Monday 9:30a Intro: Week 1 (Jan 5, 2009)

Please note: to maintain anonymity, no names are given but rather lower case letters [ex. (a.)] are used to indicate conditions and the modifications made in class.

Four students - all returning, none brand new - attended class on Monday. One student (a.) returning from an injury falling on hip and previously diagnosed frozen shoulder.

Because all students have attended class for more than 6 months, less detail is given here in describing the poses than for the Saturday and Wednesday, Week 1 classes.

1.) Tadasana / Samasthiti
Tada = mountain, Asana = posture
Sama = same, Sthiti = stable

— Extend & spread toes without hardening or overworking shins; pull up fronts and backs of thighs; press down evenly the mounds of the toes/forefoot;

— Lift inner knees, spread backs of thighs from inside out;

— Extend & spread fingers without hardening the hand to maintain even extension in entire arm;

When fingers and/or wrists are hardened, fingers stretched to their maximum, the arm overworks, tension and exhaustion comes quickly. Conversely, if the hands and wrists are dull the arm is also dull and the shoulder cannot open;

Everyone to move ribcage back so no pressure on heart, diaphragm, internal organs;

2.) Urdhva Hastasana (2x)
Urdhva = upward, Hasta = hand

— Away from wall: everyone pushing thighs, waist & ribcage forward to take arms up; (a.) difficulty lifting right arm above shoulder without moving entire right shoulder girdle or “shrugging”;

— At wall use ropes: Tadasana leg action; press pinky-side edge of palm into rope, palms facing, arms shoulder width apart; roll upper arms from outside in (external rotation);

3.) Rope Utkatasana
Utkata = mighty, powerful

— Hold ropes, straighten arms drop bottom towards floor in a “seated” position to give traction stretch to side body and armpits; roll upper arms from outside in (external rotation) to spread at upper back;

4.) Utthita Hasta Padasana
Utthita = extended, Hasta = hand, Pada = foot

5.) Parsva Hasta Padasana
Parsva = side, Hasta = hand, Pada = foot

Utthita Hasta Padasana and Parsva Hasta Padasana are poses in and of themselves, but they are also a means to get into the side-to-side poses; their importance is not to be minimized and it should be understood that they will always precede the side-to-side poses even if their listing is not repeated.

6.) Utthita Trikonasana (3x)
Utthita = extended, Tri = three, Kona = angle

— Back against wall (2x); (a.) modification with bent elbow on right side;

— Face wall; with straight arm, upper palm presses brick to learn action of shoulder blade; (a.) modification with bent elbow on right side;

7.) Parsvottanasana
Parsva = side, Uttan = extended

— Face wall, eyes forward; hands on wall, elbows bent, chest lifted; foot on angled bricks; bring hips parallel to wall; shoulder blades in & down;

8.) Prasarita Padottanasana
Prasarita = wide spread, Pada = foot, Uttan = extended

— Thighs back; concave back; chest forward, palms down; same action in shoulders;

9.) Savasana
Sava = corpse

— Head on folded blanket.