MBS Teaching Technique Videos

Welcome to the MBS Method

This brief video featuring Mind Body Solutions founder Matthew Sanford introduces this series, which spans the philosophical underpinnings and teaching concepts defining the MBS method. Dive into the audio recordings for in-depth content from Matthew and others, taking the opportunity to listen over and over, each session expanding your understanding of what yoga can be and do. Video offerings are more demonstrative, providing teaching techniques and featuring many familiar MBS adaptive yoga students as Matthew leads them through asana practice from inside to out.

Main Topics:

• Intro to content
• Capturing our insights and methodology for an online resource available 24/7
• This content is personal to Matthew
• Helping all students experience the sensation of yoga from inside to out.
• The audio segments will contain deeper dives into our content
• Video segments will be more demonstrative
• Goal – to ignite wonder and curiosity
• The process will change you

Core Sensations: Grounding

The sensation of grounding is pervasive but easy to overlook. It is, however, integral to our well-being. In this video, Matthew Sanford discusses how grounding is related to the sensations of balance and expansion, and shows how to create this in your own practice and teaching. Both active and passive forms of grounding are demonstrated, including the use of sandbags, supporting the back of the heart, grounding hands and feet, and the use of props and physical reference.

Main Topics

• 0:00 The Sensation of Grounding is Integral
• 4:11 Experiencing Grounding
• 4:25 Using Sandbags
• 5:42 Supporting the Back of the Heart
• 9:23 Grounding hands and feet
• 12:54 Using Reference for Grounding
• 17:31 Feet to Feet
• 19:54 Passive Grounding on the floor

Core Sensations: Expansion

Expansion is more than simply an inner body sensation. It is a means of helping people with disabilities reenter the world and find their voice within our culture. Movement from the center outward, or from inside to out, is key to helping people living with trauma, loss, and disability live in larger spaces. In this video, Matthew Sanford and his team demonstrate multiple ways of fostering the sensation of expansion actively, passively, and using physical reference and props. Poses include taking arms and legs wide, foot into the sacrum, and multiple versions of triangle pose. Finally, Matthew discusses the sensation of boundary and the paradox that to truly expand from inside to out, boundary is a critical component.

Main Topics

• 0:00 The sensation of expansion is crucial for people with disabilities
• 4:27 Taking Arms and Legs Wide
• 6:37 Foot into the Sacrum
• 10:47 Triangle Pose ( Utthita Trikonasana)
• 17:06 Boundary

Core Sensations: Balance

At Mind Body Solutions, we believe balance is not a physical accomplishment but a core sensation defined as equal distribution of presence, and effort, throughout the body. In this video Matthew Sanford expands on this concept, helping students deepen their realization of the inner and outer dimensions of balance beyond physical coordination and muscular action. Follow along as the group explores sitting balance, Stacking the Bands, and highlights various versions of Tree Pose in this practice for people of all abilities.

Main Topics

• 0:00 Balance is a sensation, not a physical accomplishment
• 1:45 Standing Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
• 3:52 Balance in Sitting
• 6:13 Stacking the Bands
• 9:39 Adapting Tree Pose: Lying, Sitting, and Standing

Core Sensations: Rhythm

Rhythm is one of the key ways we connect with other people and with what surrounds us, but it is too easily given up when living with trauma, loss, and disability. In this video, Matthew Sanford and his team share both joyful and calming rhythm with one another, reigniting curiosity and playfulness while recognizing the underlying importance of sharing this core sensation with one another. Watch as the MBS team members share rhythm as simple as slight hand movements all the way through “Dancing with Joe” as you gain an appreciation for the vital role rhythm plays in our lives.

Main Topics

• 0:00 The sensation of rhythm is too easily given up when living with trauma, loss, and disability
• 2:41 Sharing Rhythm in Sitting, Exploring with Curiosity
• 9:10 Sitting Back to Back
• 11:35 Partner Practices: Exploring Rhythm
• 20:12 Joyful Movement: Dancing with Joe

Universal Principles: Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

The MBS Method deemphasizes the physical performance of the pose while offering a framework for the experience of core sensations. In this video, Matthew Sanford and his team explore Universal Principles such as Down to Go Up, A Lifted Chest is in Every Pose, and Alignment as an Effortless form of Mind-Body Integration through the lens of Mountain Pose (Tadasana). Watch as Matthew leads his students through Tadasana variations in standing, sitting, and while on the floor. He reminds us that dynamic things are happening that may not be visually apparent, and the role of the teacher is to affirm this new awareness for the student, recognizing that little things can be transformative.

Main Topics:

• 0:00 Revealing What is Universal in Yoga
• 1:34 Recognizing Universal Principles in Standing Mountain Pose
• 4:47 Teaching Tadasana in Standing
• 7:41 Teaching Tadasana in Sitting
• 17:58 Teaching Tadasana on the Floor

Universal Principles: Downward Facing Dog ( Adho Mukha Svanasana)

In this second video installment on Universal Principles, Matthew Sanford reminds viewers that using Universal Principles to teach asana deemphasizes the physical performance of particular poses to reveal experiences happening in all poses. In this session, Matthew uses the pose Downward Facing Dog to teach Universal Principles such as space as the conduit of the subtle body, differentiating parts of the body, base, and gravity variations, and moving in multiple directions. Matthew and his team demonstrate the use of physical touch and props to reveal Downward Dog on the floor, using a chair, and at the wall.

