Sweet Vinyasa: Aligning with Gratitide: Wednesday, November 27, 2013

We don't have to wait for Thanksgiving Day to practice gratitude. In fact sages have suggested this practice for a long time. It is particularly useful, they say, in disentanglement from the yama asteya "non stealing". Being grateful for what you have and what is helps so much in the temptation to reach out and grab, especially if what we are grabbing is not useful for our alignment.

An expanded view of the situation seems to truly be helpful in quieting the mind. This practice was a play in cultivating the ability to see more clearly.

Sit
Gratitude meditation
OM

Share
"Golden", "Joy", "Safe"

cat and cow
balasana

OMG
flying cow
side plank variation with "wings of the heart" meditation

plank
downdog

uttanasana
malasana

tadasana

shoulder rolls and shrugs
hand and wrist play

uttithatadasana with uttanasana variation x2

tadasana
YAM

standing sequence:
lunge
twisted lunge
hammock
horse
wide leg forward fold
lunge
pigeon

downdog

repeat standing sequence adding on tippee toe horse, skandasana and chinese splits

baby cobra
locust
locust variation

balasana with ajna rest

supta virasana play

bridge

cosmic rest pose

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Yin Yoga: Absorption: Tuesday, November 27, 2013

Sit

Baddha Konasana or Upavista Konasana

Swan

Balasana
Dragon

Supta Virasana play

Twisted Root

Supported Heart Opener over bolster

Namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Practicing sutra 2.2: Monday, November 25, 2013

Tenzin Palmo said that if Buddha was sitting with us he would say, "practice".

We explored what yogis have suggested for a long time..to soften the I, ego, asmita by  practicing sutra 2.2 " cultivating samadhi and weakening the kleshas.

sit (3mins)
OM

cat
cow
balasana

OMG
flying cow
side plank variation

plank
downdog
uttanasana
malasana
uttanasana

tadasana
shoulder shrugs and rolls

wrist circles and hand stretches

uttithatadasana
uttanasana variation
repeat

standing sequence:
lunge
twisted lunge
hammock
horse
lunge

other side standing sequence with skandasana and chinese split play

puppy dog with twist
balasana with ajna chakra rest

sphinx/seal yin style

crocodile

supine eye of the needle

at wall:
thigh torture

cobra
dhanurasana

savasana with legs up the wall or regular or sit

sit
OM
Namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Asatoma Sat Gamaya: Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I've been inspired today with the mantra:

asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrtyorma amrtam gamaya

Lead me from the asat to the sat.
Lead me from darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality.

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad — I.iii.28)
sukasana stretch and breath
shoulder shrugs

Butterfly yin style

cat
cow
balasana

OMG
flying cow
easy side plank

plank
downdog

uttanasana
malasana
uttanasana
tadasana

at wall
foot play with balance on half moons
walkabout

tree at wall

standing sequence:
tadasana
uttanasana
lunge
warrior II dance
peaceful warrior
side angle prep
trikonasana
tree

uttanasana

repeat standing sequence

uttanasna
malasana

rolling bridge
rolling bridge with uddiyama bandha play

eye of the needle with hamstring variation play
twisted root

repeat eye of needle and twisted root

Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi meditation
Savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Yin Yoga: A Practice of Pratyahara: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Pratyahara is one of Patanjali's suggestions on how we might experience yoga that already is. This turning the senses in is, for most of us, a counterflow (pratiprasaba) to our usual ways and takes practice.

windshield wiper

eye of the needle with twist

butterfly

swan

balasana
dragon

sphinx

twisted root

savasana

namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: A Leap of Faith: Monday, November 18, 2013

The sanscrit word for faith is shraddha. A leap of faith for yogis is not a blind leap, but rather into a widened perspective of infinite love that already is. Which is hard to do, for the mind tends to grip the small (asmita).

