There is a spot behind my heart that gets tight and makes me feel like I have an inner hunch back. Christina got right into this spot and helped open it up. Thank you Christina! Definitely going on the queue!

That backbending class is a classic. I keep doing it over and over again.

Asana Junkie checking in! I'm in the same boat as Heather, tight shoulders + tight hips make backbends tough but I was able to access that commitment to working on it and I definitely feel an opening in the heart. Thank you Christina! OM Shanti

Great teaching. Awesome class. Thanks you!

This class is amazing - I don't even have words to describe how happy I feel! I have tight shoulders which prevent me from getting deep into backbends. This was this first time I can remember doing so many backbends and feeling better and better each time. Thank you thank you.

Brilliant, thanks Christina. Please come visit us in London!

Coming back to STL??? Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssssssse:)

Loved the wheel with the wall. Wonderful invitation and leading. Shanti

Thank you, what a wonderful way to start the day and a reminder of what commitment is about. You make me want to take an anusara training. While we all love sun salutations it's nice to mix it up, thanks!

i meant first class with you christina. i've been on yogaglo since the day it opened it's doors!!

wow first class. great upper back and shoulder opening, exactly what i needed!! got into my low back 3/4 of the way through - this always happens to me with eka pada rajakapotasana - any thoughts?? anyway class was dynamite - shoulders and upper back feel super open and lovely. love it, thank you!

Many thanks, Christina! This is the first time I've taken one of your classes and it was such a wonderful experience!

Fantastic class! Hard for me to stay rested in savasana as I was still quite buzzy from the backbends. Thank you x

Great instruction Christina but please stop bouncing on your feet!!

I am so grateful to Yogaglo and being able to practice with such amazing teachers! Thank you so much for this strong, yummy, creative practice, Christina!

Christina, where have you been all of my life?! Love, Love, Love<3 I am still sailing blissfully through my day, thanks to you!

Awesome class! Thanks!

Christina, every time I do this practice it just gets better and BETTER! And I can feel your teachings integrate with more depth as I awaken my body to more expansion! This practice is simply AMAZING!!!! THANK YOU! YOU ROCK!!! Love how you through in your sense of humor and keep this challenging practice 'light'. A true blessing* All the BEST FOR YOU!!! BIG hug of Gratitude and sheer appreciation! Your awareness has deepened mine and for that I am truly happy! XOXOX

Wow! What an amazing heart opening class. A great way to start the day! Loved using the wall to help deepen my backbend.

Loved this class so much Christina! Forward fold at the wall after all those backbends was amazing. Evn though we didn't start the class with sun salutations I liked the changes. Namaste :)

Energising & fun, thanks Christina! Would you please help me with two questions?:
~ in the anjaneyasana variation (around min.19) arms behind fingers interlocked, then fingers pointing down and then arms up... I was quite shivering in the middle body specially in the exhalation. Why is it that? I have a quite strong practice almos daily and it doesn't happen very often, but in this pose i felt it. Is it maybe weak back? or is it from the stomach muscles?
~ why if you recommend in the test for anusara certification not to start the class this way, instead with sun salutation... why so many anusara teachers start the classes with no sun salutation? I personally feel ok both ways, however warming up a bit before feels great and it must have a reason.... is it really ok to start with so deep stretchings before any other movement?
Thanks so much! All love to You, Liliana

Great class, Christina, as ALL of your classes are! It's amazing what your classes can get this 52 year old body to do ... love them. PLEASE do a workshop in Cleveland!!

Kickass backbend class. I loved the no nonesense aspect of it and the ability to do the advanced backbends mindfully and with intelligence without a gazillion sun salutations and standing poses. I added three more backbends to my practice (Dwi pada Urdhva, Eka pada rajakapotasana the full p[ose and Urdhva 2), and they were so easy to perfom.

Great 60 min 2 the point backbend practice! Should do regularly...

This class was all the things I need and all the things that are hardest for me....thanks for a great butt kicking class!

This class is good medicine.

loved it! xxoomkate

Delicious! Thank you.

yeeehaaaa.... what a way to start the day!

