Barefoot Studio Class Descriptions
The practice of hatha yoga is often surrounded by confusion and mystery, perhaps because yoga is always more than what one can say about it at any given time, and its practice can take multiple forms. With this in mind, it is often helpful to know what a thing is not, before understanding what it might be:

"Hatha yoga is not a religion. It is not a physical fitness system. It is not a stress management technique. It is not a cult. It requires no strange beliefs. It demands no blind faith. There is no need for penance, confession, humiliation, or self-denial. It is not a way of life with a special set of values and conventions. You do not need to give up onions or meat, burn incense or wear prayer beads. Hatha Yoga is a science and an art combined. There is rigor and objectivity in its method. There is beauty and inspiration in its expression." Godfrey Deveraux, from: Hatha Yoga, Breath by Breath

Method -The Method classes introduce and clarify in action the 5 primary techniques inherent in traditional Hatha Yoga.

• Asana: postures and alignment
• Bandha: the central actions that open, support, and integrate the body
• Pranayama: attention to the respiratory cycle and participation in its natural rhythms.
• Drushti: deepening the focus of attention via the placement and quality of one's gaze.
• Vinyasa: Cultivating an active meditative rhythm by connecting the postures sequentially, and moving the body in synchronization with inhalation and exhalation.

The five techniques sensitize the students awareness to the significance of both effort and surrender in the practice, and the unique combination of them that is so necessary to manifestation of the meditative experience in real time.

In terms of action, the Method classes sensitize students' awareness to the movements of the major joints in the body and their optimal position during both stillness and motion. This is accomplished by steady and consistent activation of the hands, feet, arms, legs and rib cage. The consistent sensitization and activation of the these body parts clarifies the extension aspects of the alignment process, or the broadening and lengthening of the major body parts, so that awareness of the major joints and their position is coincident with creating space in them.

In terms of surrender, the Method classes sensitize the students' awareness to the two poles of the spine, which are the face and the pelvic floor. The two poles of the spine are the gateways into a deep experience of the core of the body, which itself is the domain of spiritual illumination and insight. These areas must be continually released in the midst of the demands that the postures place on the body and the breath for the training to be effective on more than a structural level.

The Method classes are also integral in introducing the students to the preliminary working vocabulary used by the teachers. This vocabulary is consistent through each level of class at the studio. Each lesson will be sufficient preparation for a seated meditation session, which will be included at the end of class. The Method class is designed for beginners and all students interested in cultivating the tools to use in any Yoga class, anywhere. The posture selections in the Method classes draw from basic symmetrical postures in which the spine moves through single planes: forward, backward, sideways, and twisting.

Dynamic: Dynamic classes reinforce, refine, and integrate the broadening and lengthening aspects of the practice which have been taught and clarified in the Method classes. This integration is facilitated via a clarification and utilization of body's inherent spiraling dynamic. The spiral dynamic employs the hands and feet to adjust the legs and arms, and to thereby balance and support the opening around the core of the body. The Dynamic classes draw more freely from asymmetrical postures and more complex spinal movements. In other words, the spine may bend forward and twist, or some other combination.

Practice: Practice classes assume that students have cultivated prior training in the first levels, and and integrated the broadening and lengthening aspects of the Method classes via the spiraling orientation presented in the Dynamic classes. In practical terms this means that the students have achieved some autonomy in self correction, and can thereby modify for themselves the challenging situations that arise in upper level postures that require more strength and range of motion.

In the practice classes, the full sun salutation is used in a variety of ways, holding times in postures is increased, and postures often require compound movements. Instruction on classic inversions (Head stand, and Shoulder stand) takes place and is refined at this level. The practice classes offers a chance to clarify and challenge our limitations in a fun and non-competitive atmosphere.

Sunday: by instructor admission only. Call Matt at 501-626-6384.

Barefoot Studio® is committed to offering yoga to the Little Rock Community in a non-partisan, non-sectarian, non-competitive atmosphere. It is our conviction that the practice of yoga has something beneficial for everyone with a sincere interest.

Close