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

Focus: Stabilize the breath to stabilize the body. When the body becomes stable, the mind is pacified. Although “effortless effort” is a sign that one has perfected asana, substituting “relax the breath” is an appropriate means to relieve unnecessary tension.

Followed Week 4 of Preliminary Course, with the addition of a couple of poses from Week 5.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutras II.46-48, the definition and effects of asana.
See Tuesday 4.30p MS — Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009), Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009), Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 3 (Mar 19, 2009), Tuesday 6.30p Intro — Week 4 (Mar 24, 2009), and Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 4 (Mar 26, 2009) for a five part discussion.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti

2. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.

3. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Sit the buttock down to take the right hand to the floor.

4. Utthita Trikonasana

5. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

6. Virabhadrasana I

7. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Pull right hip back, left hip forward.
b. 5 minutes per side. Suppport the head to make the mind quiet. If there is resistance inside, support head with an additional brick to allow the stretch to come.

9. Virabhadrasana I
a. With Urdhva Hastasana arms, press wrists into Upper Wall Rope to lift the pubic plate and sternum.

10. Utkatasana

11. Uttanasana
a. Baddha Hasta Uttanasana
b. Head or shoulders on chair seat

12. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Inserted to continue hamstring stretch, and inversion as preparation for Sarvangasana.

13. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Wall Ekapada Sarvangasana
b. Salamba Sarvangasana

14. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for time.

15. Viparita Karani
a. Staggered blankets folded in half widthwise

16. Savasana

Bruce's Note for Intro Classes

Guruji BKS Iyengar has stated that it is less important how fast the syllabus is mastered, rather than how thoroughly. That ensures practice will be safe and effective.

The teacher can only respond and guide the class in front of him; each class of students is unique. Although I do have a rough idea of the syllabus in mind, the Preliminary Course syllabus has been modified and adapted to match the abilities of the class. These modifications have been noted in the sequences.

It takes about six months of class - and daily practice - to master the Intro syllabus, which is based on RIMYI Preliminary Course for Beginners, Weeks 1-14, but does not include Sirsasana, which is introduced in Week 11 in the Preliminary Course .

Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 2 (Jan 13, 2009)

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti

2. Upper Wall Rope Utkatasana [Substitute for Urdhva Hastasana]
a. Facing the wall, use the weight of the body to create a traction counter balance to open the shoulders.

3. Upper Wall Rope Urdhva Namaskarasana
a. Then cross the ropes to bring arms into Urdhva Namaskarasana.

4. Parsvottanasana
a. hands on rope bars, head down
b. Inserted in the sequence here (from last standing) to avoid having to expend energy reorienting the mat

5. Virabhadrasana II [Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings]
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. 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

7. 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

8. Prasarita Padottanasana (concave back)
a. buttocks at wall, hands on chair seat

9. Chair Dandasana
a. sit on edge of chair seat with straight legs, toes up

10. Chair Urdhva Hasta Dandasana

11. Savasana

Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 1 (Jan 6, 2009)

No new students for January-February session
Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti

2. Upper Wall Rope Utkatasana [Substitute for Urdhva Hastasana]
a. Facing the wall, use the weight of the body to create a traction counter balance to open the shoulders.

3. Upper Wall Rope Urdhva Namaskarasana
a. Then cross the ropes to bring arms into Urdhva Namaskarasana.

4. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings
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 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

6. 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

7. Savasana

Saturday 10:30a Intro: Week 4 (Mar 28, 2009)

Focus: Supported poses to stabilize the mind. Stabilize the breath to stabilize the body. When the body becomes stable, the mind is pacified. When the mind is pacified, the pain of stretching lessens. Inversions directly pacify the mind and take the consciousness towards the vastness within.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutras II.46-48, the definition and effects of asana.
See Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009), Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009), Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 19, 2009), Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 4 (Mar 24, 2009), and Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 4 (Mar 26, 2009) for a five part discussion.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Pull right hip back, left hip forward.
b. Straighten left inner knee. Keeping the left shin back, turn the left calf from inner towards outer to bring the left hip forward.

2. Chair Sarvangasana

3. Bolster Setubandha Sarvangasana (feet on chair seat)
a. Pacify the consciousness by elevating the sub-conscious mind, which resides in the heart. Open the chest to go the vastness.

4. Savasana
a. Trifold blanket beneath head. Feet and calves on chair seat.

Friday 6:00a Asana 1: Week 4 (March 27, 2009)

NOTE: This is an Asana 1 class and not for beginners. All students have been attending classes at Yoga St. Louis for at least one year.

Week 4 resting poses. Focus on getting extension of side body in Rope Dogpose and length at lumbar spine and groins in Supta Padangusthasana.

1. Rope 1

2. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2x;
From ropes around upper thighs;

3/4/5. Supta Padangusthasana 1, 2 & 3
Belt around upper thigh of raised leg, pulled by lower leg around heel;
Belt to hold upper leg @ heel;
1: leg @ 90 degrees
2: leg out to the side, supported w/bolster @ hip
3: leg crosses to other side

6. Setubandha Sarvangasana
10 min.
Supported on bolster;

7. Viparita Karani
5 min.

Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 4 (Mar 26, 2009)

Focus: No new poses for this week. Review and refine prior three weeks to catch up new students who were absent last week. Refer to last week’s notes for details. Add navel back and lift up, with pubic plate lifting in all poses.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.48, the effects of asana.
See Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009), Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009), Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 19, 2009), and Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 4 (Mar 24, 2009) for first four parts of the discussion.

As translated by BKS Iyengar:
PYS II.48 From that arises immunity to the pairs of opposites.

Tatah dvandvah anabhighatah
then - dualities - cessation of disturbance

None of the pairs of opposites exist as body, mind and soul are one. Then the perfection of asana puts an end to dualities and the differentiation between body, mind and soul.

The Yoga Sutras conceive reality as dualistic, or divided into two parts: God, and everything else that is not God. [PYS II.17-18] Included in that “everything else” is what we call “mind and body.” What we commonly call “mind” is, more properly, “consciousness,” an all-encompassing term that includes three aspects of the mind. Our consciousness not only reflects the light of the soul, but is also colored by every other mundane thing we encounter, such as compliments and insults. When we react to these mundane things we experience the pairs of opposites such as hot and cold, or, as the Bhagavad Gita says, pleasure and pain, gain and loss, and victory and defeat [BG II.38].

This sutra describes the result of the prior two sutras on asana. Unless and until asana practice is perfected, duality exists: We lose our firmness when we feel weak or shaky in the pose; we lose our equanimity and benevolence when in pain [PYS II.46].

Relieving physical back pain or headaches by practice of yoga asanas is relatively easy. But, if we lack resolve [the prayatna, effort, of PYS II.47], despair can set in. It is a more pervasive form of suffering, that signifies self doubt [PYS I.30] or even the fear of death [PYS II.9]. Yoga practice helps relieve these afflictions by purifying our consciousness so that we are able to remains as calm as a still lake when confronted with our difficulties [PYS I.33].

Dualities cause duhkha daurmanasya angamejayatva svasaprasvasah [PYS I.31 described in the Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 1 (Mar 3, 2009) class]. Duhkha is pain, which leads to daurmanasya [despair]. When the mind becomes weak, the stability of the body disappears, causing a “nervous breakdown”, or what Patanjali termed “shakiness inside” [angamejayatva]. Then the breathing becomes disturbed [svasaprasvasah] and fear sets in. To reverse this destructive cycle, B.K.S. Iyengar suggests working backwards through the sutra by first stabilizing the breath to stabilize the body. When the body becomes stable, the mind is pacified. When the mind is pacified, the pain lessens.