Hey Christina! Thank you so much for your teaching, my body learns from every one of your classes. I could really use your help with backbends though: After many years of dedicated practice I still feel backbends in my low back. I've taken a lot of the major crunch out of it consistently, but I've accidentally stumbled into strong and painfree lowback alignment several times, so I know it exists! I don't think my problem here are the broadstrokes (inner spiral/tailbone lengthening) Can you please help? My future (and current!) spine would be soso grateful. Thanks again and much love. Sarah

Fab, Fab, FAB class Christina..thank-you so much. This is my first class with you and I LOVED IT. Love your refinement cues and your sense of humour. My arms feel so much lighter and my heart is expansive. Thank-you x

Amazing. Thank you ever so much. I always get so much out of your classes - from your cueing and of myself. I have a whole new understanding of shoulder loop and feel peaceful and open from the inside out! Namaste : )

Great class Christina, thanks!! great new ideas for me to practice at home.

for the sake of repitition I thought I should do this one twice. So fasinating how the second time through different aspects of your teaching poped out. I love what you say towards the end, about trusting our teachers even if we havent experienced those promises yet.

Wow Christina outstanding! Loved the unconventional start. And all the refinements, I learned so much. Hello arm bones back in urdhva, I felt so steady rolling further foward on my forhead. THanks so much! Your teaching is such a light in my life, thanks for sharing the tradition

Paul Grilley, in yin yoga, calls the supine twist with the quad stretch 'cat tail pose'. Great class.

Glad you liked it, Mindy!

BRILLANT CHRISTINA!!! Such an innovative class, I love it!!!

@KAte- you are welcome! Thanks for taking class! @Lucille- I am coming back for sure. We are hoping to film even more this year! Thanks. @Ann- al lot of time the light headedness has to do with what is going on in the relationship between the neck and shoulders. Try moving your hyoid bone- that is the top of your throat- back before lifting your chin out of your chest. (but keep in mind that is a guess without looking at your pose and by no means a "diagnosis!" @Teresa- thanks so much! @Salmona- so glad it worked for you- its a tall order in one hour, right?! @Malken- I miss you guys in Copenhagen! Glad you came to class here on yogaglo!

What a fantastic way to begin a stormy rainy day.. My backbends just improved tremendously! Thank you!
Have a beautiful day..
Would love to see you back in Copenhagen..

christina, i practiced this first thing in the morning today and found my body warmed up and sweat to get ready with the backbend experience. such an effective and efficient one hour for me. i am still working on engaging the rhomboid part but i find this will be my favorite sequence to practice. i feel energized after the practice. thanks for the clear guidance

Christina, I love your artistic expressions and skillful teaching to ensuring that every pose is done with our fullest alignment. Amazing class!!

Super class!! Focusing on the shoulder loop helped my backbends tremendously. Thank you. I often experience light headedness after doing backbends. I thought I might have worked through them with this practice but they were right there waiting for me after the third backbend. Still unraveling what that is all about....Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you again! xo

love your classes, hope you are back in the new year

Lovely! Thank you so much!

@Thanks, Catherine and Alison. So glad you enjoyed the class.

Thanks Christina, that was super fun and I learned a lot of new ways to approach shoulder loop! Feel wonderful :) Namaste'

I've done this class for the second time today and feel as fantastic as the first time - it certainly lifts the heart and my back feels as open and light as anything. Thank you so much for your wonderful classes and your great teaching - laughter is so nice when we find ourselves in a difficult posture and it makes the challenges so much more approachable! I don't think this will be the last time that I follow this class :)

@Henry- always grateful for the conversation!
@Deidre- thanks back to you!
@Karin- Thank you!

Love it(: Thanks, Karin fron Chile!

Outstanding!
Thank you.

The sign of a great teacher and great student is the conversation that ensues: whether it is in the language of asana, of sequence or of the heart. The quest is always to know what works, and maybe what isn't working out so well and to keep doing your best. I love the variety of fascinating ways these asana unfold depending on my state. Regardless my state always shifts so that I could always bank on the fact that I will be in a different energetic space in a few minutes. Thank you everybody to your dedication to become more authentic.

aah, you understand, just read 11/22 "spot"

Thanks for your reply. I always love your classes, they are ALWAYS useful, this class was VERY informative, just would have warmed up more prior, this "jazz" lover is stiff in the am. After many, many (my only options 30 years ago was lilias folan and richard hittleman on pbs) years of a personal daily practice, I really do appreciate sites such as yogaglo. Looking to blend my history of ashtanga as moving meditation on the breath with Iyengars safe alignment principals which I guess is what I was hoping for in the anusara practice, but I find it mostly alignment principals just with different verbage to market/trademark T.T.'s. Just an old yogagal who has been around awhile through many "styles" who has come to the opinion, study one on one with a teacher who employs ALL tools of Yoga and your life will change, like what you have done with J.F. and ?

Fantastic!

