Functional Yoga is less of a specific type of yoga, and more of an approach.  I want you to experience the pose versus worrying about what it looks like and what other people think of you.  This idea liberates us from excuses and unrealistic expectations.  It’s an approach that can be applied to everything we do on and off the mat.  

I’m more interested in what you experience when doing the pose. 

Are you feeling the stretch where you want it to be? 

Are you tuned to your emotional body? 

Are you mentally in class or going through the motions? 

 I don’t try to move through as many postures as possible in an hour.  Each class is formed from basic yoga postures.  You are given time and space to express these postures.  The focus is stability, and understanding how you experience each pose.  Our bodies need to be stable as we age. Yoga helps us accept that every day can be different mentally and physically.

~ Becoming Present ~

One of the true benefits of yoga is what happens outside the practice.  How long can you hold on to the calm after class?  Maybe it’s gone after someone cuts you off leaving the parking lot?  Maybe it leaves after you turn on your phone and scroll social media.  Maybe you have never felt it because you are focused on other people in class instead of looking inside.  

We don’t receive these benefits if our focus is on just ‘getting through’ the physical class.  Developing a deeper practice can carry over into our daily activities.  We focus more efficiently on tasks we need to accomplish in our day.  We can also find more stability with our emotions when dealing with difficult people and situations.