Forrest Yoga, named for Ana Forrest, uses many of the poses and patterns of a typical Vinyasa class, but it features long holds and deep core-muscle work to free up stagnant energy in the body. Forrest Yoga techniques are based on the principle that we store emotions and memories in our bodies. By staying with a pose that might be a bit physically uncomfortable—not painful, just uncomfortable—we have the opportunity to access and release emotionally uncomfortable feelings and memories.
Experiencing such a release can be a heady, overwhelming experience for many of us who think of the mind, body, emotions and spirit as four separate spheres of our lives. How can a subtle adjustment in a thigh opener suddenly bring a forgotten childhood memory to the fore? Why is it that a long hold in a challenging chest opener brings on an unfocused feeling of fear? It can take great courage to explore the edges of strength and flexibility when such a workout taps other unexamined aspects of life. We are fortunate here in New Hampshire to have two Forrest Yoga instructors, Stacey Gibbons and Rhonda Alden, who provide a safe environment in which to explore those edges.
Stacey Gibbons, affectionately known as the “abdominatrix,” offers detailed instructions on how to align the body in particular poses. As the class members breathe deeply, engaging thighs and abs to hold triangle pose (trikonasana), Stacey reminds students to line knees up with toes and get hips in line with knees. She then urges students to draw shoulder blades together down the back, release collar bones away from neck, and relax the neck. Each of these subtle alignments require the thighs and abs to engage more fully and thereby empower the pose.
And then Stacey gives one final suggestion: “And now, feel for making this pose struggle-free.”
At that point, in my early days of practicing with Stacey, I would often laugh in a kind of exasperation. “’Struggle free’?!" I'd think to myself. "Yeah right—I’ve been in triangle forever! This is difficult!”
But gradually I could hold the pose long enough to feel what she meant. I’d realize that I was indeed unnecessarily clenching my teeth or my fists as I was holding the pose—I was unnecessarily struggling. And now, I find Stacey’s suggestion coming to me as I go about my daily life at work or home. I line everything up for a particular task, I engage fully with it and immerse myself in it. And then I think—“Can I make this task struggle-free?” Sure enough, I notice my shoulders had been hiked way up to my ears and my jaw was clenched. I relax them. And suddenly I can move through the activity with a bit more grace and power.
Set up carefully and prepare well for the pose, get into it and engage your power, then make it struggle free. What excellent advice on and off the mat!
You can find Stacey and Rhonda teaching Forrest Yoga in Wolfeboro, NH at Earth and Sky Yoga, which also features other styles of Yoga. Stacey will begin a 6-week Forrest Yoga session at the Volunteer Ambulance Corp in Warren, NH Thursday August 8, 2010 at 5:45 p.m.
Helpful tips:
- In Forrest Yoga, practitioners keep their necks relaxed in poses rather than twisting them to look at the ceiling. Compare Ana Forrest's triangle pose and upward dog with Yoga Journal's triangle and upward dog .
- Mats, blocks, and other props are available at the Wolfeboro studio, but bring your own stuff with you to the Warren location.
- It gets hot in the Wolfeboro studio, so bring water and a small towel.
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