Build Trust & Resilience with Yoga Arm Balances
The Expansive Practice of Yoga
“All paths rooted in curiosity lead to inner awareness.”
The wonderful world of yoga is a vast and expansive practice. You will see everything from seated meditation to exceptional skills in flexibility and strength. As practitioners of yoga we know that the goal of yoga is to uncover our true nature and become aware of what is greater than ourselves.
There are many paths on this practice that lead to a better understanding of who we are—and one is not better than the others. While some yogis sit and focus on their breath as a path to meditative awareness, others need to move or test their physical boundaries to meet a spacious awareness.
The beauty of yoga is that all paths rooted in curiosity lead to this inner awareness.
How Challenge in Yoga Practice Builds Resilience
“Resilience is built each time we test our boundaries.”
On the surface the asanas or postures that look more challenging might have you asking: How does “that” lead me to my true nature?
The answer is simple—every time you test yourself, whether it is through staying seated in meditation or becoming aware of your boundaries on the mat, you are learning.
Through yoga, you learn to work with tapas, the internal fire of discipline, that guides you on your journey—you are able to cut out your path and embrace your becoming. When we allow ourselves to be challenged in safe and supported ways, that experience of challenge and the following recovery is stored within you.
Over time when you are greeted with future challenges you can respond with more ease because you have conditioned your body and mind to greet the unknown, having learned that you become stronger and more resilient for it.
It is through this testing of resilience you find yourself. Who you are truly is mirrored on the mat as you practice and test your boundaries. You are able to witness your joy and frustrations through your asana practice and learn how to trust —and how to let go.
Trust Through Asana
“Begin with the basics, and trust will grow.”
Trust is cultivated by testing boundaries. The practice of yoga asanas (or poses) gives you the opportunity to explore testing those boundaries.
Just like the foundation of your home, yoga poses are all oriented in foundation and balance. When you begin with the basics you will build a strong foundation to support a more complex experience safely.
Over time, safety grows into curiosity, and curiosity blossoms into exploration, testing. This is how trust is built on the mat.
That is why Sarah Lindgren is offering a practice on the challenging and sometimes elusive category of arm balances.
Physical Benefits of Asana
“Yoga builds both mental and physical resilience.”
Aside from awakening your true nature, asana offers other profound physical benefits. Postures burn off excess energy to quiet our mind and strengthen and stabilize the body.
As you begin to strengthen your body you’ll not only see physical changes in your posture, core strength, as well as the lower and upper body muscle groups, but also in unexpected places like hands and wrists.
In postures such as down dog, you will begin to understand how important strength, flexibility and mobility is.
When you begin to add the more challenging postures like arm balances in a safe and approachable way you are further cultivating your strength, mobility and flexibility—and your confidence on and off the mat.
With asana, you build not only your physical muscles but also the ones that help you trust yourself to manage difficult experiences. This is why you will often hear teachers say that yoga is a mind-body practice. Yoga builds both mental and physical resilience.
Why Guidance Matters
“A seasoned teacher helps you take flight with confidence.”
Arm balances require trust. That trust often wavers when these postures are introduced in public classes, especially if you’re new to balancing on your hands.
This is where an experienced teacher is invaluable in supporting the development of your practice. Sarah, a 500 hour E-RYT with 10 years of teaching will teach you how to strengthen and prepare your hands, wrists, and core so you can take flight.
Flight School: A Guide to Arm Balances
As you learn to balance on your hands, new possibilities in yoga open up—and your inner strength grows. This practice is a fun and informative way for you to have the opportunity to practice these sometimes awkward and challenging poses with a seasoned teacher who will support you whether it is your first time flying or if you are honing and refining your skills.
Sarah will teach you multiple ways to enter and exit some of the most common arm balances. You will have the time to ask questions, and receive 1:1 support with your pose.
While each pose has their own unique challenges to flight, they all share the same foundation. As you learn how to balance on your hands a whole new book of postures becomes more accessible and your inner strength begins to grow.
Flight School: A Guide to Arm Balances
Saturday, September 27th at 12pm
with Sarah Lindgren
This practice is fun, supportive, and informative. You’ll have the opportunity to:
Explore challenging arm balances safely
Receive 1:1 support
Learn multiple entry and exit techniques
Practice crow, side crow, and koundinyasana 1 & 2
Play with putting these postures together
The Bigger Picture
“Yoga invites us to try, to trust, to let go, and to soar.”
While arm balances won’t determine if you reach nirvana, they do cultivate self-exploration, strength, flexibility, mobility and most importantly trust in yourself.
Learning what works for you, what you like and what you are capable of. This is what makes the gift of yoga so special, the ability to customize it, to inquire, to try hard things, relish the joy of achievement, embrace the challenge of struggle, and above all else—let go.
When you do, not only can you fly, but your spirit is free to soar.