Boundless Yoga - Guided Yoga Practices with Vanessa

Variations on a Theme of Surya Namaskar Episode 6

Sun, 31 Oct 2021 04:30:00 GMT

Variations with some extra back bending to help you open your heart and stand tall again.

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Variations on a Theme of Surya Namaskar Episode 4

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 08:30:00 GMT

In this variation we use a chair as a prop to steady us as we flow from Mountain Pose through some Half Dog Poses, Warrior I Poses, Imaginary Chair Poses and Balances.

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Variations on a Theme of Surya Namaskar Episode 5

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 01:30:00 GMT

In this variation of our Surya Namaskars we again use a chair as a prop to steady us as we add Warrior II, Reverse Warrior and Side Flank Stretch to our flow.

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Variations on a Theme of Sun Salutations Episode 3

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 05:30:00 GMT

A Sun Salutation is a moving meditation that connects body, breath and mind in the present moment and this one also highlights the strength in your arms and shoulders.

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Variations on a Theme of Surya Namaskar Episode 2

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 07:30:00 GMT

In this episode we sequence some lunges, Crescent Moon Poses and Revolved Side Flank Stretches that build strength in the legs. A moving mediation that lengthens and deepens our breathing.

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Variations on a Theme of Surya Namaskar Episode 1

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 23:30:00 GMT

In this episode we start exploring the Theme of Surya Namaskar with some "Half Sun Salutations". A short sequence that takes us with our breathing through standing forward bends, squats, balances and twists to warm up the spine, hips and shoulders and strengthen the legs.

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Variations on a Theme of Surya Namaskar Series Intro

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 23:30:00 GMT

Look out for this new little series of episodes all featuring Variations on a Theme of Surya Namaskar. Surya Namaskar, or Sun Salutations, are a fairly ubiquitous part of most yoga traditions and classes. At their core they are a flowing sequence of asana (poses) which take the spine, hips and shoulders through their range of motion from flexion to extension, warming, loosening and strengthen the body. When practiced with the breath Surya Namaskars lengthen and deepen our breathing. In this series we will work from this core understanding of what makes a Surya Namaskar to explore variations on the theme that will keep our practice creative, responsive and alive.

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Boundless Yoga Zoom 2.1

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 23:30:00 GMT

Another practice from the Zoom archive recorded during last November's lockdown in Adelaide. Use your awareness of sound to centre yourself in the present moment. Warm up in sitting, on all fours and in lunge. Practice some Surya Namaskar and standing poses before some seated twists. Wind down with some supine stretches and practice letting go and relaxing in a final savasana.

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Boundless Yoga Zoom 2.0

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 07:30:00 GMT

From the archives of the November 2020 lockdown in Adelaide when the weather was fine enjoy the background of birdsong during this well balanced practice of asana, breath awareness and relaxation. Warm up in sitting, all fours and lunge. Then practice some Surya Namaskar, Standing Poses and Balances. Finish with seated poses and a centering relaxation.

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Awareness of Sound and a Kneeling Practice

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 05:30:00 GMT

We use our awareness of the sounds around and the sound of our own breath to centre ourselves in the present moment. This is followed by a practice predominantly in kneeling - Cat Pose variations, lunges, Crescent Moon Pose and Gate Pose - which warms and loosens the hips, legs, shoulders and arms and lengthens the spine and the sides of the waist.

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Rolling around on the Floor Part 2

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 03:30:00 GMT

"Gripping onto thought, feelings or anywhere in the body just causes discomfort and resistance. What we resist will persist. If we can soften around displeasure, discomfort and the occasional raw mistake, we can flow a bit more into the movement of life. Movement implies softness; nothing moves very far in constricted areas or very easily through tight places."
- unknown

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Rolling Around on the Floor Part 1

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 05:30:00 GMT

An entire practice from lying on your back in Savasana. We start by centre-ing through your connection to your breath, the ground and the sensations you can feel. We follow this with gradually loosening your arms and legs and finally your whole body, rolling and twisting it around on the floor to create an overall sensation of suppleness and mobility.

