll first work on moving seamlessly from down dog to plank and from plank to chaturanga, where you’ll hold chaturanga for a few breaths. After that, you’ll do core work that includes block-supported lifts, navasana variations (using the wall for support), leg lifts, a block-supported headstand, handstand prep practice, a “hop, bend, and straighten” method...
Section 5
  • Increase your mental and physical strength in this sequence that explores strategies for holding shoulderstand and headstand (the inversions of the finishing sequence of Ashtanga) for ten minutes each. You’ll learn propped and unpropped variations of both poses that will help you understand their key actions. You’ll also do strengthening movements in the poses and take breaks occasionally as you work on lengthening your inversion time.
Section 6
  • Continue your exploration of mental and physical stamina in this final practice. David explains that you can develop upper body strength in your practice by identifying which poses require upper body work and holding them for a time. In this class, which includes arm balances from the first and second series, you’ll explore bhujapidasana (arm pressure pose) using blocks for support, kukkutasana (rooster pose), bakasana (crow pose), and prop-supported mayurasana (peacock pose) variations to further gain strength, balance, and flexibility.

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Meet Your Teacher

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David Garrigues
David Garrigues is an internationally recognized yoga teacher and creator of the Asana Kitchen video... Read more

Frequently Asked Questions

Absolutely, you can include this challenge in your Yoga Alliance training hours, with each hour equivalent to one continuing education credit.
This challenge is entirely self- paced, allowing you to learn at your convenience.There are no imposed deadlines or time constraints for Challenge completion.
No prerequisites are required; this challenge is open to anyone interested in deepening their knowledge and practice.
No, the challenge is accessible to all individuals interested in enriching their understanding and practice of yoga.Yoga teaching certification is not a prerequisite.

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