Perfection in asana means that, through skilled practice, we understand the effects of our actions in the pose. When performed correctly, standings not only bring flexibility, but also support the spine — which calms the nervous system. Skilled practitioners find that inversions more directly pacify the mind, backbends bring clarity, and forward bends bring rest. The insight that comes from this skill demonstrates that if we retain calmness, clarity and composure, we will not merely react to all the stresses and strains of daily life, and these dualities will lose their ability to disturb us.


Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti

2. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

3. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms
b. Full Gomukhasana arms

4. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. Left heel at the Rope Wall.

5. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Left heel at the Rope Wall, holding the lower wall rope as above, move the right buttock towards the wall to lengthen the right leg.

6. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Left heel at the Rope Wall, holding the lower wall rope as in Virabhadrasana II.
b. Repeat the actions as above, the sit the buttock down to take the right hand to the floor.

7. Utthita Trikonasana from Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee as in Tadasana, to make the knee light.

9. Vrksasana
a. Take the right knee to the wall to drop the right hip and to open the right inner groin.
b. Inserted after Virabhadrasana II, Trikonasana, and Parsvakonasana to experience result of opening right groin towards the right knee.

10. Utkatasana

11. Virabhadrasana I
a. With Urdhva Hastasana arms, press wrists into Upper Wall Rope to lift the pubic plate and sternum.

12. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Pull right hip back, left hip forward.

13. Baddha Hasta Uttanasana
a. Omitted for time.

14. Chair Sarvangasana
a. Next week add Wall Ardha Halasana and Wall Ekapada Sarvangasana. New students repeat Chair Sarvangasana.

15. Savasana
a. Trifold blanket beneath head. Feet and calves on chair seat.

Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 4 (Mar 24, 2009)

Focus: Review and refine prior three weeks and add Chair Sarvangasana. Multiple quick repetitions to disarm the resistance and achieve greater range of motion. Add navel back and lift up, with pubic plate lifting, in all poses.

1. Rope 1 and Tadasana arm poses to facilitate Vrksasana, Virabhadrasana I, and Sarvangasana arm actions
2. Virabhadrasana II, Trikonasana, and Parsvakonasana to open right hip in Vrksasana
3. Parsvottanasana left calf stretch to prepare for Virabhadrasana I left leg.
4. Prayatna saithilya: Effortless effort means not grinding the jaw or holding the breath when you do the pose.
5. ananta samapattibhyam: Make space in the joints and open the chest so that the mind goes to the vastness within.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.47, the effects of asana.
See Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009), Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009), and Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 19, 2009) for first three parts of the discussion.


PYS II.47 Perfection in asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.

Prayatna saithilya ananta samapattibhyam
effort - relaxation - infinite - assuming original form

Perfection in asana is achieved when the effort ceases, instilling infinite poise, and allowing the finite vehicle, the body, to merge in the seer.

Ananta samapatti
The term ananta samapatti embodies three important aspects:

1. return to the original unalloyed pure state
2. merging with endlessness
3. stabilizing the mind

Return to original unalloyed pure state
The last word, samapatti, indicates the balanced state of consciousness that comes in samadhi, wherein the seer radiates in his own pure state. “Pure state” refers back to svarupa avastha, the seer dwelling in his own state, of PYS I.3, wherein the buddhi is capable of directly perceiving the soul without the coloration and prejudices of the mind. Once the yogin rests in his own true splendor, or svarupa avastha, spiritual ignorance ceases to exist, and the causes of suffering are completely eradicated.

Merging with endlessness
What does the buddhi perceive in samapatti? It perceives ananta. Ananta means ana (never) - anta (end) or “endlessness.” I prefer “endlessness” to “infinite” because it stresses the lack of boundary more than just an immeasurable amount. BKS Iyengar described it as “immersed in the boundless state of oneness which is indivisible and universal.”

While teaching in class BKS Iyengar sometimes refers to ananta as “the vastness within.” The yogin concerns himself with mastery of internal space, akasa. Yoga views the vast cosmic images of the universe as projections arising from the experiences of the internal universe. Ananta samapatti occurs when “projection into cosmic form and assimilation into interior awareness become indistinct.”

In BKS Iyengar’s recapitulation of this sutra, he artfully juxtaposes infinite mind with finite body. The term “poise”, short for “equipoise”, suggests samatvam, or the eveness of mind that comes with the mastery of yoga (Bhagavad Gita II.48).

The mythological Ananta is the serpent of omniscient knowledge, and the lord of endless forms. According to the commentators, his vastness is such that he holds not only the earth but each astronomical orbit of the entire universe on one of his thousand heads.

Ananta has a special significance in regard to Patanjali. The hood of the snake god Adisesa (an incarnation of Ananta) protects Patanjali in his surrender to God with his hands in namaskar. As the hood turns inward, so does the ahamkara, the ego, to concentrate only on the sight of the Soul (atma darsana).

Stabilizing the mind
Patanjali’s emphasis on firmness of body in PYS II.46 is reiterated here: The multi-headed Ananta is given the task of upholding the world. Ananta is tamasic because he gives mass to energy, stabilizing form. The bhakta, or devotee, becomes absorbed in the form of Ananta, to stabilize the mind and steady his intelligence. Ananta’s thousand heads represent the multitude of thoughts directed into a single pointed meditation. When the mind ceases to “fluctuate” (the definition of yoga in PYS I.2), it returns to its pure, unalloyed state.


Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Rope 1
a. Roll upper arms out to open shoulders. Added to prepare for Sarvangasana.
b. Belted Shoulder Jacket to help open shoulder. (NP)

2. Tadasana/Samasthiti

3. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders.
b. Press back ribs into arm to keep navel back.
c. Added to prepare for Chair Sarvangasana.
d. Belted upper arms to help open shoulder. (NP)

4. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

5. Tadasana (Urdhva Namaskarasana )
a. Push wrists into Upper Wall Rope to open armpits and stretch side ribs.
b. Added to prepare for Virabhadrasana I.

6. Vrksasana
a. Take the right knee to the wall to drop the right hip and to open the right inner groin.

7. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. Left heel at the Rope Wall, holding the lower wall rope, make the left side the stable side, so that the right side becomes more mobile. Extend the inner left leg towards the Rope Wall while bending the right knee.
c. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis, trunk, and spine. It also stops hip cramping.

8. Vrksasana
a. Open the right inner groin towards the right knee.

9. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Left heel at the Rope Wall.
b. Open the chest to penetrate the vastness of the soul

10. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Left heel at the Rope Wall, holding the lower wall rope as in Virabhadrasana II.
b. Repeat the actions as above, the sit the buttock down to take the right hand to the floor.

11. Calf Stretcher Tadasana (on inverted chair seat)
a. Add to facilitate turning open the calves more in Virabhadrasana I and Parsvottanasana.
b. Omitted for time. Do next week.

12. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Inserted prior to Virabhadrasana I to provide rest and stretch left calf.

13. Virabhadrasana I
a. With Urdhva Hastasana arms, press wrists into Upper Wall Rope to lift the pubic plate and sternum.

14. Utkatasana from Urdhva Hastasana

15. Ardha Uttanasana
a. Substituted for Baddha Hasta Uttanasana because of lack of flexibility.
b. Press side wrist into ledge to open chest and elongate the spine in line with the arms.

