Mindful Vinyasa: Rooted in the Belief that Present Moment Awareness of Body and Mind leads to Happiness
Mindful Vinyasa is a class inspired by the great British philosopher Alan Watts’ thoughts on mindfulness and true enjoyment of the present moment: “This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now.”
Appropriate for all levels of practitioners who are ready to be challenged to observe the body and mind without judgment and work toward their own physical edge, Mindful Vinyasa is rooted in the belief that present moment awareness of the body and mind is at the core of both a successful yoga practice and deeply rooted happiness.
Natalie created our Mindful Vinyasa class on Wednesdays at 6:45 pm to serve students who are interested in learning intelligent fundamentals of asanas (poses). Postures and sequences are inspired by the Iyengar tradition, while slowing down to fully experience the transition between movements. Each week focuses on a particular area of the body—to first build strength and release tension in preparation for a challenging peak pose, with class ending in an inspired seated meditation.
During class, students are consistently encouraged to make requests and modify poses in order to find their ideal level of challenge. Natalie hopes that students become immersed in their practice and leave class with a greater appreciation of what the united body and mind can do.
Vinyasa is literally translated from Sanskrit as meaning “connection” . In terms of yoga asana, we can interpret this as a connection between movement and breath. Expect to move and breathe smoothly from one pose to another. Your class will most likely include Sun Salutations. Flow yoga is almost like a dance with synchronized breath and movements.