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Create a Free AccountHatha Yoga for Arm Strength
Intermediate I
Anastasia gives you a tough shoulder work-out in this 30-minute hatha yoga class, including many variations of plank pose and downward facing dog pose, while pacing the class so that you rest at the right times.
Equipment:
- Strap
Style:
Comments
Existing Comments
Great challenge
Doesn't resonate with me personally
This is an excellent class for anyone who has done other beginner yoga classes prior to this Challenge. I feel the class might be challenging for someone who just started yoga with this 30-Day Challenge. Without previous yoga experience, I would have found poses such as chaturanga, wild thing, and reverse plank very difficult. I feel there might also be a possibility of shoulder injury if these poses are not done correctly. Including pose explanations and modifications would help a person with just a few weeks of yoga experience in my opinion. Since I use an iPad placed on the floor, I watch the videos before doing the practice. This definitely helped with this class.
just what I have been waiting for! Thank you for helping me generate some heat on this freezing morning. This class has showed me a lot of places to work on.
Fantastic and challenging.
Very good and challenging.
A real workout for the arms with beautifully clear instructions, I couldn't do it all this time, but I will definitely use it again (and again...) to map my progress as my upper body strength improves, thank you!
Nice class.
Really enjoyed.
this was hard. I had just done an aqua sport class and worked my arms there. I had trouble holding the side plank as my arm muscles were tired. I'll have to try the class again when fresher. Thank you it was a great workout for the arms.
Hoorah, challenge! This class is going on the bookmarked - working on it list...
The short breaks were very much welcome , my arms are really feeling it
Now we’re cooking with gas! I think it was a great introduction for building to a series of downward dogs/sun salutes for those new to it, or like me simply debilitated. I did find parts hard, but good to push the edge and build a little strength and stamina.
I liked this class and will come back to it, however as I am doing the new year challenge I felt that the change in intensity from the classes that have been scheduled to this was far too great. I had to pause and rest a couple of times which I have not had to do previously in the challenge.
I enjoyed this because some of the poses were either too lengthy or too difficult for me to attain/maintain in my current state. I feel that as I strengthen, my ability to keep up with this class, which is currently just out of reach for me, will be an excellent marker of my progress. Thank you.
This was tough, but I loved the challenge! Thank you.
This class was challenging for me but I what I need to build strength. It was very hard on my writsts. I wish modifications were offered during the routine. I read the ones in the comments and came up with a few of my own but still feel like it was too much for my wrists.
Glad to hear you are building strength and trying out classes that challenge you, and sorry that your wrists were hurting. Unfortunately putting weight on your hands like that is hard to avoid in many yoga classes, but you can always try making fists or going doing in your elbows. The other thing is to rest when needed - that's the nice thing about this medium is being able to pause. So when your wrists hurt, pause, give them a gentle shake, and perhaps doing a counter stretch by putting the backs of your hands together, fingers down.
I've only been doing yoga for about 6 weeks, so perhaps that's why I found this so difficult. I probably made it less than 20 before resting a lot and ultimately not finishing. Is this more intermediate than beginner? Either way, it felt like a fun challenge...relaxing because of the focus it required. I'll be coming back to this regularly and looking forward to getting better at it, as with all of my yoga practice.
First - welcome to the wonderful world of yoga! I would say that being so new to yoga is definitely part of the reason you found this class so challenging. You may be in great shape, but some of these poses may be asking you to use muscles and muscle groups that you rarely use or build. They require a fair bit of core strength.
In terms of whether this is more of a beginner or intermediate class, there are no hard fast rules in yoga, which makes it hard sometimes to designate classes as one or the other. I would say that this could either be a really advanced beginner class, or an easier intermediate class. What I like about it being beginner is that it asks people to challenge themselves, and hopefully I have provided good enough instruction to help you through it safely. Try again and rest as much as you need.
Great feeling after this session - my arms feel stronger and I feel as though I've worked my core too. Thanks!
Nice class maybe a bit challenging for people with weaker arm. I love the bird chirping in sivasana too. The side plank modification with a blended leg might help those struggling mid class. I found myself modifying the second side. Thanks again.
