Rocket Yoga Vancouver at Stretch

I began teaching Yoga in 2006. I initially resonated with teachers who taught powerful but creatively flowing classes. My classes would always be different and very playful.
The problem I found with this style of teaching, is you tend to do more of what you like and what feels & looks good in your body!
Over time this will misalign you, because the poses you don't like are generally the poses you truly need!

Following an intelligent set sequence that ticks off all the boxes, but still allows you to be creative within those boxes.... Is Rocket Yoga! It was created in the late 80's by Larry Schultz.
Since then it has been taught in many countries around the world.
I learned the Rocket sequences from Dustin Fruson initially and then did my Rocket Training in San Fransisco with Steve Pyka.
This "Ashtanga based" practice became my new JAM and saved me a lot of Physio money!

I have been teaching Rocket since 2014 and the owners of Stretch have opened their arms, to be the home of "Rocket Yoga Vancouver!"

Rocket #1( More forward folds similar to Ashtanga Primary ) Rocket #2 ( More Back Bends )
2/3 of Rocket 1 & 2 are the same!
Rocket #3 ( Rocket #1 with the back bends of #2, plus some optional inversions! )
Playful Rocket ( Rocket Inspired class that will offer some optional creative Playful poses/balances )

Stretch offers 5 Rocket classes a week:
Monday 6pm Rocket 1 75min.
Tuesday 6pm Rocket 2 75min.
Wednesday 7am Rocket 1 60min.
Friday 7am Rocket 2 60min.
Sunday 10am 75min. Playful Rocket

This practice will help you build internal strength with the focussed work on Bandhas ( lifting pelvic floor "Mula Bandha" and drawing low belly in and up "Udiyana Bandha" )
Keep your practice aligned and fundamentally focussed, and challenge you in creative ways within the sequences!

20HR. ROCKET IMMERSION:
Rocket Immersion's are amazing for Power/ Flow Yoga Teachers, to add these incredible sequences into their teaching regime! You will still need a 50hr. Rocket Training to become an official Rocket Teacher, but you can add these sequences into your Power/ Flow classes as
"Rocket Inspired"!

We will be breaking down the 3 sequences ( Sun Sals, Standing Series, Wide-Legged Series, Seated Sequence, Back Bend Series, Core Work, Closing Sequence ), teaching them, learning adjustments, improving cueing and cadence! The teachers will also fine tune their own Rocket practices to deliver quality alignment based creative classes!

Once the Immersion is completed and Teachers have a regular Rocket or Rocket Inspired class
at a Studio, they will be added to the @rocketyogavan Teachers Page!

Here's the first group of Teachers that took the first Rocket Immersion at Stretch.

The Rocket Community is strong... I often have students sent to me from the UK, Seattle, Colorado, Philippines, Calgary and Puerto Rico... Where Rocket classes are thriving!
I'm very proud and humble, to be representing for Vancouver.

Risto Duggan

Oct 22, 20232 min read

Why Host Yoga Surf Retreats?

It's hard to believe that I am hosting Retreat number 19 & 20 this year!

It all started with Long Weekend Retreats in Tofino many years ago!

They went from renting a House and having classes in the Living Room to renting out an entire Lodge and having up to 30 patrons.

This was the 10th Retreat in Tofino and the Crew was obviously AWESOME!!

We had 3 classes a day ( Rocket, Acro, & Yin with Live Music )

Unbelievable Vegan, Vegetarian meals by Home Grown Living Foods and Surfing at Long beach with Relic Surf Shop.

It was a blast but I really enjoyed the connection that is created with week long Retreats in warm water climates!

Nicaragua was totally my JAM! I Co-Hosted Retreats in Mexico, did a Surf Retreat in Costa Rica, but when I hosted my first RAD Yoga Surf Retreat at Costa Dulce... I knew I found my place!!

Costa Dulce is a gated community with a Private Surf break called Playa Escameca Grande.

A busy day on the water is about 15-20 surfers with zero attitude, because they are the staff and patrons of Costa Dulce!

