July 8 Gentle Sequence for a Friend

My friend came in for private practice today, and this is what we did: 1.savasana with a blanket over belly and bolster under hamstrings - belly breathing with 6 second inhale and 6 second exhale 2. child's pose supported with a bolster and sandbag over hips - 6 second breathing 3. seated 6-3-6-3 breathing 4. legs up the wall sequence: wide, reverse pigeon, wide, 1/2 shoulderstand up/down/hold and lift to full shoulderstand, plow, roll down, twist, hug knees to chest 5. baddha konasana w/ back at wall and steamroll neck along wall turning head left to right 6. savasana with lower legs on chair, blanket and sandbag on low belly This sequence took about 50 minutes and can easily become a whole pranayama/restoratives class.

July 6: Interesting Digestive Class

1. kapplabhati and nadi sodhana - 2-5 minutes each 2. supported gomukhasana - seated on edge of bolster, take full pose, using strap if necessary for joining hands together, then release arms and fold forward, resting forehead on stacked blocks 3. dandasana for a couple of breaths between sides of gomukhasana 4. eka pada supta virasana 5. udarakarshanasana 10 rounds 6. virasana with gomukhasana arms and reverse prayer arms 7. uttanasana - ardha, bent knees, straight legs 8. bound tree 2 9. eagle at the wall - from chair at the wall, inhale extend one leg and raise both arms to the wall, exhale down x6 pairs, then eagle balanced at wall, then eagle without the wall 10. vatayanasana 11. tadasana 12. prasarita padottanasana 13. uttanasana 14. surya namaskar A. x1 to floor 15. cobra twist 16. bow 17. bharadvajasana 1 18. bharadvajasana 2 19. paschimotanasana 20. viparita karani 21. savasana This sequence is fun and good to do if you're in an asana rut as well as a digestive one! I wonder if one follows the other(?). Each asana can be practiced form a few breaths to a few minutes. When it's hot I like short holds and a couple of reps for energy. Sat Nam.

A Morning Sequence

Sat Nam. This was my sequence this morning, when I woke up earlier than I wanted to and needed a little easy movement: 1. wide leg child's pose 2. knees together child's pose 3. supta padangusthasana a - bottom leg bent and top leg strapped, b - straighten bottom leg, c - open top leg to the side with a block against the hip to hold the leg up, d- both feet through the strap and open wide with no blocks to stop the hips 4. supported gomukhasana - seated on bolster full pose, then release arms and rest forehead on a block or two 5. down dog 6. eka pada supta virasana with bolster supta virasana 7. bharadvajasana 1 8. bharadvajasana 2 9. down dog 10. uttanasana w/ bent knees, ardha uttanasana, uttanasana 11. down dog 12. child's pose 13. savasana I did 7 breaths per asana.

Saturday, March 2, 2013 All Levels - Tree Class

Sat Nam! This is the practice we did in All Levels Saturday, March 2: We've been chanting the lokha mantra for 5 minutes at the start of class. 1. jaw releasing: bite the wrist, either vertical or horizontal; let jaw hang on the wrist bone; bite the other one; then with a wide open mouth, inhale and exhale three times; finally begin ujjayi somewhere in the next 5 breaths; sense space and lightness in the mouth 2. tadasana: we rolled our weight forward and backward on the feet, paying attention to where "center" was; vines of light growing from souls of feet to core of earth and back up through feet again, connected to mulha bandha 3. urdvha hasatasana: ribs opening and lifting on inhale; mulha bandha meets receding navel on exhale Carrying what we've learned in tadasana to the following standings: 4. tree 1 and 2, one minute each, x2 sets, with time in tadasana in between (we moved from arms up to tree to maintain lift and belly awareness); 1/2 bind in tree 2 5. triangle 6. warrior 2 7. parsvakonasana 8. prasarita padottanasana 9. twisting triangle 10. twisting parsvakonasana 11. prasarita padottanasana 12. natarajasana x2 13. tree 2 again, moving into 1/2 bound one legged forward fold and then into toe stand 14. uttanasana *All standing postures held 1-2 minutes 15. bridge with block on long side, running along sacrum; straighten legs; then viparita karani on block; back to bent knee version *All held 1-2 minutes or longer 16. lie flat for a minute; then hug knees to chest 17. Nada Sanchalana (See March newsletter for directions) inhale up front of spine; hold at bindu; exhale OM down back of spine; we did about 8 rounds in class 18. savasana (I read David Whyte's "Mameen") Enjoy the sequence!

