I knew that this new release of Body Balance would include some challenges. About 6 months ago the programme director, Jackie Mills, put up a short video on Facebook. In it she demonstrated a yoga pose which she called “Bird in a Basket” and the even harder “Bird in Flight”. Yoga participants, especially those who practice Ashtanga yoga, will recognise this as arm pressure pose.
Jackie’s question was simple. “Should we include this pose in Body Balance release 60?” I don’t know how many responses she got but here it is. Question is, can you do it?
Let’s have a look at the tracks.
Tai Chi Warm Up (All of the Lights): Ever since I have taught Body Balance I have loved tai chi arm circles and this track is arm circle overload. It’s graceful and flows beautifully. I also like the warrior style bow and arrow lunges which really warm up your legs quickly. And we have a very interesting piece of music with various rhythms and tones.
Sun Salutation (If I Ever Lose My Faith in You): A very short Sun Salutations track necessitating a short sequence of poses. It passes by unremarkably and does its job of completing the warm up phase. There are much bigger challenges to come so I guess we should welcome this simplicity.
Standing Strength (Grenade): Bruno Mars delivers a very catchy song with some lyrics which are likely to upset those who have a nervous disposition. Les Mills felt it necessary to also give us an instrumental version to deploy should we find our participants running for the exits in horror. I haven’t had anyone comment on the lyrics at all but the instrumental version is nice to play before class begins.
This is a short but tough series of Warrior I and II, sun warrior and extended warrior poses. The quads certainly start to scream quickly. I am not too keen on the arm lines here with hands behind head in extended warrior. I know they are trying to introduce variety but it feels awkward. I would have preferred the traditional yoga arm lines.
Balance 1 (Give Me Love): A stunning ballad and some gentle balances to begin with which builds up to a tougher sequence at the end. I love tree pose and we get to explore it for longer than usual here. Asking the class to lift their gaze up to the ceiling causes wobbles and topples and a few laughs as well. As the music becomes more upbeat we enter an extensive series of knee lifts into aeroplane pose. The wobbles and topples continue here but now the participants replace laughs with looks of determination.
Balance 2 (The Parting Glass): From leg balances to arm balances. To a haunting and beautiful piece of music we explore three poses. Sounds easy doesn’t it? Most people can do Hindi squat. The problems begin when we try to balance in bird pose. I find it an infuriating pose. I can do it, and hold it, about one time in five. Finally the big challenge of bird in a basket. I cannot do this as my arms are two short. Very few people in any of my classes can rest their palms on the floor and only one has been able to lift their legs so far.
It is good to be tested and to be taken out of our comfort zones. Everyone is trying hard to do this. But sometimes the attraction of the alternative, easier, happy baby pose, wins.
Hip Openers (Tonight (The Best You’ve Ever Had): I cannot remember a hips track ever starting with frog pose (they usually end with them). It is such an intense hip stretch it always makes participants groan. The rest of the track with modified half lotus and torso circling are pleasant but not particularly memorable.
Core Abs (Warrior): You can guarantee tough core work out if the music begins with a heavy drum beat. It’s another short track but it’s hard. I like the kneeling side plank with side crunches. And the hovers with weight shifting forward and back and hovers with diagonal reaches get those core muscles burning.
Core Back (Next to You): Another heavy drum beat, striking cobra to upward facing dog and strong camel poses create a great sequence of back extensions. I always like to see bridge pose with leg extensions and this time we have the space to stay in the pose for longer. It’s also good to see more people achieving the full back bend at the end.
Twists (Lost and Found): This is my favourite piece of music in Body Balance release 60. We start with some gentle supine twists and seated twists and then rise to our feet for the more challenging twisting triangle and intense pose twist. I can’t help singing along to the “Oh Oh” section of the song. I do however apologise to the class for being out of tune.
Once again people seem to have trouble stepping the correct leg forward here. It doesn’t matter whether I cue back leg or front leg, left or right; twist tracks turn people’s brains to mush. Best solution is to use the mid-track down dog to get everyone facing the same way otherwise the twisting triangles become too confusing.
Hamstrings 1 (A Thousand Years): Another stunning piece of music with beautiful lyrics. We finally end up on the floor for an extended sequence of seated forward folds and supine hamstring stretches. The moves fit perfectly with the delightful music.
Hamstrings 2 (Perth): At the end of the first hamstrings track we are lying on the floor. It feels as if we should go straight into the relaxation at this point. So the first time I heard the quite frankly bizarre music for this second half I really felt like it ruined the mood that “A Thousand Years” creates. But I was lucky enough to have UK Trainer Ann-See Yeoh come along to one of my classes for a team teach and she explained how the track allows us to explore even deeper stretches and how to interpret the music. It still feels like we are up and down like yo-yos in the last few tracks but I feel more comfortable with it now.
Relaxation/Meditation (Finely Balanced): An aptly named calming piece of music that lets us reflect on the challenges we faced during the class whilst we relax our bodies and focus on our breath.
Body Balance release 60 is another great class, combining challenging pose sequences with a winning collection of songs. If I was to teach this release for “A Thousand Years” I might just be able to do bird in flight pose.
Your turn: Do you agree with my review of Body Balance release 60? Are you an instructor? Can you do “bird in flight pose”? Are you a participant? What do you think of the challenges of this release? Does it go to far or are you enjoying it?
