Beginners Yoga › Mimi Kuo-Deemer
We know that yoga can seem intimidating and can seem like it’s a million miles away from what is attainable, achievable or even fun.
We also firmly believe that it really doesn’t matter how long your hamstrings are or whether you can touch your knees or toes or if you’re already in the cirque de soleil. Really that’s not what yoga is about. So what is yoga about?
To Movement for Modern Life, yoga is simply a tool. It is a tool which is guaranteed to make you feel better. Guaranteed. Starting with a little stretch and a little strength, you will find you feel a lot better in your body, and then you may start to breathe. You may start to feel some space in your head. In your life. You may start to feel that things feel possible that you never even knew were. But don’t take our word for it. Just get moving. Forwards ever, backwards never. Get moving and keep on moving a little bit every day. We have online yoga videos to ensure that you don’t have to even go out... Show more
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24:13Qigong and Restorative Yoga: Finding Ease
Third in the series, Qigong and Restorative Yoga focuses on finding ease. This class opens the chest and shoulders. Often, ease eludes us because we feel tension, we feel stuck in our bodies. The qigong class starts with a qigong practice which fosters ease through tension release and heart-opening. We will then do some gentle restorative yoga practices to finish. You'll need a yoga bolster or sofa cushion, and a blanket for the restorative yoga.
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26:56Qigong and Restorative Yoga: Finding Balance
This is the second class in the three-part series, Qigong and Restorative Yoga. The first part of this class is a qigong elemental practice that will help balance the Chinese Five Elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water in your constitution. We will then do some quieting restorative practices to finish. You’ll want to have a yoga bolster or sofa cushion and a blanket.
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26:26Qigong and Restorative Yoga: Finding Harmony
Finding Harmony is the first of three classes in the series of Qigong and Restorative Yoga. It focuses on harmonising breath, body movement and the balance of yin and yang. It can be hard to find harmony in our lives of conflicting needs and priorities. Class starts with active qigong and then go on to a relaxing restorative yoga class. Ideally, have a yoga bolster and two blankets. Alternatively, you can also use a sofa cushion and two bed pillows.
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28:37Gentle Yoga to Nourish and Support Series: (5) Effortless Ease
In this final class of this series of yoga/qi-gong moves to nourish, support and revitalise the body and mind, we orientate our practice toward effortless ease. In Chinese this is a concept known as wuwei, or effortless effort. It is something we cannot strive toward but rather a quality that arises spontaneously through steady cultivation and practice. As such, we will take the ideas of rooting, rising, aligning and balancing and see what is possible in working with the fluid flow of effortless ease.
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18:53Gentle Yoga to Nourish and Support Series: (4) The Yin/Yang Balance
With this class we take the ideas of rooting and feeling our body aligned between the skies above and earth below into a more full balance of yin and yang. This session will build a combination of strength and softness in the arms and hands and upper and lower body. When the energies of yin and yang come into balance in our bodies, it is known as the Tai Chi Axis.
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22:16Gentle Yoga to Nourish and Support Series: (2) Rooting to Rise
In Chinese, there is a saying ‘gen shen di gu’, which means when the roots and deep the foundations are strong. From Moving with the Breath, we shift the focus to rooting firmly down in the earth and allowing our bodies to rise from this firm root up toward the sky. We will practice some more dynamic standing poses after an initial warm-up we practiced in class #1 to feel this connection more fully in our body.
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22:19Gentle Yoga to Nourish and Support Series: (1) Breathe and Move
Start to move with your breath in this beginners yoga class. Feel supported, nourished and revitalised. This first class in this series begins with finding the breath, so the body and breath move together in simple sequences that help condition our respiratory and circulatory systems. This will allow you to feel more invigorated yet also relaxed, clear and calm. As well as being an accessible starting place for many students, this yoga class is also a nourishing standalone class for when you need to calm jangled nerves and return strong and grounded to your breath.
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37:31Morning Practice: Fluidity and Flow
This morning yoga and qigong class is focused on circular, smooth movements through the body and joints to set you up for the day. With some beautifully awakening qigong forms such as variations of swimming dragon followed by active sun salute variations and fluid movements through standing poses. Enjoy waking up all your senses in this awakening flow!
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21:59Take a Break: Yoga & Qigong Part1: Exhale + Sooth
Take a short break from studies or your work. Much of our body’s tension is muscular, but actually, what the muscles and our body crave when we feel tight is deep, satisfying breaths.This short practice releases tension by focusing on exhaling fully and uses Burmese qigong, chest and shoulder openings and forward folds to calm and sooth the mind. Perfect for taking a break to release tension during the day, but also great after a hard day's work. Clothing by Rumi X.
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23:32Qigong Flow
This qigong flow practice starts with some warmups for the joints, cultivation of qi between the hands, and then moves into what we think of as “water salutations” – fluid movements that feel like the equivalent of yoga’s sun salutations. It’s a practice that warms the body, actively stimulates, guides and moves the qi, and helps to quiet the mind. Enjoy!
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01:03:48Stay Low Flow
A gentle sequence with no standing poses, perfect for when you want to feel close to the earth. You'll find a little bit of everything including hip openers, twists, ham string stretches and back bends.
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36:21Get Moving: Standing Flow
A qi-gong inspired gentle standing flow to move the hips, shoulders and gently build strength in legs and core. A fabulous class to cultivate steadiness, and an antidote to the business of sedentary modern life. The qi-gong inspired movements and water quality of softness in the poses are fabulous for building strength and stability. With no sun salutes, this class is great for most bodies including older bodies, those with limited mobility and pregnancy.
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12:14Standing Flow
A steady, calm but strengthening class with a focus on standing poses and keeping fluidity through the movements. This class is perfect if you have shoulder or wrist issues and you want to keep your fluid practice going, but with no vinyasa. Feel grounded and steady in this beautiful, mindful movement practice.
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21:01Winter warmers Yoga and Qigong: Spirit Warming 2
The second part of Yoga and Qigong for warming the spirit. This is to warm your internal sun, the heart, to bring warmth to the heart, bringing sun salutes, Qigong, dancing warrior and backbends to cultivate energy. Perfect for winter mornings, this yoga class will give you that gentle pick me up.
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22:45Moving Meditation: Qigong Basics 3
This third part of the QiGong basics series begins to move the qi through the body. Inspired by the crane and the bear, which represent aspects of yin and yang respectively, the movements begin circulating qi through the body. Movements in qigong are generally slow, circular, repetitive, graceful and flowing. Its power is in its simplicity.
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23:23Moving Meditation: Qigong Basics 2
This second part of the Qigong basics series is aimed at purifying and cleansing the qi in the body. The qi, like any transportation system, can often be stuck, stagnant, overactive or diseased. These practices work to cleanse the body of toxic qi and fill it with healthy, vibrant qi. You finish feeling as though you have had a good internal wash that leaves you feeling more purified and nourished.
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20:44Moving Meditation: Qigong Basics 1
This first part of the QiGong basics series focuses on standing meditation and breathing practices, both central to the qigong tradition. QiGong is a Chinese energy practice that works with the principle of “xing ming shuang xiu” ”“ meaning “the spirit and body are equally refined and cultivated.” It is designed to bring the qi, or life energy, into the body and encourage it to flow without blockage. Founded on the virtues of trust, integrity, wisdom, and compassion, QiGong practices help create a feeling of inner and outer peace, energy, and wellbeing.
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04:46Kapala Bhati Breath
In this short class, Mimi shows the energising Kapala Bhati breath which is an invigorating tool for energising the body and clearing the mind of negative emotions.
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