In June I did my first Instagram yoga challenge.  I was in the playful zone of summer and it looked like a fun thing to try.  The #summerofbalance challenge offered a daily arm balance posture, ranging from camatkarasana (wild thing) to mayurasana (peacock pose – ooof, so hard!).  You snapped a picture of your pose (or modified/attempted pose) and put it out to the instaverse to share with yogis all over the world.  It was a great way to challenge my practice, gave me a ton of class ideas, and it was really fun to find members of my digital yoga tribe.

The poses that were in the challenge are the types of poses that we work and build towards in my Monday night power class.  When the challenge started, I invited the class to play along.  Several students participated in the challenge and even more participated with their encouraging and cheer leading.  It really made it a community effort and experience.  We shared feelings of satisfaction when we found a pose, we shared questions and curiosity when we were discovering something new, and we shared road blocks and frustrations when we were met with challenge.

The challenge brought out what I really love about my classes, the sense of community.  Each class has a different personality, but they all share a common thread of care, empathy, and investment in their fellow yogis.  This is why when a student is sick, unable to attend, or moves away, you feel that sense of void or absence.

Sadly, one of our community recently moved away.  It’s temporary and thankfully she’ll be back in 6 months, but, we still wanted a way to stay connected.  She had participated in the June challenge and one thing we talked about was doing another one together.  The suggestion came out that we should just do our own.  And here we are….

You’re invited to join our little #PowerPose community.  Each week, I’ll feature a building block pose or peak pose that appeals to my Monday night power class.  Several building block poses will string together to build towards a peak pose.  Take these components, bring them into your practice, put in some work, and hopefully, they’ll come together to get you into or closer to the peak pose.  For example, this first four weeks will be:

• Week 1 | Building Block:  Chaturanga Dandansana (yoga push-up)
• Week 2 | Building Block:  Utkatasana (lightning bolt pose)
• Week 3 | Building Block:  Malasana (yogic squat)
• Week 4 | Peak Pose:  Bakasana (crow pose)

I’m big on kramas (stages) and modifications and will be sure to highlight options.  Be sure to work where you feel challenged, but also where you can breath and relax around the work.  Remember, it’s really not about the poses, it’s about what we learn along the way, how we react to the challenge, how we can appreciate the progress, and how we honor the set-backs.  Allow the embodiment of the poses to be beautiful in your mind’s eye and that energy will radiate and translate to the physical postures.

Follow along @suzannewrightyoga on Instagram or at Suzanne Wright Yoga on Facebook.  If you post your pictures or about your experience be sure to tag #PowerPose and @suzannewrightyoga.

Enjoy the Journey,

Suzanne