Learn How To Limber Up Like A Yogi
By Kristin Tice Studeman
New York City-based instructor Talia Peretz’s Instagram feed (@talia_sutra) is an ongoing series of yoga poses that look nothing short of impossible. In some shots, she’s even wearing head-to-toe denim while holding standing splits. NBD.
Though she grew up in a “household that was very yoga” (her mother was a dedicated yogi), she only started her own regular practice a few years back. “When I was 21, my boyfriend suggested going to a yoga class because he had never been before. I said I wasn’t into it but agreed to go,” she says. “Afterward, I started sneaking out and going to yoga. After about five months, it became clear I couldn’t resist my path any longer.”
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Peretz, now a nationally ranked yoga champion (she won USA Yoga’s New York Regional Championship in 2013, then placed fifth in the National Yoga Asana Championship), led Free People’s #FPLetsMove event in New York City on Tuesday night. (The boho brand must have known it was Style.com Body Reboot week, as it hosted simultaneous wellness events in cities around the world.) After a candlelit yoga session with Peretz, we asked her to show us a few of her favorite poses and give us a few pointers.
“Yoga is a practice of removing layers of tension,” says Peretz. “Beneath those layers, you are flexible. Of course, that varies person to person, but you have to make it a part of your whole lifestyle.” Start practicing these moves on the regular (we suggest wearing Free People’s FP Movement line in lieu of jeans) and 2015 might just be your most flexible year yet.
Camel: “I teach Camel Pose in all of my classes. This is an important foundational back-bending pose. It strengthens the musculature of the spine and stretches the front side of the body, creating a deep opening in the chest, abdomen, and throat.”
Finger Stand: “The finger stand is a total body strengthener. I use a system of bandhas, or energy locks, to lift myself off the floor with ease.”
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Forearm Stand: “Balancing on your forearms requires strength, flexibility, balance, and deep focus. I love teaching my students how to safely invert. Inversions are a super-fun way to get strong, stable, and confident—and more than in just the physical sense.”
Split: “In yoga, the split is named after Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god of devotion. The legend is that Hanuman leaped from the south of India to the Himalayas, carrying an entire mountain with him to help save Lakshmana’s life. This pose teaches us the power of devotion.”
Standing Bow: “Also known as Dancer’s Pose, the standing leg grounds deeply into the earth like roots of a tree. You can draw energy from the earth through the sole of the foot all the way up through the thigh and spine. This is a deep backbend—the backside compresses as the front side opens and expands. The top leg kicks high and hard against gravity to create a graceful line of upward extension. This pose is dedicated to Shiva, the Lord of the Dance.”
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photos: courtesy of Talia Peretz
