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Forrest Yoga Five-Day Intensive
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Monday, March 17, 2008
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 My friend Lindsey is a Forrest yoga teacher and has me going on Ana Forrest's five-day intensive CD set, something I've eyeballed for years but never could quite get up the gumption (and cash... $150) to try. Each day is a 2-hour session (eep), and anyone who has tried Forrest yoga can probably attest to the fact that it takes pain to whole new levels. This is in a good way, of course, It's very slow and with extremely long holds, which is incredibly intense but requires a major attitude adjustment from someone with vinyasa in her marrow, like me.
Even the one-hour intermediate Forrest DVD I have takes some psyching up for me to do, not because the postures themselves are too difficult but because unlike most forms of yoga, which encourage you to rest often and get out of the posture when you need to, she really encourages you to breathe into the intensity for as long as possible.
So with some insanity glinting in my eyes, I embarked on this five-day intensive, figuring that I could just waste less time during the day (i.e. television) and come up with the two hours for five days to do the series. I'm starting day four, and figured I would muster up some strength in my wrists to type about it just in case any of the rest of you have wondered about this series.
First, I've never read a single negative review about this set, and many have even said they've purposely avoided class to stay home and do this intensive. The purpose of it is to "go deeper," which is probably now the most trite phrase in yoga, but it actually applies here -- each day builds on the day before and culminates in several advanced postures (in stages), and because of the extremely long holds and very slow and thorough preparation, you'll find yourself more ready for these postures than you might have imagined.
The set is very well-done. The CDs are divided into many tracks (each day has two CDs, for a total of 10), and there is a spiral-bound booklet divided into days that shows photos (plus modififcations) for all the postures, plus bulleted posture tips. Ana recorded these live but they don't sound live, other than being able to hear the occasional jumpback or ujjayi (a bunch of people doing lion's breaths sound hilarious).
I decided to try out this series, despite that Forrest yoga is not my regular favorite, to take my mind off my new teaching job and to take a break from power, which can get a little stale at times. I find myself veering off to more alignment-based yoga quite often and then bringing that back to the vinyasa practice, something that has helped me keep my lower back functional. Training my mind to be patient is another factor.
I'd highly recommend this to any intermediate or advanced student (not for beginners) who isn't put off by the idea of two hours a day of yoga for a few days. (Just watch less Law and Order. You can do it!) After the first day, I was extremely sore. Not only that, but for the first day or two I was clock-watching quite a bit, because it was so long and because of the pace. But after the first day, the focus changes so much between days that doing them back-to-back is more reasonable.
Not everyone is going to want to work this intensely. I don't think I would too often. Still, I can see that my practice is going to be different by the end of the series. My hip openers and backbends have opened significantly after just a couple of days. The other thing I do like about Forrest yoga is that because of the pace, an injured area never feels vulnerable. I thought two hours a day of yoga would completely fry my lower back, but after each practice I felt FANTASTIC, far more so than when I practice ashtanga (ouch) or one of its Western cousins.
The other thing that's great about this series is how far it allows you to go. I know there are a few of you out there (OK, three or four!) who maintain a fairly advanced practice but practice at home most of the time and are dismayed at the relative lack of challenging material out there. You'll be pleased with this. Here's a list of the apex postures and focuses for the five-day series (remember, these are the final stages of the postures -- there are plenty of modifications).
DAY 1: Strengthen back and open shoulders, work on form in simpler backbends. Ends with bird of paradise and twisting bird of paradise, wheel (urdhva dhanurasana) and viparita dandasana (wheel on the elbows).
DAY 2: Open hips, thighs, and strengthen upper body. Ends with yogidandasana (foot in armpit), handstands, forearm balances, firely (tittibhasana), and turn signal (firefly with one shin in armpit)
DAY 3: Expands on the backbending of day 1 for more advanced postures. Ends with full dancer (natarajasana), scorpion in handstand and forearm stand, crow (bakasana) and elephant trunk (arm balance with one leg over the shoulder).
DAY 4: Build strength. Ends with straddle in forearm blance, scissor arm balances, side crow (parsva bakasana), twining vine, and yoganidrasana (yogic sleep).
DAY 5: Deeper focus, experiencing spirit in the postures. Ends with crippled sage arm balance (astavakrasana), thunderbolt, bird of paradise, and full bow (purna dhanurasana).
Other things I've noticed: I'm starving. I sleep like a baby, but I'm not drained of energy. And I can't help but notice after I've done one of these I look like I've been lifting weights at the gym. Makes me thing of Hans and Franz and how they are going to pump you up... a minor side effect, of course, but one that's pretty obvious. Unlike a lot of vigorous yoga programs, Forrest yoga does often bring you to total muscle failure in pretty much every major and minor muscle you have, something I haven't experienced much since I actually did lift weights, many moons ago.
I'll post about days four and five as well, soon. I know I'll be very happy to get back to my regular one-hour practice after this, which I know will fly by. I admit there are times that I'm thinking of all the things I could get done with that extra hour ... although I know that's not how it usually works.
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