Welcome to Mandala Yoga

(relaxing waves) So, I've created a series of practices for you that build one upon the other. What I found over close to 25 years of practice, is that what I've become more and more interested in is that I enjoy immensely the physical practice, but I spend most of the day off the mat. I've wanted my physical practice to be a place where I can learn more about the challenges that I'm faced with during my day. These challenges we all are faced with and so the practice builds from a pretty basic practice for beginners and then it gets more complex as we go. So, it's important to, I advise, I advise strongly, to start with the first practice.

The first practice is about developing steadiness, grounding, understanding our root. And that practice is slow, and there's a lot of strength. Long, slow strength that has to be built over time. And it will prepare the foundation for the next practice. Next practice is about fluidity.

Using the breath to move easily from one posture to the next, with steadiness. After fluidity, comes vital energy. How do we take the energy that's in this body and use it really wisely to accomplish some of the more challenging postures. After we finish with vitality, we move on to experiments in flight. And so, we'll be doing some arm balancing, but it's utterly essential that you've got the stability, the fluidity, moving your energy well in your body before we attempt to work with lightness of being essentially.

Okay, after that, we move to some slower hip opening work that results in Lotus posture. That's represented by the element space or ether. Also known as ether, so what we have here is we have an earth practice, we have a water practice, a fire practice, we have an air practice and a space practice. All of these represent different states of mind that challenge us, and are opportunity for growth and transformation. All of these things occur on the mat and they also occur throughout our day.

The idea being that through this practice we become more compassionate, more available, more loving, present human beings. So, this is my offering to you. I hope that you enjoy this work. Please move intelligently and namaste.