Welcome to the John McConnell Yoga free weekly yoga video class. These weekly classes are here to keep you connected to your yoga practice, and more importantly, to the goodness of your True Self. Enjoy!
Full description and show creditsIn this short yoga video we work on some strength building for getting into handstand. Start in downdog with a block between your legs. Squeeze the block real strong with your legs as you jump with both feet into handstand. Doing this exercise makes going to handstand with one leg feel like child's play. :-) Enjoy!
This back bending class is about focusing on innate goodness, with a short meditation thrown in. There are a couple things I really like about the whole concept of innate goodness. First of all, innate goodness means that I am good exactly as I am. That's pretty great! I don't need to learn anything or change anything about myself; I've already got it going on. If I am good exactly as I am, then the more I am "myself", the better I am. That's why in yoga we always take about connecting to your...
In this episode we do some work on opening the shoulders. I actually created this class as a warmup to the "Gettin' Into Class!" I did last week that was focused on handstands. I know I probably should have done this class first, put what can you do. :-) Also, I talk about one of my favorite quotes from the vijnanabharava tantra. If you don't know about this spiritual text, it lays out the tantric philosophy of innate goodness and simple ways to find the goodness within yourself. So, here's wh...
In this yoga video we work on thinking about the movement of the shoulders in handstand. Often times going into handstand the shoulders are really tight and there is no "play" in the shoulders. Instead, it's good to think of shoulder movement in handstand like the hip movement when you're standing. Just imagine how hard it would be to stand if you didn't let there be movement in the joint of the leg and hip - even a little movement helps keep us up. So, same deal in the shoulders in handstand....
This yoga class is about finding the spanda in your practice. Put simply, spanda is the pulsation of energy in the universe. By thinking about spanda in your practice, you focus on the security of bringing energy and engagement in, and the freedom of extending energy out. This truly can bring your practice to a deeper level. I hope you enjoy the class! Visit johnmcconnellyoga.com and et me know if there are any postures or sequences you'd like to work on for future videos. Take care - John
I am starting a new series of videos called Gettin' Into It! In these videos we'll be working on more complex postures and what to work on and think about to get into them (hence the name). :-) In this first episode we move from astavakrasana to eka pada koundinyasana -- it's really fun! Let me know what you think. If there are any postures you are working on, simple or complex, let me know via email or my website. I'll make a video about it! Have fun.
Welcome to the John McConnell Yoga free weekly yoga video class. These weekly classes are here to keep you connected to your yoga practice, and more importantly, to the goodness of your True Self. Enjoy!