Find Your Balance

Find Your Balance with Rudy Mettia is a deep, slow and sustained strength flow. Developed to test your balance and strengthen your hamstrings, Rudy invites you to get introspective while moving through a challenging sequence with diligence and determination.

Slowly starting out in lunges and warrior twos on each side, he moves us towards triangle, both traditional and twisted. We progress through half moon, working our balance transitioning back to crescent pose, and flowing through several vinyasas to warm up the back and arms. Eventually, we end in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, or standing balance with a toe lock, and finish it in a twist. The key to this finishing pose is height through the crown of your head, and plugging the shoulder into the back, leading with your chest. Many of us won’t have the flexibility to straighten the lifted leg, which is fine; keeping the spine straight and the shoulders even is key. Straightening the lifted leg comes over time, as more flexibility in the hamstring and more fluidity in the hip will come.

It’s important to remember for this class, and standing balances, that stability and strength comes from the lower back, and from being grounded in the pelvic muscles. When we activate our pelvic floor we can strengthen through the upper inner thighs for balance, rooting down through the calves and gripping with the standing toes. Length and height come from a firm and activated core.

Slow and focused, the class requires mental fortitude and physical stability. Rudy, as usual, leads us through it with kind and effortless focus. Great for lengthening the legs and strengthening the core, this is a challenging and fun class to mix into your yoga regimen.