Events

The Art of Balance

with Danielle

The Art of Balance workshops are designed to change your mind about balancing on your hands and forearms. Arm balances invite us to connect more deeply with our bodies by building trust, overcoming fear, and embracing playful challenges. They offer an exciting way to add strength and refinement to your practice. These instructional workshops will focus on alignment and technique by breaking down the mechanics of each pose. You will learn step by step ways to enter each pose, creative transitions and modifications, and how to use props to help make arm balances more accessible in your practice. Arm balances are progressive in nature, with one pose often being the foundation for another. Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create 🤍

Arm balance experience is not required to attend this series. It is welcome to beginners and experienced yogis who are thirsty for knowledge and the opportunity to challenge themselves.

Funky Flying Dolphin & Pincha Mayurasana
Forearm balances are very challenging, but if you can shift your mind in the approach, you can shift your weight onto your forearms. Learn to strengthen and engage the back and shoulder muscles to help you find lightness on your forearms. Learn to maintain engagement of the core, glutes and hamstrings to float the legs. You will also learn about the importance of maintaining stability in the pelvis, as you play with movement and balancing on one hand and one forearm at the same time. Additionally, we will experiment with blocks to help access these poses, while refining alignment and building strength in the shoulder girdle.

The Crows & Transitions
For many yogis, the journey into arm balances begins with Crow Pose… often called the “gateway” arm balance. We will explore the mechanics of Crow, Baby Crow, and Side Crow, focusing on alignment, technique, and mindful progression. You’ll learn various pose modifications, creative transitions, and how to use props to make these poses more accessible. Together, we’ll build strength in the abdominals to help lift you up, increase hip mobility, and utilize breath to deepen twists and stabilize through the thoracic spine. This workshop will also introduce fundamental strength-building techniques for your arms, shoulders, and back muscles, creating a strong foundation for advanced arm balances.

So many postures are accessible from Crow, and once you start to learn them, the possibilities for more transitions are endless. Learn to shoot your legs back into Chaturanga while maintaining stability in your pelvis. Move into Tripod Headstand using your shoulder and arm strength. Flying Scissors from Crow… yes. Learn to use your core, shoulder and back strength to switch your legs in the air. You’ll also discover how to engage your lower abdominals and rebalance on one arm in Flying Crow, and harness inner thigh strength and core engagement to extend your legs into Eka Pada Koundinyasana I from Side Crow.

Flying Scissors (EPK 2) & Flying Pigeon (Eka Pada Galavasana)
Balancing on the arms with the legs floating through the air in opposite directions… it is possible. You will tap into the deep abdominal muscles to help understand their importance in lifting the back leg in both poses, while integrating the arms and back muscles to create balance in the body. Learn how to lift and extend the legs to help you float and balance like a seesaw on your arms in Flying Scissors, and how to create a “lock” with your foot in Flying Pigeon. You’ll discover how rotation through the hips helps create stability in both these poses. We will also learn how to incorporate blocks into these poses to provide more structure in alignment, and build your core and shoulder strength.

Handstand & Headstand
The Unicorn poses. We all want them, and we all can have them by learning the proper mechanics of the poses. There poses aren’t just about getting the legs straight up in the air, but rather getting your hips up. You will get to play against the wall for support to refine alignment, learning to bring the ribcage into a vertical position to stack the hips over the shoulders. You will also build strength in the abdominals and glutes to help support a neutral pelvis while getting upside down. Our hands play an important role in these poses too, learn how adjusting your grip and using your hands as your “breaks” can encourage stability while upside down. You’ll be introduced to different variations of headstand, and how to use your core and shoulder strength to encourage lifting away from the mat to remove pressure from the head and neck. Additionally, you will learn strengthening exercises for your core, shoulders, and back muscles that you can incorporate into your handstand and headstand practices to build confidence in balancing upside down. If you turn your world upside down, you just might see more clearly.