The Upside Down Flow

The Upside Down Flow

with Annie Yoder

Flex Yoga Wooster

Friday Feb. 10th 5:30-7:30pm

Cost: $30

Learning and practicing inversions can be a rewarding and enjoyable piece of our yoga or movement practice. I have found over the years that building consistent drills and time upside down has been helpful in growing and maintaining these shapes. With that in mind, I know it can be easy to let frustration arise when we don’t see as much progress as we hope, or when we struggle to find time to fit targeted inversion work into our weekly schedule. Anytime we bear weight on the hands it is important to be mindful, thorough, and careful with crafting each shape. I’ve discovered that additionally finding some fun and lightness in my approach to inversions has not only helped me continue to practice upside down shapes, but to maintain enjoyment and longevity of this practice. Because we know at the end of the day, carving out the space to move and breathe is the most important part. Building the physical foundational blocks of inversions is a key piece of the upside-down-puzzle, but the headspace and mentality entering these poses is extremely important and can make a massive difference as well.

The Upside Down Flow is a way to help build time upside down threaded throughout a flow-practice that offers space to be creative as we go. Part flow and part workshop, students will enjoy a multi-levels vinyasa and that will give them a Friday night flow in addition to some drills and skills to help them explore the upside down. Students will also find ways they can thread these drills and skills into a regular flow-practice when they go to class or practice at home. This can be helpful during busy weeks when it’s hard to find time to practice just inversions, and for those who would prefer to keep their inversion practice within their regular yoga-flows. As always, we want to build each movement and shape with care, so while we will work in this class to have some fun, we will also learn how to prepare and protect the body during these shapes.

Multiple levels are welcome, but having previous yoga experience (especially within a vinyasa related or all levels practice) is highly recommended.

Annie Yoder, ERYT 500, is a yoga practitioner-musician who grew up in the hills of Holmes County. After spending a few years away for school and AmeriCorps, she found her way back to Ohio and intensified her yoga practice which she began to explore during her college years. She completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training through Cleveland Yoga in 2014, and her 300 HR Advanced Yoga Teacher Training (to complete her 500 HR training) in 2017 with Bodhi Yoga Academy. She also completed a Restorative Yoga Teacher Training in 2017 and Barre Training in 2018. She has completed additional education in yoga anatomy, philosophy, handstands and contortion. Annie has a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Bluffton University and enjoys playing out and writing/recording whenever she can. She loves bringing her passions of yoga and music together in collaboration. She also is the owner of a small web design and content creation company with her twin sister called Two Headed Tiger. She enjoys teaching a wide variety of classes from Hot Power Vinyasa Flow to Relaxation Yoga and workshops from lectures on philosophy to studies in inversions. Her flow classes blend together creativity of movement with mindful alignment and often many options to amplify or modify the practice. She loves to hear how different students’ perspectives on yoga and philosophy have shaped their practice and their lives. She believes in the power of community, and that everyBODY is unique. Connection and individuality in practice and movement are both important components to be celebrated. In her free time she enjoys hiking, trying new foods, and hanging out with her boyfriend, Jade, and their too-many pets.