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This program is designed for students who have been with us in Portugal as a yoga reminder and support to the continuation of yoga practice.
We’re happy to see you are here online with us! This is a continuation program to support you after the yoga retreat in Portugal. The online yoga program consists of the foundational yoga practices of yin, yang and mindfulness yoga, that you have practiced with us in Portugal. We would love to support you implementing yoga into your daily life. Find more balance and relaxation in your life through yoga.
Donation Based Program
We have decided to make this program donation based. Your donation is very welcome and will support us to create more programs and recipes! If you cannot afford to donate at this time, we understand. We still encourage you to join. Thank you so much!
How to start
Start with a prep day to get familiar with the yoga program and to create a yoga space for yourself. Go to your favorite book store and find yourself a small ‘practice-diary’. A small booklet that you can use for 1 minute a day writing about your practice.
Create your own yoga space
Clear a space big enough for you, your mat and your practice. If you live in a tiny house or small apartment, make it practical. You choose the space that feels right and roll the mat after practice and leave it there. Choose three small items to place them together into your sacred space (a candle, a flower, a small buddha, a rock or gemstone, a note with your intention or favorite mantra, a mala, a token of faith/love, etc.) Again, if you have limited space, create a portable ‘altar’ for your sacred/heart items so you can move it to the side if you have to.
Journaling
Find yourself a notebook that you dedicate to your yoga practice. Go to a nice bookstore and find yourself a small ‘practice-diary’: A small booklet that you can use for 1-5 minute a day writing about your practice. Before/after practice, take a short moment to write down your intention of your day and whatever comes up. It’s a great support and creating clarity in yourself about how you are.
Setting an Intention
We’d love to invite you to set an intention for this program before starting. Sit for a moment and feel what you need from this program. Why are you continuing and what do you expect to create for yourself? Write your intention in your diary.
How to practice?
Set an intention for what you would like to create for yourself. Decide how long per day you want to practice and choose your class(es) from that intention. Write this in your journal.
In an ideal situation you would practice Meditation, Pranayama and Yoga Practice in the morning. In the evening, you can close your day with meditation and maybe a yin yoga session. You could start with one yoga practice a day or every other day.
The Suns Salutations A & B could be a beautiful daily practice. Start with one of the mindfulness practices and then follow with the Suns Salutations A & B for example. If you want a more dynamic practice, choose the 70 minute Primary series modified. Pick a meditation, pick a pranayama, and then pick a yoga (asana) practice. These are all foundational practices, so you can repeat as long as it feels good. It is all up to you!
Enjoy exploring!
How to establish a (daily) home practice?
Well, on this we could probably write a whole chapter. But to keep it simple. A daily home practice is based on discipline and habit. Start small and easy, repeat every day and build from there. If you are used to not having a home practice, start with 15 minutes a day. If you’re already practicing a lot, it will be easier to implement more into your daily life. Remember that 15 minutes every day will be more beneficial than 2 hours once a week.
It is very helpful to set your intention. Why are you doing this? Without motivation from within, it is too easy to just stop and you’ll lose the practice all together. Remember, that if you lose the practice, just start again. It is like getting distracted in meditation: realize what happened without judgement and start again. And again.
CAUTION – Stop the exercise if you become faint or dizzy. Always work within your own range of limits and abilities. If you have any medical concerns, talk with your doctor before practicing.
Meditation
Mindfulness practice is a powerful practice for self transformation and spiritual growth. We sit, observe and be with whatever arises using mindfulness techniques. Soon we start to experience moments of quietness inside.
Pranayama
Pranayama or breath practice clears the physical and emotional obstacles in our body to free the breath and the flow of prana – life force energy. Through the daily practice of Pranayama we can restore the energy in your whole body. A daily pranayama practice stimulates the parasympathetic system, countering the effects of stress and trauma. We restore a natural healthy breath.
Yoga Practice
Yin Yoga is deeply stimulating and very relaxing for body and mind. We practice relaxing long held ground postures to stimulate and balance the flow of energy in the connective tissues of the body. We learn to embrace the present moment and be in peace with ourselves.
Yang Yoga is a dynamic yoga practice in which we use posture, breath, rhythm and repetition. The practice stimulates overall health, strengthens the body and calms the nervous system. It is a method for spiritual practice through the physical body. Yang yoga can be gentle, very intense or anywhere in between.
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is one of the most dynamic flowing forms of (yang) yoga, designed to harmonise and connect body, mind and spirit. Vinyasa is key to the ashtanga system : the breath is synchronised with movement and linking one posture to another.
Yin Yang Yoga combined has the best of both worlds. Using rhythm and repetition part of the practice and the relaxing but long held postures in the other part, we create a perfect balance. Yin yang yoga is deeply stimulating, energising, soothing and very relaxing for body and mind.
Some Tips for You
Book
Yoga Reminder – by A.G. Mohan.
We met A.G Mohan and his wife in Amsterdam in 2015 during a lecture. He was a student of the ‘father’ of modern yoga, Sri K. Krishnamacharya. He wrote this nice small book that is intended as a reminder of the traditional yoga practices. It serves as a reflection for today’s practitioners, based upon decades of practice and thought.
Ambient Guitar Journeys
Amwo tunes into the zone of Nada Yoga and plays ambients tunes for during your practice & relaxing time.
You’ll find the link below.
Nidra Yoga
Remember the journey we made during the retreat? He made a recording for you to practice at home. He guides you with the help of Tibetan bowls through a deep relaxation journey of Yoga Nidra, the yoga of sleep.
You’ll find the link below.
Join our
Online Programs & Retreats
COMING SOON
If you‘d like to dive deeper this winter or spring, check out our new Online Retreat. It will be online at the end of October 2020. You’ve been practicing Foundational practices with us and will build upon them in the classes to come. Yin Yang and Mindfulness Program will have the three main Yin Yoga sequences, three Yang Yoga practices, basic pranayama practices to try out and continue when you’re back in Portugal or in your local yoga studio.
We believe daily yoga practice can support you in your life. We believe that yoga is a vehicle to experience the potential of the human body and mind. We believe yoga guides us into full alignment with who we really are and are meant to be. If you feel you need extra support and guidance, please contact us for a private online coaching session.
