We've made it past the halfway point in winter! Not being a cold-weather person, I'm trying to do things throughout my day to keep me warm (in addition to wearing a lot of smartwool products) - getting outside for a fast walk in the sunlight, eating soup and drinking tea, and doing some movement that gets my heart rate up. How are you making out this winter?

Upcoming class theme: lower body strength

• Guess what? Working your glutes and other big, lower body muscles gets your circulation flowing, and keeps you warm!
• This will include work on feet, legs, and hips
• We practice yoga in barefeet (yes, take your socks off!), which naturally works on foot strength, but we'll include some more overt strengthening too
• Inner thighs and outer hips work together in balance
• Your glute max, the big butt muscle, is a main driver of movement, but may not always engage when it should. If that's the case, your hamstrings and low back could feel tight.
• Deep hip rotators under your glute max play a stabilizing role, which is important for walking and running gait, and getting your knee to track well when climbing stairs, lunging, and squatting.
• Standing poses in yoga are a great way to work on all of these things, so expect to see Virabhadrasana II and III (Warrior 2, 3); Trikonasana (Triangle); Parsvakonasana (Side Angle); Vrikshasana (Tree); and Ardha Chandrasana (Half-Moon)

Current Class Schedule

• Roxborough YMCA: Fridays 10-11am, Saturdays 9-10am
• Slow and Strong Yoga on zoom: Sundays 10-11:15am (register on the website jmayyoga.offeringtree.com)
• Yoga with the Mt. Airy Learning Tree at Chestnut Hill United Church: Wednesdays 10-11am (currently in session; watch for registration for spring semester)

New Class

• In the spring semester of Mt. Airy Learning Tree classes, I will offer aednesday 10-11am AND a new Monday evening class (time TBD)

Pose Breakdown: Turbo-dog

Turbo-dog is a hybrid of all-fours and downdog that challenges your external rotators and serratus

Start in all fours with your wrists under shoulders and knees under hips. Spread your fingers and distribute weight through your palms, fingers, and thumbs. Roll your inner elbows forward, bringing an external rotation to your arms. Lift your chest away from the floor and spread your shoulder blades, making a flat space across your upper back. Gently draw your shoulders away from your ears. Tuck your chin towards your throat, elongating the back of your neck. Bend your elbows without letting your shoulder blades move at all! Hug your elbows strongly towards each other. Feel how challenging this is for a few breaths.

After a brief rest, try setting up the same way, but this time compress your low belly towards your spine to engage your core and hover your knees a few inches off the floor. Keep your breath smooth and steady.

Now try starting to move your shoulders and hips up and back in the direction of downdog, but stop about a third of the way there or whenever you are about to lose the arm and shoulder blade actions. Hold for a few breaths, and then move towards a full downdog.

Free short sequence for arms and shoulders

• This sequence reviews a lot of what we worked on for the last five weeks. To give it a try, go to my website: jmayyoga.offeringtree.com; click on offerings, then pre-recorded classes, and you'll find it there!