Wednesday 6:30p Intro: Week 1 (Jan 7, 2009)

Six students - two returning, four brand new - attended class on Wednesday. One new student had a sinus headache, which was addressed before class. Bruce (BR) put student in Adho Mukha Virasana (child’s pose) with bolster support under chest, blanket under shins. Headache reduced greatly and sinus clearer by start of class.

Because there were four students brand new to class, slightly more detail is given here in describing the poses than for Saturday and Monday, Week 1 in which there were no new students.

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

— Spread weight in feet evenly; pull up thigh muscles lifting kneecaps; take fronts of thighs back; spread backs of thighs from inside out;

— Lift the chest; roll arm bones back; shoulder blades down and into back body; extend arms down in line with hips;

— Move ribcage back so no pressure on heart, diaphragm, internal organs;

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

— Inhale to take arms up in line with ears, palms facing, elbows straight;

Everyone had arms bent & pushed thighs, waist & ribcage forward to take arms up;

3.) Supine Urdhva Hastasana (students in groups of 3)

— “The rack” traction: partner #1 supine on mat, buttocks near end of mat; arms extended over head, fingers interlaced around partner #2’s lower calf/upper ankle; partner #3 stands over #1, straddling waist just above hip bones to “block” pelvis from moving with arms; partner #2 moves foot away from #1’s head, dragging forefoot on sticky mat to extend their arms more and stretch sides;

4.) Urdhva Hastasana

— Repeat to feel effects of supine stretch;

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

6.) 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.

7.) Utthita Trikonasana
Utthita = extended, Tri = three, Kona = angle

— Keep knees drawn up, legs straight, extend trunk to right; place right hand on brick near ankle; extend left arm up; turn chest, waist and face towards rope wall; repeat on left side;

8.) Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana
Urdhva = upward, Baddha = bound, Guily = fingers

— Interlock fingers in front of chest; rotate palms to open and face away; straighten elbows; extend arms up towards ceiling, upper arms in line with ears; same stretch to side body as Urdhva Hastasana;

— Change interlock of fingers and repeat;

9.) Utthita Trikonasana (2x)

— Back against wall for balance; more attention on arm extension & shoulder blades moving away from ears;

— Face wall; upper palm presses brick to learn action of shoulder blade;

10.) Urdhva Hastasana

— Repeat as earlier;

Student reporting numbness in hands when arms overhead; BR belted upper arms together (across forehead) in Urdhva Hastasana – numbness relieved;

11.) Prasarita Padottanasana (concave back)
Prasarita = wide spread, Pada = foot, Uttan = extended

— Spread legs 4 to 5 feet apart; extend trunk forward from hips; place fingertips on floor (or bricks if spine rounding upwards) under shoulders, shoulder-width apart; look forward, lift chest;

12.) Savasana
Sava = corpse

— Head on folded blanket; shoulder blades tucked under, palms turned up, arms away from trunk; rest legs & breathe normally.