Intermediate Class on Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Here's what we did on Wednesday (and what we'll likely do tonight in the Lewisville class).  Happy Practicing!

Swastikasana - keeping the groins soft, draw outer knees to outer hips to pin the femurs ino the hip-socket and lift the trunk, open the chest

Adho Mukha Virasana - keeping forearms and upper arms lifted, take dorsal spine in and move sternum forward

Adho Mukha Svanasana - keeping forearms lifted, take dorsal spine in, lift and press the thighs back to lengthen the trunk

Uttanasana - press outer edge of foot down to lift and pin the femurs into the hip-socket, press inner heel and big-toe ball-joint down to lift and move inner thighs back, keeping that take the dorsal spine in and lengthen the trunk down

Supta Padangusthasana I - begin in Supta Tadasana and extend the inner heels and big-toe ball-joint forward to move inner thighs down, keeping the left inner thigh down bend the right knee into the chest and belt the foot, reach the right inner heel forward into the belt to move the right front groin forward, pin the femurs in, keeping the right groin moving forward and femurs extend the inner right heel up to straighten the leg, pull upper arms into sockets to open the chest. (change sides)

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana - keeping the left (standing leg) back, bend the right knee and belt the foot, keeping the left thigh back press the foot down and into the belt to descend the right groin, draw from the outer knees toward the hips to pin the femurs into the hip-sockets, extend thru the inner heels and straighten the right leg, extend the trunk up and draw the upper arms into the shoulder-sockets to open the chest. (change sides)

Parsvottanasana - press outer left heel down and press right big-toe and inner heel down to lift the thighs up, pin the femurs in and extend the trunk, keeping the leg actions, extend the trunk forward, take the upper arms into the shoulder-sockets and the dorsal spine in, then extend the trunk forward and down

Parivrtta Trikonasana - same leg actions as Parsvottanasana, place hand on brick and roll opposite shoulder back to turn trunk, take upper arms into shoulder-sockets and open the chest

Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana - from Parivrtta Trikonasana, bend the front leg, walk the hand out  and pin the femurs into the hip sockets, keep this as you lift the back leg and straighten the standing leg, extend thru the heels. Lift the outer pelvis of the lifted leg up, press your hand down onto the floor, and roll the opposite shoulder back to twist the trunk

Virabhadrasana I  - press feet down to lift thighs up and pin outer femurs in, extend up thru the trunk and descend the buttocks away from the lumbar, maintain the pinning of the femurs as you bend your knee into the pose

Virabhadrasana III - from Virabhadrasana I, keep the femurs pinned, extend the trunk over and onto the thigh, step in with the back foot and pin the femurs in again, maintain that as you lift the back leg and extend thru the inner heels to straighten both legs, extend the trunk and arms forward

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana (on chair) - slide back until the armpits are in line with the edge of the chair-seat, pull the upper arms back into the shoulder-sockets and coil the chest over the edge of the chair, extend the inner heels into the wall, roll the thighs in, and press the thighs down, keeping the buttocks lengthened away from the lumbar spine, tailbone in

Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana (on chair) - loop a belt around the right foot and keep the "tail" of the belt over your shoulder (for safekeeping); hook the right knee over the chair back and go thru the chair as in Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, coil the chest over the edge of the chair and extend the left leg into the wall, straighten the right leg up and pin the outer hips in, holding the belt with both hands extend the arms overhead and towards the floor, resist the right front-thigh toward the chair-back. (other side)

Hanumanasana - place your right heel on a folded sticky mat and your left knee on a blanket on the floor (not on sticky mat), with your hands on blocks slide the left knee back, keeping the trunk upright, roll the left inner thigh up toward the ceiling, and extend thru the right inner heel, pin the femurs in.  Keep moving in this manner: 1. roll the back thigh in, 2. pin the femurs in, 3. slide the left knee back, 4. repeat. (other side)

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana on brick - press the upper arms down to lift the chest up, lengthen the buttocks away from the lumbar spine, extend inner heels forward to straighten the legs, roll thighs in and press thighs down

Savasana

Mixed Level on Sunday, August 1, 2010

Swastikasana - extend from inner thighs to inner knees and draw back from outer knees into outer hips to compact the hips and lift the trunk