@yogagal-- I agree with you that some classes- in anusara yoga particularly- are often tutorial or training-oriented and that it can be distracting or disrupting if what you are looking for is a more experiential practice that day. I write about this A LOT on my blog (www.christinasell.blogspot.com) so I won't go into a long thing about it here other than to say that some classes are about learning and some are more about practicing. There are some classes that are almost like drills and focus on learning technique and some are just for playing the game! Or to use a musical metaphor- some classes are like the scales and some are playing the song and others are actually like playing extemporaneous jazz. This can vary from teacher to teacher, from day to day even within the same method. As far as my classes go, you would enjoy the classes that I describe as "practice-based" or the "vinyasa flow" class I have up if you are looking for less tutorial and more movement and being-quality. My teaching style varies a lot along the continuum I describe and your feedback is useful to remember in my descriptions. As far as preparation, I explore in my personal practice and in my teaching lots of varied approaches from movement to long holds and enjoy finding many ways to get to the same poses. Not every way will work for everybody or every body, for that matter! Sounds like this class didn't really work for you, which is understandable and to be expected at times. Each one of us is so different and every day is so different and our preferences and needs vary considerably. The great thing about yogaglo is that if my offerings are not a fit for you, you can click on another great teacher in a different style and find what you enjoy. We definitely do not want to suck the grace right out of you! The main things is DO YOGA! Thanks for chiming in. stay in touch.

@Patricia- thanks. glad the demo was useful. and I am so happy to hear the instructions worked for you. YAY!

@Salome- you are very welcome. Glad the practice brought some warmth to your day!

@Patricia- thanks. glad the demo was useful. and I am so happy to hear the instructions worked for you. YAY!

@Salome- you are very welcome. Glad the practice brought some warmth to your day!

me again, many of the anusara classes are more like "teacher training" tutorials, clinical/technical. Sucks "the grace" right out me. Or the classes weave around an ancient story/theme/chakra you do a few poses. For me Yogascittavrttinirodhah is very difficult in anusara classes. Just one "gals" opinion. BREATH is more than "inhale" "exhale"

Is it just me? My body requires an all around warm up before doing this excellent instruction for backbends. Know it's only 60 minutes, but I would preface this tutorial suggest to viewers to start with some A B s.s. get into your breath move first, then do this. As for me to "open to grace" I need to connect to B/breath "(s)he is the Breath inside the breath" - kabir. Just one "gals" opinion

Wow, what a wonderful start into a cold day in switzerland. thank You so much Christina.

Really great demo on lifting the hips higher before going up in urdhva! Wow That made a huge improvement in my body. Much gratitude for the excellent instructions.
Thank you Christina & Yogaglo

@henry- glad you "enjoyed" the class and hopefully you had a strap nearby
@Ellen- thanks for staying with the program even if it wasn't so enjoyable at first!
@Amy- thanks for tuning in. 60 minutes to get to the back bends is always a big piece of work.
@Bobbie- thanks. Noah always says clarity is my middle name.
@Ronni- excellent. I love playing around with new approaches to familiar postures. Thanks for taking the ride.
@karen- thanks I am so happy it worked for you.

Thanks, everyone and Yogaglo for giving us a way to be together and to learning and growing on the Path.
Love,
c

Best backbend class ever!

Thank you for this class--urdhva never felt so deep--the poses leading up to it created a brand new experience.

Thank you as always for your creative sequencing and clarity of teaching, Bobbie

Amaging instructions! I loved exploring the alignment cues within my body. I think this is the best back bend class I've ever done. Thanks so much Christna!

so I started this practice and was not enjoying it at all... and then...something magical happened somewhere halfway through! Really challenging on so many levels but important work for me.. (i do love a little surya namaskar to warm up)I realized how truly gifted you are as a teacher and how grateful I am to have connected with you... you are strong, brilliant, talented and yet your compassion is palpable... thank you for setting the bar so high!. AMAZING!

Lots of stuff to work on in this class for me. Read: ALL THOSE HANDS CLASPED VARIATIONS. Great use of straps or arm extenders. That being said and with a lot of humor and compassion on my part and certainly with an environment created by you an awesome class. Love the plank to cobra without chaturanga with the melt. Honeybadgers love cobras.
Much love to you and the yogaglo community for such service

Thanks, @Amanda! Love to you also!
So glad you liked it, @Isabella. Sweet intensity is the name of the game!

BRILLIANT class!!!! Thank YOU SOOO MUCH Christina! It's officially on my favorite list :) Super poses and awesome instruction! Thank YOU for rocking my day to a flying start! Simply the BEST*** Lots of Love!! XOXOXO Namaste*
Sweet intensity*

SOOOO appropriate for me right now Christina. Thank you. Love you. : )