Sweet Vinyasa: effort and ease, tapas and devas: 3.27.13

The union of self with Self is one of the aims of the yoga practice. We played in these seemingly opposing forces with chin mudra, sutra 1.12, 2.24, and tapas prabhava, devas prasada as background to help us drop in to our magnificent selves.

sit
chin mudra play
OM

sukasana side bending x2

malasana with cowboy negociation

uttanasana
uttithatadasana with side stretch
tadasana
YAM

lunge
twisted lunge
warrior II dance
lunge
low crescent
tadasana
other side

downdog
plank
baby cobra
locust
balasana

plank
downdog
lunge
hammock
warrior II
peaceful warrior
extended side angle
lunge
other side

downdog
plank
locust variation x2

roll supine

eye of the needle

bridge
twisted root

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Yin: Listen: 3.26.13

We allowed the shapes tonight to be an offering and a practice of listening, and doing our best to do our part in the cosmic dance of human effort and divine grace.

sit (7 mins)
chin mudra play

butterfly

eye of the needle at the wall or pigeon or shoelace

cat/cow/ barrel roll

balasana

dragon

sphinx/seal
crocodile

windshield wiper

twisted root

sit/savasana 10 mins
sit/savasana 5 mins

namaste

Alano Club: soften the habitual patterns of holding: 3.25.13

Our habitual patterns of holding keep us from seeing the magnificence within. We played tonight to bring more consciousness to our tight spots and let them be "seen".

windshield wiper with side lengthening

pranayama with bhramari variation

eye of the needle
hip rotation
half happy baby
other side

sukasana side bending x2

sit (3 mins)

tadasana
uttanasana
uttithatadasana play
uttanasana variation
tadasana

shoulder shrugs
shoulder rolls

standing neck stretches

uttansana

lunge
crescent lunge
other side

balasana

easy twist

sit (10 mins)
sit/savasana (5 mins)

namaste

Prototypes Women's Center: Narada and other explorations of Freedom:3.25.13

The the myth of Narada we explored concepts of freedom. We spoke about the western approach of self improvement and the Eastern view, best summed up with the Tibetan mantra "Already Healed, Already Whole".

The Narada myth brought up these points:

The power of acceptance
The freedom of the Now
Perceptions and clear seeing
Mindset makes a difference

shoelace meditation

introduction of the Kleshas (sutra 2.3)

worrisome thought meditation

the breath and the parasympathetic (sutra 1.34)

BREAK

windshield wiper

eye of the needle
rest feeling the sacred

sukasana side bending

tadasana
uttanasana variation
shoulder shrugs
shoulder rolls

standing neck stretches

guitar hero

uttanasana

all fours
lunge

balasana

windshield wiper

bridge x2

easy spine twist

savasana

sit
Namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: your sacred self: 3.25.13

We used breath, asana, and mantra to help loosen the habitual patterns of holding (kleshas) and noticing the results and suggested a play of self study as opposed to self improvement. Some of the teachings we leaned into were sutra 1.2, 1.34, 2.2 and 2.3.

windshield wiper

pranayama bramari variation

long stretch
eye of the needle
internal and external rotation exploration
half happy baby
other side

cat cow play

extended side angle

plank
downdog

uttanasana
tadasana
shoulder shrugs and rolls
uttanasana variation
tadasana
YAM

lunge
twisted lunge
hammock
warrior II dance
lunge
downdog
plank
baby cobra
locust
other side

balasana

navasana
sukasana forward fold with two way side bend
other side

sit (3 mins)

bridge x2 (second time with wheel option)

twisted root

OM
savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Studying the magnificent self: 3.02.13

The yoga practice is one of self study, swadyaya. The self we come to study is not always the one we thought we would see. We have found willingness, receptivity, and self love to be necessary to walk the path of seeing more clearly.

upside down chair at the wall
bhramari variation

cat/cow warm up

wrist stretch
balasana variation
foot stretch

downdog

uttanasana
malasana
cowboy negociation

uttanasana
uttithatasana side stretch with uttanasana variation x2

tadasana
YAM

lunge
twisted lunge
hammock
warrior II
lunge
downdog
other side with skandasana in hammock

downdog
sphinx
cobra variation

supine shoulder stretches

cobra variation

balasana

supine pada gustasana with strap and twist variation

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Yin: Swadyaya: 3.19.13

We practiced with a focus on self study, swadyaya. Self study brings up a lot of questions; they are rooted in "who am I". The yogis answer to Ko Hum is So Ham, the sound the breath already makes.

We spent some time in the exhale, especially. It is rumored to assist us in quieting the mind (sutra 1.34)

sit (5 mins)
exhale awareness

baddha konasana ( 5 mins)

eye of the needle at the wall or pigeon (3 mins each side with rest in between)

cat/cow flow (2 mins)
side plank variation/shoulder opener movement (2 mins each side)

balasana
lunge (3.5 mins each side)

supine reverse windshield wiper

sphinx

easy spine twist or twisted root

sit (10-15 mins)
sit or savasana (5 mins)

namaste

Alano Club: Peace, Parasympathetic, and clear seeing: 3.18.13

Sit (5 mins)

windshield wiper

eye of the needle with internal and external hip rotation exploration

sukasana side bending x2
heart meditation (2 mins)

cat/cow
balasana
puppy dog
barrel roll

tadasana
uttanasana
lunge
low crescent
other side

balasana

sit (20 mins)
sit/savasana 3 mins

namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: let the breath align you: 3.18.13

Our primary tool for alignment and seeing more clearly today was the breath.

sit
4 part breathing
gratitude meditation
OM

roll supine
eye of the needle with twist
internal/external rotation exploration
half happy baby play
rest
other side (totally garbled the instructions and grateful to the yogis in the class to help me!)

