A Well-Rounded Challenging Beginner Flow

Hi Rachel,

I've been coming back to this class for years. It is such an excellent class. Your instruction while precise is also calming as if you've somehow blended physio and yoga. I think this class could be for a beginner, but also for an intermediate as its all relevant. You have a unique approach to yoga that's almost with a touch of physiotherapy or kinesiology. I highly recommend this class for just about anyone.

Thank you for your service,

Nick

Rachel makes all the poses seem do-able. Her instruction keeps me focused on the pose not distracted by the things around me.

Great strengthening class

Great strengthening class - enjoyed slowing it down. Thanks very much Rachel

Thanks Rachel. I'm a big fan and this adds to it. Is there a variation to lacing ones fingers? I have arthritis in my wrists and this really hurts.

Thanks Rachel. I'm a big fan and this adds to it. Is there a variation to lacing ones fingers? I have arthritis in my wrists and this really hurts.

Thanks Rachel. I'm a big fan and this adds to it. Is there a variation to lacing ones fingers? I have arthritis in my wrists and this really hurts.

Basic, but good leg strength work

Well thought out class, love the repeated reminders to relax your face, pull in your belly etc. The only part that I didn’t get is around the 33 min mark, shift your hips back, to where? The back of the mat, diagonal, long side of mat? I will be back for this class! Great pace to be able to understand and set up your poses.

I've been doing this class repeatedly for about a month now, once per week, and it's so nice the progression I see in my leg strength!! If anyone is frustrated doing this one because of weak legs...keep at it! It only gets better and you'll just get stronger legs :)

Good practice. I appreciated the alignment cues and the length of the practice. In future lessons, please consider spending more time in less-intense variations of stretches. When I look at what you're doing, it's usually to check my alignment on the easiest version of a stretch. It's not helpful to see your body contorted into a shape that I can't come close to achieving. Perhaps you could do a stiff version on one side and a flexy version on the other side.

I thought I had strong legs, but I admit I did feel lots of quivering in my thighs. Such a good strength builder if this one. Thanks Rachel.

This class was exactly what I needed today. Thank you!

Great class! Rachel does such a great job of pace and describing the poses to make sure beginners do the poses correctly.

Wonderful class! It was a fantastic progression from all the Beginner challenges. Nice pace & great instruction. I'll return to this regularly.

Wonderful, and a lot more challenging than I expected. Thank you.

The pace and instruction is good for someone looking to go deeper after gaining familiarity with the poses in beginner's classes. Rachel adds pulses, lots of warriors, knee pushups, and chair poses - all good if you want to build strength!

Really great balance between a mildly challenging workout and some nice stretching/poses. Perfect for a Monday morning before starting the week! I also really appreciate Rachel's teaching style. She's clear, concise, and her voice is very soothing!

Wow! I am impressed. Speechless.

This is one of the best yoga classes I have ever taken, hands down. Rachel has an amazing, almost intuitive, knowledge of how our anatomy works in the asanas. Very smooth class. A treat! Thank you so much. Namaste

This is one of my favorite classes on the site. It is a perfect level for Beg II....challenging and strength building but without the fast pace, where I tend to injure myself. I would echo what someone else said and say more like this one please!!

This is my second or third time with this practice. I'm doing it now within the 7-day inter. I challenge. This is a great class for building arm strength. It has been a while since I did the on your knees push ups. Question - in the push up, should the elbows be pointed to the back body? Or can they be out to the left and right sides of the body?

Thanks,

I had a long day at work and wasnt going to do a class tonight as I was starting much later than usual. I decided to give it a try and I can tell you it was well worth. Slow movements easy instruction just wanted a needed after a long day. Thank you so much

Very good instructions bar "plug your shoulders" - luckily I read through the comments and knew in advance what you meant.
Thank you Rachel - a very good lesson.

Wow! This was a super challenging class,one that I will revisit often.
Namaste.

I've done yoga classes off and on for over 20 years, but have never taken the time to really learn the structure of the poses - have been doing so during the COVID pandemic, starting with the 30 day beginner's challenge, and now this challenge - I've loved both series, and learning the poses and developing both more flexibility and balance - and so far, this has been my favorite class because it still took time to walk through the poses, but also made me sweat with some of the holds and micro pulses - I'll be sure to loop this one into my practice once I have explored all of the challenges at this level!

Question for Rachelle. In Warrior I pose, sometimes I find that my BACK knee is twisting on me as I pull my hips to the front of the mat and it feels uncomfortable. Can you tell me how my BACK foot should be placed on the mat in this pose?

In Warrior II, I do not struggle with this.

Thanks for your help.

Thanks Rachel. Your metaphors and instructions continue to help me as I move more into an intermediate level. Loving this challenge.

Wonderful class, I want more like this one.
Quite challenging but so rewarding, those micro moves up and down wow, I felt it in some places I think I never felt it before.
Thank you

What does "plug your shoulders into your back" mean?

I found it a pretty challenging class, those pulses are hard! But lots of interest to keep things moving at a pace and a very knowledgeable authoritative teacher. Thank you!

Thank you for this class.

Thank youI enjoyed this challenge to build strength!!
I will repeat!!

What a great class. Targets all areas and your energy is great. More like this, please!

Wow, the description "challenging" is definitely not an understatement! This was tough for me as a beginner, by the 40 minute mark I was struggling haha. Regardless, I made it all the way to the end and gave myself a bit of grace to rest when I felt I really couldn't push harder. Thanks for this!

Despite being an experienced practitioner this class had so much to offer me! The clarity and specificity helped me revisit the foundations of familiar poses, and I don’t care how long you’ve been at it, those 1-inch micro-lifts are no joke. When you’ve practiced for awhile it becomes easy to forget how to bring earnest effort to the basics, so I really value this instruction. Thanks Rachel!

This video doesn't play. I get two error messages: "Media element error: format error" and then "no internet connection detected." Sometimes the errors messages go away if I reload enough but not today. Internet connection is fine, I can play other videos. Really do like this class.

Beautiful practice! The title is accurate. I feel balanced on all levels. Thank you!

A great way to start the day!! Good stretches and suggestions--especially squaring the hips in Warrior II. As an older practitioner, I appreciate the little extras to relieve body parts that don't "like" as much stress!! Thank you!!

HI Rachel! I am an RYT myself who is recovering from injury and this class was a PERFECT balance of challenge and foundations! Thank you for this class and I look forward to adding this to my regular practice! Namaste. ~ Beckie

Wonderful class. Thank you so much. Could you please explain what you mean by soften your ribs? Never quite sure what to do. Tx again!

Such a wonderful class! I love the combination of poses- requires strength while others allows for a nice release/stretch. The cues were helpful and clear; I like the way Rachel started us out in a twist in chair by first having us put our hand on our lower back, other hand on outside of the knee/thigh, and intentionally keeping our knees in close. One thing I find difficult when teaching is thinking of cues to help students keep their knees level rather than popping one knee out/one hip back. Thanks, Rachel!

Rachel,
This was the perfect class for me! I’m still a beginner but could use a challenge and this was perfect! Your pace was slowly guiding me through the finer nuances of making each posture (no matter how simple) be a challenge. Thank You for your sharing.
Namaste
Lucy

Thanks Rachel. This one took me back to some fundamentals of yoga. Nice pace especially after the Up and Down class previous to this one. It’s so great to see the many styles of all these great teachers.

Thanks for the knee reminders too. As a runner for many years I need to take care of my knees.