Focus: Review of Purvis Workshop groin opening poses.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Soft, slow, smooth inhalation. Soft, slow, smooth exhalation. The energy, prana, that you generate through the inhalation and the exhalation should reach even the remote areas of the body. Sit erect to create space, height, width, and depth to drench every area of the body with the breath.
b. From the inner cellular body, you have to keep yourself open because the cells are receptacles that receive that energy.
So let that annamaya kosha [physical sheath] of the body become completely a pranamaya kosha [energetic sheath], as though every cell of the body is receiving that energy.
If the nerve fibers fluctuate anywhere, or get inflated, the energy will get sucked up by those nerve cells. Don’t deflate them, as though the air is taken out from those areas, [else the prana will leak from them].
c. Quietly and silently, lift from the outer body, as the subtle body settles deeper into the core, the inner sheath, where it can remain restful.
[Geeta Iyengar — Pune July 6, 2009]
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
3. Utthita Trikonasana
4. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. From Utthita Trikonasana. Slowly bend the knee with the breath to allow the intelligence to reach every part of the body. Do in rhythm multiple times to bring mobility to the consciousness.
5. Ardha Chandrasana
a. Omitted for time.
6. a. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat)
Head on brick on chair seat. Left leg — while moving the left hip forward, move the left frontal thigh into bone to make space in the left groin and to bring the right hip forward.
b. Angular Parsvottanasana
Stand with the right side body at the wall and the right leg behind the left. Place the outer edge of the left foot on the mat and the inner edge up on the wall. Hands on the chair, step forward with the right leg in Parsvottanasana.
7. Baddha Konasana
a. Back to wall, sit on folded blankets high enough to support the outer thighs.
b. Brick between feet.
8. Supta Parsvakonasana
a. From Supta Baddha Konasana, toes at the wall and buttocks on a sticky mat, sidebend to the right.
b. Take the right leg out and make a square with the foot on the wall. Outer right thigh should rest on the mat. If that is impossible, put a flat brick under the right outer heel.
c. Extend the left leg, placing the bottom of the foot on the wall. If it is impossible, elevate the foot on flat brick or two, and support the left side of the sacrum. With arms out at ninety degrees, it form as Supta Virabhadrasana II.
d. Side bend to take the right hand to the right ankle to Supta Parsvakonasana.
9. Anantasana
a. Omitted for time.
10. Brick Setubandha
a. Omitted for time.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 2 (November 12, 2009)
Two new students.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Focus: Apply back leg actions in standings from the Purvis workshop. Shoulder work in preparation for Sarvangasana.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.2-4, What is Yoga?
Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.29-45, What is Astanga Yoga?
[See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 2 (November 10, 2009)]
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
2. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms)
3. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Inadvertently omitted.
4. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and side bend to the right to stretch the right side ribs.
5. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
6. Urdhva Hastasana
7. Utthita Hasta Padasana
8. Parsva Hasta Padasana
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Left outer edge of the foot at the wall. Press down the left outer foot and then take the inner left thigh towards the thigh bone to move the thigh closer to the wall to take more of the weight on the back leg.
b. Holding the lower wall rope does three things:
It prevents the mind from going with the motion, and keeps the trunk in the middle, perpendicular to the floor. Then the mind is more stable.
It keeps the rip hip lifted up to provide space to bend the right knee from the hip joint.
It prevents taking all the weight towards the right knee, in combination with keeping the left outer foot down.
c. Lift the toes of the right foot, ball down, to lift the inner arch, shin and knee.
d. Lift the pubic plate.
10. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Turn right leg and knee out.
b. Move the right buttock bone in line with the trunk to extend the hamstrings while coming into the pose.
11. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Inadvertently omitted.
12. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Left arm in Paschima Namaskarasana to complete Gomukhasana arms.
13. Wall Rope Urdhva Hastasana
a. Press wrists into upper wall rope to open the armpits and to lift the armpit chest. Opening the armpit chest gives access to the vyana vayu, the energy that circulates throughout the entire body.
14. Tadasana
a. Just as a farmer prepares the soil and plants the seed, which removes the obstacles to allow the plant to grow unimpeded, so does the chest lift automatically, with much less effort, as a result of previous leg and arm actions. [Patanjali Yoga Sutra IV.3]
15. Virabhadrasana I
a. Press wrists into upper wall rope to open the armpits.
b. Press wrists into imaginary upper wall rope to open the armpits.
16. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat)
a. Pull back on chair seat to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and to move the right leg back.
17. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Concave back: Hands on the hips. Lift from the eyes of the sternum, not just by throwing the head back.
b. Extended phase: Head down on a brick. Fingertips in line with toe tips. Arms in Sirsasana II position.
18. Forward Extensions (omitted for time)
a. Dandasana
b. Padangustha Dandasana
19. Chair Sarvangasana
20. Savasana
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Focus: Apply back leg actions in standings from the Purvis workshop. Shoulder work in preparation for Sarvangasana.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.2-4, What is Yoga?
Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.29-45, What is Astanga Yoga?
[See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 2 (November 10, 2009)]
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
2. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms)
3. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Inadvertently omitted.
4. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and side bend to the right to stretch the right side ribs.
5. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
6. Urdhva Hastasana
7. Utthita Hasta Padasana
8. Parsva Hasta Padasana
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Left outer edge of the foot at the wall. Press down the left outer foot and then take the inner left thigh towards the thigh bone to move the thigh closer to the wall to take more of the weight on the back leg.
b. Holding the lower wall rope does three things:
It prevents the mind from going with the motion, and keeps the trunk in the middle, perpendicular to the floor. Then the mind is more stable.
It keeps the rip hip lifted up to provide space to bend the right knee from the hip joint.
It prevents taking all the weight towards the right knee, in combination with keeping the left outer foot down.
c. Lift the toes of the right foot, ball down, to lift the inner arch, shin and knee.
d. Lift the pubic plate.
10. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Turn right leg and knee out.
b. Move the right buttock bone in line with the trunk to extend the hamstrings while coming into the pose.
11. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Inadvertently omitted.
12. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Left arm in Paschima Namaskarasana to complete Gomukhasana arms.
13. Wall Rope Urdhva Hastasana
a. Press wrists into upper wall rope to open the armpits and to lift the armpit chest. Opening the armpit chest gives access to the vyana vayu, the energy that circulates throughout the entire body.
14. Tadasana
a. Just as a farmer prepares the soil and plants the seed, which removes the obstacles to allow the plant to grow unimpeded, so does the chest lift automatically, with much less effort, as a result of previous leg and arm actions. [Patanjali Yoga Sutra IV.3]
15. Virabhadrasana I
a. Press wrists into upper wall rope to open the armpits.
b. Press wrists into imaginary upper wall rope to open the armpits.
16. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat)
a. Pull back on chair seat to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and to move the right leg back.
17. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Concave back: Hands on the hips. Lift from the eyes of the sternum, not just by throwing the head back.
b. Extended phase: Head down on a brick. Fingertips in line with toe tips. Arms in Sirsasana II position.
18. Forward Extensions (omitted for time)
a. Dandasana
b. Padangustha Dandasana
19. Chair Sarvangasana
20. Savasana
Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 37 (November 12, 2009)
Focus: Apply leg actions in standings from the Purvis workshop to sitting poses.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.2-4, What is Yoga? [See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 2 (November 10, 2009)]
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Upavistha Konasana
a. Take the front thighs towards the back thighs to bring both the inner and outer knee into contact with the floor.
b. Extend the back thighs towards the heels, and, then, dig the heels down to prevent shortening the Achilles tendons. Keeping the heel strongly fixed, gripping the floor, which provides resistance, then extend the balls of the big toes and forefeet forward into a slight plantar flexion. This further opens up the backs of the knees, but provides length without hyperextension.
c. Extend from the inner ankles towards the inner heels. From the heels towards the toes, extend.
d. Spread the toes. Broaden the forefeet, from the big toes towards the baby toes, to help lift the sacroiliac region and bring the outer thighs in. It centralizes the body, and, thus, lifts the spine.
e. All of these actions spread the consciousness to each nook and cranny of the body and mind, thus helping to stabilize the mind.
2. Parsva Upavistha Konasana
a. Same leg actions.
3. Baddha Konasana
a. Back to wall, sit on folded blankets high enough to support the outer thighs.
b. Brick between feet.
4. Janu Sirsasana
a. Combine Upavistha Konasana and Baddha Konasana actions to extend forward.
5. Brick Setubandha
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.2-4, What is Yoga? [See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 2 (November 10, 2009)]
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Upavistha Konasana
a. Take the front thighs towards the back thighs to bring both the inner and outer knee into contact with the floor.
b. Extend the back thighs towards the heels, and, then, dig the heels down to prevent shortening the Achilles tendons. Keeping the heel strongly fixed, gripping the floor, which provides resistance, then extend the balls of the big toes and forefeet forward into a slight plantar flexion. This further opens up the backs of the knees, but provides length without hyperextension.
c. Extend from the inner ankles towards the inner heels. From the heels towards the toes, extend.
d. Spread the toes. Broaden the forefeet, from the big toes towards the baby toes, to help lift the sacroiliac region and bring the outer thighs in. It centralizes the body, and, thus, lifts the spine.
e. All of these actions spread the consciousness to each nook and cranny of the body and mind, thus helping to stabilize the mind.
2. Parsva Upavistha Konasana
a. Same leg actions.
3. Baddha Konasana
a. Back to wall, sit on folded blankets high enough to support the outer thighs.
b. Brick between feet.
4. Janu Sirsasana
a. Combine Upavistha Konasana and Baddha Konasana actions to extend forward.
5. Brick Setubandha
Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 2 (November 10, 2009)
Focus: Placement of the head in standings, and applying astanga yoga principles to practice.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.2-4, What is Yoga?
Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.29-45, What is Astanga Yoga?
From its very inception, yoga has focused primarily upon attaining peace of mind as its goal. Indeed, Patanjali, the compiler of the ca. 200 B.C.E. Yoga Sutras, summarized it in the second through fourth sutras: “Yoga is the cessation of the movements of the consciousness. All else is not yoga.” In other words, yoga is samadhi (enlightenment) and the discipline of yoga removes the obstacles to samadhi. [See Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 6 (April 9, 2009) for a more complete discussion.]
Patanjali’s yoga is divided into eight limbs, or astanga yoga. It includes the ethical precepts and disciplines of yama and niyama, the poses and breath regulation of asana and pranayama, the withdrawal of the senses — pratyahara, and the various stages of concentration, meditation and spiritual absorption — dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. When, in samadhi, the purity of the intellect equals the purity of the soul, the consciousness is freed of its movements and, along with the intellect, both dissolve in the beacon light of the soul. When the sages of old were asked to explain yoga, they could only utter, “Neti, neti!” — “Not this! Not this!” [See Saturday 10.30a Intro — Week 12 (May 23, 2009) for a more complete discussion.]
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Roll open the shoulders. Trapezius and shoulder blades down.
2. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms)
a. Added to bring mobility when rolling open the shoulders.
3. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Added to bring mobility when rolling open the shoulders.
4. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Skipped for time and emphasis.
5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Skipped for time and emphasis.
6. Utthita Hasta Padasana
7. Parsva Hasta Padasana
8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Keep the face and jaw relaxed, despite the perceived difficulty of the pose. Your face must remain quiet to keep the brain quiet, and to prevent the nerves from becoming irritated. This contentment allows for self-study and enthusiasm in practice, which conquers the desire to escape. Zeal in practice reflects the attitude of a purified consciousness. Endurance alone can be a sign of ignorance — an advanced student is merely capable of doing the wrong pose longer, says BKS Iyengar. When the lift of the legs supports the spine, the mind becomes pacified. Then endurance has a purpose — to allow enough time to afford self-discovery through self-study.
b. Slow, smooth breathing to aerate the brain cells. When you aerate the brain, it becomes sober, quiet and passive.
9. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Take the baby fingers closer to each other to help lock in the elbows.
10. Virabhadrasana II
a. Keep the trunk in the middle, perpendicular to the floor. Drop the trapezius to lift the chest.
b. Keep the head slightly back, withdrawn so that it does not “go with the motion.”
11. Utthita Parsvakonasana
12. Virabhadrasana I
a. Lift the entire anterior trunk. Lift from the eyes of the sternum, not just by throwing the head back.
13. Parsvottanasana (hands on bricks)
14. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Concave back: Hands on the hips. Lift from the eyes of the sternum, not just by throwing the head back.
b. Extended phase: Head down on a brick.
15. Forward Extensions
a. Dandasana
b. Padangustha Dandasana
16. Savasana
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.2-4, What is Yoga?
Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.29-45, What is Astanga Yoga?
From its very inception, yoga has focused primarily upon attaining peace of mind as its goal. Indeed, Patanjali, the compiler of the ca. 200 B.C.E. Yoga Sutras, summarized it in the second through fourth sutras: “Yoga is the cessation of the movements of the consciousness. All else is not yoga.” In other words, yoga is samadhi (enlightenment) and the discipline of yoga removes the obstacles to samadhi. [See Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 6 (April 9, 2009) for a more complete discussion.]
Patanjali’s yoga is divided into eight limbs, or astanga yoga. It includes the ethical precepts and disciplines of yama and niyama, the poses and breath regulation of asana and pranayama, the withdrawal of the senses — pratyahara, and the various stages of concentration, meditation and spiritual absorption — dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. When, in samadhi, the purity of the intellect equals the purity of the soul, the consciousness is freed of its movements and, along with the intellect, both dissolve in the beacon light of the soul. When the sages of old were asked to explain yoga, they could only utter, “Neti, neti!” — “Not this! Not this!” [See Saturday 10.30a Intro — Week 12 (May 23, 2009) for a more complete discussion.]
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Roll open the shoulders. Trapezius and shoulder blades down.
2. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms)
a. Added to bring mobility when rolling open the shoulders.
3. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Added to bring mobility when rolling open the shoulders.
4. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Skipped for time and emphasis.
5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Skipped for time and emphasis.
6. Utthita Hasta Padasana
7. Parsva Hasta Padasana
8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Keep the face and jaw relaxed, despite the perceived difficulty of the pose. Your face must remain quiet to keep the brain quiet, and to prevent the nerves from becoming irritated. This contentment allows for self-study and enthusiasm in practice, which conquers the desire to escape. Zeal in practice reflects the attitude of a purified consciousness. Endurance alone can be a sign of ignorance — an advanced student is merely capable of doing the wrong pose longer, says BKS Iyengar. When the lift of the legs supports the spine, the mind becomes pacified. Then endurance has a purpose — to allow enough time to afford self-discovery through self-study.
b. Slow, smooth breathing to aerate the brain cells. When you aerate the brain, it becomes sober, quiet and passive.
9. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Take the baby fingers closer to each other to help lock in the elbows.
10. Virabhadrasana II
a. Keep the trunk in the middle, perpendicular to the floor. Drop the trapezius to lift the chest.
b. Keep the head slightly back, withdrawn so that it does not “go with the motion.”
11. Utthita Parsvakonasana
12. Virabhadrasana I
a. Lift the entire anterior trunk. Lift from the eyes of the sternum, not just by throwing the head back.
13. Parsvottanasana (hands on bricks)
14. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Concave back: Hands on the hips. Lift from the eyes of the sternum, not just by throwing the head back.
b. Extended phase: Head down on a brick.
15. Forward Extensions
a. Dandasana
b. Padangustha Dandasana
16. Savasana
Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 2 (November 10, 2009)
Focus: Standing poses for continuing students, restorative poses for pain in new students.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Urdhva Hastasana in Swastikasana (holding upper wall ropes)
a. Lift the sternum and collar bones by lifting up the arms.
2. Utthita Trikonasana (3X)
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina
Chair Pavanmuktasana
a. Sitting in a chair with legs spread, bend forward. Rest the chest on a bolster stacked on chair seat number two. For headache coming from the shoulders, support shins on bolster and put a blanket beneath the feet to prevent foot pain and nausea. Support the sternum without jamming the bolster into the gut. Can turn the chair to allow space for the head to drop down, lengthening the neck. (BG)
b. For muscle pain and fatigue. Knees in to prevent jamming the sacroiliac joint when bending forward. (DB)
3. Virabhadrasana II (3X)
a. With the back to the wall, pull down the wall ropes but keep the elbows down to pull down the shoulders and trapezius.
4. Virabhadrasana I (2X)
a. Right foot on the chair seat, and hands at the wall for stability.
Supta Tadasana
a. After muscle pain and fatigue have subsided, with bent knees push towards the head to take the shoulder blades and trapezius down towards the tail bone to free the neck. (DB)
5. Chair Sarvangasana
a. Viparita Karani (BR)
6. Supported Savasana (20 min)
a. On two blankets folded in half, calves on chair seat (DB), or knees on bolster once headache has been relieved (BG). Cover with blankets to calm down the mind. Support head, hands and elbows.
Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Knees on a second bolster. (LM)
Viparita Karani (BR & MF)
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Urdhva Hastasana in Swastikasana (holding upper wall ropes)
a. Lift the sternum and collar bones by lifting up the arms.
2. Utthita Trikonasana (3X)
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina
Chair Pavanmuktasana
a. Sitting in a chair with legs spread, bend forward. Rest the chest on a bolster stacked on chair seat number two. For headache coming from the shoulders, support shins on bolster and put a blanket beneath the feet to prevent foot pain and nausea. Support the sternum without jamming the bolster into the gut. Can turn the chair to allow space for the head to drop down, lengthening the neck. (BG)
b. For muscle pain and fatigue. Knees in to prevent jamming the sacroiliac joint when bending forward. (DB)
3. Virabhadrasana II (3X)
a. With the back to the wall, pull down the wall ropes but keep the elbows down to pull down the shoulders and trapezius.
4. Virabhadrasana I (2X)
a. Right foot on the chair seat, and hands at the wall for stability.
Supta Tadasana
a. After muscle pain and fatigue have subsided, with bent knees push towards the head to take the shoulder blades and trapezius down towards the tail bone to free the neck. (DB)
5. Chair Sarvangasana
a. Viparita Karani (BR)
6. Supported Savasana (20 min)
a. On two blankets folded in half, calves on chair seat (DB), or knees on bolster once headache has been relieved (BG). Cover with blankets to calm down the mind. Support head, hands and elbows.
Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Knees on a second bolster. (LM)
Viparita Karani (BR & MF)
Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 42 (November 9, 2009)
Focus: Leg actions in standing and sitting poses from the Purvis workshop. Dandasana based on the teachings of Geeta Iyengar’s 7-3-09 PM Advanced Class.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Upavistha Konasana
a. Take the front thighs towards the back thighs to bring both the inner and outer knee into contact with the floor.
b. Extend the back thighs towards the heels, and, then, dig the heels down to prevent shortening the Achilles tendons. Keeping the heel strongly fixed, gripping the floor, which provides resistance, then extend the balls of the big toes and forefeet forward into a slight plantar flexion. This further opens up the backs of the knees, but provides length without hyperextension.
c. Extend from the inner ankles towards the inner heels. From the heels towards the toes, extend.
d. Spread the toes. Broaden the forefeet, from the big toes towards the baby toes, to help lift the sacroiliac region and bring the outer thighs in. It centralizes the body, and, thus, lifts the spine
2. Parsva Upavistha Konasana
3. Baddha Konasana
4. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Left leg: Stamp down the outer heel, abduct from the inner thigh towards the outer thigh, and then turn the left groin out. Resist the ball of the big toe down to prevent hyperextending the knee.
b. Right leg: Move the buttock bone in line with the trunk. Press down the ball of the big toe down to prevent hyperextending the knee.
5. Dandasana
a. Palms down, fingers facing forward, open the fingers and knuckles. Press the palms down, extending the arms into the body with the shoulders rolling back.
b. Biceps turn open and lift upward out of the elbows to straighten the arms and lift the chest.
Shoulders roll back, trapezius down towards the tail bone, clavicles widen, and armpit chest forward to lift the front body.
c. Descend the shoulder blades. Then retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other and take the shoulder blades into the back body. Additionally, take the dorsal spine in, and the sacrum in, both towards the front body. These actions support the opening of the front body.
d. Although the buttock bones are contacting the floor, press the palms down and lift the biceps up — as in handstand — to lift the weight of the pelvis and trunk up, off of the buttock bones. Make the arms like a staff.
[Similar to Geeta Iyengar, 7-3-09 PM Advanced Class.]
6. Salamba Sirsasana
Interlace and grip the webbing of the first two digits, press the thumb pads into the back of the head without gripping the fingers.
7. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
8. Savasana
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Upavistha Konasana
a. Take the front thighs towards the back thighs to bring both the inner and outer knee into contact with the floor.
b. Extend the back thighs towards the heels, and, then, dig the heels down to prevent shortening the Achilles tendons. Keeping the heel strongly fixed, gripping the floor, which provides resistance, then extend the balls of the big toes and forefeet forward into a slight plantar flexion. This further opens up the backs of the knees, but provides length without hyperextension.
c. Extend from the inner ankles towards the inner heels. From the heels towards the toes, extend.
d. Spread the toes. Broaden the forefeet, from the big toes towards the baby toes, to help lift the sacroiliac region and bring the outer thighs in. It centralizes the body, and, thus, lifts the spine
2. Parsva Upavistha Konasana
3. Baddha Konasana
4. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Left leg: Stamp down the outer heel, abduct from the inner thigh towards the outer thigh, and then turn the left groin out. Resist the ball of the big toe down to prevent hyperextending the knee.
b. Right leg: Move the buttock bone in line with the trunk. Press down the ball of the big toe down to prevent hyperextending the knee.
5. Dandasana
a. Palms down, fingers facing forward, open the fingers and knuckles. Press the palms down, extending the arms into the body with the shoulders rolling back.
b. Biceps turn open and lift upward out of the elbows to straighten the arms and lift the chest.
Shoulders roll back, trapezius down towards the tail bone, clavicles widen, and armpit chest forward to lift the front body.
c. Descend the shoulder blades. Then retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other and take the shoulder blades into the back body. Additionally, take the dorsal spine in, and the sacrum in, both towards the front body. These actions support the opening of the front body.
d. Although the buttock bones are contacting the floor, press the palms down and lift the biceps up — as in handstand — to lift the weight of the pelvis and trunk up, off of the buttock bones. Make the arms like a staff.
[Similar to Geeta Iyengar, 7-3-09 PM Advanced Class.]
6. Salamba Sirsasana
Interlace and grip the webbing of the first two digits, press the thumb pads into the back of the head without gripping the fingers.
7. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
8. Savasana
Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 1 (November 5, 2009)
1 new student in class.
Focus: Arms and legs in standings.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, What is Yoga Practice?
Practice can be simply summarized as the effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind. [See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009) for a more complete discussion.] Put the diaphragm in a position that eases breathing and effort so that the mind may remain calm.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
2. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Thighs back and lift the pubic plate to keep the diaphragm neutral and ease breathing.
3. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Lift the side ribs to straighten the elbows.
4. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and side bend to the right to stretch the right side ribs.
b. Left arm in Paschima Namaskarasana to complete Gomukhasana arms. For rotator cuff injuries, do not do this side. Instead, concentrate on upper arm lift, as in Ardha Gomukhasana, to lift the collar bone up and externally rotate the upper arm away from the injury site.
5. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. The side ribs are able to lift more after doing Gomukhasana.
6. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. When landing from the jump, keep the knees bent and land on the toes to prevent jarring the spine.
7. Parsva Hasta Padasana
a. Align the knee cap by turning out the entire leg.
8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
c. Lift the right pelvic rim up, off of the thigh, to bring more freedom to the hip joint when bending the right knee. Keeping that up, then sit the right buttock down.
10. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly. Then, from there, turn open the chest.
11. Upper Wall Rope Urdhva Hastasana
a. Press hands into upper wall ropes to lift the pubic plate. Thighs back and lift the pubic plate to keep the diaphragm neutral and ease breathing.
12. Virabhadrasana I
a. Press the hands into imaginary upper wall ropes, as in Upper Wall Rope Urdhva Hastasana, to feel the resistance to help lift the pubic plate. This takes the pressure off of the diaphragm to help breathe.
13. Parsvottanasana (hands on wall, concave back)
a. Right foot on brick, toes up the wall to pull right hip back, left hip forward. Straighten left inner knee. Keeping the left shin back, turn the left calf from inner towards outer to bring the left hip forward.
Parsvottanasana (hands on ledge, concave back)
b. Press the side wrists down onto the ledge to take the shoulder blades down and lift the chest.
Parsvottanasana (head on brick on chair seat)
c. Support the head to make the mind quiet. If there is resistance inside, support head with an additional brick to allow the stretch to come. With the elbows on the chair seat, grip the fingers over the back edge of the chair seat and pull towards you to take the shoulder blades down and lift the chest.
Parsvottanasana (hands on bricks, head up)
d. Grip the fingers over the front edge of the flat brick and pull towards you to take the shoulder blades down and lift the chest. If stiff, bend the right knee. Once the concave back action comes, pull right hip back to begin to straighten the knee.
14. Prasarita Padottanasana (hands on bricks, concave back)
a. Grip the fingers over the front edge of flat bricks and pull towards you to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the chest.
Prasarita Padottanasana (fingertips on floor, concave back)
b. Pull fingertips back, as above, to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the chest.
Prasarita Padottanasana (extended phase)
c. Head on floor.
15. Dandasana
a. Palms down, fingers facing forward, open the fingers and knuckles. Press the palms down, extending the arms into the body with the shoulders rolling back.
b. Biceps turn open and lift upward out of the elbows to straighten the arms and lift the chest.
Shoulders roll back, trapezius down towards the tail bone, clavicles widen, and armpit chest forward to lift the front body.
c. Descend the shoulder blades. Then retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other and take the shoulder blades into the back body. Additionally, take the dorsal spine in, and the sacrum in, both towards the front body. These actions support the opening of the front body.
d. Although the buttock bones are contacting the floor, press the palms down and lift the biceps up — as in handstand — to lift the weight of the pelvis and trunk up, off of the buttock bones. Make the arms like a staff.
[Similar to Geeta Iyengar, 7-3-09 PM Advanced Class.]
16. Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Keeping that lift of the side chest, take the arms up in Urdhva Hastasana.
17. Padangustha Dandasana
Use a belt around the soles of the feet if unable to hold the big toes. Arm and leg push/pull action. Arms pull back to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone. Bring the armpit chest forward.
18. Viparita Karani
Focus: Arms and legs in standings.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, What is Yoga Practice?
Practice can be simply summarized as the effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind. [See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009) for a more complete discussion.] Put the diaphragm in a position that eases breathing and effort so that the mind may remain calm.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
2. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Thighs back and lift the pubic plate to keep the diaphragm neutral and ease breathing.
3. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Lift the side ribs to straighten the elbows.
4. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and side bend to the right to stretch the right side ribs.
b. Left arm in Paschima Namaskarasana to complete Gomukhasana arms. For rotator cuff injuries, do not do this side. Instead, concentrate on upper arm lift, as in Ardha Gomukhasana, to lift the collar bone up and externally rotate the upper arm away from the injury site.
5. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. The side ribs are able to lift more after doing Gomukhasana.
6. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. When landing from the jump, keep the knees bent and land on the toes to prevent jarring the spine.
7. Parsva Hasta Padasana
a. Align the knee cap by turning out the entire leg.
8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
c. Lift the right pelvic rim up, off of the thigh, to bring more freedom to the hip joint when bending the right knee. Keeping that up, then sit the right buttock down.
10. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly. Then, from there, turn open the chest.
11. Upper Wall Rope Urdhva Hastasana
a. Press hands into upper wall ropes to lift the pubic plate. Thighs back and lift the pubic plate to keep the diaphragm neutral and ease breathing.
12. Virabhadrasana I
a. Press the hands into imaginary upper wall ropes, as in Upper Wall Rope Urdhva Hastasana, to feel the resistance to help lift the pubic plate. This takes the pressure off of the diaphragm to help breathe.
13. Parsvottanasana (hands on wall, concave back)
a. Right foot on brick, toes up the wall to pull right hip back, left hip forward. Straighten left inner knee. Keeping the left shin back, turn the left calf from inner towards outer to bring the left hip forward.
Parsvottanasana (hands on ledge, concave back)
b. Press the side wrists down onto the ledge to take the shoulder blades down and lift the chest.
Parsvottanasana (head on brick on chair seat)
c. Support the head to make the mind quiet. If there is resistance inside, support head with an additional brick to allow the stretch to come. With the elbows on the chair seat, grip the fingers over the back edge of the chair seat and pull towards you to take the shoulder blades down and lift the chest.
Parsvottanasana (hands on bricks, head up)
d. Grip the fingers over the front edge of the flat brick and pull towards you to take the shoulder blades down and lift the chest. If stiff, bend the right knee. Once the concave back action comes, pull right hip back to begin to straighten the knee.