Main Topics:

• 0:00 Universal Principles as Building Blocks
• 2:21 Down Dog on the Floor
• 9:13 Dog Dog Using a Chair
• 15:24 Down Dog Using a Wall

5-Pointed Star ( Utthita Hasta Padasana)

In this third video installment on Universal Principles, Matthew Sanford describes the Universal Principles as the building blocks happening in every pose that create glimpses into particular poses, giving students access to the experience of asana from inside to out. In this way, students are able to access the underneath ease of poses without overgripping or muscular action. Matthew reminds us that we are training the inner body to hear the subtle, intangible parts of the mind-body relationship, making them the foundation of moving from silence into action. Follow along as Matthew leads the MBS students through 5-Pointed Star in standing, sitting and on the floor as well as Pinning Hips and Warrior III.

Main Topics

• 0:00 Accessing Asana from Inside to Out
• 1:07 Taking Arms and Legs Wide, Standing
• 5:36 Taking Arms and Legs Wide, Sitting
• 11:14 Pinning Hips in Sitting
• 13:12 Pinning Hips and Warrior III on the Floor

Additional Resources

Developing Inner Awareness – Passive

In this episode, Matthew Sanford introduces the concept of Inner Awareness and reminds viewers that, when teaching adaptive yoga, the greatest commonality between you and your student is your yoga practice. Matthew invites the viewer to practice along in this episode, utilizing reference to experience Inner Awareness as it travels from body to mind. Passive reference techniques such as balancing in the whole room, supporting the back of the sternum, and light reference on the wrists are demonstrated during this practice.

Main Topics

• 0:00 The Greatest Commonality is Your Practice
• 5:45 Practice Along: Balancing in the Whole Room
• 8:52 Using Reference to Develop Inner Awareness
• 10:18 Supporting the Back of the Sternum
• 14:02 Light reference on the Wrists

Developing Inner Awareness – Active

In this video, focused on active ways of developing Inner Awareness, Matthew expands on the concept of pratyahara and reiterates the importance of repetition in your yoga practice as well as feeling the poses from inside to out. Practice along as Matthew guides you to find the sweet zone of activation using a block between the feet in Tadasana, refines the pose in Downward Facing Dog, activates and realizes space in 5-Pointed Star, and guides you through Triangle Pose using a block for support.

Main Topics

• 0:00 Recap of the Development of Inner Awareness from Body to Mind
• 4:53 Tadasana: FInding the sweet zone of activation
• 12:46 Downward Facing Dog: Refining the Asana
• 16:44 5-Pointed Star (Utthita Hasta Padasana)
• 25:37 Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)

The Art of Using Refernce – with Touch

In this episode, Matthew Sanford discusses the value of using reference with touch when working with adaptive yoga students. Using light physical touch, or props such as blocks and blankets, helps to reveal a yoga pose for students who may have limited physical access to the physical pose. This allows students to receive the benefits of a yoga practice independent of the physical performance of the pose. In this video, touch reference such as hand behind the sternum, hands to knees, feet to feet, and others are demonstrated in mountain pose (tadasana), 5-Pointed Star (utthita hasta padasana), trikonasana (triangle pose), and reclined upward salute ( urdhva hastana). The use of props is introduced as well.

Main Topics:

• 0:00 The benefits of using physical touch and props with adaptive yoga students
• 5:06 Reference in Standing
• 10:52 Reference While Seated
• 22:57 Reference on the Floor

The Art of Using Refernce – without Touch

In this video, Matthew Sanford helps students access both the physical and subtle body by the use of reference without physical touch. Matthew describes teaching with contrast, the importance of repetition, finding the midline, and moving in multiple directions at once to activate throughout the body and fully appreciate the poses from the inside to the outside. Reference techniques using sandbags, blocks, belts, and verbal cues are demonstrated in standing, sitting, and lying positions. Finally, watch as MBS student, Poppy, experiences both the sensations of openness and groundedness simultaneously in a supported chest opening on the floor with the use of additional reference.

Main Topics

• 0:00 The use of reference without touch
• 2:53 Reference in Standing
• 6:20 Reference in Sitting
• 15:19 Reference on the Floor
• 20: 34 Passive Chest Opening

What is Restorative – The River Prana

In this engaging session with longtime MBS student Zach, Matthew Sanford explores the concept of prana, how it manifests from the midline outward, flows through everything, and includes both connection and disconnection. Matthew reminds us that one of the things asana reveals is how to be congruent with the perpetual flow of prana in every direction. Watch as Matthew guides Zach to experience concepts such as boundary, reference, and alignment, revealing the relief that happens when the empty space is congruent in the body. Matthew also addresses the question, “What is restorative?” and reexamines the classical definition of restorative yoga when working with adaptive students.

Main Topics

• 0:00 Multiple Bodies Flowing Through Us
• 10:37 Leading with Alignment
• 16:04 Living in More Spaces
• 20:24 T he Guiding Sensation of Relief
• 24:17 Creating Space
• 25:47 Chattaranga and Upward Dog
• 30:07 What is Restorative?