The Mindful Life Practice's "Mindful Sweat" Classes
By: Sarah Millman
Photos of: Alex McRobs
Have you tried the Mindful Life Practice’s “Mindful Sweat” classes yet? As a unique yoga-barre fusion, these classes not only offer practitioners with all of the traditional benefits of yoga, but they also allow students to build strength, tone muscles and most importantly, have fun!
As the “Mindful Sweat” class description explains, each class will begin with a “yoga-inspired warm-up.” From there, students “will move into power mode - toning and strengthening the body with functional movement exercises set to upbeat music. Depending on the theme, there may be a focus on core, arms, legs, or cardio: with low impact options offered.” The class will then “seamlessly transition into a mindful stretch at the end, followed by savasana. You'll leave having strengthened and stretched your body and centered your mind.”
When speaking with Alex McRobert about how this unique class was created, she shared the following:
“When I did my Barre training in 2019, I struggled a lot with making my teaching similar to how my teachers led the class. They were former ballerinas, so their choreography felt much more graceful than mine! My teacher kept encouraging me to make it more ‘me,’ but I didn’t know exactly how to do this. Shortly after I started teaching, I offered a Barre Yoga ‘pop up’ class at my gym. It was popular and got really good feedback, so I transitioned to offering Yoga Barre every week, once a week on Thursdays. Now, I love doing this!”
Below: Seated side bend (Parsva Sukhasana).
A seated side bend is one of many ways to warm-up the spine and prepare the body for movement at the beginning of a “Mindful Sweat” class!:
Below (left): Side Plank (Vasisthasana) with Arm Scoops. Below (right): Boat Pose (Navasana) Crunches.
For classes where core work is the focus, engaging in side plank, with the option to add dynamic arm scoops, is a great way to strengthen the abdominals and shoulders whilst stretching the lower back.
Boat pose with the option to add crunches, is another asana (posture) that works to engage the core muscles!
Did you know that you can access hundreds of on-demand classes - including “Mindful Sweat”--by becoming a member of the Mindful Life Practice?
You can even choose the length of class that works best for amount of time that you have available in your schedule!
Visit www.themindfullifepractice.com/membership to find out more!
Above (left): Tricep extensions. Above (middle): Bicep curls. Above (right): Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana) with free weights.
In “Mindful Sweat” classes, there are a variety of exercises and yoga poses, which allow students to use free weights to strengthen and tone. All of these exercises can also be performed without the use of free weights, and you can decide what feels best for you in your body!
Below: Corpse Pose (Savasana).
Did you Know?
Savasana (pictured above) has a myriad of benefits for both mental and physical health? For example, savasana...
works to boost our digestive and immune systems
can help to improve our mood by increasing mindfulness
helps to decrease stress and anxiety
can improve the quality of our sleep