If you’re burnt out on hot yoga classes, and have a fire in your belly to gain a deeper understanding of yoga that you’re not getting from your studio, you’re gonna love this!
I have such a treat to tell you about today! Keep reading…
Before I go any further, I want to disclose that this is a sponsored post from the lovely beings at Multiversal Yoga, but the opinions are all my own. I only review and promote things that I love and believe in! No shenanigans here!
Last week I had the honor of taking a Qi Yo yoga class from the amazing yogis at Multiversal Yoga. I’m sure you remember that I did an Instagram campaign with them a few months ago, and then gushed about their oval yoga mat in this post right here.
I’ve never done an online class before, so I was excited to try this out. I signed in through skype and met with this amazing yogi, Agung Sangha.
He first started by introducing himself, but we got started right away.
What I loved was that we didn’t start off doing postures, but the focus was on breath and internal awareness.
We started with pranayama. He gave me full explanations of how we do prananyama, and why. He told me that pranayama should always be done to create energy and start to awaken the kundilini. He said took his hand and pressed his thumb against his 4 fingers, and said, “You’re stomach does this.”
This was a HUGE takeaway for me! It’s always difficult for me to explain to my students how to engage moola bandha, and let’s be honest – sometimes it’s difficult for me too. This depiction made a huge difference. Once I started to internalize this, my practice instantly became more fluid.
Next we went into a series of pranayama exercises. I’m so glad I was given personal instruction on these. Agung Sangha was very observant. He would show me how to do it first, and then watch me to make sure I was doing it correct. He would even say, “let me see your stomach.” That’s exactly what I want in a teacher. I want to know what I’m supposed to be doing, why, and that I’m doing it correctly.
Then, we moved on to do some other postures from Qi Gong and and Tai Chi where we did slow movements focused on raising energy and vibrations. The focus for all postures we did (even in prananyama) was all about raising energy from the root chakra, opening the heart chakara – all the way through the crown chakra. I wasn’t just about learning and performing the postures, but really feeling the energy move.
Agung Sangha had me do an ancient technique where I hold my hands apart, and feel the energy between my palms. We did this after pranayama. I was able to move my hands around to create a ball of energy that I could actually feel, and that was a very meditative and profound experience. I’m so used to performing intense yoga postures, and that creates an awareness of sensations in the body, but I don’t give enough attention to the energy moving within.
I definitely recommend these online classes from Multiversal if you’re looking to open your mind and heart to a spiritual yoga practice. This isn’t to say that the yoga I practice daily isn’t spiritual because it certainly is. And, this isn’t to say that yoga practiced in a studio doesn’t reach that level either. It depends on your teacher and intention. However, opening yourself up to a new experience on a very personal level is a spiritual act in itself.
After my Qi Yo Yoga practice, I felt refreshed and alive. I have been practicing the pranayama sequence every morning before my practice, and it really helps me to create a brand new energetic awareness to my Ashtanga practice.
I hope you one day get to deepen your practice and have the opportunity for this unique experience.
Click here to find out more about Multiversal Yoga Classes.
Click here to read about the Qi Yo Yoga philosophy
Homework:
Tell me in the comments below if you’ve ever tried an online yoga class. What was your experience? Are you open to trying a new style of yoga?
Namaste & OM,
Monica
