name: Karen, Email Specialist, Vancouver
studio found: Delight Yoga
class found: vinyasa flow
instructor found: Fleur Van Zonneveld

After almost a week of being in Amsterdam, I was still struggling to differentiate between all the straats and the grachts, and then I decided I wanted to find yoga.– I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t super optimistic that this would happen in such a cycling-dominated city.

I went in fully prepared to yoga in Dutch, hoping ‘downward dog’ is the same in both languages but luckily, when class started, so did the English. The instructor was wearing a floral jumpsuit and the studio was beautiful because the windows let in so much natural light.

I chose to go to Delight Yoga’s vinyasa flow class because it fit into my schedule that day, but I later learned that yoga early in the morning isn’t that popular in Amsterdam, and the class only had four people in it!

Download the om finder app to find yoga wherever you are in the world. Each month in the Found series we’ll be featuring an experience that came to be because of the app. Want to contribute? Tell us what you found at blogcontributors@lululemon.com or share using #omfinder.

maria in a nutshell

Hometown: Victoria, BC
Website: http://www.mariafilipponeyoga.com/
Ambassador at: lululemon Johnson St
First memory of yoga: Watching my Grandma, when I was 9 years old, practice yoga postures with a Karen Zeebrof book.
First yoga class In my 20s, my brother Joe took me to a class at the Jewish Community Centre.
Bikram Yoga: hot or not? I thought it was absolutely nuts. It took me a full year to get back in the room and once I committed myself, the way I lived my life changed for the best.
Your favourite place to visit: After high school I worked for 3 years as a flight attendant. My top 3: Hawaiian Islands, Rome & Paris.

how pilates healed maria's back

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the body and alignment. My first teaching gig at age 15 was assisting in an aerobics class, offering hands-on adjustments, flipping the records and correcting people's form. With no former training, in a packed house with music bumping, I knew I had found my true passion.

the five principles

After many years of working with students on a one-to-one basis, I have boiled the brilliance of Pilates down to 5 powerful principles:

1) breath
2) neutral pelvis
3) scapular stabilization
4) ribcage placement
5) cervical alignment

I worked as a personal trainer (and aerobics instructor) for many years, and despite being in "good shape" I was dealing with low back pain. It was only then, when I began to study and practice Pilates regularly that my back pain disappeared. I was hooked.

practice with maria

I will continue to share these simple yet profound principles with all students willing to slow down, dive in and have a look at how easily one's optimal posture may be restored.
Take a class with Maria at Wanderlust Whistler on August 23-26, 2012, or find her in Victoria BC!

Not to worry, even those of us with two left feet can learn to (cha-cha) Chaturanga thanks to West 4th ambassador Elle Basten. Here’s her one-two step 10-step breakdown to up your Vinyasa flow.

one-two-cha-cha-cha

1. start by placing your hands on your mat right below your shoulders (in plank)
2. bring the shoulders slightly forward by pressing into the toes and shifting the length of your body forward
3. draw the lower belly in and lengthen your tailbone away to keep your low back long
4. bring your lower ribs up and in towards your spine to keep the middle of your back strong
5. imagine one long straight line from the tip of your tailbone to the crown of your head
6. gaze only slightly forward or straight down to lengthen, keeping the back of your neck long and throat (and airway!) open
7. keep the chest & collarbones broad and open by gently hugging the inner armpits towards one another
8. draw your elbows in line with your shoulders - don’t collapse into the ribs or wing out to the side
9. lower halfway down (bring your knees to the floor if your lower back begins to drop or sag!)
10. ensure that the shoulder heads do not drop below the line of the elbows (they should form a 90-degree angle) - this requires strong triceps! If they do sag, bring your knees to the floor until you can safely make the shift

go with the flow

Need a visual? See Aventura Mall ambassador, Michelle Wong, work through the flow in this video!

Now that you've nailed Chaturanga and Headstand, what other poses would you like a step-by-step breakdown of?