Contract & Expand

About This Class

Byron leads a demanding yet philosophically rich vinyasa flow framed by a central metaphor: contracting the "square" of the core while expanding the "bubble" of the whole body in every pose. The class opens with a mindfulness primer in child's pose — acknowledgment, non-attachment, and breath-anchoring — before building steadily through downward dog, plank, chaturanga, cobra/upward dog, and bird-dog variations. The standing sequence is extensive and includes crescent pose, warrior one, warrior two, triangle, half moon, side angle, goddess, chair, eagle arms, and a challenging standing-splits/warrior-three progression with handstand prep (high tippy-toe short-down-dog). Hip-opening highlights include a deep lizard-shoulder thread, yogi squat, and a supple quad/hip-flexor runner's lunge series. Twists appear both standing and in low lunge. The floor cool-down moves through bridge, wheel option, plow, shoulder stand, supine twists, happy baby, supta baddha konasana, reclined/seated pigeon, and a hamstring stretch before savasana. Throughout, Byron emphasizes efficiency, non-competition, bamboo-like suppleness-plus-strength, and compassionate listening as the true practice. Wrist injuries are flagged with an explicit skip cue; knee care is woven into goddess and hero's pose guidance.