Creating Internal Lightness
Intermediate II
In this all levels hour long flow class, you will explore how the elusive mula bandha can be practiced and incorporated into all the poses of your yoga practice. Not only will practicing mula bandha help to create lightness and ease in your yoga practice, learning to access and tone the pelvic floor will also support your functionality in daily life.
Equipment:
Block Videos
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Comments
Existing Comments
Did this class for the first time today. Loved it! One of my top 5 favorites I've found on this site. Connecting the pelvic floor engagement to the exhale was a total ah-ha moment of awareness/connection in my body. Beautiful! Thank you!
Danielle - AWESOME! I love this work, too...it's so wonderful to watch how you can bring this awareness to your other classes ~ made a big difference in my practice :)
Excellent class. Got a little bit sweaty and definitely accessed my pelvic floor. Until recently that had been a bit of an enigma for me. One thing I love about Rachel’s classes is that I often takeaway things like the ‘hopping forward from downward dog using my pelvic floor’ into other classes. One small note, not all people who can relate to the picking up a grape metaphor are ladies. Gender and body organs come a variety of forms and combinations. Might be good to say something like “people with labias” or something more gender inclusive for future classes. Thanks!
Really?!?!!!
Yes, really. Being inclusive to identities outside ones own is a very basic human consideration and should not be surprising.
Thank you for the feed back and reminder that we are everexpanding our ability to cue in an inclusive way! You are right, we are finally celebrating the fact that we are incredibly unique creations in every way. We will all keep this in mind in future cueing.
Thank you I really appreciate this comment!
Amazing epiphany!!! First time I connect the pelvic floor muscles to help me hover my foot off the floor. Feeling exhilarated. Thank you Rachel.
I often struggle to "get" instructions such as"lift your pelvis" or "tuck your tailbone in": I'm never quite sure what it means and which sensation to expect. I think this class really helped me to make some progress in that regard (although my genitalia is not of much use for blueberry picking, sadly).
More generally: as a beginner, I wasn't terribly successful with some of the poses and movements, but I still enjoyed the class and the sensations it gave me (during and after) immensely and feel that my strength, balance and flexibility benefit greatly. Can/should I keep doing it, as long as it feels right, even if I sort of suck at it, or should I rather go back to classes that I can manage more easily?
Hallo! Absolutely keep exploring this class and the sensations/ engagements. The only way to find a deeper understanding of these more subtle kinds of engagements is to continue to play with them. It takes a long time to get the body to sync up and figure out how to put these actions together. And I'd also encourage you to bring this awareness and exploration into all the classes that you do...David has some good classes on the bandhas as well, which helps get that deep core / pelvic floor engagement. Keep playing :) !
I also just did the class for the first time, and it was a stretch for me on a number of levels. I LOVE your question and assessment in your last sentence. You made me laugh out loud, in regards to this class and for learning many things in general. I think there's a lot of wisdom in it: should I keep doing it, as long as it feels right, even if I sort of suck at it. Brilliant, insightful question!
Rachel's answer was meant for me too. This is subtle stuff. Anyone can muscle through something; it's the ongoing practice with awareness of subtle and foundational elements that lead to progress over time. Although one can muscle through in short order, those subtle and foundational elements take a lot longer to learn and to appreciate, and maybe even longer to integrate in to the whole.
I usually do advanced classes, but this one makes me sweat a lot! Like to come back to it once in a while and it really helps me feel lighter. Thanks Rachel!
Amazing pelvic floor awareness with this class. LOVE the blueberry explanation ;)
Another great class from Rachel.
Thank you Thank you Thank you.
Great class for practicing the connection to mull bandha - I only have one block but after this class and reading all the comments I will visit one of my local yoga places and purchase a second one. It became very hard for at the half-way mark due to a sore hamstring and back so I took a child's pose breather and skipped a couple of moves to let my body catch up :-)
The lightness that comes from engaging the pelvic floor -- I think that is going to take me a lifetime of practice to really get! I'm so grateful for this class, for the clarity and pace of instruction. Thank you!
Thank you so much Rachel! You described mula bandha so well and made sure we stayed focused! Love!
OMG! this was by far one the most amazing practices that I took , all the details and tips helped me easily do the most challenging flows .
Amazing class. Exactly what I needed. Thank you.
I'm on a Rachel Scott streak during this Q-tine. That blueberry cue made me laugh! Also a genuinely helpful tip...Thank you DYWM!
Every other Monday I start a yoga challenge. So far, I've done the 14 day yoga challenge (three times in a row), and Elevate, both with Fiji. I am delighted. Today I started this lower body strengthening challenge. The first class was simply awesome for me. After eight years of practicing yoga, I still can't hop from downward dog and place my feet between my hands. This video will help me a lot with that. Rachel, you are awesome. I'm going to do this video once a week. The slow pace is very beneficial to learn better how our body works and what we can expect from it.
Thank you so much Rachel, great sequence and instruction. The description in order to do the bunny hop towards your feet was brilliant and one I’ve not been able to master until my elastic boomerang pelvic floor muscle propelled me forward...well nearly all the way! Just excellent. Thank you and Namaste.
I have a functional scoliosis that starts at my pelvic floor. It is wonderful to find a class that specifically targets the bhandas. I love the slower, purposeful pace of this class. It really allows me to pay attention to the cueing which is very important for a person like me when doing yoga. I've been searching for a workout like this for a long time. Thank you!!
Thanks so much! This is really helping my daily lockdown routine to be filled with love and light!
Loved this practice. Moving slow is my KEY to a practice that leaves me feeling like I got a thorough move of my body. When I move too quickly, I lost that connection just trying to keep up. This teacher also had a way to easily convince me to hold the poses for long without even realizing it. Lovely practice.
THis was a wonderful class. My legs were a bit sore from a day of skiing, but my hips really needed this one
I love how Rachel lands like a butterfly on those jumps! May be one day....
Great class, strong internal muscle control. Looks so easy but so much work. Thank you
I keep coming back to this class and every time is a new experience! It always drive my mind-body connection deeper every time!
Fab routine, although it's tough ones like this that I regret having a body with a left and right side. Certainly going to feel this tomorrow :)
Thanks Rachel
Wow. Deep and challenging work, much of which was new to me.
Excellent instruction and a really nice pace.
Thank you
I often feel, in longer classes, mentally tired at the end. Too many different poses and flows and not enough repetition means that my mind is constantly in a place of “preparing for the next thing.” With the repetition,in this class, I was able to actually think about the position and the alignment of my limbs. Well done.
Great explanations and movements.
Just started this challenge. Great class!
Love all her classes. So playful. So strong. Makes you feel good about working hard.
Wonderful Thank you!
Excellent, all-over feel good flow. Thank you.
Thanks for bringing a little kid back in me. It was simply fun to use the block, and activate the core.
lovely :)
Moving with the block was fun, thanks:)
I enjoy the clarity of your explanations
Creative, well-cued, and challenging - especially the foot hover!
Some of the best instruction I have had to help me access and use mula bandha throughout a practice! Some valuable new information for me here.
This class was pretty challenging, but Rachel has such a positive energy and demeanor, it goes pretty quickly!
Great class
Loved the focus of this class!
Great, clear instruction on how to activate and use your pelvic floor!
I really loved the focus on mula bandha and will take this class often to remind me in the practice. Thanks :)
such a valuable and much needed tough practice! Awesome!
That was new for me, great instructions! I saved to visit later; I need practice :)
That was new for me, great instructions! I saved to visit later; I need practice :)