Soft to Hard to Soft

About This Class

Bryan Kest leads this expansive Sunday morning class through a carefully layered journey that lives up to its "Soft to Hard to Soft" title. The class opens gently on the back with supine twists, bridge pose, and a three-minute shoulder stand before moving to prone back-strengthening (locust variations) and cobra. Three progressively richer flow sequences follow — each adding new movements including crescent lunge, warrior-style lunges, twisting lunges, one-armed down-dog variations, and standing balance poses such as airplane, warrior III-style balancing, and figure-four (standing pigeon). A two-minute bicycle-crunch core sequence, bilateral supine spinal twists, and a wide-legged seated forward fold complete the physical practice. The class finishes on the knees for camel-preparation/kneeling backbend and eagle-arm shoulder stretches before descending into a seated gratitude meditation and a long savasana. Throughout, Bryan emphasizes breath as the primary vehicle for meditation-within-movement, staying calm under challenge, and practicing moderation rather than pushing to extremes.