16. Chair Sarvangasana
a. Next week add Wall Ardha Halasana and Wall Ekapada Sarvangasana. New students repeat Chair Sarvangasana.

17. Savasana
a. Trifold blanket beneath head. Feet and calves on chair seat.
b. Release the muscles and allow the mind to penetrate inwards towards the vastness of the soul.

Monday 9:30a Intro: Week 4 (March 23, 2009)

Focus: restorative poses, first attaining length of side body in Adho Mukha Svanasana (Dogpose) and length in lumbar & groins in Supta Padangusthasana 1 (SP2 for menstruating student).

1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
5x;
1st: hands @ wall;
2nd: hands @ wall and brick between upper thighs as in brick Tadasana;
3rd: brick between upper thighs and bricks bisecting palms, 2x;
4th: no props;

Note: student with frozen shoulder unable to do AMS, instead take Setubandha Sarvangasana hold belts & rest sacrum on brick. Also, Rope 1 with teacher holding red rope harness to pull shoulders down.

2. Supta Padangusthasana 1
2x;
Belt around upper thigh of raised leg, pulled by lower leg around heel;
Belt to hold upper leg @ heel;
Menstruating student to do SP2 with leg out to the side supported by a bolster or chair;

3. Adho Mukha Svanasana
Reprise to feel effects of SP1;

4. Supported Savasana
10 min.
Blankets (2) folded lengthwise under back chest, one blanket folded into 3rd under head;

Friday 6:00a Asana 1: Week 3 (March 20, 2009)

NOTE: This is an Asana 1 class and not for beginners. All students have been attending classes at Yoga St. Louis for at least one year.

4 students. One menstruating, she did all but Chair Sarvangasana, substituting with Supta Baddha Konasana.

Focus on how to make the brain rest or remain stable, unstressed while the body is active; effortless effort (please see Bruce's Thursday Intro, 6:30p Week 3 March 19th post).

1. Adho Mukha Svanasana
2x;
1st: @ wall;
2nd: away from wall, independent;

2. Parsvottanasana
2x;
1st: heel on blocks @ wall; walk hands down wall to bricks;
2nd: head on chair seat; compare 1st & 2nd;

3. Setubandha Sarvangasana
10 min.
Over lengthwise bolster, legs on chair;

4. Preparation for Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (arms)
Sit on block + blanket(s) facing away from chair seat;
Folded sticky mat on edge of chair seat to stick just below shoulder blades;
Hands hold back edge of chair seat, elbows close to turn upper arms in;
Blanket under back of head for support;

5. Chair Salamba Sarvangasana
Hook elbows around front legs of the chair to open chest;

6. Savasana

Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 19, 2009)

2 new students for March-April session
Focus: Consolidate and add Chair Sarvangasana
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutras II.47, the definition and effects of asana.
See Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009) and Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009) for first two parts of the discussion.


PYS II.47 Perfection in asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.

Prayatna saithilya ananta samapattibhyam
effort - relaxation - infinite - assuming original form

Prayatna saithilya: effort - relaxation
Interpretations of the second sutra on asana vary. The translations that rely on Vyasa include his statement that both prayatna saithilya, “effortless effort” and ananta samapattibhyam, “merging with the infinite”, are necessary requirements for perfection. Vachaspatti Misra, commenting on Vyasa, ascribes both of these as the means that result in perfection.

I prefer B.K.S. Iyengar’s logic: rather than stating that perfection is attained as a result of “ceasing the effort” — another interpretation of prayatna saithilya — he states that the yogin is “firm in his postures when persevering effort is no longer needed.” In other words “effortless effort” is a sign that one is firm in asana practice. Iyengar’s means are the same as in dharana, etc. — “focusing of attention on a chosen point or area within the body.”

With prayatna saithilya,“effortless effort,” we encounter the same apparent contradiction as with sukham in regard to asana expressed in PYS II.46. Without effort, how can one transform and purify consciousness? No activity, however worthwhile, is effortless at the outset. Beginning yoga practice is like starting a new job: The first day leaves you exhausted just learning where everything is and remembering the names and habits of coworkers.

Even those, such as Swami Hariharananda Aranya, who adhere to “relaxation of effort” do not imply that asana is painless:

“Practice of asana cannot be perfected unless some amount of pain is born in the beginning... This will disappear with the practice of relaxation....”

Perhaps at the simplest level of practice, it is more useful to substitute “breath” for “effort” to warrant “relax the breath” as the appropriate means to relieve tension. And, again, as we saw in the discussion about sthira — stabilizing body and mind in PYS II.46 — so does the effort to tame the breath bring the same equanimity.

Employing “effortless effort” can also help unravel another aspect of overworking in a pose. Each part of the body has its own dharma, duty. Pain, despair, shakiness, and labored breathing [PYS I.31] can occur from compensatory patterns that ensue when those duties are renounced. The remaining burden then becomes too great to bear on the other parts of the body. Only with the insight and equanimity that come with relaxed breathing are we able to distinguish the underlying cause from its symptom.

One of the reasons for the various interpretations of prayatna saithilya in this sutra is due to the lack of agreement about what constitutes asana practice. If one is only describing Savasana, even beginning pupils can be taught to relax and do less. If one is describing Swastikasana, sitting with simple cross legs, it is incrementally harder because modern students do not have the ability to sit erect on the floor for a long period of time. Correct support, such as sitting up on a bolster often relieves back pain, which because it is less taxing, requires less effort to sustain equanimity. More difficult poses require additional discipline, experience, and insight to sustain a stable mind.


Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti

2. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

3. Utkatasana from Urdhva Hastasana
a. To keep the spine erect, as in Tadasana, the more you bend at the hips, the more you must descend the buttocks towards the floor and move the navel back, else the waist will protrude forward, possibly causing back pain and making it difficult to breath. Keep the weight back, on the heels.
b. Not stretching from the armpits, and side ribs, straight up, towards the ceiling, will further exacerbate the waist protruding forward. Press the Urdhva Hastasana wrists into an imaginary wall rope to move the navel back and descend the buttocks. The spine receives the action of the limbs.
c. Each part of the body has its own dharma, duty. Pain from compensatory patterns occurs when those duties are renounced and remaining burden is too great to bear on the other parts of the body.

4. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. Left heel at the Rope Wall, holding the lower wall rope, make the left side the stable side, so that the right side becomes more mobile. Extend the inner left leg towards the Rope Wall while bending the right knee.
c. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis, trunk, and spine.
d. Ascend the right inner ankle, knee, and thigh. 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.

5. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Left heel at the Rope Wall, holding the lower wall rope as in Virabhadrasana II.
b. Repeat the actions as above, the sit the buttock down to take the right hand to the floor.

6. Utthita Trikonasana from Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee as in Tadasana, to make the knee light. Don’t just collapse into the back knees.

7. Vrksasana
a. Stand in Tadasana, feet together, and press down the inner edges of the feet more to counteract the tendency to not press them down as much as the outer edges.
b. With the back to the wall for stability, place the right sole on the left inner thigh and counteract the tendency to lean to the left by continuing to press down the inner edge of the left foot. Inject the left outer thigh into the bone, and bring the left femur into the socket to further press back against the right sole.
c. Open the right inner groin towards the right knee.
d. Next week take the right knee to the wall to drop the right hip and to further open the right inner groin.

