Saturday, March 2, 2013

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!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

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