14. Prasarita Padottanasana (hands on bricks, concave back)
a. Grip the fingers over the front edge of flat bricks and pull towards you to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the chest.
Prasarita Padottanasana (fingertips on floor, concave back)
b. Pull fingertips back, as above, to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the chest.
Prasarita Padottanasana (extended phase)
c. Head on floor.
15. Dandasana
a. Palms down, fingers facing forward, open the fingers and knuckles. Press the palms down, extending the arms into the body with the shoulders rolling back.
b. Biceps turn open and lift upward out of the elbows to straighten the arms and lift the chest.
Shoulders roll back, trapezius down towards the tail bone, clavicles widen, and armpit chest forward to lift the front body.
c. Descend the shoulder blades. Then retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other and take the shoulder blades into the back body. Additionally, take the dorsal spine in, and the sacrum in, both towards the front body. These actions support the opening of the front body.
d. Although the buttock bones are contacting the floor, press the palms down and lift the biceps up — as in handstand — to lift the weight of the pelvis and trunk up, off of the buttock bones. Make the arms like a staff.
[Similar to Geeta Iyengar, 7-3-09 PM Advanced Class.]
16. Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Keeping that lift of the side chest, take the arms up in Urdhva Hastasana.
17. Padangustha Dandasana
Use a belt around the soles of the feet if unable to hold the big toes. Arm and leg push/pull action. Arms pull back to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone. Bring the armpit chest forward.
18. Viparita Karani
Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 1 (November 3, 2009)
Focus: Arms and legs in standings.
4 new students in class.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, What is Yoga Practice?
Practice can be simply summarized as the effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind. See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009) for a more complete discussion.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
2. Urdhva Hastasana
3. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
4. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms)
a. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.
5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and side bend to the right to stretch the right side ribs.
b. Left arm in Paschima Namaskarasana to complete Gomukhasana arms. For rotator cuff injuries, do not do this side. Instead, concentrate on upper arm lift, as in Ardha Gomukhasana, to lift the collar bone up and externally rotate the upper arm away from the injury site.
6. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. When landing from the jump, keep the knees bent and land on the toes to prevent jarring the spine.
7. Parsva Hasta Padasana
a. Align the knee cap by turning out the entire leg.
8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
9. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee, to make the knee light. Don’t just throw the knees back. This prevents indentations at either the top or bottom knee.
10. Virabhadrasana II
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
c. Lift the right pelvic rim up, off of the thigh, to bring more freedom to the hip joint when bending the right knee. Keeping that up, then sit the right buttock down.
11. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly. Then, from there, turn open the chest.
12. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. Jumping is easier because there is more freedom in the hips, which facilitates a more graceful rhythm.
13. Parsvottanasana (hands on wall, concave back)
a. Right foot on brick, toes up the wall to pull right hip back, left hip forward.
b. Second time: Straighten left inner knee. Keeping the left shin back, turn the left calf from inner towards outer to bring the left hip forward.
14. Prasarita Padottanasana (concave back)
a. Omitted for lack of time
15. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for lack of time & flexibility
16. Savasana
4 new students in class.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, What is Yoga Practice?
Practice can be simply summarized as the effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind. See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009) for a more complete discussion.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
2. Urdhva Hastasana
3. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
4. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms)
a. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.
5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and side bend to the right to stretch the right side ribs.
b. Left arm in Paschima Namaskarasana to complete Gomukhasana arms. For rotator cuff injuries, do not do this side. Instead, concentrate on upper arm lift, as in Ardha Gomukhasana, to lift the collar bone up and externally rotate the upper arm away from the injury site.
6. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. When landing from the jump, keep the knees bent and land on the toes to prevent jarring the spine.
7. Parsva Hasta Padasana
a. Align the knee cap by turning out the entire leg.
8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
9. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee, to make the knee light. Don’t just throw the knees back. This prevents indentations at either the top or bottom knee.
10. Virabhadrasana II
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
c. Lift the right pelvic rim up, off of the thigh, to bring more freedom to the hip joint when bending the right knee. Keeping that up, then sit the right buttock down.
11. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis and trunk.
b. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly. Then, from there, turn open the chest.
12. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. Jumping is easier because there is more freedom in the hips, which facilitates a more graceful rhythm.
13. Parsvottanasana (hands on wall, concave back)
a. Right foot on brick, toes up the wall to pull right hip back, left hip forward.
b. Second time: Straighten left inner knee. Keeping the left shin back, turn the left calf from inner towards outer to bring the left hip forward.
14. Prasarita Padottanasana (concave back)
a. Omitted for lack of time
15. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for lack of time & flexibility
16. Savasana
Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 1 (November 3, 2009)
Focus: Foot and shoulder actions.
2 new students in class.
Discussion: Effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Chair Tadasana
a. Sitting erect in the chair, press down evenly the four corners of the feet to align the legs, spine, and mind.
b. Chair Bharadvajasana
Especially to left for scoliosis. (LM)
2. Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana in Chair Tadasana (2X)
a. Sitting erect in a chair, same actions as if standing in Tadasana.
b. Sandbags on feet arms in Paschima Baddhanguliyasana to make the mind alert. (LM)
3. Urdhva Hastasana in Chair Tadasana (2X)
4. Gomukhasana arms in Chair Tadasana (2X)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Sitting erect in a chair, take the right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and bring the elbow behind the head. Side bend to the left open the right side ribs. Open the armpit.
5. Upper Wall Rope Utkatasana
a. Sitting in a chair facing the wall, use the weight of the body to create a traction counter balance to open the shoulders and elongate the spine in line with the arms.
b. Externally rotate upper arms to relieve shoulder pain.
6. Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Knees on a second bolster.
7. Chair Pavanmuktasana
a. Sitting in a chair with legs spread, bend forward. Rest the chest on a bolster stacked on chair seat number two. For headache from Supta Baddha incorrect head position. (DB)
8. Viparita Karani (LS only: 10 min)
a. Wrap hand towels around 1.5” wedges as support under trapezius at neck to decompress throat, and improve speech.
2 new students in class.
Discussion: Effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Chair Tadasana
a. Sitting erect in the chair, press down evenly the four corners of the feet to align the legs, spine, and mind.
b. Chair Bharadvajasana
Especially to left for scoliosis. (LM)
2. Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana in Chair Tadasana (2X)
a. Sitting erect in a chair, same actions as if standing in Tadasana.
b. Sandbags on feet arms in Paschima Baddhanguliyasana to make the mind alert. (LM)
3. Urdhva Hastasana in Chair Tadasana (2X)
4. Gomukhasana arms in Chair Tadasana (2X)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Sitting erect in a chair, take the right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and bring the elbow behind the head. Side bend to the left open the right side ribs. Open the armpit.
5. Upper Wall Rope Utkatasana
a. Sitting in a chair facing the wall, use the weight of the body to create a traction counter balance to open the shoulders and elongate the spine in line with the arms.
b. Externally rotate upper arms to relieve shoulder pain.
6. Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Knees on a second bolster.
7. Chair Pavanmuktasana
a. Sitting in a chair with legs spread, bend forward. Rest the chest on a bolster stacked on chair seat number two. For headache from Supta Baddha incorrect head position. (DB)
8. Viparita Karani (LS only: 10 min)
a. Wrap hand towels around 1.5” wedges as support under trapezius at neck to decompress throat, and improve speech.
Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 41 (November 2, 2009)
Focus: Review and consolidate standings from Week 14 syllabus, with an emphasis on Virabhadrasana III, hip and shoulder blade actions.
See Friday 6.00a Asana 1 — Week 42 (October 23, 2009) for details.
See Friday 6.00a Asana 1 — Week 42 (October 23, 2009) for details.
Saturday 8.30a Asana 1 — Week 44 (October 31, 2009)
Focus: Maintain the shape of the supported supine torso when sitting up in pranayama to both keep the mind calm and facilitate the flow of prana. Learning the actions in a wide variety of asanas indirectly teaches how to adjust in Savasana, Swastikasana, and pranayama. Based on the teachings of Geeta Iyengar’s 7-2-09 pranayama class. See Light on Pranayama for more details
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Geeta Iyengar 7-2-09 pranayama class quotes. See Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009) for details.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
5. Ujjayi VI
6. Savasana on blanket support
7. Bahya Viloma II on blanket support
8. Savasana
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Geeta Iyengar 7-2-09 pranayama class quotes. See Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009) for details.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
5. Ujjayi VI
6. Savasana on blanket support
7. Bahya Viloma II on blanket support
8. Savasana
Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 29, 2009)
One new student making up in class.
Focus: Focus: Maintain the shape of the supported supine torso when sitting up in pranayama to both keep the mind calm and facilitate the flow of prana. Learning the actions in a wide variety of asanas indirectly teaches how to adjust in Savasana, Swastikasana, and pranayama. Based on the teachings of Geeta Iyengar’s 7-2-09 pranayama class. See Light on Pranayama for more details
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Geeta Iyengar 7-2-09 pranayama class quotes. See Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009) for details.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
5. Ujjayi VI
6. Savasana on blanket support
7. Bahya Viloma II on blanket support
8. Abhyantara Viloma I on blanket support
9. Savasana
Focus: Focus: Maintain the shape of the supported supine torso when sitting up in pranayama to both keep the mind calm and facilitate the flow of prana. Learning the actions in a wide variety of asanas indirectly teaches how to adjust in Savasana, Swastikasana, and pranayama. Based on the teachings of Geeta Iyengar’s 7-2-09 pranayama class. See Light on Pranayama for more details
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Geeta Iyengar 7-2-09 pranayama class quotes. See Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009) for details.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
5. Ujjayi VI
6. Savasana on blanket support
7. Bahya Viloma II on blanket support
8. Abhyantara Viloma I on blanket support
9. Savasana
Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 35 (October 29, 2009)
Focus: Focus: Maintain the shape of the supported supine torso when sitting up in pranayama to both keep the mind calm and facilitate the flow of prana. Learning the actions in a wide variety of asanas indirectly teaches how to adjust in Savasana, Swastikasana, and pranayama. Based on the teachings of Geeta Iyengar’s 7-2-09 pranayama class. See Light on Pranayama for more details
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Geeta Iyengar 7-2-09 pranayama class quotes. See Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009) for details.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
5. Ujjayi VI
6. Savasana on blanket support
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Geeta Iyengar 7-2-09 pranayama class quotes. See Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009) for details.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
5. Ujjayi VI
6. Savasana on blanket support
Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 35 (October 27, 2009)
Focus: Maintain the shape of the supported supine torso when sitting up in pranayama to both keep the mind calm and facilitate the flow of prana. Learning the actions in a wide variety of asanas indirectly teaches how to adjust in Savasana, Swastikasana, and pranayama. Based on the teachings of Geeta Iyengar’s 7-2-09 pranayama class. See Light on Pranayama for more details
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Geeta Iyengar 7-2-09 pranayama class quotes. See Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009) for details.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
5. Ujjayi VI
6. Savasana on blanket support
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Geeta Iyengar 7-2-09 pranayama class quotes. See Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009) for details.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
5. Ujjayi VI
6. Savasana on blanket support
Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 9 (October 27, 2009)
Focus: The shape of the body influences the spread of the breath and the flow of energy in restorative poses.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
Sit on a rolled bandage to lift the spine up from the base. (LS)
2. Bolster Savasana
Simhasana Box Savasana with weight on thighs to allow the mind to descend. (LS)
3. Ujjayi I in Bolster Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Use a neck roll, and use arm support to prevent forcing open the chest.
4. Viparita Karani
a. Buttocks and upper back supported with bolster.
b. Belt thighs to Rope Wall to open chest and pull weight out of head and neck. Rolled washcloths beneath shoulders to move shoulders away from neck, decompress throat, and improve speech. Assistant lifted shoulders with fingers to free the throat until she could pronounce “fleece” in the back of the throat without slurring. (LS)
5. Rope 1 (LS)
a. Assistant pulls Rope Shoulder Harness down to prevent shrugging the shoulders towards the neck.
b. Shoulder blades down, head up.
6. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms) (LS)
a. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders. Descend the trapezius and shoulder blades, down, away from the neck, as in Sarvangasana to improve speech and penmanship. Retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades closer to each other. Belt arms to increase opening of the front chest.
7. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms) (LS)
a. Same actions as with Paschima Baddha Hasta arms.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
Sit on a rolled bandage to lift the spine up from the base. (LS)
2. Bolster Savasana
Simhasana Box Savasana with weight on thighs to allow the mind to descend. (LS)
3. Ujjayi I in Bolster Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Use a neck roll, and use arm support to prevent forcing open the chest.
4. Viparita Karani
a. Buttocks and upper back supported with bolster.
b. Belt thighs to Rope Wall to open chest and pull weight out of head and neck. Rolled washcloths beneath shoulders to move shoulders away from neck, decompress throat, and improve speech. Assistant lifted shoulders with fingers to free the throat until she could pronounce “fleece” in the back of the throat without slurring. (LS)
5. Rope 1 (LS)
a. Assistant pulls Rope Shoulder Harness down to prevent shrugging the shoulders towards the neck.
b. Shoulder blades down, head up.
6. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms) (LS)
a. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders. Descend the trapezius and shoulder blades, down, away from the neck, as in Sarvangasana to improve speech and penmanship. Retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades closer to each other. Belt arms to increase opening of the front chest.
7. Tadasana (Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms) (LS)
a. Same actions as with Paschima Baddha Hasta arms.
Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 40 (October 26, 2009)
Focus: Maintain the shape of the supported supine torso when sitting up in pranayama to both keep the mind calm and facilitate the flow of prana. Learning the actions in a wide variety of asanas indirectly teaches how to adjust in Savasana, Swastikasana, and pranayama. Based on the teachings of Geeta Iyengar’s 7-2-09 pranayama class. See Light on Pranayama for more details.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Fold two blankets in half lengthwise and use a third blanket for the head. The wider blanket supports the paraspinals like a “bed.” Top blanket is stepped back only to support the rib cage. Allow the floating ribs, at the sides, to be off of the blanket to let the waist descend. The blanket support allows the anterior trunk to ascend from the pelvis to the top chest.
b. With the hands holding the head, elongate the back neck towards the skull. Support the head on a blanket so that it neither compresses the throat nor does it push the throat forward. Throat and tongue passive.
