Tapas! Core-Building Yoga Sequence for Transformative Practice, SPRING TERM 2020
March 30, 2020 June 1, 2020
SERIES OF CLASSES

Join us for this INNER heat-building yoga class, TAPAS!   This dedicated practice helps bring about transformation from the inside out. 

You can work up a sweat while also increasing focus, confidence, and stability, physically as well as clarity of mind!

For 8 incredible weeks, you'll practice a challenging, endurance-building vinyasa sequence that includes upper-body strengthening, moving balances, endurance holds for the quadriceps and hamstrings, and core work synced with the breath.  "Vinyasa" means "precise placement" and refers in this context to the flowing nature of this yoga sequence, as students move from one pose to the next, coordinated with the breath.  Some yoga experience helpful, though not required.  You do need basic mobility and the capacity to get up and down from the floor easily.  TAPAS! is a way to intensify the transmutation a dedicated yoga practice provides.  You are going to LOVE the way it supports your health and deeper sense of well-being.

Together, we will learn two beautiful vinyasa flows (short routines linking different yoga poses together).  Each step will be cued and demonstrated, then repeated.  These flows include upper-body strengthening, endurance holds for the legs and abdominals, squat variations, & core work, all synced with the breath.

 

We'll do some classic poses that are sure to hit some of yoga pose favorites, such as High Lunge, Cat-Cow, Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose), Utkatasana (Fierce/Chair Pose), Balancing Cat, Planks & lots of variations of Vasisthasana (side planks), Virabhadrasna (Warrior) 3 with Movement, and Urdhva & Adho Navasana (Upward Facing Boat Pose & Low Boat), and many Twists. But we will also add some playful transitions, variations, and long holds, to build our vitality and concentration!

The 8-week course builds heat from the inside out  [note this is NOT a hot yoga class!], through an engaging, upbeat practice that incorporates lots of movement as well as challenging variations to add a little flair, challenge, and stamina to our asana (yoga posture) practice.  This IS a sweaty practice at times and many find it a little challenging, but the work is worth it!  This intensity of the practice is what feeds our sense of self-discipline and clears the mind, so it works not just on a physical level, but on mental and energetic levels as well.

If you'd like to see a hyperlaspe video of a small portion of this Tapas Core-Building sequence WARM-UP, you can check it out here.

In addition, you'll experience THREE new asanas (postures) for this round of Tapas!

First, you'll learn many TOTALLY DO-ABLE ways toward an easy arm balance, including the first steps & simple variations of Bakasana (Crow Pose). 

 

You'll also feel the expansion that comes with the always-popular Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon).  You can read ALL about that one here!

You'll also feel the lengthening and concentration of Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle), and then move into the strength, balance, AND deep rotation of the classic and challenging Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana (Revolved Half Moon).

In addition, we will be adding variations onto classical poses, such as lunge twists (Parivritta Anjaneyasana) to enhance shoulder opening spinal elongation, and core-strength by using and refining hand binds.

Students are encouraged to go at their own pace and take breaks if necessary. Yoga practices are nurturing and provide support to ignite your own inner capacities for transformation.

In addition, you'll build courage and stamina as you work into "Upward Facing Table" pose, OR upward plank posture.

The most important part of yoga practice is learning how to clear, guide, and refine the mind. "Tapas" means "to heat," but this is not about the material body; it is about using yoga practice to purify obstructions to clear-headedness and thus build wise discernment.  In this course, you 'll work the body to remove the obstructions of muscular tension as well as mental gripping, sluggishness, and dispersal.  In their place, you'll cultivate inner spaciousness as well as one-pointed mental absorption.  Thus, it is as important to practice discipline of your thoughts--what you say, do, and consume--and this course fosters that rich and significant process.

As with any course at AHA Yoga, final guided, systematic relaxation is one of the most important parts of practice (second only to meditation, which itself requires a relaxed body-mind) .  You'll feel a quite drastic, immediate, and intense release in this course when you begin to relax, especially because this sequence can be very demanding of your physical and mental exertions.  This distinct contrast between work and rest will allow you to better sculpt your mental attention as well as sense and direct the subtle energies throughout all layers of your being as you relax.

In addition, SPRING TERM 2020 is the first time this course will wrap up with 2 minutes of advanced breath awareness and meditation each and every session.  This helps contain the openness and replenishment you've created, so you can access those energy reserves throughout the week, and head into your days with more clarity. The meditative preparation is the most important part of the transformation Tapas practice empowers, so it is an honor to share.

This course meets for six luscious ninety-minute sessions for SPRING TERM 2020, on Mondays, 6:00 to 7:30 pm: March 30; APRIL 6, 13, 20 [NO session April 27]; and May 4, 11, 18 [NO Session May 25]; & June 1.  Registration is for the full course so you reap the deepest benefits of a precious yoga practice, from the inside out.

To receive the best results and keep you motivated & inspired, commitment is for all 8 weeks of the course term.  

The $20/class is the  dedicated student rate, and available through investment in the full course series ($160, unless you reach out for Early Bird, just $144, OR VIP for the amazing tuition of $136!).



If you are interested in this course, be SURE to save your place soon; it is one of the most popular courses on the term schedule, & we've added some delicious favorites so it will be all the more rewarding...and FUN.

All Yoga & Meditation offerings offered at AHA Yoga provide a support to ignite your own inner capacities for transformation.  To reserve your place at the dedicated student rate, your investment for the full series must be received prior to attendance (and prior January 5 for EARLY BIRD rate).  

All courses are designed for intelligent progression and turning inward; this turn is advanced practice, a a refinement of the mind that cultivates discernment, inner peace, & joy, so you notice and feel more of the beauty in, around, and through you.

AHA Yoga offerings are not designed to be fitness classes (though fitness is one ancillary result, ESPECIALLY of Tapas!). Instead, all AHA Yoga classes are more traditional yoga courses geared toward mastery of the senses and mind.  Hence, all offerings are developed as courses or specialty workshops to this end, and thus full course registration is recommended as only dedicated practice achieves the best results.

Please BRING A YOGA MAT.  If you use a shared studio mat, please note there is a $2 rental fee and  it is your responsibility to sanitize it after each use (cleaning supplies provided).  All other props (bolsters, blankets, blocks, hand weights, eye pillows, straps, etc) are provided; if you have preferred personal props, feel free to bring those.  



Purchase of the tuition pass below for "TAPAS!" confirms your agreement to the following Terms & Conditions as well as the Waiver and Release.

These policies allow me to continue offering you the best possible yoga teachings I can and ensure our community runs smoothly. Should you prefer to pay in cash or check, or require a payment plan for the dedicated practitioner rate (available in two installments of $85 each, due March 30 & May 4, let me know and we can arrange something that serves both of us and allows you to partake of this unique series. Connect with me if you have any questions! I would love to hear from you.

In service,

Virginia Hill, AHA Yoga Teacher

Want to learn more about me and why I am so passionate about sharing this practice? You can find out more about me, my practice, and other yoga & meditation offerings here.  Want the full Spring 2020 Schedule? You can explore many delightful options--including a NEW Wednesday FLOW course & new Saturday Sweet Treats--here.