move of the week: sun salutation
This week’s Move of the Week comes all the way from Costa Rica: the sun salutation! This flowing series of postures is the essential building block to a yoga practice (Vinyasa style). While Mind the Mat offers other styles of yoga, all our “flow yoga” classes use this series of postures.
– Begin standing with your arms at your sides (mountain pose).
– Inhale and lift your arms to the sky.
– Exhale and fold forward.
– Inhale and touch your thighs to bring your back into a table top position.
– Exhale and fold forward again.
– Inhale and step back to plank.
– Roll forward on your toes.
– Exhale and lower your body toward the floor, without touching the floor.
– Keep your elbows at a 90 degree angle and press them into your sides.
– Inhale, lift your chest (upward dog).
– Exhale, lift your hips to the sky, roll over your toes and settle into downward facing dog.
– Inhale, look between your hands, step your feet forward to meet you hands, place your hands on your thighs and bring your back into a table top position.
– Exhale fold forward.
– Inhale reach your arms to the sky.
– Exhale and bring your arms to your sides.
– Stand tall like a mountain.
- About the studio
Mind the Mat Pilates & Yoga was founded in 2008 by Megan Brown, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Polestar Certified Practitioner of Pilates for Rehabilitation and Sara VanderGoot, Nationally Certified Massage Therapist and Registered Yoga Teacher (e-RYT 200, RYT 500). In their private practices as physical therapist and massage therapist respectively Megan and Sara observed that many of their clients were coming in with similar needs: relief for neck and shoulder tension and low back pain as well as a desire for more flexibility in hips and legs, stability in joints, and core strength.
Together Megan and Sara carefully crafted a curriculum of Pilates and yoga classes to address needs for clients who are pregnant, postpartum, have injuries or limitations, who are new to Pilates and yoga, and for those who are advanced students and are looking for an extra challenge.
2214 Mount Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301
703.683.2228
