I had the pleasure of taking a workshop with Johnny Kest this weekend. It was a vinyasa flow class called "Sweat and Tears: Detox Flow". It was, for lack of a better phrase, BAD ASS. We spent the first hour of the class doing the following flow (after a 20 minute meditation on loving kindness, which was beautiful):
Inhale - sweep arms up
Exhale - lateral bend
Inhale - reach up
Exhale - lateral bend other side
Inhale - reach up
Exhale - fold forward, vinyasa to
Navasana
Exhale, lower half way
Inhale, Navasana, repeat three times
Inhale cross shins, vinyasa to,
tripod headstand
balasana
Ustrasana spirals, right side, then left side, repeat three times
Exhale to -downward dog
Inhale right foot forward for warrior one on right side
Exhale - Warrior 2 on right side
Inhale - Reverse Warrior
Exhale - Triangle
Inhale - Revolved Triangle
Half Moon
Revolved Half Moon
Warrior 3, transition without touching foot down to
Tree Pose, then
Garudasana, then
Warrior 3,
vinyasa, repeat Warrior 1 through second warrior 3 on left side
vinyasa to tadasana
REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, etc. one inhale or exhale per pose.....I was sweating in sheets. Literally, the most I have ever sweat in my life. Hands down.
Ten minutes or so of loving kindness meditation, during which I fulfilled the other promise of the title of the class and wept.
Then after this hour he said, "Okay now we can begin class, you may want to rehydrate...."
Then we left the "warm up" for the detox flow... lots of twisting and lunging.
The class whipped me. Broke me down, brought me to places that I was able to learn things about myself that are usually deeply buried. It was an experience not to be missed. Being broken down, until all the walls fall, and you are naked and ready. To go through the door.
Anyway, the only problem is, I'm now having trouble finding anything that compares :) All other classes, even the ones that seemed challenging, seem like they are happening in slow motion. My thirst for deepening my practice is unquenchable. And that's fun.
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3 comments:
I went to his saturday morning class and am still in a state of bliss from one of his flows. Never before have I been to a flow where tripod headstand, bakasana, one-legged bakasana, urdvha kukkutasana were part of the warm-up!! Maybe we should get a group together weekly or every other week or work on flows and advanced postures...
Wow, sounds great! What are the ustrasana spirals though?
Tracy, I would love that! I don't know how I'd find the time though :( If you set something up, fill me in and I'll try to be there! :)
Alfia, You start in childs pose with arms by your sides, grab right heel with right hand, then swoop left arm in front of you as you press up into ustrasana...then repeat on other side, grab left heel with left hand, etc. Probably easier to show than describe, but a lot of fun :) I hope you are well, I'm reading your blog often, but not a lot of time for comments as lab is CRAZY right now.
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