Cedar & Breath Stand steady. Breathe first.

What you are buying

How a class runs

The whole hour, in order, including the parts people dislike. If you are trying to work out whether this suits you, this page is more use than anything else on the site.

The short version

  • WhereA video call in your browser. No app to install and no account to create.
  • How manyNever more than 14 people
  • How long30, 45, 60 or 75 minutes depending on the class
  • What you needA wall, a chair, bare feet, and somewhere to stand that is about the size of a bath towel
  • CameraOn if you can — but see below
  • RecordingNever. No class is recorded, ever.

Minute by minute

Fifteen minutes before

The link opens. People drift in, say hello, move a lamp, shout at a dog. You do not have to arrive early and you do not have to talk; a fair number of people join two minutes before the start and that is completely normal.

The first five minutes

Standing still, which is a pose, and which is on the pose guides page if you want to know what we mean by it. Then a short description of what the class is going to do, so nothing arrives as a surprise, and a reminder that a chair and a wall are in use for everything and that sitting a pose out is a complete option.

The middle

Eight to twelve shapes, slowly, with long holds. Instruction is given out loud and in detail — where the feet go, where the weight is, what should and should not be felt where. You can follow the whole class without looking at the screen, which is the point of describing it that thoroughly, and several people practise with the laptop facing away.

Corrections are given by name, out loud, and gently: "Margaret, that front knee has drifted in a bit." If being named out loud would ruin it for you, say so in the booking note and we will stop doing it for you specifically. Nobody is ever corrected in a way that implies they are doing badly, because they are not; a drifting knee is what knees do.

The last five minutes

Standing still again, then a sentence or two about what that particular combination of shapes tends to leave behind. No music, no reading aloud, no chanting. The call stays open for a few minutes afterwards for anybody who wants to ask about something.

A person kneeling upright on a mat outdoors with the hands held
                    together in front of the chest.
Classes end standing, not kneeling — but this is the gesture people tend to make at the end of one.

About the camera

On, if you can, because a teacher who cannot see you cannot teach you and the whole reason this costs more than a video is that somebody is watching.

But it is not a requirement and nobody will ask you about it. If your camera is off you will get the same class, described in the same detail, with no corrections aimed at you. Plenty of people keep it off for the first few weeks and turn it on later, and plenty never do.

Nothing is recorded. No class, no part of a class, at any time, for any purpose. There is no library of past sessions and there never will be, which also means that if you miss a class there is nothing to catch up on — the credit comes back instead.

Other people in the class can see your tile. We ask everyone not to screenshot or record and we have no way to enforce that beyond asking, so it is worth knowing when you decide where to point the camera. Most people aim it at a wall and stand in front of it.

What you need, and what you do not

Actually needed

  • A wall you can reach, with nothing hanging on the part you might put a hand on.
  • A chair that does not roll, does not fold and does not swivel. A dining chair. If the floor is slippery, put the back of it against a wall.
  • Floor space about the size of a bath towel, plus room to put your arms out sideways without hitting anything.
  • Bare feet and a surface that does not slide. Socks on wood is the single most common way people come unstuck.

Helpful

  • A mat, if the floor is hard or cold. Not essential for standing work.
  • Two blocks, or two stacks of books about eight inches high, for the forward folds.
  • A headset, if the laptop speaker is quiet.

Not needed, and please do not buy them

  • Yoga clothing of any kind. Anything you can move in.
  • A strap, a bolster, a wheel, a wedge or a block set. We use none of them.
  • A second camera, a tripod, a ring light.
  • Any app, subscription or account. The link goes in a browser.

There are no affiliate links on this site, so there is nothing in it for us either way.

Who this does not suit

Said properly, because a class that is wrong for you is a waste of your money and our time.

  • If you want a workout. This is slow and it is not aerobic. You will be bored.
  • If you want to learn inversions, arm balances or a fast flow. We do none of them. Other teachers are good at this.
  • If you want on-demand video. Everything is live at a fixed time and nothing is recorded.
  • If you want one-to-one attention. Fourteen people is small for a group class and it is still a group class. We do not teach privately.
  • If you are recovering from an injury or surgery and want a practice built around it. That is rehabilitation, it is a physical therapist's job, and a group class cannot do it. Come back afterwards if you like.
  • If the times do not work. Nine fixed slots in Eastern Time is not many, and outside North America and western Europe most of them are the middle of the night. There is nothing we can do about that and no point pretending otherwise.

The schedule

The weekly schedule
Day Starts Length Class Format
Monday 45 min Wake Up Standing Standing
Monday 60 min Balance Hour Balance
Tuesday 60 min Warriors Standing
Wednesday 45 min Wake Up Standing Standing
Wednesday 75 min Long Wednesday Mixed
Thursday 60 min Feet and Ankles Balance
Friday 45 min Wake Up Standing Standing
Friday 30 min Half Hour at the Wall Chair/Wall
Saturday 60 min Saturday Standing Standing

All times are Eastern Time (UTC−5 in winter, UTC−4 from mid-March to early November). If you are reading this somewhere else, convert before you book — the start time is the start time, and we do not hold a class for latecomers.