The surf break is beginner/ intermediate.

Then 15 minute walk up the coast is Playa El Yanke which is an intermediate/ advanced break.

Tyson and his staff are so welcoming and accommodating.

The food is incredible and a majority of it grows on the land, or is caught right near our beach!

These Retreats combine all my passions... Rocket Yoga, Flexibility Yin Yoga, Surfing ( Formerly a Semi-Pro Snowboarder who really wants to be a Surfer! ) and quality amazing Meals!

I absolutely love sharing this experience with my like-minded friends and making it as affordable as possible.

Do I make a lot of money doing this? Most years... Not so much!

Could I charge more? Yes... But it really is about the experience and getting down there is a lot, so I try to make these getaways as cheap as possible!

This is really just my Vacation, that I teach at and organize.

The Yoga classes, although challenging are there to heal and strengthen the body, to sustain all the physical activity we do.

The quality food is there to nourish you and keep you going, to protect your body and keep it pliable.

Getting together around the dinner table creates community, and the excursions that they offer unite us even more.

I always leave these events with dear friends that will have these memories for a lifetime!

If you would like to join the crew this year we have a few spots left!

November 4-11

I have 1 Bungalow for a couple and room for 1 female to share a Bungalow

November 11-18

I have 1 Bungalow for 3 friends and room for 1 female to share a Bungalow

DM me to book your spot!

Risto Duggan

Jun 29, 20231 min read

RAD Yoga Surf Retreats Nicaragua #6 Costa Dulce. November 4-11/11-18 2023

Updated: Oct 22, 2023

My first Retreat to Costa Dulce was in 2016. I fell in love with this Jungle Paradise immediately!

A lot has been added since our first Retreat. This Pool and Bar are relatively new and Tyson has taken over Curtis' property "Casa Horizon", so Costa Dulce can house up to 50 people now... 20 more than previous years. But that still doesn't make the Private Beach, "Playa Escameca" busy.

They've also added a Sweat Lodge and Massage Rooms.

Tim the Turtle Guy still runs vitalactions.org from the land and the Turtle Sanctuary is right on the Beach.

This year I will Hosting 2 retreats back to back. November 4-11 & November 11-18

Week 1 Nov. 4-11 has 1 Bungalow left!

Colibri $2600 for a couple

Week 2 Nov.11-18

Has 1 Bungalow left ( Big Bungalow )

$4000 US Perfect for 3-4 People

*I can fit 1 Female in each week to share the Congo Bungalow $1500 US

( We would change the King for 2 Twins )

Schedule:

Coffee, Fruit, Granola & Yogurt in the morning

7:00am Rocket Yoga/ Movement

9:00am Breakfast

1:00pm Lunch

4:30pm Flexibility Yin Yoga

6:00pm Dinner

Surfing daily at high tide. Surf lessons available. Excursions available ( Waterfall Hike, San Juan Del Sur trip, Horseback Riding ), Massages, Hammock Time

Lindsey was the Surfing star last trip!

Ren & Grant at the Waterfall

Ryan upside down in the Yoga Shala

Prices include:

Accommodations, Meals, and Classes

Extras:

Cabs, alcohol, excursions, surf rentals, surf instruction

DM me to book your Bungalow

Risto Duggan

Mar 27, 20214 min read

The Benefits of adding Flexibiliity Yin Yoga & Slantboard Squats to my weekly routine!

Updated: Jun 28, 2021

I started teaching yoga in 2007. Back then I was so A - type, that the thought of doing yin yoga was kinda crazy to me.

I took my first yin class at One Yoga in 2013, and although it felt like torture, I could instantly feel the benefits. Back then I was very physically damaged and sitting still in hip opening poses was incredibly painful.

Slava Goloubov and I use to take each others classes at Exhale. He taught Hatha ( Slava style ) and I taught Power. He added long holds in his Hatha classes... Like 5min. Frog!

Over time I got to love the long holds, because the benefits were so dramatic, but challenging mentally.... Which I loved!

