Feel it All - Power Yoga with Sarah

This flow - like the previous one - has been a long time coming.  Being that it was fully 9 months in the making, it went through a series of names as I put myself through the paces of how I’m feeling about living in Uganda.  First I called it Heimweh - homesickness, plain and simple. Then I called it Fernweh - missing travel, or missing a place that’s not your home. (Complex concept? It's probably a single word in German.) Finally, as I got more adjusted but still didn’t feel like Uganda was home I called it Fernfreude, a word I made up to symbolize finding joy somewhere that is not your home.  

Names aside, the physical practice starts off slow - so as not to jangle already-frayed nerves - and builds into a sweaty-but-smooth repeat flow demonstrating how a movement as simple as quarter salutations or bending one knee feels complex with a modified setup.  Like every flow, it reflects where I am with life right now, and - as the names reflect - that is an ever changing sense of belonging to my current station. Thus, this flow is an exhortation to honor and appreciate the protracted challenge that comes with big life transitions. It alternates moments of intensity with active rest, to train the habit of finding openness and release even in the midst of challenge. With all this, it leans heavily on the metaphor of building strength, muscle memory, and compassion until one is forced to come to the conclusion that this moment, however challenging it may seem, is possible to love.

Here's the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6UWnSWwbRAOaIAr2oiKn1O

Hope you enjoy!

This one has been a LONG time in the making. It was conceived as I sunsettted after four years in Egypt, and was born in the early months of a new life in Uganda. It has been the focus of my practice for six months. Here's the idea of this flow: challenge your balance on your mat to come to terms with the norm of feeling off-balance and confronted by an ever-changing mix of emotions. Through this pracice, I've been trying to lean into all the feels while at the same time turning toward the cyclical nature of life, practicing finding balance when it's challenged, and appreciating how these cycles that we repeat help to stretch us and make us stronger. It pulls in moon salutations at the outset - here is a great tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1eF-Wl2AlU)from the wonderful Esther Ekhart if you have not done them before.

Take your time with this one and enjoy the challenge and the glory with this eponymous Spotify playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0FuX9NwvU6n93FO8tXTbRH)

This is a flow for Ukraine. Everyone is processing the horrors of Russia’s war - and thoughts of what may come next - differently. I’m trying for the “feel it all” method, so sorry not sorry if this flow is a little brutal. I tried to infuse some hope too, because I do hope there’s hope.  

Note that it's pretty low in instruction early on to let you get straight into the flow with sun salutes on your breath.

What you have here is just voice, but it’s synched to be played alongside my Apocalypse playlist on Spotify to get you deeper in your groove. (You have to have Premium for it to work out timing-wise.)

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a rating to help others find it, or just pass on to a friend in need of a good sweat - sharing is caring!

This is a flow for Ukraine. Everyone is processing the horrors of Russia’s war - and thoughts of what may come next - differently. I’m trying for the “feel it all” method, so sorry not sorry if this flow is a little brutal. I tried to infuse some hope too, because I do hope there’s hope.  

Note that it's pretty low in instruction early on to let you get straight into the flow with sun salutes on your breath.

What you have here is just voice, but it’s synched to be played alongside my Apocalypse playlist on Spotify to get you deeper in your groove. (You have to have Premium for it to work out timing-wise.)

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a rating to help others find it, or just pass on to a friend in need of a good sweat - sharing is caring!

Check out this flow to put yourself right after your morning run or anytime you have the mind-body-creaky vibe going on. The flow is the same as Run and Done plus a bonus side bend for the psoas. Should hit all the right places to open up your body and mind for the day ahead. 

What you have here is just voice, but it’s synched to be played alongside my Jiffy Lube Instrumentals playlist on Spotify to get you deeper in your groove. (Sorry, you have to have Premium for it to work out timing-wise.)

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a rating to help others find it, or just pass on to a friend in need of a good sweat - sharing is caring!

Hey all - happy holidays, Happy New Year! I’m bringing back the podcasts with music, new and improved - what you have here is just voice, but it’s synched to be played alongside this Bass Meets Bliss playlist on Spotify to get you deeper in your groove. The world being what it is, the piper must be paid, so you need to have to have Premium for it to work out timing-wise. For best results, do the musical flow after you've gotten the hang of the original voice-only flow.

Hope you enjoy-let me know what you think!

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a rating to help others find it, or just pass on to a friend in need of a good sweat - sharing is caring!

I started this as a restorative sequence to release neck pain and ended up with a practice addressing full spectrum of body-in-seat syndrome.

Here's what it does: 1. Mindfully releases the neck and shoulders from built-up tension; 2. Helps you wisen-up to habitually-held stiffness so you can recognize when it crops up and choose to release it; 3. Strengthens the whole core and back body to help you avoid hunch-asana and the tightness it begets in the first place.

Grab a block and strap and let's go!

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a rating to help others find it, or just pass on to a friend in need of a good sweat - sharing is caring!

Neck pain is the enemy and knowing is half the battle. The other half is letting go. This is a 30-minute quickie restorative to help you: 1. Mindfully release the neck and shoulders from built-up tension; and 2. Wisen-up to your habitually-held stiffness so you can recognize it when it crops up and choose to release it.

Perfect for the end of the workday or any other long-term hunching session. Grab a block and a strap and let’s go!

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a rating to help others find it, or just pass on to a friend in need of a good sweat - sharing is caring!

I started this as a restorative sequence to release neck pain and ended up with a practice addressing full spectrum of body-in-seat syndrome.

Here's what it does: 1. Mindfully releases the neck and shoulders from built-up tension; 2. Helps you wisen-up to habitually-held stiffness so you can recognize when it crops up and choose to release it; 3. Strengthens the whole core and back body to help you avoid hunch-asana and the tightness it begets in the first place.

Grab a block and strap and let's go!

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a rating to help others find it, or just pass on to a friend in need of a good sweat - sharing is caring!

Running and yoga jive so completely, but limited time and energy mean you typically end up doing just one or the other on any given day. That can be a bummer if, say, you’re training for a race five days a week. But one fine day I realized that you don’t really have to choose. A short practice can still be freeing, meditative, and cure what ails ye. Here’s a post-run sequence that fits that description with well-rounded lower body stretches plus luscious twists to lengthen and release the spine.