Cost: $20

with Bill Counter

If you're new to Ashtanga -- or just want a more relaxed class than the full 1st or 2nd Series adventures, these "basics" sessions are for you. Using all the components of the traditional Ashtanga system, we'll build a custom "ashtanga sandwich." There will be salutations and a few standing poses from the opening sequence, an assortment of forward folds, balances, twists and backbends (different each time) grabbed from various points of the Ashtanga syllabus and we'll finish with some inversion work of whatever intensity you desire from the classical closing sequence.

Along the way, we'll talk about breathing, alignment and meditation. And sneak a bit of discussion into the mix of how all this differs from other vinyasa practices and where it fits into the overall history of yoga. Plus: you can call a "time out" at any point if there are questions.

How does this compare to the "Masala" sessions? Similar in that it's a mix of poses from different Ashtanga series but the Intro sessions are much more leisurely both in terms of the difficulty of the poses and how many we try to do.