@robinmartinyoga

Yoga with dogs 🐶💙 My dock flows are constantly interrupted by my dog and I wouldn’t have it any other way. He adds to my concentration 🤣😅 and is helping me improve my throw lol. Do your pets like to join you when you practice? 💙

30! ♥️ That’s how old I was when I started practicing yoga. I had no idea the impact it would have on my life when I stepped into a yoga studio so many years ago. Yoga settles my mind, manages my anxiety and gives me focus. I move better and feel better physically when I practice. Yoga fuels my mind and body. _ How old were you when you first tried yoga or meditated? Let’s work together to bring these life-changing skills to kids, and lower the age when they are introduced to movement and mindfulness. Alogives.com has free videos that can introduce kids to yoga at an early age. Tell the teachers you know that they can use these free, 5-minute, Scholastic-approved, videos in their classes. Parents and caregivers can play them with kids of all ages at home too! @alogives is going to reach over 2 million kids in 2020!

Grounded or lifted? 🤎 Do you prefer a solid foundation or a little lift-off? Arm balances are fun but can be intimidating when new to them. Understanding biomechanics, feeling where the body is in space and breathing are key to foundations as well as floating. Foundations are my favorite, but sometimes I just want to fly. 🤎 Wearing Chestnut, the gorgeous brand new color from the @aloyoga holiday collection! Check my stories to shop! 🤎 _

Magical moments 🧚‍♀️ Real birds, unreal scenery. 💫 This spot wasn’t easy to get to - but the reward for the effort was beyond worth it. _ I’m a creature of habit, of routine. When the pandemic hit, my routine was upended. Besides being out of a job, my yoga and fitness schedule no longer existed. I had a moment (or several, let’s be honest) of despair and panic and didn’t know what I’d do. Instead of sitting around being sad about it, I found ways to move and breathe that I rarely took the time for pre-covid. Hiking has become a staple for me. Nature is therapy. 🍃🌊 🏔 _ Curious about how the birds were so comfortable with us? We enjoyed a little picnic at the end of our hike. Some crumbs made their way to the ground around us and like magic, the birds started appearing! 😉 We weren’t feeding them but perhaps they’re used to hikers sharing their food? I was pretty shocked when I did a yoga pose and one landed right on my hand. (Look closely and you won’t find any food in my hands) Ifs important as humans to avoid any interfering with nature. That said, this experience was surreal and pure magic. 🐦🧚‍♀️💫 Huge thanks to my hiking crew @thepaulgarrett @totalsoulfuljourney (for the hike location and epic photos) and @jennyclise_ and my sweet girl Olivia for always being up for an adventure!! Blending in in @aloyoga 🧚‍♀️🐦🏔💙

The process. 💙 If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me ‘how do you do that?’, I’d be buying a new car lol! That’s such a difficult question to answer. How depends on the day, the hour, the minute. Whatever the goal pose I’m working on, there has been a process leading up to it. Whether it’s a series of poses that day, or a series of poses or actions over years. _ How I do something also doesn’t mean someone else should approach it the same way. There are principles that can be applied to anyone’s practice, but what might work best for me may not work best for you. The key to working into goal poses is to prepare the body in a way that’s safe and smart and results in something that feels good. 💙 Happy Friday! _

Heights. ♥️ Are you afraid of heights? I wouldn’t say I have an irrational fear of heights, but I definitely have moments of panic sensations that pierce through me in certain situations. _ A few weeks ago, @riva_g_ and I took a little trip to Sedona, AZ and I had an opportunity to challenge myself - physically and mentally. Once we scrambled and sweat and got over our fears just getting to the top of a few different hikes 😅, then the real panic set in. I decided I wasn’t going near any edges as soon as I saw them. Then I sat with my thoughts. What was I really afraid of? Falling off? How was I going to fall off? I wasn’t going to get that close to the edge. So I made a choice (or a few). I chose to face the fear head on and breathe through it. Let it course through my veins and recognize its purpose, but being in control of it. Sedona was an incredible experience on so many levels. And one I won’t soon forget. Big thanks to Riva for being the ultimate adventure partner and photographer (!) and to @amararesort for the perfect spot to calm the nerves. ♥️ Oh! The first dancer photo was taken by a bystander with her iPhone. The second was by @riva_g_ with my @sonyalpha ♥️ _

