Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 10 (May 7, 2009)

Focus: Week 6 of syllabus. Consolidate standings and add Sarvangasana with variations. Coordinate breath with movement.

No new students.

Note new poses for this week are in bold face.

Discussion: Patanjali Yoga Sutra II.49-50, What is Pranayama?
Continued discussion from last week.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Tadasana/Samasthiti

2. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)

3. Tadasana (Paschima Baddha Hasta arms)

4. Tadasana (Gomukhasana arms)

5. Tadasana (Paschima Namaskarasana)

6. Utkatasana

7. Vrksasana

8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Make the legs rajasic to remove the tamas in head and chest.
b. Exhale and go down in one movement to create sattvic lightness.

9. Virabhadrasana II
a. Omitted

10. Utthita Parsvakonasana

11. Vimanasana
a. Perform classic pose without lifting the left heel.

12. Virabhadrasana I
a. Using the intelligence, “fill up” the inner back knee to straighten it, then turn the inner calf out. Then strongly, rajasically, lifting the front and back thigh, pull up the entire thigh into the hip socket. Connect it so that, with only sattvic intelligence, you can easily lift the pelvis. This makes a heavy, tamasic, pose lighter, more sattvic. Then the mind becomes more sattvic.

13. Ardha Chandrasana
a. Keeping the right knee bent, and the right inner foot pressed down, lift up the left leg. Don’t allow the right foot to rajasically “dance” up and down. Make it tamasic, firm and stable.

14. Parsvottanasana (hands on chair seat, head on brick on chair seat)

15. Adho Mukha Svanasana

16. Chair Kurmasana
a. Thighs on chair seat, bend forward from the hips. Head on brick. Hold back rung of chair.

17. Padangusthasana

18. Uttanasana (hands on floor, feet apart)

19. Sarvangasana Cycle
a. Salamba Sarvangasana

b. Ekapada Sarvangasana
Foot on chair seat.

c. Halasana
Feet on chair seat.

20. Forward Extensions
a. Adho Mukha Swastikasana (forehead on chair seat)

b. Paschimottanasana (forehead on chair seat)

21. Viparita Karani
a. Helps relieve ankle swelling in pregnancy.

22. Savasana

23. Menstrual cramping:
Supta Virasana
Supta Baddha Konasana
Adho Mukha Virasana (tennis balls at groins)