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Hello my friends! Happy Monday!
Today’s practice is a little bit different from what we’ve experienced here on Align thus far! And there’s a few reasons for that. So I’ll share a little bit of our history and then we’ll dive into class!
Back in 2020, I knew I wanted to build some type of platform and share yoga videos with a larger community of people. I wanted a place where we could all come together to experience class as a group, digitally - finding connection, community, solidarity, solace. And while I didn’t know exactly what that platform would look like or could be, I knew it wasn’t going to be YouTube. I lack the thick skin that you need to withstand the YouTube trolls and I didn’t want people to just search “yoga” on a webpage and hang out with me just once.
I also knew I wanted to get pregnant and I didn’t know how that would feel in my body or how I would practice or how I would teach during that experience. I wasn’t yet prenatal/postnatal certified and I just didn’t know what any of that would look like for me.
So I filmed a whole big library of yoga classes.
And then I got pregnant and had my son and experienced the whole journey of matrescence.
And the classes just sat on my external hard drive in the back of a drawer in my office for years.
Until last Spring, when I listened to
on a multitude of podcasts share the origin story of her recipe newsletter, , realized Substack had just begun investing in video, and decided that just might be the place to finally share this whole big library of yoga classes.Since June, I’ve shared 35 practices, all of which were filmed in 2020-2021, with the exception of one which I filmed while vacationing in Portugal last summer. While I have a couple more in the archives to share, I’m ready for our next chapter here! And I’m a bit of a different teacher than I was 4 or 5 years ago.
The classes that were filmed back then felt like a big lift with the camera, microphone, and lighting equipment. It was a process to make sure everything was charged sufficiently and connected properly. I can’t tell you the number of times a class was filmed only to realize that the camera had run out of battery and turned off halfway through or that the mic had disconnected right after the initial test. My camera would automatically shut off at 29 minutes and 59 seconds so if I filmed anything longer than that, I’d have to be aware of the time, register my spot and position on the mat, run to turn the camera back on, press record, and get back into teaching, trying to maintain the previous momentum. I’d move the furniture around and lug these lights upstairs and downstairs. And all I really wanted to do was share yoga classes and connect with other people.
So in my quest to start this Substack, I determined that it’d be different when I began filming again. I bought a different camera that lets me film for as long as my heart desires without shutting off. I think the sound quality is pretty decent and I don’t plan on using a mic. Lighting either.
I want to invite you into my home to take class with me without all the pre-production that is so commonly out there nowadays. And today’s class includes a playlist as well! There’s background music, which I hope doesn’t impact your ability to hear my cue-ing, but please let me know! I would love your feedback as we begin this new part of the adventure. I imagine it’ll always be a work in progress and hearing from you on what you like and/or dislike (albeit kindly, please!) is so helpful as I continue to plan and create classes to share with you!
Okay, now onto class details!
We begin with a favorite mantra of mine that I used a lot in my newly postpartum days, “This is temporary.” I’d repeat it to myself often, understanding that this was only a short period of time. I’ve found it applicable in many seasons since. Life is always changing, ever-evolving. It’s all temporary. A helpful reminder, always.
We have a 20-minute practice with that mantra in mind, flowing through vinyasa, and then concluding with a bit of rebounding - something which we haven’t yet seen here on this platform, but that I plan to do more with in the near future!
Rebounding is a great way to move the body to help with lymphatic drainage and to release nervous or stagnant energy! A vehicle to bring us back into this present moment that is all we have right now and is entirely temporary.
If you have yoga blocks, those are a nice-to-have for this practice, but it’s okay if you don’t have them and you could always use a stack of books or something similar as well!
And with that, let’s flow! xo
Click here to discover our class archives sorted by class/movement type, duration, and anatomical focus.
Thank you for practicing with me! I’m so grateful you’re here. If you have any questions, please let me know! You can find me on Instagram and TikTok, and shop my favorites here. If you enjoy weekly yoga classes, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
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