Keep the shoulder blades descending towards the tail bone to prevent the throat from pushing forward. Correctly positioning the throat will then, in turn, aid in preventing the abdomen from “puffing.” Relax your facial muscles, facial skin, forehead — from the top to the bottom — down. The face descends from the forehead towards the chin to both keep the mind humble, and the brain passive.
c. The back body, from the nape of the neck, must descend towards the heels while the front body ascends from the base of the pelvis to the top chest. Adjust the skin and muscle fibers to also go in these same directions. When the back chest is on the platform of blankets, it allows space for the inhalation breath to penetrate the upper chest while, at the same time, it prevents the collapse of the inner walls of the chest during the exhalation. The energy must ascend, from bottom chest to top chest.
d. Exhalation allows the mind to recede from the brain, and the face and abdomen to recede from front to back.
e. Many other adjustments contribute to this overall shape of the body. To prevent lower back pain, the practitioner moves from the gross towards the subtle, from the overall shape of the body to the details. The details support the overall shape and correct any compensation patterns that focus undue stress on the painful area.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
a. “Slow soft, smooth exhalation. With the exhalation, relax your brain cells, relax your eyes, relax your cheeks, relax your ear drums. Use the downward direction of the exhalation, from the top chest towards the feet, to make the whole body become passive. Descend the whole body downward, from the crown of the head to the feet. Though the exhalation is longer, don’t force it.
b. “One exhalation will not be enough for the mind to recede. The brain cells begin to recede. The face begins to recede. The eyes go deeper inside.... Creating space behind the sternum, release the center chest toward the sides. Release the upper abdomen, middle abdomen, and bottom abdomen.
c. “The first duty is the release of the physical tension — skin tightness, muscular tightness, rigidity of the brain cells due to activity and thinking. Don’t invite any hardness or tension.
d. “In the beginning, the shoulder and clavicles mistakenly sink, creating unnecessary tension in the throat. Then you exist only in your throat and head region.”
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
a. “As the exhalation begins to lengthen, make the inhalation slightly longer than normal. Slow soft inhalation, which should not be aggressive. Slow soft inhalation, open the skin of the thoracic. Direct the intercostal muscles to move away from the center, so that the thoracic gradually finds its width. It is not you creating the width.
“With slow soft exhalation, watch how the sternum and the skin have gradually widened.
b. “Slow soft inhalation, intercostals and ribs gradually opening toward the sides. Inhalation gradually removes the hardness of the chest.
“Slow soft exhalation, the abdomen begins to recede towards the spine. Spread the abdomen from the navel toward the sides. The abdomen is round with the navel in the middle. Exhale from the navel toward the sides, releasing the skin fiber.
“Abdomen remaining in a relaxed state below the thoracic, begin a slow soft inhalation. Open the thoracic region gradually, from the bottom to the top.
“Slow soft exhalation....
c. “[Don’t] “pull” the breath to find its length. Rather, spread the breath from all over the inner torso. Slow soft inhalation, spread the breath as if it is trying to touch the extreme outer corners of the body.
“Slow soft exhalation, as if the skin fiber recedes without narrowing the chest. Spreading is possible in both inhalation and exhalation. Don’t describe the chest as “narrowing” with exhalation, else the mind becomes narrow. Let the breath touch every area [like a pool of water poured onto the floor].
“Slow soft inhalation, feel the torso through the inhalation.
“Slow soft exhalation, the breath spreads to feel the whole torso. Get the shape of the body with that breath.
d. “The more space there is in the pores of the skin, the more the widening takes place, and you can be quiet. You have to have that quietness in that vastness.”
5. Ujjayi VI
a. Learning to sit with the spine erect in Swastikasana is an increasingly subtle process. There is a struggle to find that balance of how to lift the anterior body and descend the back body without throwing the waist forward, which either results in fatigue or pain — as in Tadasana.
b. “Raise the anterior spine upward. Skin of the shoulder, roll backward. Both trapezius descend down. Shoulder blades in, open up the chest. Fingertips on the bolster beside the trunk. Sit with that inner tallness.
c. “To adjust the top dorsal spine, which refuses to backbend, slightly raise the frontal sternum to get the height. The back ribs go downward, as well as into the body. That is the area where beginners drop.
d. “To prevent stooping the dorsal when taking the head down, pressing the fingertips on the bolster, move the shoulder bone back, and look towards the ceiling to curve the top dorsal spine inward. There is a bit of backbending in the dorsal spine but not in the cervical spine. Shoulders and trapezius back, downward, and top dorsal and the base of the cervical spine, into the body.
e. “Having that shape of the chest, open the armpit chest forward to prevent your armpits from failing. Armpits coming forward is a backbending action.
f. “Now, having this position, slowly bring your head down without disturbing your top dorsal or bottom cervical spine. Else it suddenly hangs and every portion of the body gets disturbed.
g. “Shape this position with your breath — slow soft inhalation — first be in the top chest. That means that the upper sternum and armpit chest must be trained with your inhalation to maintain them slightly up. Widen.... Don’t allow your spine to stoop forward.
“Slow soft exhalation.... While exhaling, this shape should not change. Don’t drop the chest.... Don’t bend forward to exhale, as in normal breathing. Keep the dorsal upright.
h. “Pressing the thumb tips into the bolster, move the skin of the armpit chest forward, so it doesn’t get caught on the side. The life in that portion is very important. It quickly becomes lifeless. In both sitting and breathing, the armpit chest must open from the back to the front.... The upper arm must be slightly behind the armpit chest to get its freedom. [BR: Belt the upper arms as in Sarvangasana to open the front chest without throwing the waist forward when the shoulders are tight.]
i. “Maintaining the firmness of the upper chest with the head down, slowly take the hands onto the thighs, palms up, thumbs rotating out to keep the armpit chest open. Lengthen the upper arms, rolling them backwards, so that the backs of the upper arms becomes longer than the fronts of the upper arms. [BR: Hands on stacked blankets on the thighs, so that they are above the elbows, to descend the triceps.] Slow soft inhalation. Slow soft exhalation.
j. “The next intelligence has to come on the sides of the trunk.... Slow soft inhalation. Begin to lift the sides of the chest a little bit higher, so that you arrest the collapse. Slow soft inhalation from the sides of the trunk. Exhale but don’t drop the side chest all of a sudden....
“While inhaling you have to move the sides of the chest from the back to the front, forward, to go upward.... Move the wheels [of the armpit chest] from the back [on the bottom] to the front to go upward, like going backward in a wheelchair. The tendency of the body and mind is to go forward. To go backward, we have to involute and go inward....
“Slow soft exhalation. Resist [the dorsal spine] going backward by moving the bottom wheel [of the armpit chest] forward. Exhale, maintaining the trunk upward, release the breath and recede.”
k. [BR: Sit on a rolled bandage to elevate lower spine.]
6. Savasana on blanket support
a. “Top head — from the back to the front, move upward for the frontal forehead to recede towards the face. Top forehead recedes toward the eyebrows. From the eyebrows towards the eyelids, from the eyelids towards the cheeks, from the cheeks downward towards the chin, and chin down. Frontal throat completely rested towards the back of the neck.
b. “Now, mindfully, take the two eyebrows away from each other. Drawing a centerline through the forehead, taking the right towards the right and the left towards the left, as though the forehead skin is a natural bandage. Spread out that skin, which makes the inner brain recede from the front to the back. The brain recedes from the front to the back, but that brain should not frown in the front. It should not contract. So the frontal brain spreads towards the side to recede towards the back brain. That means the forehead skin should not shrink towards the eyebrows. Widen them and spread them towards the sides. Descend both side temples from the corners of the eyes towards the back of the head.
“If nothing comes, use your hands to move the skin on the forehead, temples and cheeks. The fingers give a quick direction to the skin.... Use your hands to move your eyebrows away, move the frontal forehead from the center to the sides, and move the temples, from the front to the back, downward. Move the cheeks from the top to the bottom. All of that releases the face.”
7. Bahya Viloma II on blanket support
a. “Bahya Viloma will relax you.... Completely exhaling, slow soft inhalation, which gives you a chance to maintain the shape of the front body. The energy flow will be from the bottom to the top, upward, so that the inner part of the frontal chest does not collapse all of a sudden.
“Maintaining that flow of energy upward, exhale - pause, so that there is no sudden drop of the chest. Exhale - pause, so that there is no sudden drop of the energy. Exhale - pause, the body following one order [ascending], and the exhalation breath following a different order [descending]. Where it releases the breath from inside, and feels as if everything is emptied.
“Normal breathing in between, because you can’t pay attention all the time to every single breath. So have the normal breath. Pacify yourself.... Having the passivity, the intelligence should not fade.
b. “Now, after exhalation, when everything is quiet, slowly inhale, the energy of the trunk flowing from the bottom to the top with the breath, parallel to the breath. Slowly inhale. And, having that complete inhalation, wherever the inhalation ends, now tell the body, the skin, to remain in that position.
“Exhale - wait, exhale - wait, as the breath gravitates downward. Exhale - wait, and complete the exhalation.
“Normal soft breathing. While exhaling, your brain cells and everything quiet. But the eyes, deeper inside, have to be alert. Alert in the sense that they witness this process.”
8. Savasana
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
2. Savasana on blanket support
a. Fold two blankets in half lengthwise and use a third blanket for the head. The wider blanket supports the paraspinals like a “bed.” Top blanket is stepped back only to support the rib cage. Allow the floating ribs, at the sides, to be off of the blanket to let the waist descend. The blanket support allows the anterior trunk to ascend from the pelvis to the top chest.
b. With the hands holding the head, elongate the back neck towards the skull. Support the head on a blanket so that it neither compresses the throat nor does it push the throat forward. Throat and tongue passive.
Keep the shoulder blades descending towards the tail bone to prevent the throat from pushing forward. Correctly positioning the throat will then, in turn, aid in preventing the abdomen from “puffing.” Relax your facial muscles, facial skin, forehead — from the top to the bottom — down. The face descends from the forehead towards the chin to both keep the mind humble, and the brain passive.
c. The back body, from the nape of the neck, must descend towards the heels while the front body ascends from the base of the pelvis to the top chest. Adjust the skin and muscle fibers to also go in these same directions. When the back chest is on the platform of blankets, it allows space for the inhalation breath to penetrate the upper chest while, at the same time, it prevents the collapse of the inner walls of the chest during the exhalation. The energy must ascend, from bottom chest to top chest.
d. Exhalation allows the mind to recede from the brain, and the face and abdomen to recede from front to back.
e. Many other adjustments contribute to this overall shape of the body. To prevent lower back pain, the practitioner moves from the gross towards the subtle, from the overall shape of the body to the details. The details support the overall shape and correct any compensation patterns that focus undue stress on the painful area.
3. Ujjayi II on blanket support
a. “Slow soft, smooth exhalation. With the exhalation, relax your brain cells, relax your eyes, relax your cheeks, relax your ear drums. Use the downward direction of the exhalation, from the top chest towards the feet, to make the whole body become passive. Descend the whole body downward, from the crown of the head to the feet. Though the exhalation is longer, don’t force it.
b. “One exhalation will not be enough for the mind to recede. The brain cells begin to recede. The face begins to recede. The eyes go deeper inside.... Creating space behind the sternum, release the center chest toward the sides. Release the upper abdomen, middle abdomen, and bottom abdomen.
c. “The first duty is the release of the physical tension — skin tightness, muscular tightness, rigidity of the brain cells due to activity and thinking. Don’t invite any hardness or tension.
d. “In the beginning, the shoulder and clavicles mistakenly sink, creating unnecessary tension in the throat. Then you exist only in your throat and head region.”
4. Ujjayi III on blanket support
a. “As the exhalation begins to lengthen, make the inhalation slightly longer than normal. Slow soft inhalation, which should not be aggressive. Slow soft inhalation, open the skin of the thoracic. Direct the intercostal muscles to move away from the center, so that the thoracic gradually finds its width. It is not you creating the width.
“With slow soft exhalation, watch how the sternum and the skin have gradually widened.
b. “Slow soft inhalation, intercostals and ribs gradually opening toward the sides. Inhalation gradually removes the hardness of the chest.
“Slow soft exhalation, the abdomen begins to recede towards the spine. Spread the abdomen from the navel toward the sides. The abdomen is round with the navel in the middle. Exhale from the navel toward the sides, releasing the skin fiber.
“Abdomen remaining in a relaxed state below the thoracic, begin a slow soft inhalation. Open the thoracic region gradually, from the bottom to the top.
“Slow soft exhalation....
c. “[Don’t] “pull” the breath to find its length. Rather, spread the breath from all over the inner torso. Slow soft inhalation, spread the breath as if it is trying to touch the extreme outer corners of the body.
“Slow soft exhalation, as if the skin fiber recedes without narrowing the chest. Spreading is possible in both inhalation and exhalation. Don’t describe the chest as “narrowing” with exhalation, else the mind becomes narrow. Let the breath touch every area [like a pool of water poured onto the floor].
“Slow soft inhalation, feel the torso through the inhalation.
“Slow soft exhalation, the breath spreads to feel the whole torso. Get the shape of the body with that breath.
d. “The more space there is in the pores of the skin, the more the widening takes place, and you can be quiet. You have to have that quietness in that vastness.”
5. Ujjayi VI
a. Learning to sit with the spine erect in Swastikasana is an increasingly subtle process. There is a struggle to find that balance of how to lift the anterior body and descend the back body without throwing the waist forward, which either results in fatigue or pain — as in Tadasana.
b. “Raise the anterior spine upward. Skin of the shoulder, roll backward. Both trapezius descend down. Shoulder blades in, open up the chest. Fingertips on the bolster beside the trunk. Sit with that inner tallness.
c. “To adjust the top dorsal spine, which refuses to backbend, slightly raise the frontal sternum to get the height. The back ribs go downward, as well as into the body. That is the area where beginners drop.
d. “To prevent stooping the dorsal when taking the head down, pressing the fingertips on the bolster, move the shoulder bone back, and look towards the ceiling to curve the top dorsal spine inward. There is a bit of backbending in the dorsal spine but not in the cervical spine. Shoulders and trapezius back, downward, and top dorsal and the base of the cervical spine, into the body.
e. “Having that shape of the chest, open the armpit chest forward to prevent your armpits from failing. Armpits coming forward is a backbending action.
f. “Now, having this position, slowly bring your head down without disturbing your top dorsal or bottom cervical spine. Else it suddenly hangs and every portion of the body gets disturbed.
g. “Shape this position with your breath — slow soft inhalation — first be in the top chest. That means that the upper sternum and armpit chest must be trained with your inhalation to maintain them slightly up. Widen.... Don’t allow your spine to stoop forward.
