Bryan Kest Live April 2006

This is a long practice at almost 1 hour and 40 min. but it is so worth it! Not Bryan's traditional power yoga with lots of vinyasa interspersed with long holds. The main focus of this one seems to be stretching, with strength and a little balance work thrown in as well. Begins with 5+ minutes in child's pose and then a few rounds of sun sals follow - the first one or two done really slow and the subsequent few a little faster but not at Bryan's typical speed. A lot of focus on the front body - quads, hip flexors, chest. Not a lot of common postures here with the exception of a side angle series on each side, camel, plough, happy baby, up dog, cobra, chatturungas. Only a couple of twists. All postures are held for a minimum of 45 seconds, but Bryan does you the favor (?) of allowing you to stay in vertical splits for 90 seconds! Killer! A lot of poses I wasn't familiar with, and Bryan doesn't always name the pose (in either Sanskrit or by common name), but you are able to get into the pose with Bryan's instruction. You really get the feel of being in a live class - you can hear the class breathing, the floors creaking, and the outside noises like a siren, etc. Bryan even makes an announcment that someone's car is illegally parked and in danger of being towed! All in all it is a long, challenging session, but when you are done you will feel completely stretched and relaxed yet energized. I felt euphoric after savasana! Nobody does it like Bryan!