Sarah B. Yoga + Feldenkrais®

Episode 61: This is a 75 minute Level 1-2 class taught live. This is a Feldenkrais® inspired class. As many of you know, I also teach the Feldenkrais® method. And this class is an example of my blended Yoga + Feldenkrais® classes. Each class infuses more traditional yoga asana practice with the Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement method. You can think of it as an interdisciplinary excursion of yoga, Feldenkrais, self-massage, breathing exercises, movement puzzles, and a compassionate mindset - to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. In this class, we start with a longer somatic exploration using a blanket roll for support in helping you feel and soften the spine. At the end of class a number of concepts are brought together to create a continuous moving backbend practice. This is meant to move in and out of, and to slowly repeat just as you might in a Feldenkrais class.    We will make a single blanket roll or cylinder. We will use a strap and two blocks.  Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 60: This is a 75 minute Level 1-2 class taught live.  What might feel like deep abdominal work at first, will turn into an attention to the spine and its capacity for full flexion from the tail all the way to the head. Poses include, rabbit, cat, sphinx, side angle, and plow pose, among others.  We will make a flat long blanket bolster to lie the spine one. You will also need a strap and two blocks. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 59: This is a 75 minute Level 1-2 class taught live. We begin with breath work, exploring a few of the many different ways that the diaphragm can shape the torso and support the spine. There is a focus on recovering or regaining the natural lumbar curve that has disappeared for so many people who sit a lot. We will also do a number of shoulder external rotation practices which will help reverse forward leaning shoulders and a tight chest which are the effects of holding your phone and looking down a lot! You will need two blankets, two blocks, and a loop-able strap. We will make a double blanket roll or cylinder. We will use the looped strap around the forearms, and the two blocks will stack on top of one another to place your front foot on them during anjaneyasana. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 58: This is a 75 minute gentle Level 1 class. This class works to open the hips with an attention to keeping space in the lower back. I am currently teaching live yoga asana classes via Zoom. You can find my full weekly schedule at BODY MATTER You will need two blankets, a block, and a yoga strap. If you have a bolster, that could also be useful. A towel or any firm blanket can be used in place of a yoga blanket and a scarf will be better than nothing if you don’t have a loop-able yoga strap. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 57:  This class begins with some breathing explorations to help warm up your sensing abilities of the lungs, their capacity to fill, and their capacity to change shape in order to support your asanas. Our breath is constantly adapting to the environment we put ourselves in. In this class, feel how your breath can adapt to the shapes of the asanas. We do a lot of shoulder opening and awareness of the internal spaces to support backbends, culminating in camel pose.  You will need a blanket, a block, and a yoga strap. If you have a bolster, that could also be useful. A towel or any firm blanket can be used in place of a yoga blanket and a scarf will be better than nothing if you don’t have a loop-able yoga strap. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 56: This is a recording of a mini class that I taught during the first few months of the Covid crisis, when many of us, including yoga and movement teachers began looking at screens for many more hours a day than we were used to. This class does not include much asana at all, but is more of a meditation and yoga for the eyes. It is informed by the Feldenkrais practice, of which I am also a practitioner of. This lesson will help calm the nervous system, relax your eyes, let go of Zoom fatigue, help you find ease in the face and eye muscles, and may even help you fall asleep. You will not need any props for this class. The class is mostly done in a supine savasana position, so be sure that you are warm enough and comfortable. If you enjoy this class, you may be interested in more of the Feldenkrais offerings that I have on my website www.body-matter.com Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 55: This is a 60 minute restorative practice. For this class we use many props, including a bolster, blankets, two blocks, and a strap. If you do not have all of these props, you can do your best with what you have. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 54: Back by popular demand, it’s another yoga nidra class. In this 20 minute class, you will be guided through a scan of the body while resting in savasana. This form of yoga relaxation has been found to reduce tension and anxiety, to help those who suffer from a scattered mind, and to heal insomnia. A focus will be placed on specific parts of the body throughout the meditation allowing the mind to concentrate on the sensations that are present. Do this class on its own for a break in your day, or as an addition at the end of an active class. