Open Yoga 17.03.21 – Connecting to Warmth Within (part of the Embody Nature Series)

For the next few weeks we will be bringing nature onto the mat by exploring elemental practices.  You know that feeling of walking outside, a breath of fresh air filling your lungs, sunshine meeting your skin, feet connecting to the ground below?  How might we embody these experiences on the mat?  In our practice?  What systems of our body or areas of our body feel the most grounded (connected to earth) or most fluid (connected to water) or most spacious (connected to air) . . . over the next few weeks we will be using our embodied senses to capture a bit of nature within!

This week’s class is all about connecting to the element of fire.  How might we capture the feeling of the warm sunshine on your face within?   Finding ‘heat’ in the body does not necessarily have to come from strenuous work, there are pockets of warmth all over the body (the belly as it digests, the heart as it beats).  How can we use the warmth within to spread or extend outward?  How can we use the warmth within to gather inwards?

Suggested equipment:

• Mat
• Blanket
• Red resistance band