Sunday, January 19, 2014

Yoga Blue at Temple Road Yoga: Abhinivesha: 1.19.2014

We spent some time looking at the kleshas, the veils of the mind that keep us from seeing our magnificent selves. We put some emphasis on abhinevesha, fear of death, or attachment to the status quo. It is one of the spicy kleshas in working with peeps in recovery because recovery demands a dying to so many things.

dharma talk about kleshas

heart opener over rollers
rest

cat and cow
balasana

easy side plank

uttanasana
tadasana

shoulder opener at wall
supported forward fold
second set with SI joint awareness
wall dog
tadasana meditation at wall

tadasana
uttanasana
lunge
warrior I
downdog
warrior I
tadasana

warrior I teaching demo

bridge

camel play
balasana

freeform

savasana

BREAK

savasana adjustments

sit and gratitude meditation (5 mins)

Namaste

Friday, January 17, 2014

Yoga Blue at Temple Road Yoga: Meeting: Friday, January 17, 2014

A group of 15 yogis showed up for our workshop together. If you print it, they will come!

Our asana practice tonight had a few main points (but of course we'll never know what really was the point).

  • to demonstrate a class sequence that would be "typical" for addicts in recovery
  • to come together as a community of yogis
  • to turn the mechanism of the mind inwards and quieter
  • to practice looking within with eyes of love
  • to become more at ease in the unknown

windshield wiper

eye of the needle

supine meditation

sukasana side bending x2

tadasana
uttanasana

tadasana

shoulder shrugs and rolls
guitar hero

cat and cow
balasana
puppy dog

sphinx
crocodile

bridge

alternative nostril breathing meditation

easy spine twist

savasana

sit
Namaste

break

circle
journal:
What have you been thinking about lately
What have you been learning?
What are three miracles that have happened in your life? Or not.
What do you want to get out of our weekend together?

introductions

OM
A
O
M
OMx3

seated meditation

Namaste

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Yin Yoga: Darkness Can't Drive Out Darkness

We kept touching in to MLK Jr's quote about Darkness can't drive out Darkness, only Light can do that as we made our way in a klesha exploration.

windshield wiper

supine eye of the needle
sutra 1.2 meditation

butterfly

balasana
dragon

sphinx/seal

reclining Buddha

twisted root

savasana or sit (15 mins)


Yoga: A Widened Perspective is Required to see the Truth: Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Rig Veda has a wonderful prayer

Give me the peace to hear the Truth from afar.

Afar is not a geographical distance, the sutra is a reference to the layers and noise of the mind that holds us back from seeing clearly.


windshield wiper

supine pada gustasana with twist using strap

sutra 1.2-1.4 meditation

cat and cow
balasana
puppy dog

easy side plank

plank
downdog
uttanasana
tadasana

shoulder rolls and shrugs

standing neck stretches

standing sequence

lunge
side angle
trikonasana
reverse trikonasana
peaceful warrior
low crescent
pigeon variation

downdog

plank
baby cobra
locust

downdog
other side standing sequence

balasana

bridge
supported bridge

twist

savasana

sit
OM
namaste

Monday, January 13, 2014

Yoga with Oak Grove High School: Truth: Tuesday, January 13, 2013

It was a lot of fun to share yoga with high school students. I've never worked in this particular population before, but when Debi asked if I'd be interested to teach a class in their yoga program, there was only one way to answer and that was YES!

Debi asked if I'd share some philosophy. Since I'm in the midst of listening to Ravi Ravindra's lecture series on the Rig Veda, it seems like a great opportunity to share some of this wonderful text. Recently I've been captivated by Dirgatamas' teaching of Ekam Sat, viprah bahudah vadanti.

One Truth, but sages call it by many names.

And the steady reminder in the RV and Upanishads and the Yoga Sutras that touching the Truth requires a quiet mind.

So we used some of the ideas of the Rig Veda for our alignment today. 

windshield wiper

apanasana
janushirsasana and twist using strap

sutra 1.2 meditation

cat
cow
balasana
puppy dog

easy side plank

balasana variation with wrist stretch

plank
downdog

uttanasana
uttithatadasana
tadasana

shoulder shrugs and rolls
uttanasana variation

tadasana
YAM

standing sequence:
lunge
hammock
warrior II dance
low crescent
pigeon variation

three leg dog

downdog

baby cobra
locust
locust II

other side standing sequence

downdog
puppy dog
balasana

yin style sphinx or seal
crocodile

twisted root or easy twist

savasana

sit
Namaste

Sweet Vinyasa: Grant Me The Peace To Hear The Truth From Afar: Monday, January 13, 2014

This is a prayer from the Rig Veda:

Grant me the peace to hear the Truth from afar. Through breath, mantra, and movement we touched into Truth within. The only thing holding us back from our experience of the bhirat, satya, ritam is the clinging  of our minds.

windshield wiper

supine janushirsanasa with twist using strap

sutra 1.2 meditation

cat and cow
balasana
puppy dog

easy side plank

plank
downdog

uttanasana

tadasana
YAM
shoulder rolls and shrugs

standing neck stretches

tadasana
OM

standing sequence #1:
lunge
side angle prep
trikonasana
peaceful warrior

pigeon variation

three leg dog
downdog

other side standing sequence #1

tadasana

standing sequence #2
lunge
side angle
triangle
ardha chandrasana
standing splits
tadasana

malasana

tadasana
standing sequence #2

tadasana
OM

malasana

bridge
supported bridge with supported shoulder stand option

shimmy

savasana

sit
OM
namaste





Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Sweet Vinyasa: Hip Openers and Help, Thanks and Wow: Wednesday, January 8, 2014

We playing in touching the Ekam Sat using the alignment instructions Help, Thanks, and Wow (Anne Lamott's book).

I got a little mixed up in which direction we were working in the twisty and bendy hip openers. But I think it was OK. Mainly because its not about what we do, but how we do it (as the yogis tell us), and our practice was about the willingness to recognize the Sat, which is Erich Schiffmann's definition of Love.

That's what we really practiced today.

windshield wiper

supine pada gustasana with twist and strap

Bhirat meditation
sutra 1.2
OM

cat and cow
balasana
puppy dog

easy side plank

balasana variation with wrist stretches

plank
downdog with foot exploration

tadasana

shoulder rolls and shrugs

tibetian heating breaths

tadasana
YAM

standing sequence:
lunge
hammock
warrior II
peaceful warrior
trikonasana
pigeon
three leg dog

downdog

rolling plank
rolling plank to updog

demo
rolling plank to updog
balasana
OM

other side standing sequence

downdog
puppy dog
balasana

hip opener sequence:
ardha matseydrasana
cow face pose with arm exploration
box

forward fold

other side hip opener sequence

pea pod meditation

savasana

sit
OM
Namaste