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A Menagerie of Yoga Poses

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 06:30:00 GMT

“Yoga talks about cat-pose, dog-pose, camel-pose, monkey-pose, bird-pose etc. Why there are so many animal poses? Animals release their emotions and tensions by movements based on their body sensations. But our amygdala in the brain is carrying the “fight or flight response”; it has forgotten the art of releasing the tensions. As human beings, when we are aware about the sensations, we can release that by aware, slow movements. If you do not give movements to the body parts, energy will be stuck and blood circulation will be disturbed. Gradually, that creates chronic physical and mental health problems.”

Amit Ray (2010) "Yoga and Vipassana: An Integrated Life Style"

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Cat Pose Variations

Sun, 02 May 2021 02:30:00 GMT

Take some time to centre yourself in the present, in your body, with awareness of your breath. Experiment with variations on the traditional Cat Pose to warm, loosen and stretch out your spine.

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Mini Practice of Lunges and Crescent Moon Pose

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 01:30:00 GMT

Centre yourself in the present moment with awareness of your breath and connecting your movement to your breathing. Then practice some rocking lunges and crescent moon pose to stretch out and release tension from legs, hips, shoulders and spine.

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A couple of little balance challenges

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 05:30:00 GMT

Another from the Zoom archive, in this guided practice we warm up in sitting and in lunge. Standing poses provide the opportunity for a couple of little balance challenges and we round things off with some Sun Salutations and seated poses.

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Opportunistic Warriors at Your Desk

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 13:30:00 GMT

Have you been stuck sitting at a desk working? Take the Opportunity to interrupt your sitting by using your desk as a prop to flow between Warrior 1 and 2 with your breath.

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Opportunistic Dining Room Chair Twist

Sat, 06 Mar 2021 05:30:00 GMT

Take 1 minute, 2 poses and 3 Breaths to fit a little more Yoga into your life. Be Opportunistic and practice this simple twisted seated perhaps on your dining room chair.

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The Santa Claus Effect

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 02:30:00 GMT

Another guided practice from the Zoom archives. Notice the sounds around you, your breathing, your own thoughts and sensations in the physical body which help deepen your present moment awareness. We flow through warming up stretches, Sun Salutations, standing poses, and seated poses for a well balanced physical practice and finish in a rewarding relaxation where we learn about "the Santa Claus effect."

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Grounding in Mountain and Warrior Poses

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 02:30:00 GMT

Tadasana
Mountain
by Leeza Lowitz

This is the place
the journey begins.
Half rooted in the earth,
half floating in the endless sky.
What would it be like
to be the mountain?
The air is perhaps thinner,
though the sky is not always clear.
The view is sometimes shrouded in fog
sometimes in plain and glorious sight,
but the ascent or descent can kill.
The earth is stable
or sometimes not.
So it is
at base or summit,
yet the mountain never asks
why or for what purpose
it exists.
This is the one difference
between the climber
and the climbed.

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Grounding in Half Sun Salutations

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 06:30:00 GMT

Another in a little a series focused on developing a sense of 'grounding'. Practice the Ujjayi breath to connect deeply with your breathing then attune to the contact of your feet against the floor. Utilize this sense of grounding to flow through some Spinal Rolls and into some Half Sun Salutations.

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Grounding Yourself in Spinal Rolls and Downward Dog

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 06:30:00 GMT

Steady your physical body, your mind and your heart through a deep connection with your breath and the ground underneath you. Flow through some Spinal Rolls and practice Downward Dog Pose and Tadasana.

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Opportunistic Warriors and Triangles

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 05:30:00 GMT

Take 1 Minute to practice 2 Poses - Warrior Two and Triangle. Connect your breath and movement between these poses for 3 Breaths and observe the way this brings your attention more fully into the present moment.

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Grounding in the Present Moment

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 06:30:00 GMT

A guided practice from the Zoom lockdown archive. Ground yourself very much in the present moment with a guided relaxation that draws your attention to sounds and sensations. Follow this with a rolling around on the floor kind of warm up, gentle half sun salutations and seated poses and finish with some more relaxation.

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Opportunistic Warrior 1 Pose at the Kitchen Bench

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 05:30:00 GMT

Using the simple structure of taking 1 minute, to practice 2 poses and follow 3 breaths in each pose again, stretch out and deepen your breathing by practicing some Opportunistic Warrior Poses at your Kitchen Bench.