I have been looking for this class and did not realize I could type in arms in the search bar!!
Loved this challenging class , great little work out in a nut shell!
Thank you
Peace
Another class to add to my rotation! Just in time for summer.... :)
I'm a beginner, and though I did find this challenging, it was so worth it! It felt like a did an hour long class. Namaste :)
agree with the other comments that i read after doing this practice for the first time. it did challenge me more than expected. but the flow was excellent, and i feel myself working into building up strength each time. grateful for modifications until i get there!
Yeah, that was definitely more in the intermediate spectrum! Loved the structure and focus: Building foundation first and then working with arm / shoulder focus. Amazing and very inspiring how you can instruct in a chill, calm way while doing these challenging arm poses, Anastasia. Loved how Wild Thing turned out, after the build-up. Will re-visit often. Another great one for desk sitters like me.
Thank you for all the great classes, Anastasia, and DYWM team - I keep raving about you. And will take you with me when I travel. Just love the outdoor classes enveloped by the Victoria landscape.
Hey, tech qu: is there a way we can find our own comments? A search function for that? Would be cool to revisit what we said before (I always post after I first do a class).
Thanks 'tech team'!
Thanks Melanie - I appreciate your comments. Glad I sounded so calm, because I was definitely a little out of breath! You should be able to find your comments right under the classes you left them in if you are logged in.
Great workout, but as the other comments also seem to suggest (which was very validating and comforting for my own practice) I really recommend this be noted as an intermediate class. So beginners don't get frustrated with themselves and get scared away from the beautiful practice of yoga!
I am a true beginner with little upper body strength. I made it through about minute 17 (with some modifications before that). Any thoughts on other classes on this site that could get me some upper body strength sufficient to get through minute 27 of this class?
hello! First, good for you for trying this class as a true beginner - it really does challenge arm strength. My first suggestion is to look at the comments below - another yogi asked for modifications and I suggested some that will help. Or maybe you tried them... I would also say simply to just go into child's post whenever you need a rest and pick up with the rest of the class when you feel ready. You might also try David's class: Hatha Yoga for the Hands, Arms and Shoulders. Good luck!
Damn girl, now I know how you got those beautiful arms... I'ma do this EVERYDAY!
Anastasia makes it look so easy and I just about hung in with her! :)thankyou!
It would be great if there were modifications offered for chaturanga and side plank, perhaps some sequencing before the full expression of those postures. Particularly as this class is labeled beginner and I thought it would be a place for me to build strength in order to be able to eventually get into the full expression of those arm and shoulder challenging postures. The entire sequence flows beautifully.
Yes, this class is definitely on the more challenging spectrum of Beginner. For chaturanga, you can put your knees down to lower, and for side plank you can bend the knee of the top leg and place the foot down on the ground in front of the bottom knee. Good luck!
Greetings from Greece! I really enjoy your classes!
What a great class! I didn't do as well as I would have liked but, with more classes like this, my strength will increase. Thank you!
Wow this was so hard for me and I loved it. I am a beginner for sure and could not keep up as I don't have a lot of core or arm strength, but I pushed through the video and am so happy to have found something to work towards. Thank you! I cannot wait till I can do the whole video straight through!!!
That is so amazing to hear! I love your enthusiasm - it's going to feel so good when you finish the class :)
Thanks for the awesome feedback everyone! This class is a little different from my usual, and I am glad I got some of you sweating a little bit! :)
That was a nice little work-out. Glad to find a beginners' class that is challenging. Bookmarked this!
Enjoyed this simple arm strenghtener. As that is where I need the work. thank you Namaste
It is a nicely beginner challenging class, I've signed up to thank you for it.
Love this class, thank you Anastasia! Helped me to calm down after a day at work and strengthen my body at the same time.
Tough class....in a really good way! My arms were trembling, yet the prompts and approach were so peaceful. Thank you!
Great class ~ I feel a little bit stronger already and appreciate the prompts.
Really enjoyed this introduction to your site! Signed up and ready to go! Very easy to follow and keep up with the instructor.