Classes
Mysore ashtanga vinyasa
-
Mysore is the traditional method for learning Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga from Mysore, South India. It can be traced to Sri T. Krishnamacharya and the Jois family who have propagated and popularized its methodology with many international disciples and dedicated schools around the world.
A challenging, meditative, and detoxifying practice, Ashtanga Vinyasa draws upon the three pillars of pranayama (yogic breathing), drishti (focus), and bandha (subtle energy awareness). The practice is defined by the traditional Ashtanga Series which are set sequences that are learned progressively so that the mind-body is prepared to advance to more complex asanas and transitions in a gradual and integrative process.
In Mysore class, you receive individualized assistance for developing your practice and progressing through each series at your own pace (unlike a led class where everyone in the room is following the same cue at the same time). As you come to memorize and steady your practice, it becomes a mirror into your own body-mind as a path of self-discovery. Because it is memorized and personalized, Mysore is the best way to develop a home yoga practice (or sadhana) that you can practice on your own at home or anywhere when traveling.
Sandi has practiced the Ashtanga Primary Series for over 10 years and the Ashtanga Second Series for nearly as long. She currently practices into Third Series.
-
Mysore is appropriate for all levels of experience, from beginner to advanced. Your practice will get longer as you advance in the sequences. Depending on your time allowance and your sequence, Mysore practices can range from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours but most often it’s about 75-90 minutes.
-
vinyasa yoga
-
"Vinyasa" can be translated from Sanskrit as "distinctive placement". In vinyasa yoga, the asanas (postures) are thread together like beads on the string of the breath. Vinyasa uses the technique of ujjayi breathing - also known as "victorious breath" - to warm the body and calm the mind throughout practice. The body rides the breath.
Vinyasa can be easy or challenging but it is always about developing a deeper mind-body-breath awareness in the postures and their transitions.
As one of Sandi’s teachers, Richard Freeman, once said: an intelligent posture is a reversible one.
In vinyasa, we learn to more intelligently enter, remain, exit, and transition through postures with equal sweetness and steadiness.
-
Vinyasa classes are best when focused for Beginners or for Int/Advanced practitioners but mixed level classes are also available. Classes are generally 60, 75, or 90 minutes.
restorative yoga
-
Restorative Yoga gives the mind-body an opportunity to rest in supported postures that can help to release physical tension, emotional stress, and psychological weight-bearing.
As we really feel the Earth fully supporting us, we can surrender to our pristine elemental nature.
Sandi’s classes can include optional self-acupressure (meridian yoga techniques), restorative breathing practices (pranayama), and relaxing meditations (yoga nidra).
-
Restorative Yoga classes are appropriate for all levels of experience and are generally 60 or 75 minutes.
chanting, kirtan, Meditation
-
Chanting and sitting meditation are essential practices for yoga. Yoga recognizes sound, vibration, as the underlying nature of reality. Japa is the repetition of sacred Sanskrit sounds and chants that cut through mental chatter to protect, clear, and awaken the mind-body. Kirtan is call and response singing that opens the heart and dissolves aggression into a spirit of gratitude and divine love. It is powerful to sit in silence after cleansing one’s inner and outer environment through chanting or kirtan. Sitting and walking meditation are also essential practices for realizing shamata (calm abiding) and vipassana (insight).
-
Chanting and Meditation are open to all levels of experience. Classes that utilize specific texts or certain meditation techniques may be reserved for those with prior familiarity. Chanting classes can be scheduled for 30-90 minutes.
-
aqua yoga
-
Aqua Yoga adapts vinyasa yoga practice and mind-body-breath coordination to the aquatic realm. It is fun for all levels and it is especially beneficial for those who struggle with balance and joint pain on land. Aqua Yoga can also assist those who have fear of the water to find greater comfort and ease therein. The water offers a supportive and buoyant environment that softens the impact of gravity while stimulating new neural pathways to increase somatic awareness and embodied well-being.
-
Aqua Yoga classes are open to all levels of experience and generally run for 50 minutes in warm water, at or above 86 degrees.
aquatic fitness
-
Aquatic Fitness enhances physical and mental fitness through cardio, strengthening, and stretching in the water. Classes are tailored towards rhythmic and choreographed workouts in the shallow or deep-end of the pool. It is fun for all levels and it is especially beneficial for those who struggle with balance and joint pain on land. Aquatic Fitness can also assist those who have fear of the water to find greater comfort and ease therein. The water offers a supportive and buoyant environment that softens the impact of gravity while stimulating new neural pathways to increase somatic awareness and embodied well-being.
-
Aquatic Fitness classes are open to all levels of experience and generally run for 50 minutes in water that is 83-88 degrees.
Sandi offers private and group classes online and in-person in Sarasota County. You can currently catch her group classes at EōS and the Y of Southwest Florida on Tuesdays through Fridays. Use the contact page to request further information for scheduling classes that can be customized to your needs.
In addition to classes, check out upcoming and ongoing workshops here!