Siddhasana - roll the thighs and calf flesh from inside out as you place the heels in line with the pubis; extend from inner thighs to inner knees and draw back from outer knees into outer hips as you press the thighs down to lift the trunk; pull on the knees with the hands as you plug the upper arms into the shoulder sockets as you draw the shoulderblades down and into the back-body to open and lift the chest

Baddha Konasana - sitting on 2 folded blankets, roll the thighs out, extend from inner thighs to inner knees, widening the knees, as you pull from the outer knees back into the outer hips, press the thighs down and the outer heels together to further widen the knees apart, press hands down to lift trunk and draw upper arms into the shoulder sockets to open the chest, repeat with the block between the feet (all 3 widths) and with block under the feet (all 3 heights), then do classic pose flat on floor (or on blankets if the knees are higher than the hips)

Supta Padangusthasana II - draw the front thigh down into the hip crease and draw from the outer knee back into the hip socket, compacting the hips, as you extend from inner thigh to inner heel, keep sacrum even on floor

Virabhadrasana II - back foot at the wall, roll thighs out, press outer heels down to draw up from outer knees to outer hips, compacting the hips, press more into the bent-leg heel to lift the pubis up and away from the inner thigh of the bent leg

Utthita Parsvakonasana -  in Virabhadrasana II: place a block between the wall and the head of your bent-leg shin, step the back leg back until the shin is vertical and the thigh is horizontal, press the inner knee into the block firmly and pull the outer knee away from the block, roll the back leg out and move the femur into the hamstring, press the bent-leg heel down to lift the pubis up and away from the bent leg, extend trunk toward wall into Utthita Parsvakonasana, keeping the actions of the legs, especially pressing the inner knee into the block and pull the outer knee away from the block to bring the outer thigh into the hip socket

Ardha Chandrasana - 1st time: place lifted-leg's foot on the wall with the standing leg vertical, hand on a block. Press the outer heel of standing leg down to firm outer thigh up and into the hip socket, then press inner heel down to move the inner thigh forward, bringing the standing-leg hip underneath you more, lift the top hip up, press hand down onto block and roll opposite shoulder back to turn trunk. 2nd time: with a partner, same as above, partner places belt around the top of the thigh of the standing leg and pull the outer thigh back toward the wall, moving the thigh back and turning in outward

Utthita Trikonasana to Ardha Chandrasana - classic asana, same actions as above with special attention to keeping the hips compact just before lifting into Ardha Chandrasana

Salamba Sarvangasana
Eka Pada Sarvangasana
Parsvaika Pada Sarvangasana
Halasana
Karnapidasana
Savasana

Mixed Level on Sunday July 11, 2010

I'm so excited to be back in town to teach awesome yoga students! I am so grateful for you.  Today's class focuses on "eka pada" actions in standing poses and forward bends; specifically, keeping the depth of the groins by rolling your thighs in and "pinning" the outer thighs in as you draw the tailbone in.

Here's what we did:

Swastikasana

Adho Mukha Virasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Uttanasana

Tadasana

Urdhva Baddhanguliasasa in Tadasana

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana - 1. bent knee only: keep standing thigh lifted and pulling to midline, keep standing-thigh back, press inner edge of bent-leg foot down to move buttock bone and groin down, "pin" hips in to lift trunk, pull arms into shoulder sockets to open chest. 2. Classic pose

Urdhva Prasarita Ekapadasana - concave phase only, keep standing-leg thigh lifted and drawn back and to mid-line as you lift opposite leg; move slowly so you can "catch" when you lose the correct action of standing leg

Virabhadrasana I - keep "front-leg" hip "pinned" to mid-line as you enter the pose

Virabhadrasana III - keep "front-leg" hip pinned to mid-line in all phases of entering the pose

Parivrtta Trikonasana - keep"front-leg" hip pinned to mid-line as you bring the tailbone, spine, and head all in one central line, lift both thighs and pin both outer-thighs in to project your trunk forward

Urdhva Prasarita Ekapadasana - 1. head and trunk down, hands on floor. 2. From Adho Mukha Svanasana, place lifted-leg's toes on wall, pin hips in, and rotate lifted-leg thigh in

Triang Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana

Paschimottanasana - feet apart

Uttanasana - feet apart

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana - sacrum on block

Savasana