Charm City Yoga – Five-class Beginner Series

The Program: Each class will demonstrate important yoga poses or postures, and introduce the yogic philosophy of Patanjali, a sage and yogi, who was the first person to systematically describe the yogic tradition in written form. He described the practice as consisting of eight limbs. These limbs cover all aspects of life: beginning with a prescribed code of conduct and ending with an individual’s vision of his/her true self.

The Schedule:

Midtown - Starts August 11, at 5:30pm, taught by Heather Brown. Dates are August 11, 18, 25, Sept 8 and 15.

Fells Point - Starts August 21, at 6:30pm, taught by Stephannie Wiekert. Dates are August 21, 28, Sept 4, 11, and 18.

Towson - Starts August 28, at 8pm, taught by Katie Browne. Dates are August 28, September 4, 11, 18, and 25.

The physical aspects of the practice as we know them: sun salutations, tree posture, forward bend, etc. are not mentioned in the ancient texts. The asanas of our modern systems are only about 150 years old. In fact, the term asana translates directly as seat and referred only to what the yogi actually sat on for meditation. Later it grew to include how the yogi sat, usually in lotus, but also included other seated postures.

FIRST CLASS MATERIAL:
Patanjali described the yoga practice as consisting of eight limbs. The sutras (teachings) cover all aspects of life: beginning with a prescribed code of conduct and ending with an individual’s vision of his/her true self. In this first class you will be introduced to the eight limbs and begin your journey of a deeper exploration of the yoga practice.
You will be introduced to Standing Yoga Poses:
Mountain, tadasana,
Warrior 1, virabhadrasana 1
Warrior 2, virabhadrasana 2
Warrior 3, virabhadrasana 3
Lateral angle,  parsvaksana
Triangle, tikonasana
Forward fold,  utannasana
Separate leg stretch as inversion, prasarita parsvokonasana
Separate leg head to knee, parsvotanassana
Rotated angle, parivritta parsvakonasana
Tree vriksasana

The SECOND CLASS will introduce the sun saluation, and concentrate on backbending poses, including:
Sphinx,
Cobra, bhujangasana,
Upward facing dog, urdva mukha svanasana
Half Locust, ardha shalambhasana,
Half bow pulling, ardha dhanurasana,
Bridge, setu bandhasana.

Patanjalis defined enlightenment as freeing oneself from suffering and said that the only way to attain this state of being was through a rigorous yoga practice. The aim of the yoga practice is to release the self of all attachments to worldly desires. You will learn to control your actions, and to steady your body and your breath.

Week Three will show you ways to control your breath; and your new asanas will concentrate on forward bends, including:
Rabbit, sasangasana
Head to knee pose, janu sirsasana.
Intense western stretch, pachimotannasana,
Bound angle, baddha konasana,
Seated angle,  upavista konasana (partner)
Seated spinal twist, marichiasana

Once your body and breath are still - then you can move to quiet the chattering (vritti) of your mind (chitta), concentration. Once the mind is still - you can reach one pointedness (meditation) which leads to  liberation (samadhi). Patanjali’s work on yoga is referred to as a  yoga darsana. Darsana means vision of the soul or mirror. Patajali’s darsana reflects to the aspirant, their thoughts and actions, as if in a mirror. Through the practice of reflection the yogi can make changes to thought and deed, thereby guiding you closer and closer toward the observation of your inner-self and of your true-self.

Week Four will introduce you to Prayahara, the withdrawal of the senses - and to Dharana, or concentration. The Asanas will concentrate on twists, including:
Rotated separate leg - forward fold, parivritta prasarita padottanasa
Rotated lateral angle, parivritta parsvakonasana
Seated Twist, parivritta marichyasana
Sage Bharavadja, bharadvajasana
Rotated head to knee, parivritta janusirshasana
Knee Down Twist, jathara parivartanasana

In week five, we move into bliss and deep relaxation. We will combine all of the parts of our four previous weeks into an hour long class, with deep relxation and plenty of time for questions and answers. The class will concentrate on flow, dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (bliss).
The class will illustrate the various styles we teach at Charm City Yoga, including:
Beginner Yoga, Hot Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Astanga and speciality styles.