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Variations on a theme of Sun Salutations

Mon, 04 Jan 2021 01:30:00 GMT

Another practice from the Zoom archives recording during lockdown we start this practice with loosening in a supine position. Then gradually coming to standing we explore variations on Sun Salutations incorporating some Cobra and Crescent Moon Poses. Standing poses are followed by some seated poses and finally winding down into a guided, breath and present-moment-awareness focused relaxation.

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Opportunistic Yoga at your Bathroom Vanity

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 22:30:00 GMT

Getting some Yoga back into your life even when you are flat out busy and the opportunities to practice seem few and far between is as easy as 1,2,3..... Using the simple structure of taking 1 minute, to practice 2 poses and follow 3 breaths in each pose provides a strategy to fit in a yoga practice anywhere, anytime - even at the bathroom vanity after brushing your teeth before you head off into a busy day.

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Cats and Dogs

Sat, 19 Dec 2020 03:30:00 GMT

This gentle Mini Practice focusses on Connecting with the Breath to bring your attention into the present. Then let the breath guide you through some variations of Cat Pose and Hunting Dog Pose and finish by relaxing in Child's Pose.

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Rolling around on the floor

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 09:30:00 GMT

A nice rolling and around on the floor kind of warm up leads into some half sun salutations and standing poses before a bit more rolling around on the floor to prepare for relaxation.

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Reclined Child's Pose with a Twist

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 01:30:00 GMT

Enjoy releasing your back, hips and shoulders with this relaxing sequence of Child's Pose and Twists.

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Pigeons and Cobras

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 08:30:00 GMT

From the Zoom Practices recorded during lockdown, we begin this practice in Supine and continue warming up the spine, back and hips in Cat Pose and Pigeon Pose. We build strength in the back and shoulders with Downward Dog Pose and Cobra Pose then flow into some Half Sun Salutation and Standing Poses. Stretching and Strength building in some seated poses is rounded off in Supine with a Bridge Pose Sequence and then Savasana.

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Breathing Length into the Spine

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 01:30:00 GMT

A mini guided practice to lengthen your spine and torso so you can sit taller. We allow the breath to lead us through a flowing sequence of simple seated forward bends, twists and side bends.

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Bookend building strength with relaxing supine warm-up and and cool-down

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 06:30:00 GMT

We begin this practice with a relaxing warm-up, in supine, loosening the legs, back, hips, arms and shoulders. Then build strength in the upper back by adding some cobra pose to our Sun Salutations, build strengthen in the legs and hips with sequenced standing poses and strength in the back hips and core in seated poses. We finish with a lovely relaxed cool-down in supine and, of course, an all important final Savasana.
Another Audio recording from the Lockdown Zoom Practice files.

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Let Your Warrior Pose be Breathed

Sat, 17 Oct 2020 05:30:00 GMT

"The breath moves the body" - allow your breath to move you through your practice of Warrior 2.

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Yoga Nidra

Mon, 12 Oct 2020 05:30:00 GMT

Yoga Nidra is a Mindful Body Scan which cultivates a sense of deep relaxation in the physical body and sense of calm alertness in the heart and mind.
"Anti-Gravity Yoga" (1991) Vanda Scaravelli, Awakening the Spine, Harper San Francisco.

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Warming Up in Supine and Some Balances

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 01:30:00 GMT

Spend time lying in Supine to center your attention on your breathing and then gently warm up your physical body. Strengthen your legs and posture in standing poses and balances. The audio recording of one of many Zoom Yoga practices during lockdown.

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Half Sun Salutations, Standing Poses and Bridge

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 06:30:00 GMT

The audio recording of an Online Practice held on 8-5-2020.
Loosen and warm up. Practice some Half Sun Salutations to strengthen the back muscles and legs in preparation for Standing Poses. Release the back muscles and practice some Reclined Bridge Pose before enjoying Savasana.

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Sun Salutes with Lunges and Twists

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 06:30:00 GMT

Another audio recording of a Lockdown Zoom Yoga Practice. W combine some lunges with twists and then add them into our Sun Salutations. Develop strength in some standing poses and enjoy some relaxing seated and reclined stretches followed by Savasana.

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Lunges, Half Sun Salutations and Warriors

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 02:30:00 GMT

During lockdown I provided guided practices online via Zoom. Enjoy this audio recording of one of these practices which includes simple lunges, half sun salutations and standing poses. A well-balanced practice to loosen, strengthen and mobilize the whole body and then a well-deserved savasana to conclude.

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