8. Calf Stretcher Tadasana (on inverted chair seat)
a. Facilitates turning open the calves more in Virabhadrasana I.

9. Virabhadrasana I
a. With Urdhva Hastasana arms, wrists at Upper Wall Rope. Turn the left foot in more: Come on the left toes, raise the left heel up, and turn it out more to turn in the left leg, hip and waist. Lower the heel to the floor by stretching the calf.
b. Press into the Wall Rope to lift the pubic plate.
c. Second iteration: Turn the left inner thigh, and inner calf from the inside out (internal rotation of the limb).
d. Left hip as far forward as the right, as in Parsvottanasana.

10. Parsvottanasana (hands on wall, right foot up on brick)
a. Pull right hip back, left hip forward.
b. Straighten left inner knee. Keeping the left shin back, turn the left calf from inner towards outer to bring the left hip forward.

11. Baddha Hasta Uttanasana
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee, to make the knee light.

12. Chair Kurmasana
a. Preparation for Prasarita Padottanasana.
b. Thighs on chair seat, bend forward from the hips.

13. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Hands on bricks, concave back. Spread the inner knees apart, away from each other to press the outer heels down into the floor.
b. Head on brick or floor, extended spine.

14. Chair Sarvangasana

15. Savasana
a. Trifold blanket beneath head. Feet and calves on chair seat.
b. Release the muscles and allow the mind to penetrate inwards towards the vastness of the soul.

Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009)

3 new students for March-April session
Focus on leg alignment and actions in standings. Those students who haven’t mastered the arm work of last week, should work on it every day. Next week we will continue to review and consolidate Weeks 2 and 3 before moving on to the inversions of Week 4.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutras II.46, the definition of asana.
See Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009) for first part of the discussion.

PYS II.46 Perfection in asana means firmness in body, steadiness in intelligence and benevolence in consciousness.

Sthira-sukham-asanam
Stable - pleasant - posture

Sthira-sukham-asanam: Stable - pleasant - posture
In the first sutra on asana, using only two adjectives, sthira and sukham, Patanjali defines asana. Sthira refers to the body; any shakiness is but an obstacle [described in PYS I.31 in the Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 1 (Mar 3, 2009) class]. Furthermore, according to B.K.S. Iyengar, shaking in the body causes an unstable mind. Taking into account Patanjali’s overall goal to still and stabilize the mind, B.K.S. Iyengar applies “stable” to the mind as well as the body, calling it “steadiness in intelligence.”

Those practitioners and commentators who relegate asana to only physical practice, are then hard pressed to understand how to interpret sukham. It confers the idea of happiness, comfort, and delight — the antonym of dukham’s sorrow, pain and despair. However, defining asana as “comfortable” can be very misleading. Practice requires effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind. A “comfortable” interpretation leaves open the possibility that any lazy practice is acceptable and will bear fruit. How can this lead to samadhi?

From my study of B.K.S. Iyengar’s interpretation, I have concluded that sukham occurs only as a result of practice. Thus, only when the body and mind become stable, does the mind become “pleasant,” or obtain what Iyengar calls “benevolence in consciousness.” This benevolence, or goodwill that comes as a result of perfection of asana, picks up the theme of the mind remaining serene and diffused like a calm lake, the citta prasadanam of PYS I.33.

In the Iyengar method we always start by learning the standing poses to properly stretch the arms and legs to free the spine because the spine receives the action of the limbs. We use three things to put the body into a position that brings peace of mind: the principles of alignment, the ability to discriminate, and effort. And then, amidst the difficulties of practice, every so often we get a glimpse of understanding, a correlation that explains the fruit of our actions: “If I move my leg this way, my back stops hurting and I can breathe more easily. My head feels clearer, less clogged. My brain feels less confused.” The result is poise, denoted by stability and equanimity — the very terms Patanjali used to describe the mastery of asana.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti

2. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Omitted for time and emphasis.

3. Utkatasana from Urdhva Hastasana
a. To keep the spine erect, as in Tadasana, the more you bend at the hips, the more you must descend the buttocks towards the floor and move the navel back, else the waist will protrude forward, possibly causing back pain and making it difficult to breath.
b. Not stretching from the armpits, and side ribs, straight up, towards the ceiling, will further exacerbate the waist protruding forward. Press the Urdhva Hastasana wrists into an imaginary wall rope to move the navel back and descend the buttocks. The spine receives the action of the limbs.
c. Each part of the body has its own dharma, duty. Pain from compensatory patterns occurs when those duties are renounced and remaining burden is too great to bear on the other parts of the body.

4. Vrksasana
a. Should have taught after Utthita Parsvakonasana to link opening of right hip and inner thigh.
b. Stand in Tadasana, feet together, and press down the inner edges of the feet more to counteract the tendency to not press them down as much as the outer edges.
c. With the back to the wall for stability, place the right sole on the left inner thigh and counteract the tendency to lean to the left by continuing to press down the inner edge of the left foot. Inject the left outer thigh into the bone, and bring the left femur into the socket to further press back against the right sole.
d. Descend the right buttock as in Utkatasana.
e. Next week take the right knee to the wall to both drop the right hip and to open the right inner groin.

5. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. Teach jumping next week.

6. Parsva Hasta Padasana

7. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. Turn the right leg out more to bring the right femur more into the socket. Connecting the femur into the socket supports the pelvis, trunk, and spine.
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.
d. Descend the right outer buttock as in Utkatasana to free the spine. Then, the opposing action. Ascend the torso up, off of the thigh. The spine receives the action of the limbs.
e. Make the left side the stable side, so that the right side becomes more mobile. Extend the left leg towards the left outer heel and restrain the left arm from moving to the right while bending the right knee.

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, trunk, and spine.
b. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee as in Tadasana, to make the knee light. Don’t just collapse into the back knees.

9. Baddha Hasta Uttanasana
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee, to make the knee light.

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. Virabhadrasana I (turning the trunk)
a. From Utthita Hasta Padasana, turn the left foot in from the heel. Hands of the hips, come on the left toes, raise the left heel up, and turn it out more to turn in the left leg, hip and waist. Lower the heel to the floor by stretching the calf.
b. Second iteration: Turn the left inner thigh, and inner calf from the inside out (internal rotation of the limb).
c. With Urdhva Hastasana arms, bend the knee only as much as you can keep the left hip as far forward as the right, as in Parsvottanasana.

12. Parsvottanasana (hands on bricks, concave back)
a. Omitted for time. Do next week.

13. Prasarita Padottanasana (hands on bricks, concave back)
a. Prasarita = spread. Spread the inner knees apart, away from each other to press the outer heels down into the floor.

14. Chair Sarvangasana
a. Omitted for lack of time.

15. Savasana
a. Trifold blanket beneath head. Release the muscles and allow the mind to penetrate inwards towards the vastness of the soul.

Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 3 (Mar 17, 2009)

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutras II.46-48, the definition and effects of asana.
The word asana is derived from the symbolic seat, or asandi, that the early wandering mystics of Hinduism carried with them some three thousand years ago. Modern cognates, such as s’asseoir, to sit oneself in French, and the colloquial English term, ass, are derived from it.
In Patanjali's time a few basic asanas were taught, primarily to enable sitting for meditation. Through the years this concept has been expanded to include additional postures to further stabilize and purify the body and mind. Sitting also suggests that pupils sit around their teacher to receive the traditional oral teachings.

