Straighten Up

About This Class

This energizing, purposeful flow is built around a central theme: strengthening the posterior chain — back of the arms, shoulders, shoulder blades, and spine — while simultaneously opening the front body, including the chest, hip flexors, and collarbones. Steve guides students through child's pose and extended puppy to warm up the spine, then builds progressively through downward facing dog, low lunges with arm variations (arms back, interlaced fingers, and imaginary pull-up drills), repeated locust pose with external arm rotation, sphinx and forearm plank core work, cobra progressions with tricep emphasis, bridge pose, and a supine twist before savasana. The repeated shoulder blade engagement and chest-lifting cues make this class especially well-suited for anyone dealing with desk posture, rounded shoulders, or upper back tension. The instructor explicitly notes a modification for knee sensitivity in low lunge, and offers an option to skip inner-heel squeeze in locust for those with low back concerns.