“Slow soft exhalation.... While exhaling, this shape should not change. Don’t drop the chest.... Don’t bend forward to exhale, as in normal breathing. Keep the dorsal upright.
h. “Pressing the thumb tips into the bolster, move the skin of the armpit chest forward, so it doesn’t get caught on the side. The life in that portion is very important. It quickly becomes lifeless. In both sitting and breathing, the armpit chest must open from the back to the front.... The upper arm must be slightly behind the armpit chest to get its freedom. [BR: Belt the upper arms as in Sarvangasana to open the front chest without throwing the waist forward when the shoulders are tight.]
i. “Maintaining the firmness of the upper chest with the head down, slowly take the hands onto the thighs, palms up, thumbs rotating out to keep the armpit chest open. Lengthen the upper arms, rolling them backwards, so that the backs of the upper arms becomes longer than the fronts of the upper arms. [BR: Hands on stacked blankets on the thighs, so that they are above the elbows, to descend the triceps.] Slow soft inhalation. Slow soft exhalation.
j. “The next intelligence has to come on the sides of the trunk.... Slow soft inhalation. Begin to lift the sides of the chest a little bit higher, so that you arrest the collapse. Slow soft inhalation from the sides of the trunk. Exhale but don’t drop the side chest all of a sudden....
“While inhaling you have to move the sides of the chest from the back to the front, forward, to go upward.... Move the wheels [of the armpit chest] from the back [on the bottom] to the front to go upward, like going backward in a wheelchair. The tendency of the body and mind is to go forward. To go backward, we have to involute and go inward....
“Slow soft exhalation. Resist [the dorsal spine] going backward by moving the bottom wheel [of the armpit chest] forward. Exhale, maintaining the trunk upward, release the breath and recede.”
k. [BR: Sit on a rolled bandage to elevate lower spine.]
6. Savasana on blanket support
a. “Top head — from the back to the front, move upward for the frontal forehead to recede towards the face. Top forehead recedes toward the eyebrows. From the eyebrows towards the eyelids, from the eyelids towards the cheeks, from the cheeks downward towards the chin, and chin down. Frontal throat completely rested towards the back of the neck.
b. “Now, mindfully, take the two eyebrows away from each other. Drawing a centerline through the forehead, taking the right towards the right and the left towards the left, as though the forehead skin is a natural bandage. Spread out that skin, which makes the inner brain recede from the front to the back. The brain recedes from the front to the back, but that brain should not frown in the front. It should not contract. So the frontal brain spreads towards the side to recede towards the back brain. That means the forehead skin should not shrink towards the eyebrows. Widen them and spread them towards the sides. Descend both side temples from the corners of the eyes towards the back of the head.
“If nothing comes, use your hands to move the skin on the forehead, temples and cheeks. The fingers give a quick direction to the skin.... Use your hands to move your eyebrows away, move the frontal forehead from the center to the sides, and move the temples, from the front to the back, downward. Move the cheeks from the top to the bottom. All of that releases the face.”
7. Bahya Viloma II on blanket support
a. “Bahya Viloma will relax you.... Completely exhaling, slow soft inhalation, which gives you a chance to maintain the shape of the front body. The energy flow will be from the bottom to the top, upward, so that the inner part of the frontal chest does not collapse all of a sudden.
“Maintaining that flow of energy upward, exhale - pause, so that there is no sudden drop of the chest. Exhale - pause, so that there is no sudden drop of the energy. Exhale - pause, the body following one order [ascending], and the exhalation breath following a different order [descending]. Where it releases the breath from inside, and feels as if everything is emptied.
“Normal breathing in between, because you can’t pay attention all the time to every single breath. So have the normal breath. Pacify yourself.... Having the passivity, the intelligence should not fade.
b. “Now, after exhalation, when everything is quiet, slowly inhale, the energy of the trunk flowing from the bottom to the top with the breath, parallel to the breath. Slowly inhale. And, having that complete inhalation, wherever the inhalation ends, now tell the body, the skin, to remain in that position.
“Exhale - wait, exhale - wait, as the breath gravitates downward. Exhale - wait, and complete the exhalation.
“Normal soft breathing. While exhaling, your brain cells and everything quiet. But the eyes, deeper inside, have to be alert. Alert in the sense that they witness this process.”
8. Savasana
Saturday 10.30a Intro — Week 8 (October 24, 2009)
Focus: Focus: Emphasis on Virabhadrasana III, hip and shoulder blade actions. Keep the brain cells passive, quiet, and innocent while “intelligizing” the body to purge its tamasic ignorance, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17; What is Yoga Practice?
[See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009)]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time.
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Uttanasana [Baddha Hasta arms]
12. Adho Mukha Svanasana
13. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
14. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17; What is Yoga Practice?
[See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009)]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time.
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Uttanasana [Baddha Hasta arms]
12. Adho Mukha Svanasana
13. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
14. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Saturday 8.30a Asana 1 — Week 43 (October 24, 2009)
Focus: Focus: Review and consolidate standings from Week 14 syllabus, with an emphasis on Virabhadrasana III, hip and shoulder blade actions. Keep the brain cells passive, quiet, and innocent while “intelligizing” the body to purge its tamasic ignorance, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17; What is Yoga Practice?
[See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009), which also includes the path called nivrtti marga, “absence-of-agitations path.”]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time.
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
a. Omitted for time.
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Omitted for time.
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
17. Paripurna Navasana
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
a. Omitted for time
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
d. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
e. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17; What is Yoga Practice?
[See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009), which also includes the path called nivrtti marga, “absence-of-agitations path.”]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time.
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
a. Omitted for time.
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Omitted for time.
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
17. Paripurna Navasana
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
a. Omitted for time
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
d. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
e. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Friday 6.00a Asana 1 — Week 42 (October 23, 2009)
Focus: Review and consolidate standings from Week 14 syllabus, with an emphasis on Virabhadrasana III, hip and shoulder blade actions. Keep the brain cells passive, quiet, and innocent while “intelligizing” the body to purge its tamasic ignorance, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17, What is Yoga Practice?
[See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009), which also includes the path called nivrtti marga, “absence-of-agitations path.”]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time.
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
a. Omitted for time.
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Omitted for time.
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
17. Paripurna Navasana
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
a. Omitted for time
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
d. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
e. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17, What is Yoga Practice?
[See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009), which also includes the path called nivrtti marga, “absence-of-agitations path.”]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time.
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
a. Omitted for time.
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Omitted for time.
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
17. Paripurna Navasana
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
a. Omitted for time
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
d. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
e. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 22, 2009)
One new student making up in class.
Focus: Focus: Review and consolidate standings from Week 14 syllabus, with an emphasis on Virabhadrasana III, hip and shoulder blade actions. Keep the brain cells passive, quiet, and innocent while “intelligizing” the body to purge its tamasic ignorance, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17, What is Yoga Practice?
[See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009), which also includes the path called nivrtti marga, “absence-of-agitations path.”]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time.
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
17. Paripurna Navasana
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
d. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
e. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Focus: Focus: Review and consolidate standings from Week 14 syllabus, with an emphasis on Virabhadrasana III, hip and shoulder blade actions. Keep the brain cells passive, quiet, and innocent while “intelligizing” the body to purge its tamasic ignorance, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17, What is Yoga Practice?
[See Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009), which also includes the path called nivrtti marga, “absence-of-agitations path.”]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted for time.
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
17. Paripurna Navasana
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
d. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
e. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 34 (October 22, 2009)
Focus: Focus: Review and consolidate standings from Week 14 syllabus, with an emphasis on Virabhadrasana III, hip and shoulder blade actions. Keep the brain cells passive, quiet, and innocent while “intelligizing” the body to purge its tamasic ignorance, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009. See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009) for details.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17; What is Yoga Practice?
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras set the time frame and commitment necessary to reach enlightenment: According to Patanjali, “When continued for a long time over the span of one’s life and practiced without interruption in a devoted way, with earnestness, attention, knowledge and devotion, the practice becomes firmly established. In other words, practice is not easily overpowered by agitations.” [PYS I.14]
This ultimately leads to samadhi, as Patanjali describes several sutras later: “Abhyasa and vairagya (practice and detachment) develop four types of samprajnata samadhi: self analysis (vitarka), synthesis (vicara), bliss (ananda), and the experience of pure being (asmitarupa).” [PYS I.17]
BKS Iyengar characterizes yogasana as the “arrow” and describes the soul as the “target,” the destination. The stages of samadhi are the map that lead towards that destination. The path is called nivrtti marga, “absence-of-agitations path” because “samadhi is citta vrtti nirodha (cessation of the agitations of the mind).” [Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.2] Thus, stopping the vrttis — the agitations, fluctuations, or oscillations — of the mind is the purpose of samadhi.
Although the stages of samadhi progress from lower to a higher stages, BKS Iyengar’s concepts apply to every stage of yoga sadhana, practice. The concepts that takes the practitioner from the periphery towards the source, the path of nivrtti marga, are:
1. vrtti nirodha, from less stable towards more stable (asthira -> sthira)
2. from the effect to the cause (karmaphala -> karma), from the known to the unknown
3. from gross to subtle (sthula -> suksma), from external towards internal
4. from tamas and rajas towards sattva
These concepts, drawn from Patanjali and the tradition of Samkhya philosophy, are applied to asana and pranayama practice. Asana can be taught; meditation cannot, BKS Iyengar reasons.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
17. Paripurna Navasana
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
d. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
e. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.14, 17; What is Yoga Practice?
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras set the time frame and commitment necessary to reach enlightenment: According to Patanjali, “When continued for a long time over the span of one’s life and practiced without interruption in a devoted way, with earnestness, attention, knowledge and devotion, the practice becomes firmly established. In other words, practice is not easily overpowered by agitations.” [PYS I.14]
This ultimately leads to samadhi, as Patanjali describes several sutras later: “Abhyasa and vairagya (practice and detachment) develop four types of samprajnata samadhi: self analysis (vitarka), synthesis (vicara), bliss (ananda), and the experience of pure being (asmitarupa).” [PYS I.17]
BKS Iyengar characterizes yogasana as the “arrow” and describes the soul as the “target,” the destination. The stages of samadhi are the map that lead towards that destination. The path is called nivrtti marga, “absence-of-agitations path” because “samadhi is citta vrtti nirodha (cessation of the agitations of the mind).” [Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.2] Thus, stopping the vrttis — the agitations, fluctuations, or oscillations — of the mind is the purpose of samadhi.
Although the stages of samadhi progress from lower to a higher stages, BKS Iyengar’s concepts apply to every stage of yoga sadhana, practice. The concepts that takes the practitioner from the periphery towards the source, the path of nivrtti marga, are:
1. vrtti nirodha, from less stable towards more stable (asthira -> sthira)
2. from the effect to the cause (karmaphala -> karma), from the known to the unknown
3. from gross to subtle (sthula -> suksma), from external towards internal
4. from tamas and rajas towards sattva
These concepts, drawn from Patanjali and the tradition of Samkhya philosophy, are applied to asana and pranayama practice. Asana can be taught; meditation cannot, BKS Iyengar reasons.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09 quotes.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
6. Ardha Chandrasana
7. Parsvottanasana
8. Virabhadrasana I
9. Virabhadrasana II
10. Virabhadrasana III
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
17. Paripurna Navasana
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
c. Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
d. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
e. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09 quotes.
Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 34 (October 20, 2009)
Focus: Review and consolidate standings from Week 14 syllabus, with an emphasis on Virabhadrasana III, hip and shoulder blade actions. Keep the brain cells passive, quiet, and innocent while “intelligizing” the body to purge its tamasic ignorance, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. “Slow, soft, smooth breath so that the nerve cells do not get aggravated. The brain cells remain passive. But, at the same time, gradually lift the body with your breath.... As you exhale the breath, make your brain cells quiet, silent, and passive. Take your palms at the bottom of the sternum and lift your chest upward. Shoulders roll back.
b. “Connect the dorsal spine to the frontal chest. Do not bring the head forward. Recede your frontal face towards the back of the head....
c. “Throat passive, tongue passive.... Release your lower lip down so that your tongue doesn’t touch the upper palate. This is the beginning of dhyana [meditation].... Relax the cheeks. Relax the upper eyelids downward. Relax the forehead from the top to the bottom, downward. Relax the upper lip towards the lower lip. Do not clench the teeth.
d. “The fluctuation of the eyes happens because your eyes are projecting outward. Keep your eyes going deeper inside. Then you find you are quiet. Even if my words are jarring to your ears, you should not get disturbed. So look within. As you look within, the face, the eyes, everything goes towards the back of the head.
e. “To get the feeling of prayerfulness, your body has to be in a receptive state first, with the ascending action.... And then the mind has to recede from the brain, downward, so that there is a receptivity. It is not only verbally praying. Correct yourself from the dorsal [spine] towards the frontal chest. Then you remain in “you.” If the dorsal goes backward, then you don’t remain in “you.” If you don’t remain in “you,” prayers are useless.
f. “Wherever the body collapses, lift it upward with the inhalation breath.... A slow, soft inhalation. When a normal inhalation doesn’t help raise up the body, ascend your trunk with a deeper inhalation, but don’t allow it to sink with the deep exhalation. A slow deep exhalation. Find out what that mental state is in that position.
g. “Relax your face. Let it become absolutely innocent. But your body should not become innocent because the body is already dull, slow, and, therefore, ignorant [tamasic].... Therefore it has to be intelligized. But the head, brain and face always think that they are absolutely intelligent. So eliminate the feeling in the brain that you [know something]. Relax the brain and become humble. The two qualities must be established in your body and in your brain. Don’t let your ego tell you that you know everything perfectly. Make the brain innocent. But the body cannot be in a state of ignorance. Rather, it has to be intelligized. Let go of the tamasic guna [that is heavy and dull]....
h. “Remain silent for a while. Before you start the prayers, absolutely silent, quiet. And this position has to be held until your prayers end. ”
[Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09]
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
b. Keep the head back in all poses. Make it light and the brain innocent.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
a. Fast to coordinate breath and movement.
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
a. Take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest to lighten the head.
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Left arm vertical: take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
b. Left arm overhead: extend the outer edge of the shoulder blade towards the hand.
c. Lay right side chest on a blanket on the right frontal thigh. Then repeat with the blanket removed. Pin the outer right hip to prevent lower back catch.
6. Ardha Chandrasana
a. Right outer shin, outer thigh, and outer hip in to keep the inner edge of the right foot down. Inserted prior to Virabhadrasana to prepare for Virabhadrasana III.