Patanjali has described asana in only three sutras. Asanas are a vehicle to stabilize the intelligence and refine the consciousness. Refinement through technical expertise, such as alignment, allows the yogin to calibrate the correct amount of effort in the pose. It also requires coordination of feeling and action. Even if it is difficult when nerve tissue has been compromised, it still is achievable. When completely absorbed in the pose, the mind ceases its fluctuations, no longer wandering to and fro. Having fulfilled its worldly duties, the mind turns inwards, drawn to its source, the vastness of the soul. As a result, suffering ceases.

As translated by BKS Iyengar:

PYS II.46 Perfection in asana means firmness in body, steadiness in intelligence and benevolence in consciousness.

Sthira-sukham-asanam
Stable - pleasant - posture

PYS II.47 Perfection in asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.

Prayatna saithilya ananta samapattibhyam
effort - relaxation - infinite - assuming original form

PYS II.48 From that arises immunity to the pairs of opposites.

Tatah dvandvah anabhighatah
then - dualities - cessation of disturbance

None of the pairs of opposites exist as body, mind and soul are one. Then the perfection of asana puts an end to dualities and the differentiation between body, mind and soul.

See Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 2 (Mar 10, 2009) for the next part of the discussion.

Emphasis on standings because everyone has strength to do them. Keep the eyes back to keep the mind quiet.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti

2. Calf Stretcher Tadasana (on Calf Stretcher)
a. Don’t throw the head back. Descend the back brain and neck muscles to keep the mind quiet.

3. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings
b. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina. Elbows bent, pull down on wall ropes to lift the chest and descend the shoulder blades. Mind follows the shoulder blades. Keep the eyes back, and descend the back brain and neck muscles to keep the mind quiet.

4. 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

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. Jathara Parivartanasana (intermediate stage)
a. Bend both knees and, keeping them together, swing from side to side to stimulate intestinal motility.
b. For fatigue or reflux, Supta Padangusthasana III variation to prevent shortening abdomen. From Supta Tadasana, bend the right knee and cross over to bolster or blanket. Palms up and out to the side 90 degrees.

7. Viparita Karani
a. Substituted for Sarvangasana Cycle

Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 2 (Mar 12, 2009)

2 new students for March-April session
Focus: arm poses in Tadasana and leg alignment and lift in standings. Be organized, not just flexible.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
New students: See Week 1 for Guidelines for Practice.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra I.31 Pain (sorrow), frustration (despair), shakiness of the limbs, and involuntary breathing are the natural accompaniments to [and signify] a distracted condition of mind.

As BKS Iyengar interprets this sutra, a disease, such as depression, is the root cause of pain. It evolves into mental despair, then shakiness, and, finally, into labored breathing, which causes a fear complex. Just as involution, turning our attention inward, begins with mastery of the grossest evolutes of the body, such as the arms and legs, and then retraces backwards to stabilize the mind, so does BKS Iyengar reverse this sutra — advising to control the breathing first in order to stabilize the mind. Involution works backwards, retracing from effect to root cause. Normalizing the breath, the effect, relieves the fear, reduces shakiness and despair, and makes the mind pleasant, which begins to ease the pain of the disease. Thus, says BKS Iyengar, “the inner mind reflects the outer body,” as well as the more commonly accepted “the outer body reflects the inner mind.” (BKS Iyengar Intensive 9-29-05 AM Demo)


Invocation in Swastikasana

1. 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.
b. Brick between thighs to learn inner thigh lift.

2. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Without brick between thighs
b. With brick between thighs

3. 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.

4. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Without brick between thighs
b. With brick between thighs. Brick facilitates lift of inner body, as when thighs are touching each other, while simultaneously descending diaphragm, as when thighs are apart.

5. Traction Supta Urdhva Hastasana
a. Lengthen armpits, side ribs, back chest
b. Now able to lift side ribs and arms higher upward with less effort in Urdhva Hastasana. Use as preparation for Urdhva Namaskarasana

6. Tadasana (Urdhva Namaskarasana) from Utkatasana
a. With knees bent in Utkatasana, link thumbs to keep palms in Urdhva Namaskarasana
b. Lift knees, pubic plate, and armpits simultaneously in the movement of straightening the legs, to lift the arms upward.

7. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.
b. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders. Roll the shoulders out, away from the sternum.
c. Not only press the arm into back ribs, but also press the back ribs into the arms. Whenever two parts of the body meet, they form a relationship, as when the palms are joined and press each other evenly in namaskar. Use that meeting point as a pivot to increase the rolling open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders.

8. 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.
c. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.

9. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. When jumping, coordinate the movement of arms extending, armpits opening, knees straightening and ankles extending - all at the same rate.
b. When landing, keep the heels up and knees bent as a shock absorber.
c. When straightening the knees, connect the lift of the back knee, lift of the pubic plate, and lift of the sternum to open the chest, similar to the rhythm in Tadasana (Urdhva Namaskarasana) from Utkatasana. Lifting the pubic plate will stop the hip from collapsing and popping in Utthita Trikonasana.

10. Parsva Hasta Padasana
a. Turn the right leg out completely to align the centers of the ankle, knee, and hip. Turn the right foot more out to get that alignment, if necessary.

11. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to learn foot and leg actions without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. In Parsva Hasta Padasana, with the outer left foot at the Rope Wall, pull the lower rope to pull the inner left knee towards the outer left knee. As a result, when the spine is erect, there is a greater ability to turn the right leg out because there is less load on the right hip. Lift the pubic plate up.
c. Right ball of the big toe down, big toe up to lift inner ankle, knee and thigh. Forefoot on brick increases that action and connects the femur more into the socket. Lift the pubic plate up.
d. Lift the pubic plate up and 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.
e. Move the right femur into the socket, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.

12. Utthita Trikonasana
a. In Parsva Hasta Padasana, with the outer left foot at the Rope Wall, pull the lower rope to pull the inner left knee towards the outer left knee. As a result, there is a greater ability to fold the right hip over the right femur because there is less load on the right hip.
b. Move the right femur into the socket, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly. Right ball of the big toe down, big toe up to lift inner ankle, knee and thigh. Forefoot on brick increases that action and connects the femur more into the socket. Lift the pubic plate up, towards the head, to stop the hip from collapsing and popping.
c. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee as in Tadasana, to make the knee light. Don’t just collapse into the back knees.

13. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Starting as in Virabhadrasana II, with the outer left foot at the Rope Wall, pull the lower rope to pull the inner left knee towards the outer left knee.
b. 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.
c. Move the right femur into the socket, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly. Right ball of the big toe down, big toe up to lift inner ankle, knee and thigh. Lift the pubic plate up, towards the head. Then, from there, turn open the chest.

14. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)
a. Pull right hip back, left hip forward.
b. Straighten left inner knee. Keeping the left shin back, turn the left calf from inner towards outer to bring the left hip forward.

15. Prasarita Padottanasana
a. Hands on bricks, concave back. Spread the inner knees apart, away from each other to press the outer heels down into the floor.
b. Head on brick or floor, extended spine.

16. Forward Extensions
a. Chair Paschimottanasana substituted for Urdhva Hasta Dandasana and Padangustha Dandasana to provide more rest. Legs wide apart in Dandasana for greater hip mobility, holding the chair arms to keep the chest open, rest the forehead on the chair seat.
b. Chair Baddha Konasana added to bring the femurs into the socket, and widens the abdomen for the menstruating pupil. Rest the forehead on the chair seat to keep the mind quiet.

