Freestyle Power Yoga is about finding your practice. I can tell you that it wasn’t until after one of my favorite teachers moved to Colorado that I truly learned the value of guiding myself with my own breath on the mat. I believe it’s the best way to make a direct connection to your inner guru. Practicing in the morning can be so rewarding. The discipline of waking up and starting early in the morning when the mind is clear and the stomach is empty is very fulfilling. In this clarity, a deeper sense of moving meditation can be established.
“Eric’s Freestyle power yoga class is exactly what I needed to help me develop a self practice that I can work on to gain the core strength needed for inversion poses like handstand and dolphin,” shares Mallory Italiano- Dillion. “I love the one-on-one personal attention and adjustments by Eric that give you key tips to poses that you don’t get in large group classes. Eric is right there assisting you and answering your questions.”
Inspired by my love of powerful yoga, creative flow and traditional ashtanga yoga, I have created a class with a unique new format. Freestyle Power Yoga is a strong level 2 class that includes classical namaskars, creative vinyasas, challenging core-work, fun inversions, fundamental postures, seated postures and basic finishing postures. In the beginning of class, background music will enhance the energy of the room and you’ll be given a list of postures to follow. Similar to Mysore style ashtanga, you’ll move at your own pace, and as you progress through the series, each person receives personal attention, hands-on adjustments and individual verbal cues, demonstrations and other techniques to help them explore the postures and transitions safely.
What makes this class different from other styles is that the Freestyle Power Yoga series is more adaptable, modifications are welcome, and we avoid postures that require extreme flexibility. Our emphasis is on developing strength — safely. You can take traditional classes all over town, and there is tremendous value in learning the discipline of how to follow a teacher through a led class, including authentic listening, the community presence and the collective energy of the room. On the other hand, we can become dependent on someone else’s words, pace, dogma and compete with other student’s needs. Led classes potentially can be limiting to the teacher and the student relationship. In the end there is tremendous value in working within a set sequence, and self practice is a gift that you can take anywhere in the world.
~ By Eric Wheeler, Yoga Tampa