Nutcracker

About This Class

This expansive Sunday-morning flow class with Bryan Kest opens in Child's Pose with breath-awareness and meditation before gradually building into sun salutation A variations with Cobra, Down Dog, Crescent Lunge, and plank work. The class moves through two full standing sides featuring Warrior Two, Reverse Warrior/side-body stretch, Extended Side Angle, Triangle Pose with a bind, and a deep low-lunge hip-flexor sequence including a quadricep bind. A one-legged balance section flows into Crescent Lunge drops. Back-body strengthening uses Locust arms-as-wings and bow-prep with interlaced fingers, culminating in Bow Pose. The floor sequence finishes with core work (double-leg lowering, scissors, boat-style holds), supine spinal twists, and an extended Savasana paired with guided gratitude meditation. Bryan consistently encourages self-inquiry over conformity to the pose, offers modifications (blocks, knee drops, forearms) throughout, and explicitly calls out that the class may not be suitable for those dealing with injuries, reminding practitioners to tune into their own body's signals. The overall experience is challenging yet deeply mindful, blending physical intensity with meditative grounding.