What IS Let-Go Yoga?
The United States has seen an explosion of yoga classes and workshops over the last decade or two. A significant majority of these programs are of the Power, Hot or other of the more aggressive yoga styles. The more aggressive yoga styles can be very beneficial to people, especially when you compare them to running or heavy weight training.
HOWEVER … There are MANY people who should not be doing these styles in the early stages of their yoga practice. Many people have hidden problems that have been building up for years, but have not surfaced to any great degree, or at all. Or they have problems they've been told could be helped with yoga.
Problem is that in many cases, doing yoga too aggressively too soon can make a person worse, sometimes FAR worse. An example is someone who has a carpal tunnel problem building up in the background, but does not yet feel it. If they do something like Downward Dog, which puts a lot of stress on all the very joints, muscles and nerves involved in carpal tunnel, the problem can be made much worse.
Ironically, many teachers think of Downward Dog as a beginning asana (yoga exercise or posture). While many people can get away with it, many cannot. And people do not walk around with little labels stating in which group they belong. I believe it is better to be safe than sorry, and there is so much beginnners can be doing that Downward Dog, and other such asana, just aren't necessary for a beginner.
Even some advanced practitioners and teachers are having trouble with Downward Dog!
The Basic Premise of DSL's Let-Go Yoga is that ALL students should start at very simple and low-intensity asana until they have sufficiently learned, if not mastered, certain fundamentals of practice.
The majority of this site — www.dslyoga.com — will be devoted to these FUNdamentals of Practice. Another major aspect will be DSL's CORE-Structural Yoga system for creating effortless Great Posture and Fluid, Energetic Movement.
These principles will also help build a foundation for Yoga Therapy, for those who are interested or in need of it.
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