“Oh Shit Not This Again”

About This Class

Bryan Kest opens this hour-plus flow with an extended grounding sequence in child's pose, establishing nasal breathing, full lung expansion, and smooth breath rhythm as the true "meat and potatoes" of the practice before any movement begins. From there the class builds systematically: downward dog warm-ups with modified bird-dog variations transition into a repeating vinyasa loop of plank, cobra (rehearsed five times in a row), and down dog. The standing sequence is rich and varied — lunges with lateral arm reaches and side-body lengthening, warrior-inspired hip openers, twisting balances, airplane/warrior III progressions, standing knee-to-chest holds with twists, and single-leg balance challenges with bound quad stretches. Core work appears in two layers: dynamic knee-to-elbow drives in plank and supine leg-lowering/scissor movements targeting abdominals. The class visits a deep toe-balance squat sequence with a bound shoulder-stretch variation, wide-legged forward folds crawling side to side, and a reclined inversion progression — plow pose into shoulderstand — described as the "king or queen of all yoga poses." The cool-down includes supine spinal twists and a full-body squeeze before a silent savasana. Throughout, Bryan repeatedly reframes effort as moderation, cues the jaw and neck to stay soft, and uses the breath as a barometer for stress response, framing the entire practice as training for equanimity in daily life. Wrist tenderness and the option to drop knees are the only contraindications Bryan explicitly surfaces.