Day 10: Samana, Sunday, Sun Salutations and Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee

The studio is really picking up. It's wonderful that so many new people are coming to class; the community vibe is great, as is the added energy. Class today is my favorite of the week, since we break from the straight 26 postures in a row and do more of an ashtanga/vinyasa flow with every movement following the breath (and usually worked through a sun salutation). We cover almost all of the 26 class postures, but Renee adds in so much more...it's great. awesome. a tad painful in that wow-this-is-a-workout way. The best part is how fast you progress. You stretch, lengthen and build all at the same time.

The magical Samana is a flow series and Renee loves core and upper body strength, so there's plenty of ab work and chaturangas. To be straight up the class is challenging, but anyone can attend. We're all at different levels in the room and most poses have a modification if you need a softer set (due to tightness, old injuries or any other concern). You start with pranayama breathing, move into sun salutations, flow through various stretches, push it up with 20 dolphin and 20 scorpion push ups, hold it up with some fine-tuning isometric ab holds, relax it down with a long pigeon set and round out class with some inversions (today, I worked on scorpion...my favorite). This is a very streamlined description; you need to come to really know what class is like. And you should!

Standing Separate Leg Head-to-Knee:

Wins: Homemade veggie burgers with adzuki and cannellini beans, flax seeds and tempeh with magical seasoning; Mochi!; standing splits; a full Samana Class with at least 5 new students!