7. Parsvottanasana
a. Added for emphasis. Concave: pull the fingertips on the mat to take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest. To get this shoulder action it is OK to bend the right knee a little if this is the first time the hands have not been on bricks.
b. Lift the outer right leg up to the right hip, as in Trikonasana and Ardha Chandrasana. Then take the right outer shin, outer thigh, and outer hip in to keep the inner edge of the right foot down and level the hips, as in Parsvottanasana. Inserted prior to Virabhadrasana I to prepare for Virabhadrasana III.
c. Fingertips pull on flat bricks to both take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and straighten the knee. (2X)
d. Belt the greater trochanters in to extend the hamstrings as in Parsvottanasana on Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 32 (October 6, 2009).
8. Virabhadrasana I
a. Extend the outer edges of the shoulder blades up ward, towards the hands.
b. Push the palms into imaginary hands to lift the pubic plate and the sternum chest.
c. With the left heel firmly down, lift up from the back of the knee to the buttock bone and tuck the left buttock over the buttock crease, as in Virabhadrasana I on Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 8 (April 21, 2009).
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Use the legs to lift the pelvis and then lift the pubic plate and the sternum chest.
10. Virabhadrasana III
a. In Tadasana press down the inner heels and extend through the inner legs.
b. Hands on floor, lift the left leg up and down, coordinating the movement with the breath. Don’t bend the left leg. Extend through the left inner heel, as in Tadasana.
c. Lift the outer right leg up to the right hip, as in Trikonasana and Parsvottanasana. Then take the right outer shin, outer thigh, and outer hip in to keep the inner edge of the right foot down and level the hips, as in Parsvottanasana. Centralize the body to stay within the “you.”
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
a. Pin the hips to bring the body to the midline
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Pin the outer hips and lift the legs. Concave: pull the fingertips on the mat to take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
b. Head down on floor or brick, lift the shoulder and trapezius to prevent shrugging. Head passive, innocent, and hanging down.
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
17. Paripurna Navasana
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
a. Omitted for time.
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Hands lower on the back to ascend the back trunk. “Lift the frontal trunk to keep it parallel to the back trunk.... When you stay in the pose quietly, some new intelligence comes and says, ‘Yes, I can proceed further.’”
Don’t allow your chest to mistakenly go back. Look at the ascending front body, feet slightly back, and lift the chest.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Foot on chair seat. Don’t allow the right buttock to go backward. Buttock into the body, going with the right leg as it descends. [Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09]
c. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
d. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
“Exhale in such a way that the brain cells become passive inside. That lightness has to come. So exhalation has to come in such a way that it brings lightness to the brain. Lightness to the head. You can’t have everything in the head and then exhale. Exhale in such a way that the head is emptied.... Go on emptying.
“While doing Savasana, it is the same innocent mind. Quiet, innocent mind. So go on emptying the brain cells. Go on emptying the head from inside. Go on emptying the senses of perception. Feel as though, “I haven’t done anything.” Don’t be so proud that you’ve done something. Let that pride fall. So letting go process not just of the muscles and bones, etc.... Having that innocence, retain it inside.” [Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09]
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. “Slow, soft, smooth breath so that the nerve cells do not get aggravated. The brain cells remain passive. But, at the same time, gradually lift the body with your breath.... As you exhale the breath, make your brain cells quiet, silent, and passive. Take your palms at the bottom of the sternum and lift your chest upward. Shoulders roll back.
b. “Connect the dorsal spine to the frontal chest. Do not bring the head forward. Recede your frontal face towards the back of the head....
c. “Throat passive, tongue passive.... Release your lower lip down so that your tongue doesn’t touch the upper palate. This is the beginning of dhyana [meditation].... Relax the cheeks. Relax the upper eyelids downward. Relax the forehead from the top to the bottom, downward. Relax the upper lip towards the lower lip. Do not clench the teeth.
d. “The fluctuation of the eyes happens because your eyes are projecting outward. Keep your eyes going deeper inside. Then you find you are quiet. Even if my words are jarring to your ears, you should not get disturbed. So look within. As you look within, the face, the eyes, everything goes towards the back of the head.
e. “To get the feeling of prayerfulness, your body has to be in a receptive state first, with the ascending action.... And then the mind has to recede from the brain, downward, so that there is a receptivity. It is not only verbally praying. Correct yourself from the dorsal [spine] towards the frontal chest. Then you remain in “you.” If the dorsal goes backward, then you don’t remain in “you.” If you don’t remain in “you,” prayers are useless.
f. “Wherever the body collapses, lift it upward with the inhalation breath.... A slow, soft inhalation. When a normal inhalation doesn’t help raise up the body, ascend your trunk with a deeper inhalation, but don’t allow it to sink with the deep exhalation. A slow deep exhalation. Find out what that mental state is in that position.
g. “Relax your face. Let it become absolutely innocent. But your body should not become innocent because the body is already dull, slow, and, therefore, ignorant [tamasic].... Therefore it has to be intelligized. But the head, brain and face always think that they are absolutely intelligent. So eliminate the feeling in the brain that you [know something]. Relax the brain and become humble. The two qualities must be established in your body and in your brain. Don’t let your ego tell you that you know everything perfectly. Make the brain innocent. But the body cannot be in a state of ignorance. Rather, it has to be intelligized. Let go of the tamasic guna [that is heavy and dull]....
h. “Remain silent for a while. Before you start the prayers, absolutely silent, quiet. And this position has to be held until your prayers end. ”
[Geeta Iyengar, 7-4-09]
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
b. Keep the head back in all poses. Make it light and the brain innocent.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (10 X)
a. Fast to coordinate breath and movement.
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
a. Take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest to lighten the head.
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Left arm vertical: take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
b. Left arm overhead: extend the outer edge of the shoulder blade towards the hand.
c. Lay right side chest on a blanket on the right frontal thigh. Then repeat with the blanket removed. Pin the outer right hip to prevent lower back catch.
6. Ardha Chandrasana
a. Right outer shin, outer thigh, and outer hip in to keep the inner edge of the right foot down. Inserted prior to Virabhadrasana to prepare for Virabhadrasana III.
7. Parsvottanasana
a. Added for emphasis. Concave: pull the fingertips on the mat to take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest. To get this shoulder action it is OK to bend the right knee a little if this is the first time the hands have not been on bricks.
b. Lift the outer right leg up to the right hip, as in Trikonasana and Ardha Chandrasana. Then take the right outer shin, outer thigh, and outer hip in to keep the inner edge of the right foot down and level the hips, as in Parsvottanasana. Inserted prior to Virabhadrasana I to prepare for Virabhadrasana III.
c. Fingertips pull on flat bricks to both take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and straighten the knee. (2X)
d. Belt the greater trochanters in to extend the hamstrings as in Parsvottanasana on Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 32 (October 6, 2009).
8. Virabhadrasana I
a. Extend the outer edges of the shoulder blades up ward, towards the hands.
b. Push the palms into imaginary hands to lift the pubic plate and the sternum chest.
c. With the left heel firmly down, lift up from the back of the knee to the buttock bone and tuck the left buttock over the buttock crease, as in Virabhadrasana I on Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 8 (April 21, 2009).
9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Use the legs to lift the pelvis and then lift the pubic plate and the sternum chest.
10. Virabhadrasana III
a. In Tadasana press down the inner heels and extend through the inner legs.
b. Hands on floor, lift the left leg up and down, coordinating the movement with the breath. Don’t bend the left leg. Extend through the left inner heel, as in Tadasana.
c. Lift the outer right leg up to the right hip, as in Trikonasana and Parsvottanasana. Then take the right outer shin, outer thigh, and outer hip in to keep the inner edge of the right foot down and level the hips, as in Parsvottanasana. Centralize the body to stay within the “you.”
11. Parivrtta Trikonasana
a. Pin the hips to bring the body to the midline
12. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
a. Omitted for time.
13. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Pin the outer hips and lift the legs. Concave: pull the fingertips on the mat to take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest.
b. Head down on floor or brick, lift the shoulder and trapezius to prevent shrugging. Head passive, innocent, and hanging down.
14. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta arms
b. Concave
c. Extended, holding ankles
d. Hands on floor
15. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time.
16. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
17. Paripurna Navasana
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
18. Virasana (Parvatasana arms)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
19. Sitting poses
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.
20. Salamba Sirsasana I
a. Omitted for time.
21. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
Hands lower on the back to ascend the back trunk. “Lift the frontal trunk to keep it parallel to the back trunk.... When you stay in the pose quietly, some new intelligence comes and says, ‘Yes, I can proceed further.’”
Don’t allow your chest to mistakenly go back. Look at the ascending front body, feet slightly back, and lift the chest.
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Foot on chair seat. Don’t allow the right buttock to go backward. Buttock into the body, going with the right leg as it descends. [Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09]
c. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.
d. Chair Karnapidasana
Omitted for time.
22. Supta Padangusthasana I
a. Omitted for time.
23. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.
Dandasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
Padangusthasana Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
Janu Sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
24. Savasana (5 min)
“Exhale in such a way that the brain cells become passive inside. That lightness has to come. So exhalation has to come in such a way that it brings lightness to the brain. Lightness to the head. You can’t have everything in the head and then exhale. Exhale in such a way that the head is emptied.... Go on emptying.
“While doing Savasana, it is the same innocent mind. Quiet, innocent mind. So go on emptying the brain cells. Go on emptying the head from inside. Go on emptying the senses of perception. Feel as though, “I haven’t done anything.” Don’t be so proud that you’ve done something. Let that pride fall. So letting go process not just of the muscles and bones, etc.... Having that innocence, retain it inside.” [Geeta Iyengar, 7-20-09]
Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 8 (October 20, 2009)
Focus: Consolidate several standing poses, repeat Chair Sarvangasana and Viparita Karani.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Keep the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone. Make the light and the brain innocent.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana (10 X)
a. Fast to coordinate breath and movement
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
a. Take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest to lighten the head.
b. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina.
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina.
6. Parsvottanasana
a. Parallel to the wall with the right shoulder on the wall, and holding the chair back to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina. (JM)
7. Calf Stretcher Tadasana
a. Wooden calf stretcher
8. Parsvottanasana
a. Repeat to feel the effect of stretching the calves.
9. Chair Sarvangasana
a. On three blankets folded in half to prevent over-flexing the neck or experiencing a choking sensation. Rolled hand towels under trapezius on both sides of the neck to lift C7 and to take the outer deltoids down. (JC, BR)
b. Cautions: see prior class.
10. Viparita Karani (15 min)
a. On three staggered blankets folded in half to open the chest.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Keep the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone. Make the light and the brain innocent.
3. Tadasana - Urdhva Hastasana (10 X)
a. Fast to coordinate breath and movement
4. Utthita Trikonasana (2 X)
a. Take the shoulder blades down towards the tail bone and lift the sternum chest to lighten the head.
b. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina.
5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina.
6. Parsvottanasana
a. Parallel to the wall with the right shoulder on the wall, and holding the chair back to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina. (JM)
7. Calf Stretcher Tadasana
a. Wooden calf stretcher
8. Parsvottanasana
a. Repeat to feel the effect of stretching the calves.
9. Chair Sarvangasana
a. On three blankets folded in half to prevent over-flexing the neck or experiencing a choking sensation. Rolled hand towels under trapezius on both sides of the neck to lift C7 and to take the outer deltoids down. (JC, BR)
b. Cautions: see prior class.
10. Viparita Karani (15 min)
a. On three staggered blankets folded in half to open the chest.
Monday 6.30p Asana 1 — Week 39 (October 19, 2009)
Focus: Surya Namaskar and Ustrasana.
See Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 32 (October 15, 2009) for class sequence
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
[See See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)]
See Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 32 (October 15, 2009) for class sequence
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
[See See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)]
Saturday 8.30a Asana 1 — Week 42 (October 17, 2009)
Focus: Surya Namaskar and Ustrasana.
See Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 32 (October 15, 2009) for class sequence
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
[See See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)]
See Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 32 (October 15, 2009) for class sequence
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
[See See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)]
Friday, October 16, 2009
Iyengar Yoga Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain Study
Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Efficacy of Iyengar Yoga Therapy on Chronic Low Back Pain: Williams, Kimberly PhD, et al. Spine. 34(19):2066-2076, September 1, 2009.
"http://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/Abstract/2009/09010/Evaluation_of_the_Effectiveness_and_Efficacy_of.18.aspx"
A landmark Iyengar Yoga therapy study to help relieve chronic lower back pain was published at the beginning of September. The twice-weekly yoga class significantly relieved pain and depression.
The study, published in last month's issue of the journal Spine, was a three-year, $400,000 research project funded by National Institutes of Health. Researchers assigned 90 people with chronic low back pain to a yoga group or a control group that received standard medical care, such as pain medication.
Those in the yoga group participated in 24 weeks of biweekly Iyengar yoga classes designed for people with chronic lower-back pain. Six months after the study ended, those in the Iyengar yoga group reported significantly more improvements in pain and functionality compared with subjects in the other group. In addition, depression was much lower in the yoga subjects. The use of pain medication was reduced, but that reduction was similar in both groups.
"The yoga group had less pain, less functional disability and less depression compared with the control group," Kimberly Williams, the lead investigator, and an Iyengar yoga teacher from West Virginia University, said in a news release. "Proponents of yoga have long described its benefits in reducing back pain. But not everyone was convinced. This is a much bigger, much more rigorous evaluation than had been done before."
Bruce’s comments:
Back pain is ubiquitous and may encompass an extremely wide range of conditions — from minor discomfort to serious pathologies. The study abstract states that there were specific “exclusions,” meaning that the study was limited in some way to control the variables. Although I have only seen the abstract and not the text of the study, I presume that serious disk herniations, complications due to lumbar spinal fusions, and serious spondylolystheses, etc. have been excluded.
As news of this study has begun to spread — an article about it was published in the national magazine Parade on October 11 — we have begun to get calls from those seeking relief from some of the more serious diseases that cause lower back pain. While we seldom turn anyone away, some callers seem to think there is a quick and easy solution to long-standing problems. They ask, albeit innocently, for a list of exercises that can be done at home, completely disregarding that the study spanned six months of intensive training. In my twenty-five years of teaching, I have found it takes at least that long to make a significant change, although short term relief can be achieved much more quickly.
I founded Yoga St. Louis with the intention of proving that anyone, if only willing to dedicate the time and energy necessary to develop skill, could learn the art of yoga. I took my cue from the Bhagavad Gita, which proclaims, “Yoga is skill in action.” [Bhagavad Gita II.50] At a simple level this means that through intelligent action, one may achieve the intended results.
