Keys to a Healthy Asana Practice: The Art of Building Core Stability

By now it’s become an article of faith that core stability is a key element in a healthy asana practice and crucial to a happy lower back. But what is the core and how do we strengthen it? Too often classes with a core emphasis focus on the superficial musculature of the front body and end up creating imbalances that actually inhibit true stability. 

In this course Natasha Rizopoulos explore the myriad muscles that make up the core. We’ll then look at how strength and intelligence in these muscles can translate into greater ease throughout the practice and especially with arm balances, the bête noire of so many students and even teachers, who are not sure how to translate their own experience in these poses for their students.

We’ll begin with a review of the key muscles that create steadiness at the center. Next we’ll explore the essential postures and transitions that tone these muscles. Many of these poses are not commonly thought of as core strengtheners and you may be pleasantly surprised to discover that a well-rounded and correctly aligned practice of familiar poses will give you greater strength than endless abdominal work. 

We’ll discuss short home practices that will develop and maintain the strength (core and otherwise) needed for healthy arm balances, as well as how to design sequences that build toward specific poses. The homework poses function as a kind of daily vitamin regimen that, combined with intelligent sequencing and clarity of intention, will make arm balancing accessible and fun.

This Premium Course Includes These Bonuses!

Yoga Practice Video #1 - All About the Core: Exploring the Need for Core Stability in Asana

Core stability is a key ingredient for a well-rounded asana practice and a healthy lower back. In this 60-minute video, Natasha shows how to bring intelligence and stability to all the core muscles that support your torso and pelvis. The effects of this profound work will radiate beyond your asana practice into daily posture and living.

Yoga Practice Video #2 - Wall Love Affair: The Secret to Deep Hip Opening and Core Stability

The wall is a great tool to take your core integration to the next level. In this rigorous series, learn how to use the wall to go deeper into traditional standing poses and build strength and stability faster. You'll feel the effects throughout your practice.

Yoga Practice Video #3 - Power Up Your Core: Core Stability for Beginners with Standing Poses

Standing postures are some of yoga’s best core strengthening poses. But for most beginners, alignment in standing postures can be a challenge. This undermines students’ ability to engage the core muscles effectively in the posture and therefore the effectiveness of the postures. In this 20-minute practice video, Natasha shows how to use a chair as a prop to make standing postures more accessible and enhance the core stabilizing and strengthening effects of common standing postures.

Yoga Practice Video #4 - Your One-Stop Pose for Core Strength - Spotlight on Chaturanga Dandasana

Chaturanga is a great pose for building core strength, but it is not easy to master, and most people make alignment mistakes that could lead to shoulder injuries. Learn how to build alignment and strength to get the most out of this great core pose.

Yoga Practice Video #5 - Yoga for Whole Body Strength Building

In this vigorous Vinyasa practice, Natasha serves up strength building poses for the whole body with a special focus on preparing for arm balances. Build the leg, arm and shoulder strength needed for challenging poses like Vasisthasana and arm balances and learn a fun variation of Bakasana that makes the pose more accessible and easy to practice.

Your Course Also Includes:

• Recordings of Both Sessions: Yours to keep. It’s generally acknowledged that many people only retain 10-20 percent of what they learn in a workshop. You will get the recordings of both sessions (MP3 & MP4), enabling you to go back and listen to the workshop as many times as you like.

• Transcripts of Both Sessions: Ever wanted to refer to a certain part of a course? Even the best note takers miss a point every so often. With the transcripts of the sessions, you can go back and refer to particularly important passages or clarify sections you were in doubt about.
   

This course qualifies for 5 non-contact hour CEs with Yoga Alliance.