What is Vinyasa Yoga? Vinyasa means “breath-synchronized movement,” and Vinyasa yoga is a series of poses that will move you through the power of using your breath to guide each transition. Traditional vinyasa teachers will warm your body up through a series of “sun salutations.” After your warmed up, you are on your way to flow through the class using series of poses in a unique order instructed by the teacher. The series are mindfully thought out in an effort to open your mind & body to the fullest. Each teacher brings something special to the table, and here at Venture, we have the BEST teachers! We want you to explore yourself, your mind, and find out the true greatness you are capable of. All the classes cater to a variety of levels, so whether your looking for new arm balance, inversion, or that crazy backbend that you said you won’t ever be able to get into; or just those traditional sun salutations, you’ll find a little something for everyone! Come explore your possibilities with us!
Hot Vinyasa Yoga
Hot Vinyasa follows everything listed above, except now you are practicing in the heat! Our rooms are 95-105. This allows you to open up like never before! Many benefits of being in the hot room include:
1. Increased Vitality
If you want to gain more spring in your step and recover the “vim and vigor” of youth, the Vinyasa series practiced in a heated room is a great form of yoga. It has the potential to reverse the elements of aging, giving you the ability to take much deeper breaths to navigate your way through a hectic modern world or simply run up a flight of stairs! Keep up with a consistent practice and you’re guaranteed to look and feel younger.
2. Weight Loss
Practicing Vinyasa in a heated room creates a much safer approach to your yoga practice as it allows you to stretch quicker and deeper. This is turn leads to stronger flexibility in the muscles which burns fat. As every fitness trainer knows, building muscle burns fat — doing the Vinyasa helps jump start the process.
Additionally, one of the overall effects of Hot Vinyasa yoga is a general improvement in diet as the body craves healthier food. As the practice itself sharpens our perception of the mind-body connection, so does our overall awareness of what the body needs, reinvigorating the body’s natural processes to long for healthier food.
3. Detoxification
The massive elimination of toxins from the body occurs during hot yoga, primarily thru sweat. It’s possible to drop up to 10 pounds of sweat (which includes oil, salts and water) during a class. As water rushes out during the course of a 60-75 minute class, this creates immense benefits such as super clean skin and the detoxification of pores in the body’s largest organ — the skin.
4. Increased Mental Clarity
As the body is cleansed, the mind is sharpened. Regular Vinyasa practice leads to improved mental clarity, clearing out the “fuzz in brain” caused by the modern world’s list of negative stimuli — traffic, stress, bad food, pollution, etc.In addition, poses with significant time spent in forward bends sends blood rushing to the head, which is a fantastic way to “clear out the mental cobwebs.”
5. Reduced Stress
Perhaps one of the most significant Hot yoga benefits is the increased connectivity with the body, gained from regular practice. The intense focus in the sequence causes the chatter of the mind to decrease, leaving one less mentally preoccupied, both in and out of the class. Also, with consistent practice, the muscle memory of taking deeper breaths carries over into daily life, automatically providing instant relief to the temporary stressors that plague our modern world.
Pilates
Pilates is a body-conditioning technique designed to strengthen, stretch and balance the body. Our Mat class will feature classical and contemporary Pilates exercises instructed with an emphasis on proper body alignment and breathing. Using one’s own body weight as resistance, in addition to Pilates Magic Circles, stability balls and light dumbbells, we will work on total body strength with specific emphasis on the postural (“Core”) muscles to improve posture, coordination and focus.
All levels are welcome.
Prenatal Yoga
There are so many benefits to Prenatal Yoga, that’s why we are insistent on having these classes part of our schedule! Here are a collection of reasons why Prenatal may be a right activity to add to your birthing plan.
1. Yoga Builds Strength: You’ll need that strength in your lower body to carry the added pregnancy weight and compensate for changes in balance. And you’ll need it in your upper body to handle the weight you’ll be carrying around for the year or so after birth… your baby!
2.Yoga helps relieve aches and pains: Back pain is a common pregnancy complaint, often worsening as the weight of the uterus (and the baby in it) increases. Prenatal yoga strengthens the muscles that support this weight, taking pressure off the lower back. Many women experience irritation of the sciatic nerve during pregnancy, and yoga can also be great for this.
3.Yoga teaches you to breathe: Breathing exercises can be incredibly helpful during pregnancy for calming and centering purposes, and to maximize oxygen flow when you need it. Breath control is an invaluable asset for pain management in labor and birth, especially for those hoping to forego medical pain relief options.
4.Yoga teaches balance: As weight and body shape changes, pregnant women can feel wonky and wobbly. Balancing asanas, like the tree pose and the half-moon pose, help women get comfortable with their changing center of gravity, while poses like the downward dog and the warrior will help stretch and strengthen the muscles required to counterbalance your belly.
5.Yoga helps you open your hips for childbirth: Not only does yoga make your body stronger all over (a huge asset in childbirth), but as your pregnancy progresses, your practice can be tailored to focus more directly on birth preparation. Squats and other hip-opening poses can help your baby get into position and help with pushing. Some yoga teachers will work directly with women in the end of the last trimester to give them tools to cope with pain and ease childbirth.
6.Yoga relieves anxiety: The attention to breathing, the calm atmosphere and music, and the stretching and relaxation can really help turn down the noise in your head. Yoga is about being in the moment and letting everything else fall away for the time being. That break from the bustle can help with anxiety about health, birth, or anything else there is to do or worry about.
7.Yoga helps you bond with your baby: The focus on staying in the moment can serve another important purpose. Prenatal yoga gives moms a heightened ability to connect with the experience of being pregnant in the here and now, and bond with their babies. It’s easy to lose that feeling in the hubbub of the everyday, so having a dedicated time to relax and connect can be a real gift — the echoes can last a lifetime.
8.Yoga teaches you how to rest on command: “Nap when the baby naps.” You’ll hear this advice dozens of times during and after pregnancy. The takeaway is that sleeping when you’re tired is not necessarily part of your new normal. Instead, you’ll have to learn to rest when the opportunity presents itself. Savasana, the relaxation pose that comes at the end of any yoga class, is often adapted to a side-lying or semi-reclining pose in prenatal yoga. But the benefits are the same. Learning to quiet your mind and body and get rest when you can will serve you well when your sleep schedule is out of your control.
9.Yoga is a great way to meet other moms: Prenatal exercise classes are one of the best ways to meet moms who are also at your stage in pregnancy. As you transition to a new phase of your life, having a supportive network of women who understand what you’re going through is incredibly helpful.
10.Yoga encourages confidence: Unfamiliar feelings and uncomfortable side effects often result in a general sense of unease with your body during pregnancy. Seeing the power of your own body in a room full of other powerful pregnant women can be great positive reinforcement. And your yoga instructor’s words of wisdom can help remind you of your inner strength.
Kids Yoga (9-12 years old)
Kindling the maturing independence of 9-12-year olds. Alive with flowing sequences, balancing poses, breathing exercises, and creative relaxation techniques, children are sure to relish in their selves. As well, partner poses and cooperative yoga games inspire positive peer interactions that they are sure to carry into their everyday lives.
Gentle Yoga
Gentle Yoga is a style of yoga that is far less strenuous than other forms. It is less intense, so it can be very useful for people who are not capable of fulfilling the demands of other practices, such as seniors, women who are pregnant, practitioners who are recovering from injury, those who are in very poor physical condition, or even those who are simply looking for a more relaxed workout. This practice can also be beneficial to those who already are quite fit but who lack the overall flexibility to be able to do some of the more intense yoga poses.
What’s all the chat about!?