Strong Vinyasa: standing in your light: Sunday, June 9, 2013

I haven't taught strong vinyasa for over four years. To my surprise I had a lot of fun prepping for this class and found it in many ways closer to my own personal practice style, as I often take the stretch of simpler poses into deeper places that what I normally offer to a 2/3 class. Then at 3:30 AM, mantra 7 from the 3rd chapter, 13th verse of the Chandogya Upanishad litterally woke me out of a sound sleep. So I wanted to share it because I love it so much. This was the inspiration for a 'strong' class.


Chandogya Upanishad 3:13:7 (translation by Ravi Ravindra in his 2012 course on the Upanishads, Ojai, CA at Krotona.

Now the light which shines above the Heavens, above all, above everything, in the highest worlds, beyond which there is no higher, verily this is the same as the light which is here within a person.

Since the mind tends towards dispersion and distraction, it seems to me the strong practice is about staying centered and in the "light" described in the Chandogya Upanishad 3.13.7 even as things appear more complicated. Here is our sequence:

sit (3 mins)

sukasana or box forward fold and two way side bend

cat/cow/barrel roll
balasana/puppy dog

OMG variations with flying cow (forgot easy side plank transition..)

toe torture
toe stand

plank
downdog

downdog play to lunge
low crescent with side stretches
hamstring stretch with hanamunasana offering
other side

downdog

uttanasana
tadasana

shoulder shrugs and rolls with uttithatadasana stretch and uttanasana variation

tadasana
YAM

heart tapping and anahata stretches
prana play

lunge
hammock
warrior II dance
warrior II with heart tapping
ardha chandrasana with heart tapping
standing splits
lunge
three leg dog with wild thing or wheel offering

downdog
uttithatadasana
tadasana

other side
lunge
hammock with skandasana
headstand play
warrior II with dance and heart tapping
ardha chandrasana with heart tapping
standing splits
lunge
wild thing/wheel

side plank

downdog
pigeon
mermaid
seated twist
box with forward fold
bridge or wheel
other side pigeon or seated sequence

twisted root

savasana

sit
Namaste