Yam Ham Om - A Sequence For Heart, Throat, and Third Eye

Sat Nam! In an effort to refresh this sequence blog, I offer this practice for the heart, throat, and third eye. In it there are backbends and inversions, and bija mantra repetition, which I love. Enjoy! yam - seed sound of heart chakra (anahata) ham - seed sound of throat chakra (vishuddhi) om - seed sound of third eye chakra (ajna) chakravakasana x6 -chant yam ham om as you exhale into either halloween cat or child's pose, whichever you prefer 1 arm dynamic camel x6 -inhale up into 1 arm camel with the other hand behind the back -exhale down, ear to the ground, head moves away from the moving arm camel vinyasa x6 -inhale on knees, both arms overhead; exhale child's pose, touch heart, throat, third eye coming down; in cobra, stay and nod slowly three times on three breaths; ex down dog, chakravakasana to child's pose; begin again Surya Namaskar C. x6 -begin with arms out to sides, chant yam ham om on the forward folding, touching heart, throat, third eye natarajasana with yam ham om, touching heart, throat, and third eye x6 archer, dancer, archer x6 with no chanting hold dancer for 6 breaths vira 1, fold forward over bent knee, vira 1, up x6 then hold a pyramid pose for 6 to 10 breaths each side prasarita padottanasana 2 minutes camel 6 breaths, x3 on back with arms overhead, then bend knees, then bridge 3 ways: inhale arms overhead in bridge, exhale down x3; inhale bridge with arms overhead,exhale roll down x3, then inhale up with arms overhead, stay up on exhale, roll down on suspension of breath, then same as the last one with uddiyana bandha x3 each way shoulderstand and plow with or without props - with props hold poses 5 minutes each supta padangusthasana sequence paschimo 2 min. fish if you'd like chanting through all the bija mantras to continue to ground energy before savasana savasana

Sat Nam. For the Saturday All Levels we meditated on the chakras of the pelvis, heart, and crown of the head - muladhara, anahata, and sahasrara. These chakras have seed sounds, which are lam, yam, and the vibration after the sound of Om, respectively. We inhaled lam yam om and moved breath from root to crown; we exhaled and quited the brain, softened the heart, and drew the navel to the spine.We stayed with this for some time and then went into the following sequence:
1. reclining uddiyana bandha several times
2. rolled on the back, side to side, back and forth, sat up
3. standing uddiyana bandha several times
4. chest expansion x3
5. reed pose x2
surya namaskar B. with variations - virabhadrasana 1, 2, reverse parsvokonasana, parsvokonasana, reverse again, then cartwheel into vinyasa - we did 4 rounds and then held the last round of vira 2 and parsvokonasana.
6. uttanasana
7. backbend at the wall - like the backbend in reed - we were standing a foot or so from the wall, inhale arms overhead and lean back until fingertips touch wall, exhale and push off wall to tadasana several times
8. we did the same with a friend who was holding a strap around our hips - then some of us walked down the wall into urdvha dhanurasana, supported by wall, strap, and friend.
9. assisted uttanasana - we folded forward and our friend walked into our backs and we leaned into them; then they lifted our hamstrings and kind of "sandwiched" us together
10. down dog
11. child's pose
12. ardha matsyendrasana x2
13. upavistha konasana
14. baddha konasana
15. paschimottanasana
We ended as we began, with lam, yam, and om, but we chanted them out loud and rested our awareness at the crown chakra.
16. back releases
17. savasana
If we had the time, we would have included headstand, shoulderstand, plow, and fish to the mix, between 11 and 12. Nevertheless, we stirred the energy of these chakras quite nicely!

Sat Nam,

My friend got married over the weekend, and I read a poem by Mary Oliver called "What Is The Greatest Gift"? She goes on to say, "...that I wonder abut your soul more than I wonder about my own..." and "..."That I find my soul clapping its hands for yours more than my own...". It's so perfect and sweet. I began class with it and reminded everyone how we uplift each other when we practice together. Here's what we did, as far as I can remember:
breath of fire
chakravakasana
down dog
uddiyana bandha
agni sara
uttanasana and uttanasana with a twist
chair pose, tiptoe chair pose, utkatasana, eagle
(Whew!)
dancer x2
uttanasana
trikonasana and twsiting trikonasana
prasarita padottanasana
1/2 frog, full frog, bow
bridge adn/or upward bow
chakravakasana to child's pose
bent knee forward bend
full seated forward bend
a long reclining twist
apanasana
supta baddha konasana
savasana
I don't believe we had a meditation. But the asana is meditation in action, especially a focused class like this. Everyone was centered and uplifting of each other.