Vinyasa Yoga Made Simple: 27 Days of Self-Discovery by Marisa Weppner was designed for you to begin a yoga practice in the simplest way possible while in the comfort of your own home. You are invited to lay the book open on the floor next to your mat, to take your time and move slowly while learning to be comfortable in your own body. I learned to practice yoga in just the same way in 1999, and it transformed my life immensely; physically, mentally and spiritually. I am delighted that you have chosen to embark on this lifelong journey of learning, and I hope to be but one of your many teachers. In addition to the teaching in this book you also have access to these 28 videos designed as a companion piece to this book. The videos are a helpful visual aide as well as an opportunity to revisit the series again and again.
These videos were created to compliment the Vinyasa Yoga Made Simple: 27 Days of Self-Discovery ebook, which can be purchased here as part of the Vinyasa Yoga Made Simple program.
Additional yoga classes by Marisa Weppner.
SUN SALUTATIONS A & B: ALIGNMENT
Day 1
Learn a classic version of Sun Salutations A + B. Feel the heat of the sun within you. This sequence is linear, defined, and contained.
LINKING BREATH TO MOVEMENT
Day 2
Practice Sun Salutation A with a few twists on the classic poses. This sequence is fluid, free flowing, exploratory, and adaptive.
BALANCE OF OPPOSITES
Day 3
Explore the use of nonhabitual holding, nonlinear movements, and balancing right + left sides through the use of postures that cross the midline.
HINGE OF THE BODY: HIP OPENERS
Day 4
Learn the practice of chanting the sound of OM. Explore movements in Downward Dog. Work on opening the hips, low back, and strengthening the abs.
REVIEW: YOGA FOR (INNER) BEAUTY
Day 5
This sequence moves a little bit faster than previous days, linking each pose in one fluid seamless routine. Hold each pose for a breath or two in your most advanced version.
LEGS ALIVE
Day 6
Open the legs by stretching the sciatic nerve, hamstrings, and IT band. Ground into the 1st chakra through the legs.
FREEDOM FOR THE SHOULDERS, CHEST & ARMS
Day 7
Activate the shoulder girdle, external rotators, and rotator cuff through a variety of poses. Clear energy blocks in and around the heart. Experience a sense of freedom, opening and spaciousness in the yoga poses.
BELLY BONFIRE
Day 8
Discover the muscles of the core: transverse abdominous, pelvic floor, diapgram, and multifidi. Focus on the 3rd chakra. Learn the art of arm balances and inversions with the strength of core and obliques.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
Day 9
A flowing sequence which reviews the poses of the first 5 days of practice. Gain a new perspective through repetition and revisiting common postures.
REVIEW: WHOLE SELF INTEGRATION
Day 10
We seamlessly flow from one pose to the next, with short holds of poses. Modify the poses as necessary and perform the most advanced version for you today. Practice with patience. Dedicate to your efforts to something or one outside of yourself.
YIN YOGA
Day 11
In Yin yoga we hold the poses for 2 minutes or longer. This is a time to also practice mindfulness, described as nonjudgmental, present moment awareness through witnessing thoughts and focusing on the breath.
TRANSMUTATION: LONGEVITY THROUGH RELEASE
Day 12
This active flow will build heat in the body to help burn away impurities while incorporating twists to help release toxins and free stale energy.
DRISTI: BALANCE & HEADSTAND PREP
Day 13
Cultivate grace, poise, and inner peace through balancing the polar yin and yang energies. Transform physical effort into stability and relaxation by learning to harness your dristi, or focal point.
PLAYING YOUR EDGES
Day 14
Today we revisit poses from days 5 – 10. You are invited to play the edges in these poses and explore them in new and novel ways. Subtle shifts in the body lead to new experiences. Adapt the mind of a scientific explorer, knowing that there is so much you don’t know, and so much to be discovered.
REVIEW: WHERE THE MIND GOES PRANA FLOWS
Day 15
We seamlessly flow from one pose to the next with short holds of poses. Modify the poses as necessary and perform the most advanced version for you today. Practice with patience. Dedicate to your efforts to something or one outside of yourself.
HEART OPENERS: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE
Day 16
Invite mindfulness into your actions by becoming increasingly aware of how we move and breathe, and of the conscious dynamism of movement within and between each pose. Explore heart-openers that asks you to be stable yet at ease, committed yet non-attached, fully engaged yet at peace.
THE YOGA OF SILLY
Day 17
Playfully explore yoga poses to loosen and lighten up your practice. Stretch, tone, and relax the muscles of your face. Cool the breath through the pranayama, Simhasana.
DIVINE TAPAS: SERENITY OF MIND
Day 18
In this vinyasa practice you are invited to witness your thoughts and to release and redirect to pure thoughts. Perhaps use a focus, a bhakti yoga, on a favorite or meaningful teacher, saint or deity.
HEART TUNING: SUN AND MOON ALIGNMENT
Day 19
Integrate your mind, body, breath, and spirit by witnessing and aligning the polarities within through visualization and this dynamic yoga sequence.
REVIEW: RIDING THE BREATH
Day 20
Today we review the new postures and the new expressions of known postures. Move through each pose in a flowing, dance like routine, focusing less on alignment and more on the movement of prana through the body by opening lines of energy.
YIN YOGA: BLOOMING LOTUS
Day 21
A Yin practice of long holds and deep hip stretches as we prep the body for Lotus pose.
SIDE OPENING: EXPANDED AWARENESS
Day 22
Open the space across the front, back and sides of the heart. Feel the wholeness of your being and the love that flows spontaneously.
YOGA FOR THE BACKBODY: EXPLORING THE MYSTERY
Day 23
This practice focuses on forward bending which releases the backbody from the spine to the legs. Gain a new appreciation for the shadow part of the self.
INTEGRATION I
Day 24
An active vinyasa practice where you are invited to surrender into a place of acceptance, and to honor the inner experience of calm above the outer experience of striving to make something happen.
INTEGRATION II
Day 25
Today we begin a review of all of the poses we have covered over days 1 – 24. Each pose will be held for a short time. Move as seamlessly as possible from one pose to the next without stopping. Today’s practice may be longer than 20 minutes.
INTEGRATION III
Day 26
Today we complete the review of all of the poses we have covered over days 1 – 24. Each pose will be held for a short time. Move as seamlessly as possible from one pose to the next without stopping but rest when necessary. Today’s practice may be longer than 20 minutes.
OWN FLOW: SELF AS GURU
Day 27
Congratulations! This the final day of our practice together. Now that you have completed this in-depth exploration of yoga poses and breathwork, you are invited to explore these poses in your own unique way, letting your own body guide your sequencing. Here I practice my own unguided flow to demonstrate. Practice until you feel complete and you have reached a natural stopping point.
YOGA NIDRA
Bonus
Yoga Nidra, or yogic sleep, is a guided meditation to bring you deep into the center of your Source. Perfect as a stand alone meditation or to practice at the end of any of your other yoga classes. Music by Sheela Bringi.