17. Chair Sarvangasana
a. Omitted because one of the new pupils was menstruating.

18. Savasana
a. Folded blanket beneath head.

Friday 6:00a Asana 1: Week 2 (March 13, 2009)

NOTE: This is an Asana 1 class and not for beginners. All students have been attending classes at Yoga St. Louis for at least one year.

5 students. One menstruating followed the menstrual sequence card.

1. Urdhva Prasarita Padasana
Press the backs of legs against the wall;
Extend arms overhead, thumbs down;

2. Gomukhasana
Seated on block;
Use push-pull action in arms to open shoulders;

3. Bharadvajasana
Seated on block;
1st: back arm, hand on block;
2nd: Back arm, hold upper front arm;

4. Adho Mukha Svanasana
Done twice (2x);

5. Utthita Trikonasana
2x;
Back heel @ wall;

6. Utthita Parsvakonasana
3x;
Back heel @ wall;

7. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana

8. Adho Mukha Svanasana

9. Bharadvajasana
Hold upper arm;

10. Viparita Karani

Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 2 (Mar 10, 2009)

3 new students for March-April session
Focus on arm poses in Tadasana and leg alignment and lift in standings.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.
New students: See Week 1 for Guidelines for Practice.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. 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. Can wrap a belt around the thigh to feel the hamstring muscles engage.
b. Brick between thighs to learn inner thigh lift.

2. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Without brick between thighs
b. With brick between thighs

3. 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.

4. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Now able to lift side ribs and arms higher upward with less effort following Ardha Gomukhasana

5. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Without brick between thighs
b. With brick between thighs. Brick facilitates lift of inner body, as when thighs are touching, while simultaneously descending diaphragm, as when thighs are apart.

6. Tadasana (Urdhva Namaskarasana ) from Utkatasana
a. With knees bent in Utkatasana, link thumbs to keep palms in Urdhva Namaskarasana
b. Lift knees, in the movement of straightening the legs, to lift the arms upward.

7. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.
b. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders. Roll the shoulders out, away from the sternum.
c. Not only press the arm into back ribs, but also press the back ribs into the arms. Whenever two parts of the body meet, they form a relationship, as when the palms are joined and press each other evenly in namaskar. Use that meeting point as a pivot to increase the rolling open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders.

8. 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.
c. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.

9. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. Teach jumping next week.

10. Parsva Hasta Padasana

11. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. 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.
c. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
d. 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.

12. 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.
c. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee as in Tadasana, to make the knee light. Don’t just collapse into the back knees.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Prasarita Padottanasana (hands on bricks, concave back)
a. Prasarita = spread. Spread the inner knees apart, away from each other to press the outer heels down into the floor.

16. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted for lack of time & flexibility

17. Savasana
a. Back chest supported on one blanket folded in half lengthwise, trifold blanket beneath head.

Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 2 (Mar 10, 2009)

No new students for March-April session

Emphasis on pranayama as a means to regulate energy when thrown off by emotional distress. Tilt the bolster to keep the mind awake and alert, prevent reflux, and keep the brain quiet.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Savasana in Supta Baddha Konasana (10 min)
a. Belt the legs to support the pelvis, use a neck roll, and use arm support to prevent forcing open the chest. Sandbags on groins. Eyebags in palms, bandage forehead.

2. Ujjayi I in Supta Baddha Konasana (10 min)
a. Observe where the normal breath touches.

3. Ujjayi II in Bolster Supported Savasana (10 min)
a. Weight on thighs to reduce brain activity and cool the mind.

4. Bolster Supported Savasana (5 min)

Free Friday 6.00p Intro: Week 1 (Mar 6, 2009)

47 students, most new and non-Iyengar trained

Foreword
This class is based on the first week of the RIMYI Preliminary Course for Beginners syllabus. These notes highlight the underlying logic, actions, and major themes of the class. It is neither a complete transcript, nor an attempt to duplicate the instructions of the text itself.

Yoga is an ancient practice that was codified 2200 years ago by the great sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. Yoga practice involves the study of consciousness. Its language, originally in Sanskrit, is replete with rich metaphors and simultaneous levels of meaning. Both by design, to make the terms more understandable, and by necessity, because English lacks the diverse vocabulary of these terms, we have used colloquial terms in this class. For example, we have substituted mind for consciousness, a more all-encompassing term used by BKS Iyengar, that includes three aspects of the mind.

For more information on yoga, Iyengar yoga, yoga practice, and Patanjali, please click on yogastlouis.us/faq.php.

The teachers of Yoga St. Louis — Kathy Digby, Jean Durel, Tiki Misra, and Bruce Roger — thank you for the opportunity to team teach. Like in a good jazz band, not only are each of us able to solo, but we rejoice in the chance to work together to help each other and our pupils.


Class Goals
Strategy: To purify and stabilize the mind, move from gross to subtle, from periphery to the core, and from movement to non-movement.

Tactic: Progressively build on Virabhadrasana II and Tadasana leg and arm actions to bring a state of silence in Trikonasana and the final Tadasana.


Guidelines for Practice
1. All of us unconsciously violate our vow of non-violence when we practice something difficult or new by holding our breath. Breathe normally. Don’t hold your breath.

2. Practice requires steadfast effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind. So, according to BKS Iyengar, we must “Do, redo, adjust, readjust, learn, unlearn and relearn to ‘touch’ perfection.” Sometimes, in the course of our lives, we have to “unlearn” everything we “know” because it is tainted by our biases. Only then may we start over with a fresh perspective. Relearning may create an apparent conflict - a violence within ourselves - when the acute mind says, “Yes!” but the sluggish body objects with “No!” This split between body and mind is but another example of spiritual ignorance, the misapprehension that the body and mind are separate.

3. Our axiom is “by the body, for the mind.” When we start yoga practice, we perceive that the body is but a single, ill defined amorphous part, and the mind scattered in many parts. With skilled practice we learn how to correctly use all the various body parts to bring the mind to a state of “one-pointed” awareness.

4. When stretching, be non-violent: Stretching muscle pain subsides with continued practice. Overstretching causes immediate sharp and shooting pains that worsen if you continue. Other pains to avoid include headaches, nausea, dizziness, cramps (including menstrual), hot flashes, aggravation of previous injuries, etc. It is the student’s duty to inform the teacher if these pains occur. Ask if you are unsure.


Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. No detail. The collective mind of the group is too scattered to absorb more than gross action.

2. Virabhadrasana II
a. Take first prior to other poses to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. When bending the right knee, don’t allow the knee to wander to the right or left. Keep guiding it straight, like on a train track. The knee is an object of the mind; the train track is a metaphor for maintaining mental focus.
c. The mind is king. It is more difficult to tame the mind than a tiger say the traditional texts. To tame the pose, stabilize the body to stabilize the mind. In the second iteration, 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.
d. To create further stability, in the third iteration, starting from the base of the pose, lift the right inner ankle to lift the right inner knee. Lift the right inner knee to lift the right inner thigh. Lift the right inner thigh to lift the pelvis. Support the pelvis to keep the spine erect, as we did in Swastikasana. Keep the spine erect, as it says in the ancient yoga texts, to stabilize the mind.
e. To further refine the support, 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. Not only does this facilitate greater movement in the hip joint, it also makes the mind calmer.

3. Urdhva Hastasana

4. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Brick between thighs to learn inner thigh lift.
b. Thighs back to lift the chest, to prevent depression, and to stop lower back pain. The inner mind is a reflection of the outer body, according to BKS Iyengar.
c. The spine receives the action of the limbs. Use the legs to calm the central nervous system.

5. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Brick between thighs to learn to roll the outer thighs in and to lift the inner thighs.
b. When the legs support you, it is easier to lift the arms.

6. Virabhadrasana II

7. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Come off the mat to feel the floor, without mediation. Direct perception is necessary to apportion the weight evenly on the four corners of the feet. Divide each foot into left and right sides and then, like bipartisan legislation, press both sides jointly into the floor.

8. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. To bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.
b. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders. Roll the shoulders out, away from the sternum.

9. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Elbow behind the head. 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.

10. Virabhadrasana II
a. More openness of arms and groins following prior poses.

11. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Brick between thighs to learn inner thigh lift.
b. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee, to make the back knee light. Don’t just throw the knees back. This prevents indentations at either the top or bottom knee.
c. Lift to straighten the knee, not straighten then lift. The latter locks the knee backwards and prevents lift of the leg. Because “the spine receives the action of the limbs,” unless and until the knees lift properly, the pelvis, spine and sternum will collapse, resulting in what Patanjali described as “pain, despair, shakiness, etc.” These ill effects become much more apparent in Trikonasana, where the right leg must bear a disproportionate amount of the weight of the trunk.
d. The practitioner needs to develop a language to define the perception of the knee when well open, such as “vacant”.
e. Yoga is often attributed with many positive benefits but sloppy, inattentive practice can lead to injury. Like the stock market, yoga practice requires skill to realize a benefit. Yoga is skill in action.

12. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Frontal ribs back and open armpits.

10. 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, as in Virabhadrasana II.
b. Move the right knee on track, to prevent it from wandering in anteriorly, as in Virabhadrasana II.
c. Right foot must press the ball down, toes up, to stretch the back of the leg from the heel up to the buttock bone. Stretch the knee as in Tadasana.
d. Roll open the arms and lift the collar bones to open the chest as in Gomukhasana.
e. Turn and open the chest. Eyes back, head back to bring the chest, the seat of the spiritual heart, forward. This makes the mind silent.

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.
c. Eyes back, head back to make the mind silent.

12. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. Eyes back to move them away from the objects of the senses, to make the mind passive, as in meditation. We started with the knee as an object in Virabhadrasana II. Now the senses themselves must recede.

13. Savasana
a. Bring the mind to each and every part of the body to create a vibrant awareness.

Friday 6:00a Asana 1: Week 1 (March 6, 2009)

NOTE: This is an Asana 1 class and not for beginners. All students have been attending classes at Yoga St. Louis for at least one year.

5 students

Present analogy of taping and mudding drywall. The first coat of mud is like your first pose and perhaps even your first attempt at each pose: you probably won’t get it “right”, and the more you over-work or over-think it, the more of a mess you make or the more you waste your energy (brahmacharya). Apply what you know and whatever techniques you have for a short go, then “let the mud dry”. Come out of the pose, go again. Assess, sand your rough edges, and refine your actions.

1. Rope 1 & 2
See Geeta Iyengar’s “Yoga Gem for Women” for photos & explanations;

2. Utthita Trikonasana

3. Virabhadrasana 2

4. Utthita Parsvakonasana

5. Trikonasana
Into…

6. Parsvakonasana

7. Vrksasana

8. Trikonasana
Into…

9. Ardha Chandrasana
Into…

10. Parsvottanasana

11. Trikonasana
Into…

12. Ardha Chandrasana

13. Vrksasana

14. Prasarita Padottanasana
Into…

15. Parsvottanasana
Buttocks down to come up, keep legs firm;

16. Adho Mukha Svanasana
@ wall;
Hands bisected on edges of bricks;
2nd time, no bricks;

17. Sirsasana
Brick “house” @ wall for upper back;
“Roller skate wheels” that spin opposite each other = mound of the big toe and the inner heel, to sharpen the inner leg;

18. Halasana
Into…

19. Salamba Sarvangasana
No chair for Halasana;
“Roller skates”;

20. Eka Pada Sarvangasana

21. Virasana in Sarvangasana

22. Savasana

Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 1 (Mar 5, 2009)

2 new students for March-April session
Focus on arm poses in Tadasana and leg alignment in standings.

Discussion: Guidelines for Practice
1. All of us unconsciously violate our vow of non-violence when we practice something difficult or new by holding our breath. Breathe normally. Don’t hold your breath.

2. Practice requires steadfast effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind. So, according to BKS Iyengar, we must “Do, redo, adjust, readjust, learn, unlearn and relearn to ‘touch’ perfection.” Sometimes, in the course of our lives, we have to “unlearn” everything we “know” because it is tainted by our biases. Only then may we start over with a fresh perspective. Relearning may create conflict - a violence within ourselves - when the acute mind says, “Yes!” but the sluggish body objects with “No!” In preparing for her recent certification, Jean had to challenge her bias of not liking certain difficult poses. That re-examination afforded a better understanding, and, hence, greater mastery and enjoyment of practice. Our axiom is “by the body, for the mind.” It brought her scattered mind closer to a state of “one-pointed” awareness.

3. When stretching, be non-violent: Stretching muscle pain subsides with continued practice. Overstretching causes immediate sharp and shooting pains that worsen if you continue. Other pains to avoid include headaches, nausea, dizziness, cramps (including menstrual), hot flashes, aggravation of previous injuries, etc. It is the student’s duty to inform the teacher if these pains occur. Ask if you are unsure.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti
a. To straighten the knee, lift both the kneecap and the back thigh up, away from the knee, to make the back knee light. Don’t just throw the knees back. This prevents indentations at either the top or bottom knee.
b. Lift to straighten the knee, not straighten then lift. The latter locks the knee backwards and prevents lift of the leg. Because “the spine receives the action of the limbs,” unless and until the knees lift properly, the pelvis, spine and sternum will collapse, resulting in what Patanjali described as “pain, despair, shakiness, etc.” These ill effects become much more apparent in Trikonasana, where the right leg must bear a disproportionate amount of the weight of the trunk.
c. Brick between thighs to learn inner thigh lift.

2. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Make a connection: Brick between thighs, lift the knees to lift the arms.

3. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Connect the limbs: Brick between thighs, learn to lift the knees in rhythm with taking the arms overhead.

4. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.
b. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders. Roll the shoulders out, away from the sternum.

5. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Ardha Gomukhasana arms: Right arm up, bend the right elbow. Elbow behind the head. 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.
c. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.

6. Urdhva Hastasana

7. Utthita Hasta Padasana

8. Parsva Hasta Padasana

9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. 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.
c. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
d. 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.
e. Inner left knee push laterally into the bone to keep the weight off of the right hip.

10. 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.
c. Right foot must press the ball down, toes up, to stretch the back of the leg from the heel up to the buttock bone.
d. Inner left knee push laterally into the bone to keep the weight off of the right hip. This also prepares for Prasarita Padottanasana.

11. Parsvottanasana (hands on wall, concave back)
a. Omitted for lack of time. Will do next week.

12. Prasarita Padottanasana (hands on bricks, concave back)
a. Prasarita = spread. Spread the inner knees apart, away from each other.

13. Forward Extensions
a. Urdhva Hasta Dandasana: Sit on a folded blanket or bolster. If you cannot lift the sacrum, you must sit higher up on a blanket.
c. Padangustha Dandasana: Use a belt around the soles of the feet. Second time, if unable to hold the big toes, continue using a belt around the soles of the feet. Arm and leg push/pull action.

