COVID-19 Online Classes and Practice

A Word About Music

I've spent a large part of my life making music in spiritul and meditative contexts. This has carried over into my Yoga teaching practice in the form of my carefully-curated and eclectic class playlists. Unfortunately, when teaching online, you have to deal with music licensing issues as though the music were the main component of your offering. Because of this, I am mostly using Spotify playlists alongside my teaching. Searching for playlists on Spotify is a bit of a pain because they are de-prioritized in the search results; so I have to use playlist names that are actually findable.

This means that, as of Spring/Summer of 2020, any classes of mine that you see online have no musical accompaniment. It also means that it's your choice as to whether you will have it when you join the class. I know that not everyone has access to multiple devices or amplification gear that makes for good sound as well. As a musician, this really bothers me, but as a yoga teacher, we just have to make the best of it as we determine to practice anyway.

Online spaces

Yoga Breakfast

Yoga Breakfast is my morning practice. It's not as structured as the Zoom classes — I literally make it up as I go along each morning — so every day can be different. Most mornings include a little bit of Yoga "truth talk" and 30-40 minutes of asana practice. Other practices fill out the hour-and-a-bit, with pranayama, mantra, and (short) silent meditations regularly being on the menu.

Generally the physical practice is a slow flow, to help loosen up the body and build some inner fire for dealing with the day ahead. But the practice ranges from a very meditative Yin to quite a fiery vinyasa depending on the day that's in it. I trust my body/mind to know and direct me in the kind of practice needed for the day. In a sense, I am teaching a process of inquiry into your own needs and desires for the day, and how to adapt your knowledge of yoga to meet those needs.

As you may have guessed, the only thing guaranteed in this practice is that it will be different, because each day is different from every other day. Come to make connection with your own inner compass and start out in tune with the song of the universe around you.

Yin classes

Anyone familiar with my in-person Yin classes will recognize these. I have found that Yin practice translate very easily to the online format - at least partly because I have limited space and camera angles to work with. And there is something about the shared space of mindfulness that helps to create the feeling of a community experience even though we are apart. It's really quite magical.

I am working this classes to require a minimum of props. But still Yin practice works better if you have various props, pillows and blankets available. So go ahead and raid your linen closet and grab the cushions off the sofa, you officially have an excuse (and if you build a pillow fort afterwards I won't tell).

Flow & Let Go

This class uses a moderate flow practice to draw the attention of the body/mind fully into the present moment, leaving aside all concerns from other places in time and space. Having arrived at the center, we then ride waves of attention and breath inward to the more subtle experiences of the self.

Practically, this class is structured as a series of moderately intense level 1 flows, occupying the first 2/3 of the class. There is very little technical instruction to interrupt the stream of sensual awareness. The remaining time is then set aside for either a long yoga nidra or guided meditation, leaving the practitioner with a restored sense of connection to their own, unique experience.

Saturday Morning Satsang

For a lot of reasons, I am not comfortable providing an advanced asana practice over the internet. So I have designed this class to be an engaging asana practice, while bringing in other advanced practices of Yoga. It will always include asana, pranayama, meditation, and satsang. Meditation will take a number of different forms both concrete and abstract.

In short, I hope to use the flexibility we gain from being outside the studio to bring you the practices of Yoga that are inconvenient to practice in a studio context. This has become one of my favorite classes to prepare each week, as we take a look at the ideas that lie behind the practices. These same ideas help guide us towards a deeper experience of ourselves and the world around us, out of which grows understanding and love.

"Your awakening is the World's awakening" — Tara Judelle, 2019