VIDEO: Learn to Float with Phil Lynch

Saturday, January 28^th 
4pm - 6pm - $30
(Sign up now at YoGanesh.com)

Expand your practice by adding “flight” to your transitions! This workshop will connect upper body strength and alignments to your lower body control. Strengthening the core will be the focus to take you to a new level of development and understanding. 

Through metaphors, demonstrations and a lot of practice, you will learn principles of lightening the hips and legs while tapping into your upper body power. Various Arm Balances will be explored to break down the practice of jumping back and through; which is especially geared to those that practice Ashtanga Yoga. Lighten your load and your practice and Learn to Float! Level 2/3 regular practitioners recommended. 


VIDEO: Phil Lynch Flow (from Phil's Website)

Ah, the float ...
We're not talking root beer or the giant "Hello Kitty" float at Macy's parades or even the float we all had in our weekly budgets before the recession hit ... we're talking about that oh-so-cool move you see some apparently super human beings doing, mostly on YouTube. Wait, can I learn to do that too?

Yes you can, says Phil Lynch, who is teaching Yoganesh's first ever Learn to Float workshop on Jan 28, 2012.

Stills from the Phil Lynch Flow. 

Floating (or "flying") is a technique taught at more advanced levels of Ashtanga-Vinyasa yoga. It refers to the ability to "hover" the feet - and even the entire body - momentarily in the air when jumping backward or forward from downward facing dog. There are many videos on YouTube illustrating this technique, but check out the terrific "Phil Lynch Flow" which we have reproduced from Phil's website (see above).

We caught up with Phil (floating mid-way between a Crow to a Chaturanga pose) and asked for the inside scoop:

Phil, what exactly is "floating"? 

Landing lightly or silently when jumping to or from the hands. jumping though the hands/arms either back or forth, hovering the feet off the floor while standing on one's hands

What are the key areas of the body involved in making it happen? 

Every part of your body except the facial muscles.

Do you have to be able to do a handstand first, for example? 

No, but it helps.

Do we need wrists of steel? 

I hope not!

What are intermediate milestones we can aim for in getting there? 

Jumping back out of BAKASANA (Crow pose) in to CHATTARUNGA (low push up).

Are there some things to mindful about, who shouldn't do it? 

You shouldn't hold the breath unconsciously or hurt yourself.

How long did it take you to learn, what was your path? 

It just seemed like a natural progression as my body/breath opened and I became strong and flexible. I didn't really "learn it" from any one so I had to break it down or deconstruct it, in order to translate it and attempt to teach it to others. Any description or instruction can help but just like maps, they don't take you any where, you have take action or travel to get it.

And where can we take action? 

My Learn to Float workshop is on Saturday, January 28th 2012 from 4-6 PM at YoGanesh! 

Phil was interviewed by fellow YoGanesh teacher Lynette Chiang

Hipper than hip!

Video: Phil demonstrates Utthita Hasta Padangustasana (Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose)
More Photos here!



 Thank you to YoGanesh teacher Phil Lynch for a eye-and-hip opening workshop last Saturday, "Hips & Hamstrings." Phil enlightened the group on exactly what goes on behind closed hips and how to free them up!

Here is an example of extension of the thigh bone (femur). From a seated position, the thigh bone is considered fixed or stationary. The stretch is activated when the practitioner lays back on the bolster or floor. It is there that one starts to feel the intensity of stretching the thigh muscles (quadriceps) as well as the flexers, illio-psoas and tensor fasciae latae (TFL).



Here is Phil describing the neutral or "fixed" position of the hips with the use of the floor to give each student a point of reference to feel neutral. The feet are firmly planted on the floor to create a slight flexion (knee moving up towards the chest) to the thigh bones to better support the pelvis in its neutral or balanced position. If the legs were laid out to ground (straight knees), the pelvis would begin to tip forward (anterior tilt) create a more pronounced lower back arch inward. This is why students often place a bolster beneath their knees during Savasana to lessen the pressure or pain to the low back.



Supta Padagutasana with the use of a belt, pictured from the practitioner's point of view, thanks Lynette! With the hips fixed, the thigh bone has moved into flexion. The standing variation of this pose is much harder to maintain the fixed position of the hips (see video above for more details).



This is a standing variation of flexion with abduction (moving away from the body - think of "abduct" as meaning "taking away") and a slight action of turning the thigh bone outward (external rotation) to offset the lateral tilt of the pelvis (again, see video above).



The above photo is a great example of several actions at once: Thigh bone turning inward (medial rotation) with a slight extension and knee moving into the mid-line of the body (adduction) of the bottom leg and external rotation with some moving the knee away from the mid line (abduction) to the top leg.



It helps to use the top foot to lengthen the outer thigh and hip for the bottom leg's expression of the extension and medial rotation.



Don't think that these students are just laying around for an afternoon nap! No way, these guys and gals are getting a lot done, in a very intense but relaxed way. This particular stretch is helpful in opening the hips by accessing both sides of adductors (pectineus, adductors: brevis, longus, and magnus and gracilis) at the same time. It takes a few minutes to begin to relax but it's worth it and as well, it makes opening the forward knee in Warrior 2 a lot easier.

This is a good example to adduction to the thigh bones while moving the pelvis into a forward bend (anterior tilt). It's a great stretch to feel the rotators of the outer hips while isolating an intense hamstring stretch to the back leg. Whoa, don't forget to breath for this one!

More photos of this workshop on the Yoganesh Facebook page

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Thanks Phil Lynch for a great workshop! Phil teaches Monday nights at 6PM for a Hatha All Levels and 7:30PM Hatha Level 2

Feel free to place a comment below.

See you in class!

We've got a big new heater, but as we head into winter perhaps bring along warm sox and a sweater for a cozy Savasana.