14
Savasana

Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 1 (Mar 3, 2009)

2 new students for March-April session
Focus on arm poses in Tadasana and leg alignment in standings.

Discussion: Guidelines for Practice
1. Breathe normally. Don’t hold your breath.

2. Practice requires steadfast effort, energy and enthusiasm to still the mind. So, according to BKS Iyengar, we must “Do, redo, adjust, readjust, learn, unlearn and relearn to ‘touch’ perfection.” Our axiom is “by the body, for the mind.” When we start yoga practice, we perceive that the body is but a single, ill defined amorphous part, and the mind scattered in many parts. With skilled practice we learn how to correctly use all the various body parts to bring the mind to a state of “one-pointed” awareness.

3. Yoga awareness builds strength but a disturbance to the nerves creates weakness in the body. Be non-violent: Stretching muscle pain subsides with continued practice. Overstretching causes immediate sharp and shooting pains that worsen if you continue. Other pains to avoid include headaches, nausea, dizziness, cramps (including menstrual), hot flashes, aggravation of previous injuries, etc. It is the student’s duty to inform the teacher if these pains occur. Ask if you are unsure.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. 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.
b. Brick between thighs to learn inner thigh lift.

2. Urdhva Hastasana

3. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

4. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.
b. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders. Roll the shoulders out, away from the sternum.

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.
c. Added to bring mobility to the Urdhva arm positions.

6. Traction Supta Urdhva Hastasana
a. Lengthen armpits, side ribs, back chest

7. Utthita Hasta Padasana

8. Parsva Hasta Padasana

9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings.
b. 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.
c. Move the right buttock bone in, anteriorly, to prevent the right knee from wandering in anteriorly.
d. 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 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.

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.
c. Repeat quickly several times to free the hip joint and facilitate a more fluid Trikonasana.

12. Utthita Trikonasana

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

16. Savasana

Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 1 (Mar 3, 2009)

No new students for March-April session

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutras I.30-31, the obstacles that throw the mind off the path of yoga, and the accompaniments that signify the distracted condition of mind.

PYS I.30
Disease
Lack of perseverence or interest (styana)
Doubt (samsaya)
Negligence (pramada: Carelessness due to pride)
Idleness (alasya: Physical laziness, sloth due to tamas)
Gratification of the senses (avirati: “Dissipation” of energy, incontinence, non abstention)
Delusion (bhrantidarsana: GSI: “You imagine you have reached there but you haven’t; illusory knowledge.”)
Missing the point (failure to gain ground)
The inability to maintain the progress achieved (due to pride or stagnation)
Cause the distractions of the mind (vikshipta citta) and are the obstacles

PYS I.31
Pain (duhkha: Sorrow)
Frustration (daurmanasya: Despair)
Shakiness of the limbs (angamejayatva, &
Involuntary Breathing (svasaprasvasah)
Are the natural accompaniments of a distracted condition of mind.


Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Virabhadrasana II [Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings]
a. With the back to the wall, and holding the wall ropes to prevent fatigue or falling due to lack of balance and stamina

2. 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

3. 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

4. Simhasana Box Savasana with weight on thighs (LM)
a. In lieu of standings and Viparita Karani for excess heat and shakiness.
b. Use a neck roll, and bandage the head. Support arms on blankets sloped down towards elbow to prevent forcing open the chest. Weight on frontal thighs.

5. Supta Baddha Konasana (LM)
a. Belt the legs to support the pelvis, use a neck roll, and use arm support to prevent forcing open the chest. Sandbags on groins. Eyebags in palms, bandage forehead.

6. Viparita Karani
a. Buttocks and upper back supported with bolster; blanket under head.

Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 8 (Feb 26, 2009)

Restorative poses on last week of month: no notes

Tuesday 6.30p Intro: Week 8 (Feb 24, 2009)

Restorative poses on last week of month.
Cultivate silence and allow it to descend upon the body and mind.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Swastikasana
a. Swastikasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
b. Parivrtta Swastikasana

2. Bolster Adho Mukha Virasana
a. Bolster on brick support under chest

3. Adho Mukha Svanasana
a. Hands turned out at wall, head on bolster support
b. Heels at wall, crossed ropes at groins, head on bolster support

4. Supta Padangusthasana
a. Supta Tadasana (feet at wall)
b. Supta Padangusthasana I
c. Supta Padangusthasana II
d. Supta Padangusthasana III

5. Bolster Setubandha Sarvangasana (feet on chair seat)

6. Ujjayi I and II in Supported Savasana

Tuesday 4.30p MS: Week 8 (Feb 24, 2009)

Emphasis on restorative poses to combat brain fog and fatigue due to emotional distress (LM). Allow the silence to descend the body and mind. Ground the mind and open the chest and groins.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Bolster Adho Mukha Virasana
a. Bolster on brick support under chest

2. Viparita Karani
a. Buttocks and upper back supported with bolster; blanket under head.

3. Simhasana Box Savasana with weight on thighs (LM)
a. In lieu of Viparita Karani and Bolster Adho Mukha Virasana.
b. Use a neck roll, and bandage the head. Support arms on blankets sloped down towards elbow to prevent forcing open the chest. Weight on frontal thighs.

4. Supta Baddha Konasana
a. Belt the legs to support the pelvis, use a neck roll, and use arm support to prevent forcing open the chest. Sandbags on groins.

5. Savasana

Thursday 6.30p Intro: Week 7 (Feb 19, 2009)

Next week we will do restorative poses.
Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. 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.

2. Urdhva Hastasana
a. Navel back, stretch the armpits up

3. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

4. Tadasana (Namaskarasana)
a. Roll open the shoulders

5. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)
a. Urdhva Namaskarasana inserted after Gomukhasana arms
b. Holding elbows, roll open from the sternum to the frontal shoulders, and turn the shoulders back to broaden the chest.

6. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)
a. Supta Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms) variation: Moving trunk towards feet to take the lower arm higher up the back.

7. Tadasana (Paschima Namaskarasana)

8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Lift the right back thigh.
b. Hit the right outer thigh in to bring the femur more into the socket. From there, turn and open the chest.

9. Utthita Parsvakonasana
a. Turn the right foot and leg out more to prevent the hip cramp.
b. To lay the right side chest on the right frontal thigh, put the hand on a lower brick.
c. Observe that if the right inner arch falls, the outer calf must move laterally to stabilize it. Conversely, if the right inner arch is either lifted or very high, the outer calf must automatically come closer to the bone.
Similarly, if the right inner arch falls, the knee will deviate towards the midline. And, if the right hip is tight, the knee will deviate towards the midline and the right buttock will deviate away from the midline.

10. Rope 1
a. Do this prior to every class to help open shoulders.

11. Vimanasana
a. First steady the right leg. Lift the toes to press the inner edge of the first metatarsal down and the lift the inner arch. From there lift up through the inner knee to prevent the knee from wandering away from the midline.
b. Keeping the left heel down, lift the femur into the socket. The lower buttock, at the buttock crease, should be firm, but the sacral muscles and upper buttock must not grip, else the pelvis tilts forward and it is difficult to breathe.
c. Those who have difficulty opening the armpits, or have elevated blood pressure, in Urdhva Hastasana can temporarily substitute this variation for the classic Virabhadrasana I.

12. Viparita Karani (5 min.)