Softness Meets Firmness

About This Class

Bryan Kest leads this 70-minute dynamic flow with a philosophy of moderation ("walking the razor's edge"), encouraging practitioners to tune into their body's current mood and energy rather than push through ego. The class opens in child's pose with breath awareness before moving through a progressive warm-up of down dog, standing forward folds, and a sun-salutation-style sequence with cobra. The heart of the class builds through a rich upper-body and hip sequence from down dog: three-legged dog with knee-to-elbow, knee-to-forehead, and knee-to-tricep variations, followed by wild thing/side plank, and then a deep lunge series progressing through low lunge, lizard, a strong bound hip-opener (Pasasana/noose variation with arm threading), crescent lunge, and pigeon-adjacent hip stretches. Standing sequences include warrior/hero pose with side stretches, triangle pose (Trikonasana), revolved triangle (Parivrtta Trikonasana), and bound triangle variations. The class closes with supine twists, knee-hugs, and a seated squeeze breath before savasana. Throughout, Bryan emphasizes softening the neck, free breath, finding personal range of motion, and the sensory quality of self-care. Props like blocks are offered as options. The class suits practitioners looking to release hip tightness, hamstring tension, back stiffness, and shoulder tension while simultaneously building functional strength.