On the Mat Yoga

Yin yoga Lubricates your joints and improves mobility with safe steady stretching.
It Hydrates and stretches your connective tissues reducing stiffness.
As flexibility improves, energy flows through the body.
Anxiety, stored tension, and emotion are released.
As we still the body and mind, we cultivate patience and find deep relaxation.
Both Monday and Thursday classes contain Yin yoga, and yoga breath work bringing needed energies into the body/mind.
We learn to use mudras (hand positions to direct energy flowwhere we
Want it to go.

May/ June Yoga

Monday Yin yoga 5:30-6:30 pm…..7 class session
May 4, 11, 25
June 1, 8, 15,22

Thursday is Yin/ Yang yoga…..7 class session
May 7, 14, 21, 28
June 4, 11, 18

Over a quick post-practice chat, a student said:
“My Bow Pose feels stuck… and Eight-Angle feels impossible.”

Two very different poses—same secret:
shape comes last. The foundation comes first. 🔥✅

Perfect Your Bow Pose (Dhanurasana) — the “secrets”

What I correct most:

Knees splay out → low back gets jammed

Ribs flare → you “bend” in the lumbar instead of opening the front body

Pulling with arms only → legs stay passive, pose feels heavy

My key cues:

Keep knees hip-width (or slightly in)

Think “kick back” more than “pull up”

Lift chest forward + up, soften ribs, breathe

Fly High with Eight-Angle (Astavakrasana) — the arm-balance truth

If you’re scared to tip forward, you’ll always feel stuck.
This pose is built on a strong, controlled lean.

My key cues:

Build a firm “shelf” with the arms

Hug legs in, core on, gaze steady

Shift forward with confidence—then extend

Prep like a teacher (before you chase the final shape)

If either pose feels unstable, I have students drill:

Chaturanga alignment (slow lowers, elbows in, shoulders not dipping)

Hip + shoulder opening basics (simple, consistent mobility)

Core engagement patterns (hollow/boat variations)

Master the basics, then the “advanced” becomes predictable. 🤯✨

Want me to cue-check you? Drop which pose you’re working on (Bow or Eight-Angle) and what feels hardest—back, shoulders, wrists, or hips.

Time to sign up for May/ June Yoga

Happy Spring from On The Mat Yoga

WELCOME TO SPRING YOGA

Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) 🌙
Build balance, strength, and focus with Half Moon Pose — a powerful standing posture that challenges stability while opening the body. This pose strengthens the legs, glutes, and core, improves balance and coordination, and enhances hip and hamstring flexibility. It also opens the chest and shoulders, helping improve posture and breathing while boosting concentration and body awareness.
✨ Benefits:
• Strengthens legs, ankles, and core
• Improves balance and stability
• Opens hips, chest, and shoulders
• Enhances focus and coordination
• Supports better posture and spinal alignment
Move slowly, engage your core, and breathe steadily for maximum benefit.

EXPLORING GEMSTONES and YOUR ENERGY CENTRES
Chakras and gemstones are connected through a system of sympathetic resonance, where the vibrational frequency and color of a stone align with the energy, purpose, and location of specific,7 main energy centers in the human body. This connection, which largely maps the chakra colors to the visible light spectrum (red to violet), is used in holistic healing to balance and unblock energy by pairing, for example, red stones with the root chakra for stability, or blue stones with the throat chakra for communication.

I am modelling sodalite for the visshuda (throat) energy centre, the chakra of communication.
Gemstones are worn, or placed around your home, or work area.

How does Single Pigeon feel in your practice?⠀
⠀
HOW TO DO PIGEON POSE✨This is one of my favorite poses because it is one of the most effective hip openers. 🙌🏽 It also stretches the front body, abdomen, groin, and psoas.⠀
⠀
Correct ✅😁:⠀
• Arch of foot is flat on the floor (not to the side).⠀
• Hips are square and level. This starts with your back foot. You can tuck your back toes under to help spiral your thigh down.⠀
• Thigh spirals down. This will position your hips to the correct level. Your knee should facing the floor, not the side.⠀
• Shoulders are level, because the hips are level.⠀
⠀
Incorrect ❌😝:⠀
• Back foot is laying on it's side. This will throw off the entire pose.⠀
• Hips are not square or level. Since the back foot is laying on it's side, it is rolling the entire leg in the wrong direction.⠀
• Thigh is spiraling outwards, causing the knee to facing sideways, and this is also putting your knee at risk.⠀
• Shoulders are not level, because the hips are not level.

Wishing you the best Christmas ever!