In this slow, deliberate practice, retreat into your inner sanctuary. Join Andrea and explore opening your inner thighs and hamstrings towards kurmasana, also known as turtle pose. Note: Feel free to use a blanket or block for knee support.
This can either be done as a stand-alone class or as Day 5 of Cultivate Your Inner Teacher 14-Day Intermediate Yoga Challenge.
Turning Inwards Playlist (to be played with the class)
Click on playlist below and press play when the class begins.



Note: You will need a subscription for access to Apple Music, and for music to play ad-free on Spotify and YouTube Music. You will also need to adjust the volume to your preference.
Comments
Existing Comments
Loved this! My tight hips really needed this. I will certainly return to this class. Thank you, Andrea.
Andrea's soothing voice and unique perspective makes this a fun change of a class. Thank you.
Fabulous class. Took me a second to catch up to the poses. Excellent for after a long day of desk job
This is a refreshing reorientation and an unfamiliar sequence. My flippers are too short for turtle pose but I found a good variation that worked for me. Thank you, Andrea!
Very different than my usual videos but I did this as part of the challenge. A bit sporadic/random for my tastes so I had trouble focusing.
I keep coming back to this one. I love your gentle voice, your creative sequences and your encouragement to turn inward. It's a pleasure to practice with you.
so appeasing and grounding !
you are so creative Andrea
Thank you
Amazing practice. I love your unique approach and would like to see more practices with you on the site. Thank you!
I need to remember this class for before-bedtime yoga: I feel soooooo relaxed!!
Agreed....soooo relaxing.
Lovely practice. Thank you!
Andrea, this was so, so good. Thank you. I am deeply grateful to you and the universe for giving me exactly what I needed this morning.
Namaste
Love the new poses and incredible upper back stretches. I hold my stress in my neck and shoulders, these deep upper back stretches help me unwind. Love the sideways practice and new poses. Thank you.
Love the new poses and incredible upper back stretches. I hold my stress in my neck and shoulders, these deep upper back stretches help me unwind. Love the sideways practice and new poses. Thank you.
Loved the wide legged sun salutes!
This was really great for my tight hips. Thanks!
Delicious. Thank you! Namaste.
Such a beautiful class, I really enjoyed it. A slower chance of pace, while still a bit of a challenge.
Loved this class. I have never done turtle pose before and hadn’t done a lot of variations on poses Andrea taught in this class. Was refreshing and definitely shifted my perspective. One question- at the 7:29 minute mark when you tuck your arm under your leg I’m not really sure what the intent is in this pose. Should it be active and should I be pushing my shoulder and leg into one another or more passive? Thank you, really great class.
Hi Ariel,
This is a great question. The intention of weaving the arm behing the knee is that you could gently lengthen the entire femur, and connective tissue attached, in two opposing directions. The arm pushes the knee forward, the hip is pulling slightly back. Does this make sense?
Fiji
This makes complete sense! Thank you :^)
Thank you Andrea! Loved this practice. Namaste.
This is gorgeous. It's an intermediate practice that calms the nervous system and feels amazing, all in 30 minutes. It has become one of my favorite practices on the site. Thank you, Andrea.
sooo yummy thanks andrea :)
OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!! Dear Andrea, thank you SOOOOO much for this absolutely amazing class. I literally cried tears of joy half way through because I couldn't even believe it was possible to feel so good! Wow. This was just beyond amazing. Thank you for your creativity, your guidance, and your own path as a teacher that has led to the creation of this class. This was my first class with you and I look forward to taking your other classes :) Namaste.
Definitely a new perspective, good compliment to the ‘main stream’ vinyasa. I got sore legs happily after the class, amazing! Thanks, Andrea!
Great class! Would love to see more from you Andrea! Especially 20-30 minute routines!
This was great, very calming. Thank you Andrea!
This class was everything my body didn’t know it needed. Incredible feeling - so open. Thank you. Also - the design of your leggings is so lovely!
Terrific class. Perfect end of day practice. Love the novel (to me) poses. Namaste and thank you.
Quite a great innovative practice! I am thrilled to find Andrea on the DYWM team! Welcome and I look forward to practicing with her again!! :)
Love Andrea's classes, fun and stretchy, there's definitely a joyful twist to the movements. Thank you.
Great class and I enjoyed the new perspective, but not for those who are looking for a more traditional half hour of vinyasa yoga.
Just what I needed today. Thank you!
I enjoyed the different perspective of this class (although I'm not flexible enough for the full expression of turtle pose!)
Blissful! Thank you, Andrea.
This was perfect for me today. Thank you <3
I really enjoyed this class. It had several poses I hadn't done before and I got a lot out of it. It is one of my favories so far.
Really loved this class. So refreshing to do things differently. Great stretches too. Thank you.
First time with Andrea. I really love her style, pace, instruction. Will come back.
I will absolutely come back to this class again. This was a great 30 minute to just be and stretch. I feel super peaceful and my neck and shoulders feel a bit of relief from all the pain which has been there recently. Thank you, Andrea!
Thank you for this beautiful class. The music, the scenery, Andrea's clear presence, the poses all made for a deeply healing practice. My father died recently, and as I grieve him, I have felt the inward pull strongly. This class was exactly what I needed today. I will be revisiting it often during this time.
Everything about this class was fresh and wonderful! Not the only different perspective on the mat, but different poses than I'm used to, kept my mind focused on the practice and my body and unable to wander as it often does when I'm more familiar with the sequence. Thanks Andrea!
Great practice, thanks Andrea
So enjoyed the different perspective on the mat. New sensations. Fun class!
Andrea what a creative and refreshing practise for me, thank u so much. Feeling inwardness and stillness, new poses invited in my practise. Namaste
This was a nice change of pace. I loved the change of perspective focus!
I discovered Andrea last spring and loved her class! Love this one too!
An interesting practice. Definitely different. Felt good!
Thank you, I enjoyed this class a lot!