Patanjali says something similar: “The pain which is yet to come can, and is to be, avoided [Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.16].” Sage Vyasa explains that present pain cannot be avoided because it already exists, even though it can be reduced to some extent through yogic practice and discriminative knowledge. But future pain can be avoided through current yogic discipline.
"http://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/Abstract/2009/09010/Evaluation_of_the_Effectiveness_and_Efficacy_of.18.aspx"
A landmark Iyengar Yoga therapy study to help relieve chronic lower back pain was published at the beginning of September. The twice-weekly yoga class significantly relieved pain and depression.
The study, published in last month's issue of the journal Spine, was a three-year, $400,000 research project funded by National Institutes of Health. Researchers assigned 90 people with chronic low back pain to a yoga group or a control group that received standard medical care, such as pain medication.
Those in the yoga group participated in 24 weeks of biweekly Iyengar yoga classes designed for people with chronic lower-back pain. Six months after the study ended, those in the Iyengar yoga group reported significantly more improvements in pain and functionality compared with subjects in the other group. In addition, depression was much lower in the yoga subjects. The use of pain medication was reduced, but that reduction was similar in both groups.
"The yoga group had less pain, less functional disability and less depression compared with the control group," Kimberly Williams, the lead investigator, and an Iyengar yoga teacher from West Virginia University, said in a news release. "Proponents of yoga have long described its benefits in reducing back pain. But not everyone was convinced. This is a much bigger, much more rigorous evaluation than had been done before."
Bruce’s comments:
Back pain is ubiquitous and may encompass an extremely wide range of conditions — from minor discomfort to serious pathologies. The study abstract states that there were specific “exclusions,” meaning that the study was limited in some way to control the variables. Although I have only seen the abstract and not the text of the study, I presume that serious disk herniations, complications due to lumbar spinal fusions, and serious spondylolystheses, etc. have been excluded.
As news of this study has begun to spread — an article about it was published in the national magazine Parade on October 11 — we have begun to get calls from those seeking relief from some of the more serious diseases that cause lower back pain. While we seldom turn anyone away, some callers seem to think there is a quick and easy solution to long-standing problems. They ask, albeit innocently, for a list of exercises that can be done at home, completely disregarding that the study spanned six months of intensive training. In my twenty-five years of teaching, I have found it takes at least that long to make a significant change, although short term relief can be achieved much more quickly.
I founded Yoga St. Louis with the intention of proving that anyone, if only willing to dedicate the time and energy necessary to develop skill, could learn the art of yoga. I took my cue from the Bhagavad Gita, which proclaims, “Yoga is skill in action.” [Bhagavad Gita II.50] At a simple level this means that through intelligent action, one may achieve the intended results.
Patanjali says something similar: “The pain which is yet to come can, and is to be, avoided [Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.16].” Sage Vyasa explains that present pain cannot be avoided because it already exists, even though it can be reduced to some extent through yogic practice and discriminative knowledge. But future pain can be avoided through current yogic discipline.
Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 32 (October 15, 2009)
No new students in class.
Focus: New poses from Sequence #8 in the Preliminary Course — Surya Namaskar and Ustrasana.
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
[See See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)]
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2. Ardha Gomukhasana arms in Tadasana
a. To lengthen side chest in Adho Mukha Svanasana.
3. Adho Mukha Svanasana
4. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (5X — fast)
5. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Take one step in, feet together, and then bend the knees towards the chest to jump to Uttanasana.
6. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Bottom tips of the shoulder blades protract away from each other and outer shoulder blades extend towards the hands in Adho Mukha Svanasana. To come forward into Plank, raise the head up to lift the shoulders up, take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone, and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
7. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Chaturanga Dandasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Wall Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana in Tadasana
Facing a wall with forearms at the waist, as in Chaturanga, use the resisting friction of palms on the wall to pull down the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
b. Belt upper arms and rest ribs on belt in Chaturanga. Come into Chaturanga with the same shoulder blades towards the tail bone, etc., as in Plank. Lift inner knees and thighs, buttocks, and frontal shoulders up. Pull back with the hands and push forward with the feet.
c. Chaturanga three times without the belt.
8. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Urdhva Mukha Svanasana- Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Leg work of Chaturanga, widen the sternum towards the frontal shoulders in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
9. Ustrasana
a. Pelvis at the Rope Wall, pull down the lower wall ropes to open armpit chest and lift the sternum. Shoulder blades into the back body to support and open the chest.
b. Inner knees lift up, shins down, outer shins in. Shoulder blades towards the tail bone. If the legs do not participate, it causes a heaviness in the lower back.
c. Head back, towards the vastness.
d. Head back, back chest lifting, hands on inner thighs.
e. Walk the palms back to the heels.
f. Alternate way of coming up into the pose: Sit in Virasana, palms on heels, and lift pelvis.
10. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
11 Savasana
Focus: New poses from Sequence #8 in the Preliminary Course — Surya Namaskar and Ustrasana.
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
[See See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)]
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2. Ardha Gomukhasana arms in Tadasana
a. To lengthen side chest in Adho Mukha Svanasana.
3. Adho Mukha Svanasana
4. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (5X — fast)
5. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Take one step in, feet together, and then bend the knees towards the chest to jump to Uttanasana.
6. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Bottom tips of the shoulder blades protract away from each other and outer shoulder blades extend towards the hands in Adho Mukha Svanasana. To come forward into Plank, raise the head up to lift the shoulders up, take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone, and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
7. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Chaturanga Dandasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Wall Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana in Tadasana
Facing a wall with forearms at the waist, as in Chaturanga, use the resisting friction of palms on the wall to pull down the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
b. Belt upper arms and rest ribs on belt in Chaturanga. Come into Chaturanga with the same shoulder blades towards the tail bone, etc., as in Plank. Lift inner knees and thighs, buttocks, and frontal shoulders up. Pull back with the hands and push forward with the feet.
c. Chaturanga three times without the belt.
8. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Urdhva Mukha Svanasana- Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Leg work of Chaturanga, widen the sternum towards the frontal shoulders in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
9. Ustrasana
a. Pelvis at the Rope Wall, pull down the lower wall ropes to open armpit chest and lift the sternum. Shoulder blades into the back body to support and open the chest.
b. Inner knees lift up, shins down, outer shins in. Shoulder blades towards the tail bone. If the legs do not participate, it causes a heaviness in the lower back.
c. Head back, towards the vastness.
d. Head back, back chest lifting, hands on inner thighs.
e. Walk the palms back to the heels.
f. Alternate way of coming up into the pose: Sit in Virasana, palms on heels, and lift pelvis.
10. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
11 Savasana
Thursday 9.30a Asana I — Week 33 (October 15, 2009)
Focus: Refining Surya Namaskar and Ustrasana from Sequence #8 in the Preliminary Course in bold face.
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
[See See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)]
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2. Ardha Gomukhasana arms in Tadasana
a. To lengthen side chest in Adho Mukha Svanasana.
3. Adho Mukha Svanasana
4. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (5X — fast)
5. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Take one step in, feet together, and then bend the knees towards the chest to jump to Uttanasana.
6. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Bottom tips of the shoulder blades protract away from each other and outer shoulder blades extend towards the hands in Adho Mukha Svanasana. To come forward into Plank, raise the head up to lift the shoulders up, take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone, and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
7. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Chaturanga Dandasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Wall Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana in Tadasana
Facing a wall with forearms at the waist, as in Chaturanga, use the resisting friction of palms on the wall to pull down the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
b. Belt upper arms and rest ribs on belt in Chaturanga. Come into Chaturanga with the same shoulder blades towards the tail bone, etc., as in Plank. Lift inner knees and thighs, buttocks, and frontal shoulders up. Pull back with the hands and push forward with the feet.
c. Chaturanga three times without the belt.
8. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Urdhva Mukha Svanasana- Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Leg work of Chaturanga, widen the sternum towards the frontal shoulders in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
9. Ustrasana
a. Pelvis at the Rope Wall, pull down the lower wall ropes to open armpit chest and lift the sternum. Shoulder blades into the back body to support and open the chest.
b. Inner knees lift up, shins down, outer shins in. Shoulder blades towards the tail bone. If the legs do not participate, it causes a heaviness in the lower back.
c. Head back, towards the vastness.
d. Head back, back chest lifting, hands on inner thighs.
e. Walk the palms back to the heels.
f. Alternate way of coming up into the pose: Sit in Virasana, palms on heels, and lift pelvis.
10. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
11 Savasana
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
[See See Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)]
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2. Ardha Gomukhasana arms in Tadasana
a. To lengthen side chest in Adho Mukha Svanasana.
3. Adho Mukha Svanasana
4. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (5X — fast)
5. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Take one step in, feet together, and then bend the knees towards the chest to jump to Uttanasana.
6. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Bottom tips of the shoulder blades protract away from each other and outer shoulder blades extend towards the hands in Adho Mukha Svanasana. To come forward into Plank, raise the head up to lift the shoulders up, take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone, and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
7. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Chaturanga Dandasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Wall Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana in Tadasana
Facing a wall with forearms at the waist, as in Chaturanga, use the resisting friction of palms on the wall to pull down the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
b. Belt upper arms and rest ribs on belt in Chaturanga. Come into Chaturanga with the same shoulder blades towards the tail bone, etc., as in Plank. Lift inner knees and thighs, buttocks, and frontal shoulders up. Pull back with the hands and push forward with the feet.
c. Chaturanga three times without the belt.
8. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Urdhva Mukha Svanasana- Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Leg work of Chaturanga, widen the sternum towards the frontal shoulders in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
9. Ustrasana
a. Pelvis at the Rope Wall, pull down the lower wall ropes to open armpit chest and lift the sternum. Shoulder blades into the back body to support and open the chest.
b. Inner knees lift up, shins down, outer shins in. Shoulder blades towards the tail bone. If the legs do not participate, it causes a heaviness in the lower back.
c. Head back, towards the vastness.
d. Head back, back chest lifting, hands on inner thighs.
e. Walk the palms back to the heels.
f. Alternate way of coming up into the pose: Sit in Virasana, palms on heels, and lift pelvis.
10. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
11 Savasana
Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 33 (October 13, 2009)
Focus: New poses from Sequence #8 in the Preliminary Course — Surya Namaskar and Ustrasana.
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
As yoga has become more popular in the last decade, there are many American classes that base practice on Surya Namaskar. In the Iyengar method we have many ways of incorporating poses into Surya Namaskar and they are generally referred to as “jumpings.” (The term Surya Namaskar itself is generally held sacred and only refers to specific rites.) BKS Iyengar learned the jumpings from his guru, T. Krishnamacharya, and taught that way for his first 30 years. As his guru changed his method when he started teaching older students in the 1950’s, so did Iyengar change because the method did not work well for his pupils either. However, to this day, children and teens are still taught fast-moving jumpings as an introduction to yoga at the Iyengar Institute in Pune.
Jumpings are so fast that they tend to focus on motion. Motion is helpful when stiff, say in cold weather, or when joints need movement to “warm up.” Fast movements also help children focus on the task at hand. However movement alone is insufficient when it comes to learning yoga. The Bhagavad Gita discusses “action,” which BKS Iyengar defines as “movement plus intelligence.” To perform asana, the intelligence must penetrate to cultivate “the Self in every cell.” When this intelligence is lacking, there may be movement, but one lacks stability. If nothing else, yoga is the art of cultivating insight to still and stabilize the mind, else practice is dualistic.
Therefore, jumpings are not taught first to adults in the Iyengar method. Additionally, the component poses of Surya Namaskar are not easy for novices to master. The standings, forward extensions, and inversions teach the actions necessary in Surya Namaskar.
On a personal note, I have seen many students who come to my classes having practiced Surya Namaskar with the belief that any mechanical practice, or sacrificial tapas, will bring enlightenment. Experience teaches that without cultivation of intelligence and insight in yoga practice, suffering results.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2. Ardha Gomukhasana arms in Tadasana
a. To lengthen side chest in Adho Mukha Svanasana.
3. Adho Mukha Svanasana
4. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (5X — fast)
5. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Take one step in, feet together, and then bend the knees towards the chest to jump to Uttanasana.
6. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Bottom tips of the shoulder blades protract away from each other and outer shoulder blades extend towards the hands in Adho Mukha Svanasana. To come forward into Plank, raise the head up to lift the shoulders up, take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone, and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
7. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Chaturanga Dandasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Wall Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana in Tadasana
Facing a wall with forearms at the waist, as in Chaturanga, use the resisting friction of palms on the wall to pull down the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
b. Belt upper arms and rest ribs on belt in Chaturanga. Come into Chaturanga with the same shoulder blades towards the tail bone, etc., as in Plank. Lift inner knees and thighs, buttocks, and frontal shoulders up. Pull back with the hands and push forward with the feet.
c. Chaturanga three times without the belt.
8. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Urdhva Mukha Svanasana- Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Leg work of Chaturanga, widen the sternum towards the frontal shoulders in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
9. Ustrasana
a. Pelvis at the Rope Wall, pull down the lower wall ropes to open armpit chest and lift the sternum. Shoulder blades into the back body to support and open the chest.
b. Inner knees lift up, shins down, outer shins in. Shoulder blades towards the tail bone. If the legs do not participate, it causes a heaviness in the lower back.
c. Head back, towards the vastness.
d. Head back, back chest lifting, hands on inner thighs.
e. Walk the palms back to the heels.
f. Alternate way of coming up into the pose: Sit in Virasana, palms on heels, and lift pelvis.
10. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
When rolling out, bend the knees and extend the arms in Urdhva Hastasana. Round the back to prevent the back “seizing up” afterwards.
11 Savasana
Discussion: Surya Namaskar
As yoga has become more popular in the last decade, there are many American classes that base practice on Surya Namaskar. In the Iyengar method we have many ways of incorporating poses into Surya Namaskar and they are generally referred to as “jumpings.” (The term Surya Namaskar itself is generally held sacred and only refers to specific rites.) BKS Iyengar learned the jumpings from his guru, T. Krishnamacharya, and taught that way for his first 30 years. As his guru changed his method when he started teaching older students in the 1950’s, so did Iyengar change because the method did not work well for his pupils either. However, to this day, children and teens are still taught fast-moving jumpings as an introduction to yoga at the Iyengar Institute in Pune.
Jumpings are so fast that they tend to focus on motion. Motion is helpful when stiff, say in cold weather, or when joints need movement to “warm up.” Fast movements also help children focus on the task at hand. However movement alone is insufficient when it comes to learning yoga. The Bhagavad Gita discusses “action,” which BKS Iyengar defines as “movement plus intelligence.” To perform asana, the intelligence must penetrate to cultivate “the Self in every cell.” When this intelligence is lacking, there may be movement, but one lacks stability. If nothing else, yoga is the art of cultivating insight to still and stabilize the mind, else practice is dualistic.
