Feel the fresh air on your skin during this rooftop yoga class with Forrest Yoga instructor Rose Ode. It will be an uplifting, all-levels class with a view. Find your center through breath work and asana, and experience the joy of practicing yoga in the sun on Saturday at 8 am on the pool deck. There is limited space for this event.
Yoga on the Roof took place on the pool deck of The Westin. About 50 participants arrived and almost everyone received a yoga mat from Silk. The deck was in the shade of the surrounding buildings with a view of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.
The two instructors went around and corrected form as participants worked through the poses.
Instructor: “If you could all sit down and take a comfy seat…settle our energy.” She introduced herself and her helper and said, “If you prefer not to be touched let us know, we are ok with that.”
Sukhasana
Instructor: “Notice your breath. Is it deep or shallow this morning?”
Upavishtha Konasana
Instructor: “Inviting a deeper breath. We like to set intentions for our practice. When you have your intention for where you would like to focus your intention, bring your hands to center and gently open your eyes.”
With intentions set, the instructor demonstrated the proper breathing techniques. She explained how to exhale by bringing your belly in and up towards your heart. Participants inhaled, held, and exhaled for 10 counts at each stage. They repeated these counts as many times as they preferred on their own for about two minutes.
Seated Side Stretch – left leg out first, then right
Instructor: “Bring your awareness back into your breath. Reach fingertips for a chest opener. Breathing into your back body and side ribs. Getting a stretch from the right ear all the way down through the fingertips and down through the neck.”
Participants held this pose on each side for about two minutes.
Instructor: “This is your practice and you should always honor your body. If anything doesn’t feel good, or just intuitively, you can also take child’s pose.”
Elbow to Knee
Participants completed four elbow to knee poses on each side.
Instructor: “To your breath, your pace.”
Twisted Root – left leg over right first, then right over left
Instructor: “Pull low belly down. Exhale curl the tailbone up and curl up. Inhale, set pelvis down.”
Participants held three deep breaths in this position.
Twisted Root Hands Over Femur
With hands placed over front femur, participants breathed while curling the tailbone up on the exhale and pulling their low bellies down twice. As they switched sides, the instructor, referring to the good core work, said: “You feel that? It’s alive!”
Bridge
Instructor: “Whatever your practice is, honor your body please. Bringing your awareness and your attention back into your body and your breath. If your breath feels a little shallow, bring your hands onto your ribs. Deepening the breath to match the intensity of the posture as you feel your legs start to warm up.”
Participants had the option to life one leg skyward from the bridge pose.
Dolphin Prelude
Instructor: “Send your hips back behind you, so reach them back. Draw your shoulder blades down your back and lift your ribs up towards the sky.”
Child’s Pose
Instructor: “Gently release into child’s pose, or embryo.”
Sun Salutations
Instructor: “With hands at heart center, reconnect with your breath and your intention.”
Participants completed six total sun salutations, three on each side.
Instructor: “Spread your fingers wide on the mat.”
When the sun salutations were complete, the instructor said, “Notice how your energy has shifted. You’re a bit warmer. Some of you might feel the sun on your skin.”
Locust Pose
Instructor: “Invite a deeper breath.”
When participants pressed back into downward dog, they had the option to “walk their dog” before the next pose.
Warrior 2 – with shoulder shrugs
Reverse Warrior
Instructor: “You might like to stay here. You might like a neck release where you’ll float your arm down and the ear hangs heavy toward the right shoulder.”
Triangle Pose
After coming back into warrior 2, participants completed a sun salutation before completing the series (warrior 2, reverse warrior, triangle pose) with the opposite leg forward.
Instructor: “Heel to arch alignment, lower your arms. Chin in alignment with chest. On exhale, squeeze the bottom tips of the shoulder blades together and down.”
Warrior 1 – right side first
From the warrior 1 position, participants had the option to put their left arm on top of their right for Eagle Arms. They could also rest their forehead on their forearms here.
Instructor: “If you like that, stretch there.”
Low Lunge
Instructor: “Chest lifts up. Shoulders down back. Finding a deeper breath. Close your eyes. Fell the air on your skin.”
Twisting Lunge
While directing participants on the proper legs and arms to move, the instructor paused a moment and said, “I get my right and left confused. Does that happen to anyone else?”
Instructor: “You might like to make a fist, pump it with your left hand.”
As students stepped out of warrior 1 into a sun salutation, the instructor said: “Your choice of cobra or boat pose. Whatever you need to nourish your body.”
The same series (warrior 1, low lunge, twisting lunge) was completed with the left leg forward.
Following a sun salutation, participants went into this series with the right leg forward:
Crescent Lunge
Warrior 3
Instructor: “Toes pointed 6 o’clock.”
Standing Split
Instructor: “Shaking is good. Gently release.”
The series (crescent lunge, warrior 3, standing split) was repeated with the left leg forward.
Forward Fold to Yogi Squat
Supine Twist – left than right
Instructor: “Breathing low into the spine and into your hips.”
Before moving the right side, after participants came back to center, the instructor said, “Notice the difference in your legs.”
Shavasana
Instructor: “Bring your awareness back into your body.”
After staying in shavasana for about two-three minutes, the instructor said, “Introduce movement to your fingers and toes. Invite a deeper breath. When you’re ready draw your knees into your chest and roll over to one side. Gently push yourself up to seated.”
While the instructor was saying these previous words, the bell tower located just behind the pool deck went off to strike the 9am time.
Instructor: “Take a few moments to say a few kind words to yourself. Allow those kind words to resonate throughout the cells of your body. The divine light in me sees and acknowledges the divine light in each and every one of you. Namaste.”
This session was captured by Brooke Selb from wreckingroutine.com. Brooke is a teacher, running coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who challenges people to challenge their daily grind. You can follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!