The beginning of winter this year marked the first day of the Winter Boost intensive workshop with Lunge Yoga and Health. The intensive ran over the first five days of winter and included seven strong, targeted yoga classes, daily meditation and breakfast miso plus two wholefood dinners following the evening classes.
Why does Lunge run four seasonal yoga intensives every year? At Lunge, our philosophy is based on the five-element theory of balance and healing, with each element corresponding with a different season in the year. We run an intensive week of yoga at the beginning of each season to help the body and mind adapt and prepare for the approaching changes it is about to go through as nature shifts.
In winter, the water element process is most prominent. The water element maintains our stability as humans and forms our bones and nervous system. To access the water element during winter the yoga at Lunge focuses on activating and nourishing the bladder and kidney energies to encourage and support a sense of balance, security and motivation.
Throughout this past week, the intensive yogis began each day at 5:45am with half an hour of calming sound meditation followed by an hour of dynamic yoga. The yoga classes were strong and are designed to build on one another until the last class, which focuses on consolidating the week’s work in the body. All intensive yogis are also encouraged to attend as many additional scheduled classes on the Lunge timetable – all at no extra cost. Because, the more yoga you do and the cleaner/unprocessed food you eat, the better result you will get at the end.
MONDAY MORNING’s class focused on creating some great strength in the spine and lower back, setting everyone up for the week. We stretched out our tight sides and worked strongly into our hips.
MONDAY EVENING was a very strong class. We focused on building good strength in the lower body with multiple leg raises; hip raises and a dynamic shoulder stand series. As a reward for all the hard work, everyone enjoyed a nourishing dinner of green pea miso soup before heading home for a deep sleep.
On TUESDAY winter was well and truly present in Sydney but despite the 7degree frosty morning and the previous night’s strong yoga class the intensive yogis all showed up for meditation and yoga. To help combat the cold we worked deeper into the spine and back and focused on stimulating the digestive system and gallbladder energy. To end off everyone enjoyed a group pounding massage to bring all our hard work together.
WEDNESDAY MORNING’s focus was on stimulating the adrenals and dissipating any lingering aches and tight spots. During the chilly weather it’s important to keep the kidney/spinal energy strong and energised to avoid fatigue. We also did a lot of left and right balancing work to help us stay focused and moving forward. When the body/mind has huge imbalances left & right you can feel like you are walking round in circles…
Morning Chant
On THURSDAY MORNING we worked deeply into our tight sides/back again as things were opening through the week and to release any tensions coming up and set us up for a strong class. We focused on balancing out our hips and our back with lots of sit-ups and partner work (always repeating each move on our harder side!) After such a great supportive class, everyone felt lighter, more flexible and ready for the chilly day outside.
FRIDAY MORNING’s class focused on consolidating all our hard work from the week. Everyone had built a beautiful, strong foundation to support the spine and back throughout the winter months. Louisa really kept everyone guessing when she shook things up at the end of this class. A first for many lunge yogis, Louisa led everyone in the ‘let-go-and-laugh-out-loud’ yoga pose. Lying on our backs, while shaking our arms and legs in the air, we laughed at the top of our lungs for a good 2 minutes!
FRIDAY NIGHT’s class worked directly into the nervous system to consolidate the week and consisted mainly of some beautiful, supportive long-hold stretches, more core strength work and some nurturing long rests and reflective meditation. We finished off the week at the table, sharing a delicious, nourishing bowl of adzuki bean & pumpkin stew with fresh shallots and gomasio, followed by vanilla and cacao friands for dessert.
After Friday night’s class everyone was feeling long, strong and well equipped with great healthy habits to maintain throughout the rest of winter.
Here are more details on all the seasonal workshops at Lunge.
Next Seasonal Intensive:
Monday August 3rd to Friday August 7th, 2015.
Register your Interest info@lunge.com.au