Therefore, jumpings are not taught first to adults in the Iyengar method. Additionally, the component poses of Surya Namaskar are not easy for novices to master. The standings, forward extensions, and inversions teach the actions necessary in Surya Namaskar.
On a personal note, I have seen many students who come to my classes having practiced Surya Namaskar with the belief that any mechanical practice, or sacrificial tapas, will bring enlightenment. Experience teaches that without cultivation of intelligence and insight in yoga practice, suffering results.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2. Ardha Gomukhasana arms in Tadasana
a. To lengthen side chest in Adho Mukha Svanasana.
3. Adho Mukha Svanasana
4. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana (5X — fast)
5. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Take one step in, feet together, and then bend the knees towards the chest to jump to Uttanasana.
6. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Bottom tips of the shoulder blades protract away from each other and outer shoulder blades extend towards the hands in Adho Mukha Svanasana. To come forward into Plank, raise the head up to lift the shoulders up, take the shoulder blades towards the tail bone, and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
7. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Chaturanga Dandasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Wall Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana in Tadasana
Facing a wall with forearms at the waist, as in Chaturanga, use the resisting friction of palms on the wall to pull down the shoulder blades towards the tail bone and retract the bottom tips of the shoulder blades towards each other.
b. Belt upper arms and rest ribs on belt in Chaturanga. Come into Chaturanga with the same shoulder blades towards the tail bone, etc., as in Plank. Lift inner knees and thighs, buttocks, and frontal shoulders up. Pull back with the hands and push forward with the feet.
c. Chaturanga three times without the belt.
8. Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana - Uttanasana - Adho Mukha Svanasana - Plank - Urdhva Mukha Svanasana- Adho Mukha Svanasana - Uttanasana - Tadasana (5X)
a. Leg work of Chaturanga, widen the sternum towards the frontal shoulders in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
9. Ustrasana
a. Pelvis at the Rope Wall, pull down the lower wall ropes to open armpit chest and lift the sternum. Shoulder blades into the back body to support and open the chest.
b. Inner knees lift up, shins down, outer shins in. Shoulder blades towards the tail bone. If the legs do not participate, it causes a heaviness in the lower back.
c. Head back, towards the vastness.
d. Head back, back chest lifting, hands on inner thighs.
e. Walk the palms back to the heels.
f. Alternate way of coming up into the pose: Sit in Virasana, palms on heels, and lift pelvis.
10. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
When rolling out, bend the knees and extend the arms in Urdhva Hastasana. Round the back to prevent the back “seizing up” afterwards.
11 Savasana
Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 7 (October 13, 2009)
Focus: Shoulder poses, keeping the spine erect, leading up to Chair Sarvangasana.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Upper Wall Rope Utkatasana [Substitute for Urdhva Hastasana]
a. Sitting in a chair facing the wall, use the weight of the body to create a traction counter balance to open the shoulders and elongate the spine in line with the arms.
b. Externally rotate upper arms to relieve shoulder pain (JM).
2. Traction Supta Urdhva Hastasana
a. Assistant pulls arms into traction.
3. Wall Ardha Uttanasana
a. Keep the arms fully elevated, as in Urdhva Hastasana. Hands high enough on wall to open the shoulders and elongate the spine in line with the arms. Don’t drop the head — keep the ears in line with the arms. Don’t hunch the back — extend the paraspinals, along with the spine, towards the buttocks. Externally rotate upper arms to relieve shoulder pain (JM).
b. Corridor Ardha Uttanasana (variation)
Standing in a three foot wide corridor, press the hands into the wall to stretch the spine and push the buttock bones into the opposite wall. This variation is easier when the legs are unstable.
c. Rope Wall Ardha Uttanasana (variation)
Press ulnar wrists down into rope hook pockets to open chest.
4. Door Frame Rope 1
a. Standing in the middle of a door frame, with the hands at shoulder height on the jambs, lean the sternum forward to open the chest. Elbows forward to externally rotate the arms. For stability, you can take one foot forward as in Virabhadrasana I, but do not throw the pelvis or lower back forward to compensate for not opening the chest.
5. Gomukhasana arms in Chair Tadasana (3X)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Sitting erect in a chair, take the right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and bring the elbow behind the head. Open the armpit and stretch the side chest.
6. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana in Chair Tadasana
a. Trapezius down, shoulder blades down, lift the chest, and free the neck.
7. Urdhva Hastasana in Chair Tadasana
a. Lift the outer shoulder blades, inner shoulder blades down.
8. Chair Sarvangasana
a. On three blankets folded in half to prevent over-flexing the neck or experiencing a choking sensation. Rolled hand towels under trapezius on both sides of the neck to lift C7 and to take the outer deltoids down. (JC, LS, BR)
b. Caution: When there are pre-existing neck and shoulder problems, perform only under direct supervision of an experienced teacher. The appropriate method of set up and individual adjustment are the keys to doing the pose effectively and safely. If there is any sharp pain or choking sensation that cannot be resolved by adjustment, come down immediately.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
Invocation in Swastikasana
1. Upper Wall Rope Utkatasana [Substitute for Urdhva Hastasana]
a. Sitting in a chair facing the wall, use the weight of the body to create a traction counter balance to open the shoulders and elongate the spine in line with the arms.
b. Externally rotate upper arms to relieve shoulder pain (JM).
2. Traction Supta Urdhva Hastasana
a. Assistant pulls arms into traction.
3. Wall Ardha Uttanasana
a. Keep the arms fully elevated, as in Urdhva Hastasana. Hands high enough on wall to open the shoulders and elongate the spine in line with the arms. Don’t drop the head — keep the ears in line with the arms. Don’t hunch the back — extend the paraspinals, along with the spine, towards the buttocks. Externally rotate upper arms to relieve shoulder pain (JM).
b. Corridor Ardha Uttanasana (variation)
Standing in a three foot wide corridor, press the hands into the wall to stretch the spine and push the buttock bones into the opposite wall. This variation is easier when the legs are unstable.
c. Rope Wall Ardha Uttanasana (variation)
Press ulnar wrists down into rope hook pockets to open chest.
4. Door Frame Rope 1
a. Standing in the middle of a door frame, with the hands at shoulder height on the jambs, lean the sternum forward to open the chest. Elbows forward to externally rotate the arms. For stability, you can take one foot forward as in Virabhadrasana I, but do not throw the pelvis or lower back forward to compensate for not opening the chest.
5. Gomukhasana arms in Chair Tadasana (3X)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Sitting erect in a chair, take the right arm up, bend the right elbow. Hold the right elbow with the left hand and bring the elbow behind the head. Open the armpit and stretch the side chest.
6. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana in Chair Tadasana
a. Trapezius down, shoulder blades down, lift the chest, and free the neck.
7. Urdhva Hastasana in Chair Tadasana
a. Lift the outer shoulder blades, inner shoulder blades down.
8. Chair Sarvangasana
a. On three blankets folded in half to prevent over-flexing the neck or experiencing a choking sensation. Rolled hand towels under trapezius on both sides of the neck to lift C7 and to take the outer deltoids down. (JC, LS, BR)
b. Caution: When there are pre-existing neck and shoulder problems, perform only under direct supervision of an experienced teacher. The appropriate method of set up and individual adjustment are the keys to doing the pose effectively and safely. If there is any sharp pain or choking sensation that cannot be resolved by adjustment, come down immediately.
Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 31 (October 8, 2009)
No new students in class
Focus: Pinning the hips in more difficult standings, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Soft, slow, smooth inhalation. Soft, slow, smooth exhalation. Lift the spine. Shoulder blades down the back body.
2. Rope 1— Adho Mukha Svanasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
3. Tadasana/Samasthiti
4. Urdhva Hastasana
5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
6. Tadasana (Paschima Namaskarasana)
7. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Extend from the outer knee towards the outer hip to engage the femur in the socket when coming into the pose. If the knee turns in, then the greater trochanter will fall out. Pressing down the ball of the big toe, lift the toes to lift the inner ankle bone and inner knee prevents the knee from turning in. Reverse the mistaken tendency to allow the right hip to fall towards the right knee. This is preparation for Ardha Chandrasana.
8. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Same action as in Trikonasana.
9. Ardha Chandrasana
a. Same action as in Trikonasana.
10. Virabhadrasana I
11. Virabhadrasana III
a. Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate balance.
12. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate greater range of motion.
13. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Belt greater trochanters in to soften the abdomen and take the navel back.
15. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Focus: Pinning the hips in more difficult standings, as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Soft, slow, smooth inhalation. Soft, slow, smooth exhalation. Lift the spine. Shoulder blades down the back body.
2. Rope 1— Adho Mukha Svanasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
3. Tadasana/Samasthiti
4. Urdhva Hastasana
5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
6. Tadasana (Paschima Namaskarasana)
7. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Extend from the outer knee towards the outer hip to engage the femur in the socket when coming into the pose. If the knee turns in, then the greater trochanter will fall out. Pressing down the ball of the big toe, lift the toes to lift the inner ankle bone and inner knee prevents the knee from turning in. Reverse the mistaken tendency to allow the right hip to fall towards the right knee. This is preparation for Ardha Chandrasana.
8. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Same action as in Trikonasana.
9. Ardha Chandrasana
a. Same action as in Trikonasana.
10. Virabhadrasana I
11. Virabhadrasana III
a. Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate balance.
12. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate greater range of motion.
13. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Belt greater trochanters in to soften the abdomen and take the navel back.
15. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 32 (October 6, 2009)
Focus: Week 22 of syllabus. Shoulders and hips in standings, seated forward extensions, and inversions. Outer thighs in as taught by Geeta Iyengar in Pune July, 2009.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Soft, slow, smooth inhalation. Soft, slow, smooth exhalation. Lift the spine. Shoulder blades down the back body.
2. Rope 1— Adho Mukha Svanasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
a. Heels up on wall.
b. Go faster to get movement to relieve shoulder and neck pain.
3. Tadasana/Samasthiti
4. Urdhva Hastasana
5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
6. Tadasana (Paschima Namaskarasana)
7. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Extend from the outer knee towards the outer hip to engage the femur in the socket when coming into the pose. If the knee turns in, then the greater trochanter will fall out. Pressing down the ball of the big toe, lift the toes to lift the inner ankle bone and inner knee prevents the knee from turning in. Reverse the mistaken tendency to allow the right hip to fall towards the right knee. This is preparation for Ardha Chandrasana.
8. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Same action as in Trikonasana.
9. Ardha Chandrasana
a. Same action as in Trikonasana.
10. Virabhadrasana I
11. Virabhadrasana III
a. Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate balance.
12. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate greater range of motion.
13. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Belt greater trochanters in to soften the abdomen and take the navel back.
14. Forward Extensions
a. Dandasana
b. Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
c. Padangusthasana Dandasana
d. Paschimottanasana
Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate greater range of motion. Extend the back body forward.
15. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Soft, slow, smooth inhalation. Soft, slow, smooth exhalation. Lift the spine. Shoulder blades down the back body.
2. Rope 1— Adho Mukha Svanasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
a. Heels up on wall.
b. Go faster to get movement to relieve shoulder and neck pain.
3. Tadasana/Samasthiti
4. Urdhva Hastasana
5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
6. Tadasana (Paschima Namaskarasana)
7. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Extend from the outer knee towards the outer hip to engage the femur in the socket when coming into the pose. If the knee turns in, then the greater trochanter will fall out. Pressing down the ball of the big toe, lift the toes to lift the inner ankle bone and inner knee prevents the knee from turning in. Reverse the mistaken tendency to allow the right hip to fall towards the right knee. This is preparation for Ardha Chandrasana.
8. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Same action as in Trikonasana.
9. Ardha Chandrasana
a. Same action as in Trikonasana.
10. Virabhadrasana I
11. Virabhadrasana III
a. Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate balance.
12. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate greater range of motion.
13. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Belt greater trochanters in to soften the abdomen and take the navel back.
14. Forward Extensions
a. Dandasana
b. Urdhva Hasta Dandasana
c. Padangusthasana Dandasana
d. Paschimottanasana
Belt greater trochanters in to facilitate greater range of motion. Extend the back body forward.
15. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana I
b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
c. Halasana
Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 6 (October 6, 2009)
Focus: Leg actions in standing poses against the wall.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Soft, slow, smooth inhalation. Soft, slow, smooth exhalation. Lift the spine. Shoulder blades down the back body.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Backs of the thighs away from each other. Lift inner knees with brick between inner thighs.
b. Lift the kneecap and back knee towards the buttock bone to prevent collapsing into the back of the knee, especially in Trikonasana.
c. Shoulder blades down the back body. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to roll open shoulders.
3. Utthita Trikonasana
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina.
b. Lift the kneecap and back knee towards the buttock bone to prevent knee or right posterior ankle pain.
c. Keep the femur in the socket, lifting from outer knee towards outer hip, when coming into the pose.
4. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina.
b. Extend from the outer knee towards the outer hip to engage the femur in the socket when coming into the pose. If the knee turns in, then the greater trochanter will fall out. Pressing down the ball of the big toe, lift the toes to lift the inner ankle bone and inner knee prevents the knee from turning in.
5. Viparita Karani (15 min)
a. Substituted for Sarvangasana Cycle
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
1. Invocation in Swastikasana
a. Soft, slow, smooth inhalation. Soft, slow, smooth exhalation. Lift the spine. Shoulder blades down the back body.
2. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Backs of the thighs away from each other. Lift inner knees with brick between inner thighs.
b. Lift the kneecap and back knee towards the buttock bone to prevent collapsing into the back of the knee, especially in Trikonasana.
c. Shoulder blades down the back body. Paschima Baddhanguliyasana arms to roll open shoulders.
3. Utthita Trikonasana
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina.
b. Lift the kneecap and back knee towards the buttock bone to prevent knee or right posterior ankle pain.
c. Keep the femur in the socket, lifting from outer knee towards outer hip, when coming into the pose.
4. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina.
b. Extend from the outer knee towards the outer hip to engage the femur in the socket when coming into the pose. If the knee turns in, then the greater trochanter will fall out. Pressing down the ball of the big toe, lift the toes to lift the inner ankle bone and inner knee prevents the knee from turning in.
5. Viparita Karani (15 min)
a. Substituted for Sarvangasana Cycle
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