Butterfly

cat
cow
balasana

OMG
flying cow
easy side plank

puppy dog

balasana variation

plank
downdog

uttanasana
malasana
uttanasana
tadasana

at wall on half moons
foot stretch with balance play
tadasana
walk about

tree at wall

standing sequence #1
tadasana
lunge
warrior II
pigeon variation
downdog

other side standing sequence #1

tadasana

standing sequence #2
lunge
warrior II
peaceful warrior
side angle prep
tree

uttanasana
malasana
tadasana

other side standing sequence #2

malasana
sukasana
wrist releases

sit (5 mins)

rolling bridge
rolling bridge with exhale play

twisted root

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Yoga: See The Miracle Of You: Thursday, November, 14, 2013

Seated so ham meditation

Cat
Cow
Balasana
Puppy dog

OMG
Flying cow
Easy side plank

Plank
Downdog

Uttanasana
Tadasana

At wall on half moon bricks
Foot stretch
Foot balance
Walkabout

Tree at wall

Standing seqeunce:
Tadasana
Lunge
Hammock
Warrior I I dance
Pigeon variation

Other side standing sequence

Downdog
Plank
Baby cobra
Locust

Balasana w hands rest

Bridge

Eye of needle
Twisted root

Savasana

Sit
OM
Namaste

Yoga: Butterfly: Saturday, November 16, 2013

Subbed this class for Kira. So thank you, Kira, for asking me to be here today.

Inspired by my own practice of baddha konasana yin style this morning and this quote by Richard Bach that came to me:

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”

 

We spent some time practicing finding flexibility in the feet, as the motor organ of the will to help us allow for more room for the path of the heart.

 

extended sukasana 3 breaths

 

butterfly yin style

 

cat

cow

balasana

puppy dog

 

OMG

flying cow

easy side plank

 

barrel roll

 

plank

downdog

 

uttanasana

tadasana

 

at wall:

 

on half moon tadasana

tree -ish

 

tadasana

walk about

 

tree at wall

uttanasana at wall

downdog at wall

 

tadasana

YAM

 

standing sequence:

lunge

twisted lunge

warrior II

pigeon variation

 

other side standing sequence

 

baby cobra

locust

locust variation

 

twisted root

 

sit

OM

Namaste

 

Sweet Vinyasa: Sacrifice and Santosha: Monday, November 11, 2013

Ease with the "what is" requires a quieting of the mind, according to the yogis. This is harder than it sounds because it requires we let go of our story and our small limited view of how we think it should all look.

The word chitta (as in sutra 1.2 yoga chitta vrittis nirodahah) translates as heart/mind so we spent some time focused the heart to help us align to the more clear sight of what is.

windshield wiper with lung and heart meditation

reclining Buddha

cat and cow
balasasna
puppy dog

OMG with flying cow and easy side plank variation

plank
downdog

uttanasana
tadasana

shoulder shrugs

standing sequence #1
lunge
high lunge
prayer lunge
warrior II dance
trikonasana
pigeon variation
three leg dog

downdog
other side standing sequence #1

tadasana
uttanasana variation x2
tadasana
OM

standing sequence #2
lunge
warrior I
prayer warrior
warrior III variation
standing splits
uttanasana
tadasana

other side standing sequence #2

uttanasana
malasana

baddha konasana

janushirsasana with twist and side stretch

bridge
cosmic rest
bridge or wheel

twisted root

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Ahimsa and Ananda: Friday, November 8, 2013

Subbed this Friday morning class for Tasha. We played with the possibility that the feeling tone of ahimsa is ananda. One of the ways we helped find our internal alignment was to breathe in to the back of the heart, cultivating our skills of seeing more clearly.

Sit

Leg tapping

Supine Schiffmannesque hamstring stretch

Cat n cow
Balasana
Puppy dog

Easy side plank with OMG and flying cow

Sphinx or seal

Balasana variation

Plank
Downdog

Uttansassna
Tadasana
YAM

1/4 sun salutes

Tadasana
OM

Standing sequence #1:
Lunge
Twisted lunge
Hammock
Warrior 11 dance
Trikonasana
Pigeon variation

Three leg dog

Other side standing sequence #1

Downdog
Baby cobra
Locust
Balasana

Plank
Downdog
Uttanasana

Tadasana

Shoulder rolls
Uttanasana variation

Standing neck stretches

Tadasana

Standing sequence #2
Side angle prep
Trikonasana
Half moon
Uttanasana
malasana

Other side standing sequence #2
Happy baby
Twisted root

Savasana

Sit
Om
Namaste

Soft Vinyasa: Dance of the Body and the Breath: Saturday, November 10, 2013

We used a sequencing to Dancer's pose to experience sutra 1.12.

Heart opener over bolster

Cat and cow
Balasana
Puppy dog

Plank
Downdog

Tadasana

1/4 sun salutes

Lunge with bricks
Low crescent

tadasana
OM

Standing sequence
Lunge
Hammock
WarriorII
Pigeon variation

Downdog
Baby cobra
Locust

other side standing sequence

Tadasana
Guitar hero

Dancer's Pose play

Eye of the needle

Restorative twist on bolster

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Unclear Directions: Sunday, November 10, 2013

One of the challenging aspects of teaching yoga for me is simply getting "right" and "left" correct. Today was almost comically impossible to keep it straight. So much so that I don't even feel like posting the class notes, much less letting the video go live.

The bigger teaching is to quiet the ego...we were even talking about this in class today. I'm learning that when I show up to class vulnerable and with an open heart, that the class will be OK because the yoga  will come through. Today's "bad" class was helpful to help me remember when the directions are unclear, if you follow your heart and internal guidance things will turn out just fine.

Heart opener over bolster

cat
cow
balasana
puppy dog

OMG
easy side plank

plank
downdog

uttanasana
tadasana

shoulder shrugs and rolls

standing sequence:
lunge
twisted lunge
hammock
warrior II
triangle
pigeon variation

downdog

other side standing sequence

baby cobra
locust
balasana

downdog
pigeon
supine tree

bridge
other side pigeon and supine tree

bridge or wheel

twist

supported savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Attention, Affection and Faith: Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The sanscrit word for faith is shrada. Shrada is not a blind faith, but rather it is visionary. Yogis are asking us to widen our perspective, for not seeing clearly is the source of all our suffering. Two alignment instructions for a wider perspective (and there are many techiques) are to pay closer attention, and love one another.

on bricks
OM
A
O
M
OM x3

cat
cow
balasana
puppy dog

OMG
flying cow
easy side plank

barrel roll
balasana

affection meditation on bricks

plank
downdog with foot play
uttanasana

standing sequence #1
lunge
hammock
side plank prep
trikonasana
pigeon variation
downdog

sphinx with seal option yin style
crocodile

other side standing sequence #1

baby cobra
locust play
balasana

downdog
uttanasana
tadasana
OM

uttanasana
standing sequence #2
lunge
side plank prep
half moon
uttanasana
malasana

other side standing sequence #2

supine windshield wiper or happy baby

closing sequence:
eye of the needle
twisted root

other side closing sequence

savasana

sit
MMMMMMM
Namaste

Yin Yoga: A Dance of the Devas: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Buddha is rumored to have said, "in this very body one can discover all the gods and all the demons". Our practice tonight encouraged becoming more sensitive to the many layers of the self.

Malasana
malasana twist
malasana with anjali mudra and three more hand gestures ( a la Erich Schiffmann)

uttanasana
downdog

balasana with ajna rest (2 mins)

butterfly (4 mins)

swan (4 mins)

balasana
lunge (4 mins)

reverse windshield wiper

sphinx/seal/saddle (4 mins)

twisted root (3.5 mins)

sit (15 mins)
sit/savasana (3 mins)

namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: The Heart Has Reasons That Reason Cannot Know: Monday, November 4, 2013

The sages talk a lot about the different levels of the self. One of the ways it is expressed is by Buddha "in this very body one can discover all the gods and all the demons". Another is the koshas. There can be a tendency to get hung up on heirarchies and "shoulds". The yogis suggest simply practice looking as a good first step, and from that place of what is, take action. We leaned into Blaise Pascal's "the heart has reason that reason cannot know" to help us with our alignment.

Sit

Janushirsasana
Janu with Side bend
half cow
savasana

other side

cat
cow
balasana
puppy dog

plank
downdog with foot play

uttanasana
tadasana

guitar hero

tadasana
uttanasana

standing sequence:
lunge
twisted lunge hammock
warrior II dance
pigeon variation
downdog

baby cobra
locust

barrell roll

other side standing sequence

downdog

easy side plank

downdog
uttanasana

tadasana
YAM

tree

uttanasana
malasana

eye of the needle
twist
repeat eye of the needle and twist

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste