Sarah B. Yoga + Feldenkrais®

Episode 33: This is a live mixed level class. Grab and block and a blanket for class. Two of my favorite poses in this class are dhanurasana and parvrtta janu sirsasana. We work up into dhanurasana (bow pose) with a blanket rolled up underneath the lower belly. This prop supports the lower back so that you can more easily move the weight more to your legs rather than having all of the weight on your belly. After dhanurasana we will take seated twist ardha matsyendrasana right into side bend parvrtta janu sirsasana. These three poses done towards the end of class are a great sequence to help stimulate the abdominal organs, especially the liver and the kidneys. Enjoy! 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 32: This is a 90 minute class without any down dog or poses that require weight bearing on the wrists and hands. This class is great for anyone because of its focus on opening up the upper back and keeping an open posture in the chest. This relieves any pinching or stress that occurs in the shoulders, arms, and wrists from poor posture. You will need two blocks, a strap, and a blanket or towel. (also have two ice packs ready for savasana if you have inflammation in your wrists). Some of the poses we will move through include: ardha salamba sirsasana- half headstand/headstand prep, utkatasana- chair pose, virabadrasa III- warrior III, garudasana- eagle pose, malasana- garland pose, ardha matsyendrasana- half lord of the fishes pose, and gomukasana- cow’s face pose. 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 31:  Prepare by having two blocks and a blanket for this shorter flowing 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 30: In this class I bring up something I have been working on since the beginning of my yoga practice. PRECISION! Really let yourself dig a little deeper into the symmetries or asymmetries of your body. Moving precisely requires patience, focus, and consistency. Breathe with it. Let it be full of life and ease and expansion. Precision doesn’t need to mean hard and rigid! So stay soft and move with compassion. Two blocks will be helpful for this 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 29: We will use two blocks and a strap for this live class. We open just about everything in this class- the heart, the hips, the piriformis and IT bands, the side body, and all the in between places. 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 27: This is a slow flowing class. We pay special attention to the connection to the floor and to the breath in all the poses. Today, practice appreciation for whatever your situation is, good or bad. Without trying to make things “better”,  be present with where you are and allow your body and mind to shift, change, expand, and open to joy (and chattaranga pushups!). The final pose before savasana is supta baddha konasana. Be sure when you move through chatturanga, the shoulders never drop lower than the elbows. Keep the elbows hugging towards the body and use your belly to help make this pose fun! 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 28: Supta Baddha Konasana demo from Sarah Baumert. The video can be found on the podcast's blog post. 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 26: This class is designed to help if you are someone who has seasonal allergies during this time of year when all the beautiful flowers start to come into bloom. There are actually three separate times of year when seasonal allergies tend to occur: spring (tree pollen), summer (grass pollen), and early fall (ragweed pollen), so feel free to use this class whenever you need it. This will also be a useful class if you have a common head cold, if your shoulders need some stretching, or if you need a nice way to calm down in the evening. Here are some class notes to help with unfamiliar poses and prop usage: We do move into shoulderstand at the end of class. I highly recommend you practice shoulderstand with a folded blanket under your shoulders to avoid any compression into your fragile cervical spine or pressing your neck into the floor.  Directions to get into Salamba Sarvangasana (shoudlerstand): Place a neatly folded blanket with about an inch of thickness at the middle of your mat. You will eventually put your shoulders on the smooth edge of the fold, but first take the end of your mat and fold it over to the smooth fold of the blanket so that you have all sticky surfaces. Lie down, with your shoulders about an inch down from the end of the mat and blanket. Your head should be off the blanket and on the part of the mat that is not elevated; when you touch your shoulders, you should feel that they are lifted about an inch off the floor resting on the blanket, while your neck should not be touching anything. There should be a lot of space between your neck and the floor. Bend your knees and place your arms along the sides of your body. Lift your knees toward your head and beyond to lift your hips. As your hips move higher, place your hands with fingers pointing towards your feet at your mid-back. With bent knees, shimmy your shoulder blades toward each other and narrow off the space between your elbows. Once your hips are directly above your shoulders, begin to lengthen your legs towards the ceiling. The higher your legs lift, the more you may want to walk your hands down your back — towards the ground and open your shoulders. Take your gaze to your toes, your breathing belly, or close your eyes. 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 25: As you requested, this is a shorter podcast in case you are short on time. These sequences are straightforward. 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 24: A lot of hip and shoulder opening in this class. We use a foam roller in the beginning. . . if you don’t have one you can begin in a heart opening position with blankets or 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 23:  A one hour all levels class working towards full pigeon (eka pada rajakapotasana) and full wheel pose (urdhva dhanurasana). We do vinyasa in this class. . . it is a nice slow mindful flow. 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 22: This class is for students who have a strong vinyasa base. If you are looking for a physically challenging class, this is your pick. We will move through many standing poses, arm balances, and up into handstand. You may want to review poses such as Utthita Hasta Padangustasana, Parsva Bakasana (Side Crow), Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana, Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (Standing Split), Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand), and Eka Pada Koundinyasana I. Be sure to have fun, rest when you need, and remember child’s pose is always available even when it is not taught! Focus on listening to what your body is asking for today and follow your sensations. Remember sensations exist in every part of the body, so relax and let yourself start to feel the tactile sensations, the feeling presence and the spaciousness in your body. 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 21: This is a 20 minute podcast with very few poses. It is the first in a series I will be doing that uses imagery to help soften tension and bring space and awareness into the body. The focus of this class is mainly on breathing, the pelvis, awareness in the spine, and feeling the expanse from head to toe. If you are feeling extra wound up today, this podcast could be a nice way to start a longer practice or a way to simply chill out and release some aggression you may be holding in the body. 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 20: This class is a great way to end a long day of work or to do before bedtime. 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 19: This is a vodcast that I recorded specially for a student who has a slipped disk in her lumbar spine. In general this is a gentle class that most everyone can participate in. However, if you are dealing with a different injury your program should always be tailored to fit your specific needs. If you would like to watch the video of this class visit the podcast episode page on my website body-matter.com While your back pain persists if you have a slipped of herniated disk in the lower back there are a few things to remember when you are practicing yoga: *Do not bend forward past 90 degrees with straight knees. *Avoid all seated forward bends. (which there are none of in this class) *Avoid rounding your back. (you will notice we are doing a lot of small gentle arches in the lower back which will help ease the disk back towards its correct placement) * If any pose causes pain, tingling, or numbness, stop immediately. Be sure to modify with blankets, blocks, straps and any other props that you need. 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