Summer Challenge 2022 -
Functional Challenge

To keep you yoga-ing when routine is disrupted over the summer….

• Every week for 6 weeks, practice a 40 minute sequence. Each practice will be a good all-round "functional" flow to help you feel strong, mobile and vibrant in your body.

• In addition, there will be an optional challenge each week to improve on a fundamental body movement.

• Practice the class at home, in the garden, on holiday. You can practice each class as many times as you like.

Week 1 - Awareness

Move with awareness and tune into how your body feels.

An all-round "functional" flow to help you feel strong, mobile and vibrant in your body. Move with awareness and tune into how your body feels moving through this sequence.

The class includes movements to help your joint and spinal mobility, legs, hips, shoulders, balance and core, and ends with a short breathing practice to quiet the mind. You can add your own 5-10 minute "savasana" at the end if you like.

Grab a yoga belt / dressing gown strap / scarf and let's move those shoulders. Can you practice this super short sequence every day for a week and see an improvement in your shoulder mobility?

Week 2 - Acceptance

Approach this week with an attitude of acceptance. However you body feels, befriend it and move with kindness.

An all-round "functional" flow to help you feel strong, mobile and vibrant in your body.

The class emphasizes the hips this week so prepare to squat and lunge! Approach the class with an attitude of acceptance... however your body (especially the hips feel) just accept it for how it is today. Befriend your body and move with kindness! The class includes movements to help your joint and spinal mobility, legs, hips, shoulders, balance and core. You can add your own 5-10 minute "savasana" at the end if you like.

Practice getting comfortable in your deep squat! Eventually you want your deep squat to feel like a resting pose :-). Learn how you can use props to help you get there. Can you practice your deep squat for 1-2 minutes daily this week?

(Option to also practice your "skandasana" pose - squatting in one leg while extending the other).

Week 3 - Curiosity

Stay curious in your practice. Notice how your body moves in balances.

In this week's sequence you'll warm up all the joints and move the whole body, but there's an emphasis on balancing (and quite a few lovely twists too). Balancing is key to staying functional in our bodies, especially as we age. We want to feel confident balancing... and not just when we are holding a pose, but when we are moving as we balance too. This week I encourage you to stay curious as you practice. Notice how your body moves and sways in the balances. Keep that concentrated curiosity whether the balances seem easy or challenging!

Every day this week practice balancing on one foot for at least 2 minutes. Keep challenging yourself... if you find it easy, take your lifted foot higher, or try closing your eyes! Improving our balance is a key way to keep our bodies "functional", especially as we age.

Week 4 - Commitment

It's time to re-commit to the challenge. Sometimes you gotta put in the work to get the outcome you're after, both on and off the mat!

We'll warm up the joints and do a rounded practice as usual but this class has an extra focus on creating core strength. Feeling strong and stable in our core, both physically and emotionally, can help us feel confident and capable... ready to achieve what we want in life.

The theme is Commitment... it's time to re-commit to the challenge. Sometimes you gotta put in the work to get the outcome you're after, both on and off the mat!

Oh yes... this is a marmite challenge! Can you commit to doing a timed plank hold every day this week?? You can do forearm plank or normal plank, you can hold for 30 sec / 1 min / 2 min (or see if you can increase the time each day). The key thing is to commit to doing it EVERY day. Let me know how you get on!

Week 5 - Playfulness

Have fun! It doesn't matter if you find the moves easy or hard, just channel your inner kid and enjoy moving your body and seeing what it can do.

This week we'll bring hip mobility, balance and core strength together and, with a spirit of playfulness, practice different variations of moving between sitting and standing without using our hands. Have fun! It doesn't matter if you find the moves easy or hard, just channel your inner kid and enjoy moving your body and seeing what it can do.

This is not just a useful functional movement... it's actually been devised as a longevity test. Can you sit down from standing, and then stand back up, without using your hands, arms or knees? It requires hip mobility, balance, coordination and muscle power and Brazilian researchers have connected being able to do this with living longer. So  - yet again - have fun giving this a go! There are options to try in the main practice itself and a couple in this short video. Practice every day this week. Really we should all practice this every day... for life!

Week 6 - Lightness & Ease

Bring an attitude of lightness and ease to the practice. Even if you find some movements hard, remember that you don't need to add tension and resistance from your mind!

You've made it to Week 6 - whoop! This practice includes some 'greatest hits' from the previous 5 weeks as well as some new movements. What I'd encourage you to do is bring an attitude of lightness and ease to the practice. Try and land softly in any jumps and keep your face and shoulders soft. Even if you find some movements hard, remember that you don't need to add tension and resistance from your mind!

This week's challenge is to stop, take a comfortable seat and take 10 slow breaths (1 inhale + 1 exhale = 1 breath!). Do this every day this week. You're aiming for a 5.5 second inhale and 5.5 second exhale, as this is the pace that has been associated with 'coherent breathing', a practice that places the heart, lungs and circulation into a state of coherence, where the systems of the body are working at peak efficiency. The timing doesn't have to be exactly perfect! Aim for a pace that feels relaxing to you. It should take about 2 minutes to complete. Notice how you feel afterwards :-).