Thursday 6.30p Intro — Week 1 (September 3, 2009)

1 new student
Focus: Legs in standings.

Invocation in Swastikasana

1. Rope 1
a. Shoulder blades down, head up.

2. Brick Tadasana (Brick between thighs)
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.
c. Pin the hips.

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

4. Tadasana (Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana)
a. Omitted. Do next week.

Tadasana (Namaskara and Urdhva Namaskara arms)
a. Omitted. Do next week.

5. Utthita Hasta Padasana
a. Left heel at the wall. Inner left knee push laterally into the bone (towards the wall) to keep the weight off of the right hip.

6. Parsva Hasta Padasana
a. Left heel at the wall. Inner left knee push laterally into the bone (towards the wall) to keep the weight off of the right hip.

7. Virabhadrasana II
a. Swap first prior to Trikonasana to get freedom in hips without the challenge of stiff hamstrings. Left heel at the wall.
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. 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. Inner left knee push laterally into the bone (towards the wall) to keep the weight off of the right hip. This also prepares for Prasarita Padottanasana.

8. Utthita Trikonasana
a. Similar as above.

9. Parsvottanasana (hands on wall, concave back)
a. Right heel up on brick.

10. Prasarita Padottanasana (hands on bricks, concave back)
a. Omitted. Do next week.
b. Prasarita = spread. Spread the inner knees apart, away from each other.

11. Forward Extensions
a. Omitted. Do next week.

12. Viparita Karani (5 min)
a. Substituted for Sarvangasana Cycle

13. Savasana