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Yoga VideosWhat is Alignment Yoga?
Scott Anderson created Alignment Yoga after years of teaching and seeing where Westerners consistently miss out on the full benefits of yoga. It is built on his extensive knowledge of anatomy and his studies with various yoga masters through the years. Alignment Yoga is defined by the following:
The Three Fundamentals
The Three Fundamentals are uniquely applicable to Westerners - the yogis of India didn't often encounter people so caffeinated, multitasking and stressed out! We need a way to drop the stresses and tensions with which we unconsciously burden ourselves and set the stage for a focused
and joyful yoga practice. This is why Alignment Yoga classes generally start with a meditation on Grounding, Relaxing the Palate and Full-Commitment Exhale - the Three Fundamentals.
Pre-Yoga
Much of the fatigue people report as they reach their 40's is the result of making movements from muscles that weren't designed to make those movements. The challenge is to discover and change these habitual movement patterns. The Pre-Yoga exercises awaken and strengthen the core muscles of postural support, isolating the desired muscles to more easily achieve the optimal, most efficient movement.
Action and Resistance
The interest in flexibility has hypnotized the Western
approach to yoga. Potential students put off taking their first class because they think they're too stiff, beginning students often think, "I can never do this," and continuing students tend to push themselves too hard getting into new postures. However, the state of yoga becomes available when our body experiences resistance to a movement, and not when we can put our feet behind our head. Consciously holding the place between movement/action and resistance brings new vitality into our system.
Win-win Alignment
Why do so many yoga practitioners compress and tense their necks
to open their throats? Why do many yoga practitioners congest
their upper backs in the effort to open the chests? It's an expression
of the faulty beliefs we unconsciously act out. Opening any given
part of the body does not necessitate congesting or compressing
another part of the body. If we can see these habits in our bodies, we have a much better chance of ferreting them out of our minds. With this awareness, yoga can create lasting change from the inside out.
Learn More
What is Yoga?
Yoga and Flexibility
How to Learn Yoga
Chakra Clearing Meditation (MP3, 9.5MB)
Testimonials
Thank you so much for your expertise and guidance in both preparing for my surgery and now recovering from that surgery. I so much appreciate your clear explanations and wise advice.
-Gary, Waunakee
After more than 30 years of attending yoga classes, I find that the only thing to take my practice to the next level is to add the pre-yoga exercises. They address each of the areas where I need work. Where were they 30 years ago?
-Linda, Madison