Beginner Yoga Series at Practice Yoga Studio

Beginner Yoga Series: A Journey Through Mind & Body

Join us in January 2025 for a transformative 6-week beginner yoga series with the teachers from Practice Yoga Co-Op (804 South 4th St, Philadelphia PA) designed specifically to welcome all that are looking to bring yoga into their life for the first time, or reconnect to the practice after a long hiatus.

If you’ve felt intimidated by group yoga classes in the past for ANY reason (poses being too hard, not ‘flexible’ enough, not knowing anyone in the room, etc) we invite you to take the leap and invest your TRUST in our family of committed to making new yogis feel safe, seen, and able to participate in every layer of the practice.

.  This series is designed to build a strong foundation in yoga while exploring a unique theme each week. Each lesson builds on the class previous, with multiple teachers from various backgrounds there to guide you every step of the way.

What to Expect Each Week:

• Week 1: Mind/Body Awareness/ Breathing Techniques (Teacher Sid) 1/8/24

For week One we will highlight the importance of breath and mindfulness in yoga practice as well as discussing Pranayama (breath) as a baseline and central point. We will start with some exploration of movement using somatic techniques and lean into a playful and friendly energy. After a long welcome we will use different simple poses such as mountain, chair, standing forward folds, supported waterfall, and child’s pose to demonstrate breath in a multitude of positions. At the end of class we will wade into the waters of vinyasa flow, to provide students foundational knowledge for the rest of the program. We will end with child’s pose to regulate breathing and heart rate before Shavasana.

• Week 2: Build Strength & Allignment/Basic Standing poses(Teacher Sid) 1/15/24

 In week Two we will learn about setting an intention and how it can bring your practice up to the next level. Students will gain essential knowledge about grounding into their bodies as we work through a couple of standing poses; this will form a basis for all the lessons to come as we connect to the mat through our feet and hands. We will open up the body with gentle stretches and do a couple of sun salutations so that students can get a feel for a vinyasa flow, building off of week one. We will link breath to motion to round out the class and students will leave feeling stable and strong.

• Week 3: Relaxation and Release (Teacher Leo) 1/22/24

My sequence will be a longer gentle centering, restorative twists, heart bench, cat/cow with barrel rolls and organic movement, gentle flow between downward dog and Childs, calf stretches, side stretches, forward folds, supine pigeon up the wall, bound angle at the wall, reclined twists and loving kindness meditation before savanna. I’ll weave in the theme of attunement to the body and its desires throughout the class and in between poses as well as help students understand how that careful attention to self and breath can help regulate their own nervous systems on and off the mat.

• Week 4: Core Connection  + Putting it all together?  (Teacher Emily)1/29/24

This week we will focus on core connection. We'll begin on our backs with subtle movements to engage the core, and to be able to recognize the difference when the core is engaged vs disengaged. From there, we'll move into a gentle flow, connecting breath, movement and core. The sequence will include standing asanas, such as mountain, warrior I and II, side angle, chair pose, triangle and tree pose to create a strong and stable foundation. To wind down, we'll take an accessible backbend to stretch out the abdominal muscles, before a final few stretches to prepare for savasana. Throughout the class, we'll focus on the theme of tapas, to encourage self discipline and commitment. My hope with this class is that you will find stability throughout your yoga flow and learn to trust in your strength.

• Week 5: Counterposes + Basic Balance Poses (Teacher Lindsey) 2/5/24

My class will be a revisitation of the previous weeks, in the sense that it will review basic breath techniques, standing and seated poses, and slowly introduce students to playing with one-legged balances such as Tree, Dancer, Big Toe Hold, and Pigeon Chair. Props like straps and blocks will be utilized to show modifications  and build understanding of asymmetries in the body. We’ll work on drishti (focal point) practices as ways to safely fall out of balance poses/transitions back to basic postures like downward dog and tadasana/mountain pose. If we have time we will also introduce twisting poses and ways to counter poses with others that compliment in terms of anatomy, direction of movement and muscular energies.

• Week 6: Building a Personal Practice + Closing Review  (Teacher Emily) 2/12/24

For the final week we will take what we've covered in the previous classes and start to tune into our intuition to help lead us through the practice. We'll continue to focus on breath, mindfulness, meditation and awareness of the body. With modifications and variations of asanas, you will learn different ways to adapt your practice to fit your needs. This will be a less structured class with room for you to be creative within a sequence. To close out, I will offer tips on how to maintain a consistent and healthy practice, and answer any final questions.

Bring your curiosity, a yoga mat, and an open heart—we’ll take care of the rest.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns

Host or Publisher Lindsey Gill Art and Yoga