My edge. ♥️ This is probably one of the most challenging shapes I’ve ever managed in my body. I visualized it one day in a yoga class while doing ustrasana (camel pose) and thought how hard can it be? Well...as it turns out, damn hard. Besides the huge hamstring contraction and backbend to connect feet to head, there’s the element of balance. 😅♥️ _ When it comes to a physical pose I ‘think’ I should be able to execute, I become extremely determined. Meaning I’ll try over and over and over until I feel I’ve given it everything I have. Sometimes the pose is like a puzzle. Figuring out where to soften and where to engage. Where to extend, where to compress. Where to open, where to close. Listening to the feedback my body gives me to ensure I’m not going to hurt myself in the process. Being ok with any outcome. _ For me, this practice is an adventure. It’s an exploration of my determination, my body, my edge. It’s also my sanity saver, but that’s a whole different conversation lol. ♥️ Happy Friday! _

Headstand fun with @morgan_smile ♥️ Headstands can be a lot of fun to integrate into a flow. Just be mindful - move with control and never kick up into a headstand. Happy Wednesday! Wearing @aloyoga ♥️

Just a quick stretch before going out 😉♥️ A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit Chicago for the first time and hang out with my sisters from a different misters. 😊 @riva_g_ @tova.yogafit ♥️ _ Huge gratitude to the @langhamchicago for leaving no detail missed. Visiting a city for the first time during a pandemic isn’t exactly ideal, but the Langham Chicago made it amazing. ♥️🙏🏻 _ Have you traveled during the pandemic? If so, where to? _

Handstand! ♥️ Today is the final day of our challenge and our pose is handstand. In order to have a strong and safe handstand practice, you need core strength and shoulder stability. The wall can be a really helpful tool to work on alignment and build shoulder strength. I teach a number of wall drills when breaking down handstand in a workshop. _ There comes a point in the handstand practice to take it off the wall and out into the world! For many of us, that’s a daunting prospect. What takes the scary out of handstanding without a wall is a safe exit strategy. Learning how to ‘fall out’ of a handstand safely is a game changer mentally. My favorite exit is the cartwheel out. I absolutely do not recommend the wheel exit unless it’s controlled. Landing in wheel with no core control and force can lead to low back and shoulder injury. 🚫 The tuck and roll is very safe - I recommend a spotter the first few attempts. _ A few thoughts on handstand: * Hands are typically about shoulder width apart, but different modalities use different placement * Use your fingers when balancing on your hands! Active fingers help control the balance * Play in the grass! It’s a soft landing and fingers can really dig into the earth * Engage your bhandas!! Use the core and root locks to stabilize! * Integrate your scapula on to your back ribs! Scapular stability protects the shoulders! * A straight handstand is the hardest to balance but lightest in the body (bone stack) * A stag leg or split leg is easiest to balance * BREATHE!! _ I’ve had so much fun with this challenge and hope you have too! I’m off to Las Vegas today to co-facilitate our Yoga Mobility Certification training over the weekend with @themobilitymanifesto. Will I see you there (in person or virtually?) It’s not too late to join but spots are almost gone! _ Thank you to my amazing crew @themistressfitness @seonia and sponsors @aloyoga @alomoves ♥️

Shoulder and spine anatomy in hollowback

Hollowback! 💜 Day 7 already for and our pose is hollowback. I didn’t understand what this meant for the longest time and my old school teacher friends are pretty sure this pose was created via Instagram (I have no idea). From what I understand, what distinguishes the hollowback shape from other backbends is the pike at the hips. It has nothing to do with head position (from my understanding). Is it still a hollowback if one hip is closed and the other open (stag legs)? 🤔🤷🏼‍♀️ _ This pose is tricky and requires a lot of preparation. Shoulder mobility is critical for a safe hollowback and because this is a backbend, preparing the spine is extremely important. In my first slide, I’m showing a free standing forearm version and a supported handstand version. In my second slide, I’m doing some modified versions as well as paying with some prep poses. I added an eagle leg version for fun. 💜 _ Moving on to the large collection of videos in this post lol - the first is my favorite entry into forearm hollowback. The reverse press forces me to fully engage my core in the pose and therefore protects my low back. The second is the most challenging entry for me. If my shoulders aren’t open, this isn’t happening. 💜 The final three are preparation drills for the shoulders and spine that can be found on my Yoga Mobility Program created with @themobilitymanifesto 💜 _ Join me and @themobilitymanifesto live today at 2:30pm PST to break down this pose. 💜 _ Big love to my beautiful co-hosts @seonia @themistressfitness and gratitude to sponsors @aloyoga @alomoves 💜 I’m wearing the brand new color drop periwinkle in case you’re curious 😉