
Unfurl and Release is the new six-part course taught by Zarouhi Grumbar. The course is developed to get comfortable in easing into backbends, working on physical and mental strength to open the heart and create greater flexibility with tutorials, asana drills and final, concluding flow. Check out the course now on Wanderlust TV.
Based in London with a young family, but originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Zaz's teaching style is nourishing and empowering, with attention to alignment underpinned by her studies in applied anatomy. She brings an insistence on self-awareness and on discovering all that you are capable of.
Providing clear guidance through detailed cues to help students level up or drawback based on their needs, she believes in taking every opportunity to challenge the mind’s perceptions of what we can do, and to empower students to move in accordance with honoring their energy and needs in that precise moment.
How did Yoga enter your life? One day on my way to work I was hit by a motorcycle, which left me with twisted vertebrae, and in a cycle of being trapped in bed for days at a time, unable to move and in a lot of pain. A visit to the osteopath would help for a month, but any jarring movement would trigger the pain again. This went on for two years, and I was falling into depression, while battling an eating disorder at the same time. One day, a friend insisted I come with her to try out the "latest trend" - a vinyasa yoga class. From the first breath on the mat, I felt at home. I reconnected to my body and learned acceptance; breathwork helped enormously and magically, and as a result, those jarring episodes became rarer and rarer.
What is your favorite part about being a teacher?
I feel completely humbled to be a teacher and to guide people in their practice - my favorite part about being a teacher is the impact we have on people’s lives and when someone tells me that they have discovered something within themselves that they never thought possible. It’s like teaching someone to find their inner superhero! Your new Wanderlust TV course is all about heart and chest openers, unleashing creative and loving energy. Could you dive into details on how unblocking of that energy happens? Are there particular stages that one goes through? From rejection to awareness to then acceptance? Ooh yes! Backbends require such bravery because we often instinctively curl our front bodies forwards to protect ourselves and our personal space. So the resistance to opening fully can be present. We also have an anatomical tendency to dump into our lower back. Working to mobilize the spine from the thoracic section means figuratively sending our heart upwards and outwards, and this is where we may begin to combine strength and bravery with surrender and curiosity. During this process, we are lifting the coiled energy from the base of the spine upwards, we are coming into moving gently with awareness yet with power, while also lifting our hearts and opening to the possibilities of what we can release and discover. Backbends are simply a magical process.