Flow for Freedom (30min)
Whole-Body Sequencing
This 30-minute session engages the whole body through the conscious calisthenics of traditional Hatha yoga-based asana. In it we practice lengthening, centering, and strengthening postures for freedom through full functionality. Specific asana featured in this whole-body flow are Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge), Trikonasana (Triangle), and two full rounds of a flowing Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation). In so doing, we create the conditions of possibility for freedom—mind, body, and spirit. Observing the bittersweet histories of Juneteenth & the centennial anniversary of the destruction of Black Wall St., we honor the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world. This June class allows us to practice the freedom to create what we wish to see and be. Aṣè & Namaste.
This is an All Levels class.
Your Teacher
Shani (“Dr. OM”) Ojukwu Mantenso is the Principal Movement Specialist with Hadiya Movement Systems, a private virtual movement studio. A gymnast, dancer, and Ph.D. in Performance Studies, Shani is also a yoga teacher-healer trained and certified in trauma-sensitive MindBody Centering Yoga. Along with other movement forms like Pilates, barre/basic ballet, functional calisthenics, and tumbling fundamentals she offers through HMS, Shani is privileged to provide spirit-based and trauma-informed asana as an adjunctive therapy and mode of somatic centering, cultivation, and joy. Herself on a healing journey from depression, domestic abuse, complex PTSD, and global white supremacy/racial capitalism, Shani is a proud and self-proclaimed “wounded healer.” Through her intentional observance of the eight limbs of yoga, Shani Ojukwu Mantenso has dedicated her personal and professional life to creating the optimal conditions of possibility for freedom for herself and others—mind, body, and spirit.