Empowering routines are so relishing. They make us stronger, both physically and mentally, and inspire us to challenge our edge. We harness our own power reserves and gain incentive to move on with conviction and clarity. The power yoga community is always hip, as it advocates our ability to reclaim our ground, and own our life narrative.

I myself love to spice up the practice with at least a few power poses every day.  They can be simple or complex, but they all hone readiness to act in alignment with one’s higher intentions. I have noticed an urgency to pepper up my practice with arm balances, standing binds and core strengtheners as they make me open to change, and ready to leap in any direction I want.

As I designed the current empowering routine, I thought about the immediate benefits of these three type of poses in regaining power.  So I strung them in a novel sequence that transitioned smoothly and offered frequent weight shifts and side switches to give each body part the opportunity to rest. I find this approach revolutionary when it comes to power yoga, because you are not rolling multiple poses on one leg or arm.

Most empowering yoga classes are too hard on the upper arms, core and legs. Instead of firing up the body energetically, they require extra muscling and pushing. Whereas the side, level and weight alternation provides seamless transitions that are creative and very organic. You soon find yourself dancing through the series and not pushing every time you come to your peak pose. This takes off the load from working only on one side, or one leg or arm and brings a holistic, multidimensional edge to the power flow.

I myself feel most charged and empowered when I am at ease, not struggling and sweating through the sequence, and dreading the repetition of every Vinyasa. I am in full command of my physical body, but I allow myself to get out of control, standing fearlessly on the edge, ready to leap.

It is an energetic charge of your entire body, when your legs and arms become the natural extension of your central pillar – your spine. Your core radiates peace and determination and every step of the practice becomes a seamless shift between being and becoming. Being is pure awareness. Becoming is more about not desperately striving to meet a goal. It is about allowing force to take charge and fueling your desires from your inner power. It’s the place of being fully centered, but ready to abandon that center in a quest for a fresh new perspective.

This new angle of vision is where you stand here and now. We can enter this Gap zone every time we connect to an inner place of trust and surrender. There is no tapping of power or letting go. To fire up the whole system, you first need to empty it out and create the space for the flames to purge the old and invite the new.

Empowering Yoga Routine: Fire Up (open level)

This power yoga routine couples invigorating arm balances, bound standing poses and core toners to engage all your muscles, joints, tendons, nerve centers into an inspiring dance, challenging your so you can claim your power.