all fours
balasana variation
plank
downdog

downdog play

uttanasana
gorilla
tadasana
OM

lunge
warrior I
parvatadasana
warrior III
standing splits
pigeon
three leg dog
sphinx
other side

balasana
prayer OM

side saddle stretch and twist

bridge x2 (or wheel)

savasana of choice (classic or legs up wall)

sit
OM
namaste

Yin Yoga: Practicing the sweet and tender underbelly: 3.12.13

Our time together was sweet and gentle as a way to surrender to a deeper part of ourselves

windshield wiper

sit (5 mins)
chin mudra play

baddha konasana

eye of the needle at wall (other options were given but everybody went for wall eye)
wall straddle

sphinx
crocodile
reverse windshield wiper
balasana

lunge

side lying rest pose

twisted root

sit/savasana/legs up the wall

sit(3 mins)
Namaste

Prototypes: how you place your heart matters: 3.11.13

Today we experimented with mudras, calling attention to mudras being the motor organ of the heart. We found it does make a difference on how we feel, but how we are holding our hands, and began to question..does it really then matter how we hold our heart?

Since yogis first suggestion is maitri (friendliness), we did our best to access and describe this feeling tone. Then we did a meditation with someone who currently presented a challenge in our life and offering to counterpose with maitri.

sukasana
chin mudra
compare and share notes
(don't know name pinky and thumb touch)
discussion

to cultivate more sensitivity in the hands:
seated shoulder rolls
wide stretch with flexed palms
swan heads
bicept curl up and forward
unfurl finger by finger
reverse in

prana play


friendliness medition
friendliness meditaton with challenging person
discussion

namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: be your amazing self. 3.11.13

We played in the feeling tones of reach. Sometimes it assists us in finding more room and sometimes it gets in the way of noticing how amazing we already are.

We reached heart to hand and we reached belly to feet exploring the anahata and the manipura chakras and a little chin mudra play to connect the individual to the universal.

heart opener over bolster with chin mudra play
reach and windshield wiper over bolster

baddha konasana yin style with up breath and down breath

sit (2 mins)

sukasana side bending with reach play
YAM

sit with chin mudra(2 mins)

malasana with cowboy negociation
uttansana with twist

tadasana

at wall
side stretch with up breath
side stretch with down  breath
wall dog

tadasana
uttanasana

simple lunges

tadasana
OM

lunge
twisted lunge
hammock
low crescent
downdog
baby cobra
locust

barrel roll
puppy dog

other side lunge sequence

downdog
uttanasana
utkatasana
tadasana with heartbeat connection

tree

uttasana
malasana

happy baby

eye of the needle
twisted root
other side

savasana options
savasana

sit
OM
heart meditation
namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Alignment, Ahimsa and Breath: 3.6.13

We used the breath as our primary compass for alignment and balance, and moved from a feeling tone of quiet to possibly experience ahimsa.

heart opener over two blankets
up/down breath exploration
4 part breathing exploration

windshield wiper

side lying rest pose

eye of the needle with twist and fancy eye
heart meditation
YAM

malasana
uttanasana
malasana variation
uttanasana
tadasana

at wall:
side waist stretch with up breath
wall uttanasana
side waist stretch with down breath
wall uttanasana

tadasana
uttanasana
lunge
twisted lunge
hammock
other side

downdog
baby cobra
cobra
downdog
uttanasana
utkatasana
tadasana

balance play on bricks

tadasana breath play to balance

lunge
warrior I
warrior III
standing splits
three leg dog
other side

vinyasa with baby cobra and locust

roll supine to
bridge
cosmic rest

windshield wiper play

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

uttanasana

tadasana

Yin and Meditation: Kriya yoga: 3.5.13

We explored the practices of Kriya yoga (sutra 2.0), Tapas, Swadyaya, and Ishvara Pranidad, pausing long enough to track our efforts.

Sit (5 mins)
(was gonna do a So Ham meditation but it didn't feel like it was appropriate. blocked!)
fluid seaweed sidebending

baddha konasana (4 mins)

pigeon/eye of the needle at the wall/box (3.5 mins each side)

balasana
cat/cow/barrel

lunge (3.5 mins each side)

reverse windshield wiper
sphinx (3 mins)
crocodile

reclining Buddha (3 mins each side)

sit/savasana (10 mins)
sit/savasana (10 mins)
namaste

Yoga and Meditation at the Alano Club: A View of the Whole Self: 3.4.13

We used breath, movement and mantra to widen our perspective and enjoy the view of our whole selves.

sit (5 mins)
So Ham meditation

eye of the needle with twist

supine alternative nostril breathing meditation

sukasana side bending x2

tadasana
uttanasana
tadasana
shoulder shrugs and rolls
uttanasana variation

tadasana

lunge
low crescent

balasana

sit 10 mins
sit/savasana 10 mins

namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Looking with the Breath: 3.4.13

We played with aligning in the poses and in our center, primarily using the inhale and exhale. The practice was a study of sutra 1.34 and of ourselves. We also tapped sutra 3.10 and sutra 1.2.

heart opener over bolster
4 parts of the breath pranayama exploration
windshield wiper and long stretch over bolster
rest
OM

eye of the needle hip exploration and twist

cat
cow
balasana
puppy dog
barrel roll

balasana variation

easy side plank

plank
downdog

uttanasana
uttithatadasana
tadasana
shoulder shrugs

eka pada tadasana play on brick

inhale and exhale breath exploration in tadasana
sama play

YAM

lunge
warrior I
parvatadasana
warrior III
standing splits
pigeon
three leg dog
downdog
plank
baby cobra
rocket cat
other side

balasana
side saddle side stretch with twist

roll back supine

twisted root with Texas star

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste