Yoga for Recovery 5.29.10

I came to the studio to practice an hour before class. The studio was remarkably beautiful; the warm summer breeze floated in while the late afternoon light filled the pale blue room. The significance of the Saturday 6PM time slot inspired every breath and every pose of my pre-class practice tonight; this is where I learned to teach from my heart.

I started crying soft sentimental tears before peeps showed up. Not because these series of classes are over. On the contrary, my yogic journey is breaking wide open. And I am so grateful for the foundation these classes have given me.

A giant THANK YOU to the Saturday evening crew for your practice, and to Kira for Everything.

Watering the Heart
OM

Supine rest

eye of the needle

cat
cow
balasana with side stretch
puppy dog

plank
downdog

tadasana
easy lunge salutes
low lunge salutes
sphinx
other side
cobra
locust
bow

balasana with lengthening the exhales

tadasana
lunge
warrior I dance
twisted lunge
hammock

vinyasa

balasana

tadasana
MAITRI

other side adding on squirt pose

vinyasa

roll to supine
star pose

bridge
baddha konasana
bridge
sacrum rest with gratitude meditation

easy spine twist with silent MAITRI

supported savasana

sit

Namaste!

Vinyasa Basics 5.25.10

Hot off the press of 'what I'm learning these days' is "energy flows were your attention goes", a little piece of wisdom I've been aware of for quite some time, but its coming back around for another look these days. I'm reading Harmonic Wealth and practicing with Kira and revisiting Patricia's workshop and am now learning a fresh twist and new tools about the quality of my attention with sutra 1.33. The suggestions of friendliness, compassion, sympathethic joy, and neutrality/equanimity give me useful direction to help me open. I am inspired and endeavor to share this in class.

It can be overwhelming to try to keep all these practices front and center at once; just looking at one practice at a time is useful for me (a tip I learned from Uma in studying the yamas and niyamas). So I started with 'maitri' (friendliness, especially friendliness to oneself) because it is the first suggestion in the sutras. We practiced maitri today. And we did some poses too!

It felt a little clumsy, it was unrehearsed, but it was a start in sharing this newfound space in my heart.

Heart opener over bolster.
breath awareness and attention
OM

windshield wiper
supine rest

sukasana side bending
baddha konasana with forward fold

table top
paschimotadasana

cat
cow
balasana
puppy dog

easy side angle
barrell roll
other side

tadasana
uttithatadasana
YAM

lunge salute with sphinx/seal
lunge salute with heart opener
cobra
locust
bow

balasana

tadasana
Maitri

lunge
twisted lunge
hammock
warrior II
extended side angle

vinyasa

other side

balasana

camel play
balasana
malasana
uttanasana

tadasana

Dancer's pose

twisted root with silent maitri (in retrospect would have been nice to do eye of the needle/twisted root combo)

supported savasana

sit

namaste!

Yoga for Recovery 5.22.10

We used the breath as our primary alignment tonight, and finding opening through softening our hearts. Yoga chitta vritti nirodahah.

Heart opener over bolster
breath awareness
OM

windhshield wiper over bolster
supine rest

eye of the needle

cat
cow
balasana with side stretch
puppy dog

tadasana

easy lunge salutes

lunge salutes with sphinx/seal

tadasana
lunge
warrior I dance
twisted lunge
downdog

vinyasa
other side

starfish

bridge
sacrum rest
bridge
baddha konasana

easy spine twist

supported savasana

sit
OM
Namaste

Vinyasa Basics 5.20.10

Didn't feel like a lot of talking was necessary today. Let the postures and breath "speak" for themselves with a variety of hip openers, shoulder stretches, balance poses, and twists. Tried to keep focused on the present and stay in tune with the internal flow.

Wished I'd had more time today. Noticed it was time for savasana on the first side of twisted root. Ooops. I ran a few mins over.

Sukasana
breath awareness
angeli mudra
YAM

windshield wiper
leg extensions with strap

cat
cow
balasana with side stretch
puppy dog

uttanasana
tadasana
uttitatadasana
balancing uttitatadasana
tadasana

lunge salute with sphinx
lunge salutes with cobra, locust, locust variation

tadasana
lunge
warrior I dance
eagle
warrior III
lunge

vinyasa

other side

balasana

slow camel play
balasana
malasana
uttanasana
other side

balasana

side saddle stretch
side saddle twist

twisted root

savasana

sit

OM
Namaste!

11th Step Meditation 5.20.10

windshield wiper

easy eye of the needle

sukasana
spine rocking
forward fold

sukasana with extended arms
3 breaths

cat/cow flow

downdog

baby cobra
locust
cobra

other side with forward fold silent 3rd step prayer

virasana with eagle arms

downdog

balasana

sit

read

share

OM

Namaste!

Vinysasa Basics 5.18.10

It took a while for me personally to land in my practice this morning so the class sequence was a bit eclectic.

We practiced love. As I am learning to practice this myself, I am slowly finding the words. And am forever grateful for a place to share.

Krishna to Arjuna "No learning can happen without love". I am finding this to be true.

Sukasana
3 breaths
YAM

sukasana spine twist

cat
cow
balasana with side stretch
puppy dog

downdog
uttanasana

tadasana
YAM

easy lunge salutes with sphinx/seal
lunge salutes with cresent pose and YAM


cobra
locust
supine YAM
locust variation

balasana

tadasana
lunge
hammock
warrior II dance
side angle
twisted ardha chandrasana

vinyasa

uttanasana
malasana

windshield wiper
bridge prep with YAM
bridge
supine baddha konasana

other side standing sequence

lowering to cobra/frog w/twist
cobra
other side

downdog
balasana

windshield wiper

easy eye of the needle

legs up the wall with support
supported baddha konasana
savasana with foot support
OM

sit
angeli mudra

Namaste!

Prototypes Women's Center 5.17.10

We placed our mats in a circle facing in. It is always a delight to see someone connect with their internal flow for the first time. Most seemed to want to practice today, which brought the newbys into groove. We laughed a lot today, especially in tiger pose, and talked about how exciting it is to feel alive. Spent most of the class noticing the effects of the poses.

Sukasana
3 breaths
forward fold

sukasana

other side

sukasana side bending

all fours tiger pose w/balasana rest

downdog
uttanasana with hamstring stretch

tadasana
angeli mudra

lunge salute with sphinx/seal
downdog
balasana

virasana with eagle arms and shoulder rolls

windshield wiper

supine spine curls with abdominals

bridge x2

sacrum rest

savasana

easy twist

sukasana
Namaste!

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