Learn to Feel Changes in Relationship
One reason for these exercises is that they help you to learn how to feel changes in the relationship between parts of your body.
But they also help you to learn to feel the muscular actions that cause those changes in relationship.
Focus On Actions Versus Appearance
Another benefit to these exercises is instead of thinking about whether or not you are doing the exercises correctly, you can focus on feeling your body as you do the exercises.
The focus is on what you are doing versus how you look while doing it.
There are some basic alignment points but the focus is more on feeling how the parts of your body relate and varying those relationships.
Improve Awareness and Control of Hips and Shoulders
This ebook (you get all three formats: pdf, epub and mobi) includes a simple routine designed to help you use basic pushing actions to better feel and control your hips and shoulders.
These pushing techniques can be used in stronger poses like side plank but also in working towards improved flexibility in poses like the forward bend and front-to-back splits.
Book Layout (For Continued Ease of Use)
Exercises are clearly defined with instructions on where to place your focus. Pictures have been included to easily see what it is that you are trying to do in each exercise.
Navigation has been included to make it easy to navigate only through the pictures or only through the descriptions. You can also click back and forwards between an exercise's description and its pictures.
Once you've done the routine a few times, you may find it useful to use the summary as a quick reference for what you are trying to do in each pose.
Overview, Mini-routines and Modifications
The book includes an overview of the basic actions so that you can apply them in other poses. And it includes some possible mini-routines for when your time or motivation is limited.
Pictures and descriptions also include modified versions of each pose, generally using a chair for when you can't reach the floor.
Clear and Simple Instructions
The exercises and instruction are designed (and have been tested in classes) to make it as easy as possible to learn to feel and control your body.
There will be some work required, but instead of trying to figure out what the instructions mean, you can get on with the exercises themselves because the instructions are clear and simple.
My email address is included so that I can help with any problems.
Is This All I Need To Know?
This book is the start of a series of books and videos designed to help you learn your own body. The body is a complex system. It takes time to learn. And the best way to learn a complex system is little bits at a time.
Each book and/or video focuses on clear and simple actions that help you to progressively experience and understand your body. It's a lot like going to school. However, to pass each "grade" it's not how low you can go in the splits, it's how well you can feel your body and control it.
And speaking of the splits, if doing the splits is one of your goals, the techniques in this book can help you get there, but only part of the way.
Guaranteed!
This book is covered by the 30 Day happiness guarantee. Nope, not 30 days of happiness, just if you let me know within 30 days of purchase, you'll get your money back. And that should make you happy, or at the least, not stressed that you're taking a risk in buying this book.
So what's the background of the material in this book, and the teacher?
I teach a variety of different actions in my yoga classes. I generally use the same general set of actions over a course of a few weeks, refining the way I teach them but also coming up with simple fixes for the students who don't get the actions. Of all the actions that I teach, I feel that the ones covered in this book are the most basic and the most useful for a beginner just getting started in a yoga or "body awareness" practice.
Future books and videos will build on what you've learned in this book.
Why not include all the techniques in one big book?
I've thought of that.
But one reason not to is that it's easier to focus on one set of related actions at a time.
As a student, hopefully, it's less daunting for you and you can get on with learning.
Plus there's less risk for both of us. You get to try one set of actions (covered in this book) and if it works for you great. If it doesn't then you can get your money back or leave it at part 1 (maybe you got some benefit but decide that the way I teach isn't for you).
So why start with this book if there are others to come?
Well, you have to start somewhere. The important thing is to start.
I'm not very flexible! Are the exercises in this book suitable for me?
You don't have to be flexible to do the exercises in this book. In fact, they may help you get a little bit more flexible. (But that's not a guarantee.) If you can at least sit upright on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, then you should be able to do the exercises in this book.
I've got injuries! Are the exercises in this book suitable for me?
No!
If you experience pain in any of the poses, "adjustments" are included for most of the poses so that you can fine-tune the way that you do the pose. But the exercises in this book have not been designed or described to take account of pre-existing injuries.
So what are the advantages of doing this exercises in the book?
- You'll get a better feel for your body.
- More specifically you'll learn to feel changes in the relationship between parts of your body.
- You may then learn to feel the changes in tension that cause those changes.
- You'll learn to feel the difference between when muscles are activated and relaxed.
- You'll be able to improve your ability to relax muscles and activate them at will.
- You may find that some of these simple actions help you to improve your flexibility. (However, that isn't guaranteed!)
- You may also find that you improve leg and arm strength.
Extras
Yoga Basics 1 comes with four bonus videos.
These are supplementary videos that clearly some of the poses and actions in this book and also include one or two extra actions.
The book itself includes notes on these videos as well as when to watch them in the context of the material in the book. (You can, of course, watch them straight away in the order given. The videos are designed so that you can follow along if you choose.)
They can be streamed or downloaded (the downloads are MP4 format).
Buy now from Gumroad
Yoga Basics 1/Yoga Basics 2/Both
Once you've ordered, you'll be able to download this book in pdf, epub or mobi format (you get access to all three formats for one price!)
If you have any problems use the contact form to get in touch with me.
Yoga Basics 2
Building up from the material in Yoga Basics 1, this ebook yoga course includes a simple yoga training routine to help you learn to stabilize your body while doing simple pushing actions.
Stability Gives you Better Control
Whether trying to improve flexibility or strength of just gain better control of your body, stability is the most important quality for controlling your body intelligently.
You got a taste of stability in yoga for beginners 1. In this book you learn how to stabilize your body using variations of the same technique.
With different ways of creating stability you can employ a flexible approach to doing any yoga pose.
Knowing how to create stability, you can then work on other aspects of your yoga poses.
This is Not Suitable for You If...
If you can't sit upright with your legs straight in front of you, then this program may not be suitable for you.
If you can at least sit upright then you can use the standing and sitting exercises in this routine to better feel and control your body.
You can learn to feel when part of your body is active and when part of it is relaxed, and you can enjoy the experience of actually feeling and controlling these changes.
Your Flexibility May Improve
The exercises in this ebook are suitable for most levels of flexibility (or lack of flexibility)
In some cases, the exercises in this book may help you improve flexibility.
This is impossible to guarantee though.
You can maximize the possibility of improving flexibility simply by focusing on feeling your body, by noticing the changes in tension or muscle action in your legs and/or arms as you do these exercises.
And the instructions in this book help you direct your senses so that you can get better at feeling and controlling your body.
If, once you get the basic instructions for each exercise, you focus on activating and relaxing smoothly and slowly, you'll be more likely to actually notice what is happening in your body.
You may notice when your muscles relax more allowing you to go deeper into a pose. And that is something that can be guaranteed.
If you do these exercises slowly and smoothly, and focus on feeling your body, you can deepen your body awareness.
And you may find that your yoga practice becomes more enjoyable as a result.
As a beginner, the better you can learn to feel your body and control it, the better you can make smart choices with respect to what to do in any yoga pose.
Included Extras
As well as an ebook (in pdf, epub and mobi formats) this product includes part 4 of the Extreme Stability Video routine. This material builds up on what is included in the ebook and in total you then have two possible routines to practice.
The video shows you how to apply different pushing techniques for better body awareness and control in downward dog, chaturanga (yoga push up) and locust pose.
It also includes some of the latest instructions that I use in teaching crow pose.
This instruction focuses on pressure sensitivity and weight shifting so instead of just learning to do the pose, you learn to use it to feel your body and how you can feel and change your relationship with the earth.
Why include part of a video series with an ebook?
Basically, video gives you another point of view of the exercises. And instead of reading about the exercises you can see how I actually do them. And of course, it's so you might be interested enough to buy the whole video.
With the extremity activations (calf, knee, forearm and elbows) you learn in the video you have another technique for exploring your yoga poses.
For what may be a limited time only, you can buy the entire Extreme Stability video (there are Four parts) with this package for only an extra $10. The videos are downloadable in MP4 format or they can be streamed.
Click below to Purchase
You can select your purchase option (extra or no extra) after clicking the button below.
Once you've ordered, you'll be able to download this book in pdf, epub or mobi format (you get access to all three formats for one price!)
Buy now from Gumroad
Yoga Basics 1/Yoga Basics 2/Both
Once you've ordered, you'll be able to download this book in pdf, epub or mobi format (you get access to all three formats for one price!)
If you have any problems use the contact form to get in touch with me.
