Types of Yoga Classes at Samahita
Engaged Dynamic Asana, Restorative
Yoga asana is incredibly effective at both strengthening and opening the body leading to balance across the different bodily systems. Yoga asana is of ancient origin, designed to aid:
- The inner organs of the body, especially digestive system
- Support and stimulate the spine
- Improve joint mobility and their long-term durability
- Enhance neuro-muscular activity that shows up as strength and flexibility
Of course, this is only possible if done correctly and practiced for a while. Our emphasis is on core support to aid inner organs first by managing the autonomic nervous system, and second, for equal impact on the spine. In this process, mobility is key with strength and flexibility as good outcomes of the conditioning power of yoga asana. To help this development, we offer both guided dynamic and restorative classes.
Samahita’s founder, Paul Dallaghan, has spent over 20 years immersed in the yoga practices and brings this experience to the offering of yoga classes at Samahita. He has become one of the most senior teachers worldwide in the breath (pranayama) yogic practices and was one of the dedicated few to spend many years living in Mysore with Pattabhi Jois in the old days of ashtanga vinyasa, certified by him, with an expertise in asana. Added to that has been early practice experience in many other asana methods as well as other physical activity forms of work out. Above all though, a deep yogic understanding of how and why to do asana and use the breath lies behind Samahita’s Dynamic and Restorative forms of yoga asana practice.
Breathwork, pranayama, and meditation classes also feature as part of the yoga program within YogaCoreCycle, additional to these dynamic and restorative yoga-asana classes.
Yoga Asana Classes
Engaged Dynamic Asana
(different sequences in the morning)
A dynamic set of classes that both challenge and condition the body, breath and mind. We have developed different sequences to target separate areas of the body in practice while always emphasizing the use of the breath and the point of awareness through directed attention. These sequences are spread across the week so you experience an overall holistic effect on your body. Skilled teaching makes sure modifications and degrees of intensity are offered for the various capacities of each person in class. You can expect to cover a variety of asanas across standing, seated, forward and back bends, twists and inversions, as well as a movement-with-breath base from sun salutations, plus a variety of targeted (optional) core exercises.
- Essentials: establishes the foundations and key points that support the body and breath and applied in our Dynamic Asana Classes.
- Grounding: focuses on standing poses, seated bending and twisting to deepen our exploration of the foundations and key points in practice.
- Strengthening: based on our expertise in original asthanga vinyasa, this class refines it through a focus on strength work and key detail in the flow and standing sequence balanced by removal of unnecessary heavy movements in our seated postures so the quality of asana is experienced.
- Opening: your body and mind are ready for more as you explore poses to open the hips and heart increasing mobility throughout the joints and spaciousness with lightness in limbs and organs.
- Heart-Centered Vinyasa-Asana: a softer approach between our more challenging Dynamic days exploring a variety of postures that gently allow the heart to open.
- Mind-Centered Vinyasa-Asana: a slow-pace that emphasizes your inner awareness and focus on the breath as you explore and experience each body-mind posture, understand the key points and principles and move contemplatively.
Restorative Asana
(different sequences in the evening)
Restorative yoga can take many forms, some being very relaxation focused while others being slow-moving or with longer holding of positions to go deeper into the restoration of the body. This is why we offer a variety of sequences throughout the week so you get a balance of approaches. We also like to incorporate breathwork and some sitting towards the end of practice, where you can tune into the sound of the sea and the nature around you, cultivate inner peace and experience your own center.
Practice is the Key
“Practice becomes firmly grounded when done for a long time, continuously and with full sincerity”
∼ Patanjali Yoga Sutras (I – 14)
“He who untiringly practices Yoga in all its aspects attains success even if he is young, old, decrepit, diseased or weak.”
“Success is attained by those who practice. How can one attain success without practice? Success in Yoga is not achieved by merely reading authentic books.”
∼ Hathapradipika of Svatmarama (I – 64 + 65)
What is Engaged Dynamic Asana about?
Engaged Dynamic Asana is designed to cultivate your center: physically, mentally, energetically it takes the tradition of yoga asana practice and combines it with modern scientific understanding of the body. So the deep core is targeted to stabilize the pelvis and spine and then work the outer core for muscle tone, tightness and strength while emphasizing breathing and movement to develop the nervous system with classical yoga poses. So your work out is both challenging and enlightening. It targets large powerful muscles of the body that build strength and burn fat with strength based flowing moves so your core is built in the right way adding yoga’s forward bends, backward bends, side bends, twists, power standing and inverted balancing for a holistic cover of the body and its physiology with the aim of optimizing strength, breath, and flexibility in 90 minutes.
Benefits
- Target the deep core
- Build integral strength
- Cover all areas of the body in a balanced manner
- Train the breath
- Intense isometric holds for strength
- Powerful use key large muscles to increase metabolism
- From intense holds to moves to stimulate fat burning and muscle strengthening
- Develop balance and stability
- Increase cellular health by boosting mitochondrial function
- A strong core yet freedom for breath movement to reduce stress patterns
- A dominant lower abdomen allows the heart to be free
- A healthy body cleansing sweat for great skin
- Increase mitochondrial activity through cellular detox effects
- Increased energy through piezoelectric effects
- Trigger growth hormone release
- Look and feel younger
Class Style
The suite of practices at Samahita is taught in a variety of guided group classes, or in one-on-one private sessions.
Guided Group Classes
A group class where the teacher leads the class offering verbal guidance shows visual cues, and offers some amount of physical hands-on correction to a group of people in one class, being led through the same sequence of activities or poses. Skilled teaching makes sure modifications and degrees of intensity are offered for the different capacity of each person in class. It is an ideal setting to receive more detail and be motivated by both the teacher and within the group.
One-on-One Private Sessions
If you desire more direct and personal attention in what you are learning in a practice then our team of teachers is adequately skilled and available for booking on a one-to-one basis. This is additional to the regular schedule and can also be booked for a small group up to 4 individuals.