He did his Yin training with Jolene Bayda, and that was why his Hatha classes where that way. So I took Jolene's Yin training.... Some days in her training we would hold poses for up to 30 minutes. I left that training with a whole new appreciation for Yin Yoga and it's benefits!

The old saying; "I used to play... Now I stay!" - Iyengar ... Rang so true.

My Yin Yoga teaching has evolved a bit over the years. I actually like to move a bit before sitting in poses, and in between some of the long held poses. Even adding some functional movements exercises into the mix... I called it "Active Yin".

The combination of Rocket Yoga and Active Yin made my body feeling way more balanced than just power yoga alone. "Play & Stay" or "Yang & Yin" = Balance

While Covid was here I decided to do another Yin Training... Online this time.

Lucas Rockwood has been crossing my feeds for a while now, so I did a bit of research on his background. He works for Yoga Body and one of his programs is called, "Flexibility Yin Yoga".

He created it in 2007 in Thailand and by 2012 he was doing Teacher Trainings in Barcelona where he resides mainly.

Flexibility Yin Yoga is a targeted mobility training. Lucas created 3 sequences ( Hips, Hamstrings, Back&Shoulders ). Each sequence will address the whole body, but have a main focus.

Each sequence has 8-12 poses, held for 2-5 minutes with some functional mobility transitional poses. Once you set the pose up, you totally relax the focussed area and get into this special breathing... The breathing is everything!

4:8 Breathing ( 4 count inhale : 8 count exhale ). This breathing taps into the para sympathetic nervous system and helps you turn off your stress response.

I was pretty amazed when we signed up for the first class and there were 300 students from so many different countries! Every day I was working with students from 3-5 different countries... Kind of blown away! By the end of the two week training my body had a significant upgrade. The long holds with the 4:8 breathing slowly and easily opened me.

I knew my Active Yin class would now become a Flexibility Yin class!!

I mentioned the Flexibility Yoga sequences to Emmanuelle at Stretch, and she was into it.

I have been teaching these sequences now for a couple months and the response has been amazing!

Stretchvancouver.com Flexibility Yin Classes:

Friday 12:00 Back & Shoulders

Saturday 12:00 Hips

Sunday 12:00 Hamstrings

Asanaathome.com Flexibility Yin Class:

Monday 6:00pm ( They rotate Hips, Hamstrings, Back&Shoulders )

Oneyoga.ca Active Yin Class: ( With 4:8 Breathing included )

Sunday 6:00pm

While I was recovering from my recent shoulder reconstruction, I was seeing a few physiotherapists. I went through some muscle testing and the physiotherapist recommended that I add squats into my routine.

I have been following Ben Patrick @kneesovertoesguy for a while. He really promotes Slantboard squats as a staple for hip & low back strengthening!

So I'm thinking, "let's commit to a ton of slant board squats and see how it goes".

I ordered a Slantboard off of @slantboardguy and my partner and I started doing 100 a day.

We started with sets of 10, then 20, I now usually do 2 sets of 50.

Both of us had a dramatic change in our bodies in a couple weeks!

Reed leaned right out, gained really quick leg muscle, and my low back arthritic pain mellowed out a bunch!

Yogi's generally have weak gluteus medium, gluteus minimum, piriformis muscles. ( Outer Butt )

We are constantly firing gluteus maximum in classes ( Mula Bandha ) and rarely squat for repetitions. So the fine tune muscles in the butt get neglected.

Slantboard squats strengthen the vastas medalis oblique muscle ( Teardrop muscle in the quadricep over the knee ). Ben calls them VMO squats. This elevated heal squat hits the 3 neglected muscles in the butt and protects the knees, while toning and strengthening your low back... Total game changer!

My schedule is very balanced these days... I physically do 4 Rocket classes and 4 Flexibility Yin classes weekly.

It has been the best combo to date for growth and comfort.

I used to be 70/30 Power/Yin... 50/50 Feels so much better in my body!

This combo of Flexibility Yin and Slantboard Squats has also saved me a bunch of money on physio!

I look forward to seeing you in class or online.

ristoduggan.com