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 53: This is a live class from a summer intensive taught in July of 2016. Class begins with developmental movement warm-ups focused on waking up the side body. This warm up prepares you for the active asanas that are done in the last half of class. Just under two hours, you may need to carve out some time on a Saturday afternoon for this one. The first hour of this class could be done alone as a gentle restorative class to wake up the torso. Props needed: 1-2 blankets, 2 blocks Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 52: This class is a beginning class for anyone interested in using yoga as a part of trauma recovery. Before class, I talk with Lisa Danylchuk. Lisa is a psychotherapist and a Yoga for Trauma specialist. She and I discuss the benefits of yoga for someone recovering from trauma and tips for how to start a practice with this in mind. For more information about Lisa and resources for Yoga for Trauma Recovery visit howwecanheal.com The class portion of this podcast will be 40 minutes long. Allow yourself to take rests and make choices for yourself during this class. Ask yourself if the pose you are doing feels good to you. Give yourself the choice to rest, and invite yourself to do something different if it is not agreeing with you at the moment. If you are coming to this class a second or third time and you would like to skip to the class portion, it begins around 22 minutes. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 51: It’s been over a year since I have posted a podcast. I’m very happy to share this first Tech-antidote class with you. This class is not just for the imbalances you may be finding in your body, but also the mental fatigue, the brain fog, and the emotional rollercoaster that being connected online for hours can do to the whole self. A contemplative practice is such a crucial part of our work-life-stress balance. Managing your stress is a huge step towards good health. I hope this episode and all the past podcasts help to keep you balanced, healthy, and happy. Props needed: One Block Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 50: In this 30 minute class, you will be guided through a scan of the body while resting in savasana. This form of yoga relaxation has been found to reduce tension and anxiety, help those who suffer from a scattered mind and restless body, and heal insomnia. A focus will be placed on specific parts of the body throughout the meditation allowing the mind to concentrate on the sensations that are present. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 49: When something stressful is happening in our lives the shoulders tend to be a common place where we hold tension in the body. Tense muscles, if ignored can lead to injury later on. This tense feeling in the shoulders can even start to creep up towards the ears, give us tension headaches, and keep us from having a healthy and restful night of sleep. Sitting for hours over a keyboard, which we are all too familiar with, can contribute to tightness in the hips, legs, neck, shoulders, and back. This creates an unhealthy posture that you take with you when you leave your office for the day, in which the back and shoulders hunch down and the neck protrudes the head forward. The spine thus becomes misaligned when the body is in such a stagnate position. In this short class, we will move through basic poses that target areas of tension which can be an effective antidote to many desk job ailments and general stress build up in the shoulders. This is meant to be a class that you could use if you only have a short amount of time, but need a quick break from sitting at your desk. Or, if you come home from work and you need a little pick me up, this class will energize those stagnate tight areas. As an added bonus, yoga can have powerful effects on the mind and may help address the damaging stress of a high-pressure job by helping to calm the mind and quiet racing thought patterns. Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 48: In this 60 minute class we will focus on finding balance in the sacroiliac joints. Class starts with a flowing breath exercise on your back to set a therapeutic tone for your practice. We move on to seated dandasana and a slow modified sun salutation. Utkatasana is our main standing pose and is practiced with kapalabhati pranayama. Headstand (salamba sirsasana) and crow pose (bakasana) are some of the more challenging poses that we lead up to. If you do not have a headstand practice, be sure to consult a live teacher before you invert fully. Class ends with a series of twists. If you have sacroiliac instability, be sure to keep your effort at 80% in the twists without forcing any position. Gary, my cat, really wanted to teach you today as well, you may hear him meowing in the background now and then! Props needed: One blanket and one block Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn

Episode 47: This is an active prenatal class for mothers who feel fit and healthy during their pregnancy. This class is suitable for the first and second trimesters and can be practiced into the third trimester, monitoring how you are feeling. With that said, we still move in a slow and graceful pace. Starting with a seated meditation, we then move into seated postures that create space in the side body and the hips. This will include a flowing sequence side to side in parvritta janu sirsasana which you can see photos of below. Our flowing standing poses will take us through tree pose (vrksasana), warrior I and II (virabhadrasana I and II), wide legged forward fold (prasarita padottanasana), goddess pose, and triangle (trikonasana). Squats, sIngle pigeon, and a side savasana will finish the practice. Props needed: Two blankets (or towels and pillows) and two blocks Sarah Baumert has been teaching movement since 2006. She is a certified yoga teacher, yoga therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner. This podcast is an intersection of her yoga teaching and training in the Feldenkrais® method. Classes include sensory rich movement experiences for a more resilient and healthy nervous system to help you feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in yourself. Upcoming Courses with Sarah: Pelvic Floor, Psoas, and Abdominals - The Blending of Yoga + Feldenkrais The Secret Language of the Arms: A Shoulder and Arm Release Through Awareness Support the show Find more of Sarah's teaching on Body Matter. Self-paced courses Body Matter library membership Leave a review on itunes, spotify, or google. Support the show to help keep these podcasts free and accessible for everyone! Website I Course Library I Instagram I Newsletter I LinkedIn