10 min plan no. 6

I wanted to add something new. Having scanner issues, so will add more diagrams when sorted. Also getting close to the dissertation deadline, so I’ll probably not add the detail it deserves until the end of April. Enjoy

I don’t know what’s going on with the formatting: any advice, please feel free to leave a comment…

Tadasana

Urdhva hastasana

Uttanasana

Uttanasana

Trikonasana

Trikonasana

Ardha chandrasana

Ardha chandrasana

Prasarita padottanasana

finish with:
Supta baddhakonasana

ok, so this is not 10min: 15-ish. stick to the bold for 10 min…

10 min Plan – no4: Trikonasana into Ardha chandrasana

Starting as before: moving from AM virasana into AM svanasana repeat several times, before walking the hands back from AM Svanasana into Uttansana.  Take about 5-6min…take your time. Explore. Enjoy.

Remember, if balance is an issue, find a bit of space on a wall and take the balance out of the equation (in fact, even if balance isn’t an issue, this is a lovely way to explore the asana).

So just a quick reminder: standing in Tadasnana – legs active, front body lifting and opening, back body moving in and descending. Jump or step your feet wide apart…

Into trikonasana: turn the back foot in a little and the front foot and leg all the way out. Does this sound familiar? We’ve done this a hundred times in class: don’t over-think it, let your body lead your head. If that doesn’t make any sense, think about it like this: instead of listing the different movements as single instructions in your head, just make the starting shape…

Yogi Pipeman - thanks for the demonstration

The coming into ardha chandrasana:  bring the top hand down, look down  to the bricks ahead of your foot and on  your little toe side…and so on. You’re aiming for this:

 

10min Yoga plan – no.2

10th Aug onwards

If this is new to you: start with week1 for a few days before moving onto this.  Please also remember these instructions here are not designed to be in depth: just sufficient to spark a memory of what you’ve covered in class. As ever, if you need further guidance, consult ‘Light on Yoga’ or speak to me in person…

Adho mukha virasana

Spend a couple of minutes moving from Adho mukha virasana

Adho mukha svanasana

into Adho mukha svanasana (see Week 1) building a little more into downward dog each time.

 

 

Then, from the last AM svanasana, walk the hands back towards the feet: into Uttanasana. Arms folded, hanging below the head. Pull on the inner elbows. Co-ordinate it with an exhalation. Lengthen along the side ribs. Lengthen into the points of the elbows.

Tadasana. Don’t throw it away. Take the time to activate the legs. Lift and open the front body. Keep the front ribs moving back. Shoulder blades moving in and down the back. Tailbone long. Take the weight towards the back of the heels. I’m saying too much here: feel your way into it – we do it all the time, your body knows what’s expected. One last thing: try it standing back to an inward pointing corner so that the back of your head, your dorsal spine (between your shoulder blades) and tailbone/sacrum are in contact with the corner. And soften….

Then jump or step into trikonasana: turn the back foot in a little and the front foot and leg all the way out. Does this sound familiar? We’ve done this a hundred times in class: don’t over-think it, let your body lead. If that doesn’t make any sense, think about it like this: instead of listing the different movements as single instructions in your head, just make the starting shape…

Do both sides twice and return to Tadasana.

Spend a minute in savasana to finish.

10min Yoga Plan – No 1

It’s more beneficial to do a little everyday rather than one or two big sessions a week (well, that’s my opinion).

This week begins with the breakfast club on Sunday morning, the 19th. This is just a suggestion for students coming to classes if you want to start your own practice and maybe just don’t quite know where to start.

Take your time. Use your breathing to become more aware of what’s going on on the inside, and try not to anticipate:

Tadasana
Uttanasana
Trikonasana
Dandasana
Savasana

See light on yoga for specific instructions if you can’t remember them from class.

Happy Friday Yoga People!

Evening all! Hope you have had a productive week and are preparing to get the most out of your weekend. Congratulations to my Friday class in Park Place: what a great way to  put the week  behind you  and start the weekend. Obviously I’m biased, but I think you did the right thing going tonight – I hope your weekend is better because of  it.

All my classes are different and I change my teaching according to the students in front of me on the night. That said, this week we have all looked at the difference parighasana makes to doing trikonasana. In trikonasana, we find it easy to feel and understand the movement in the top shoulder (rotating up and back). We have to look a  little deeper to find the rotation in the top ribs, and deeper still for the right action in the top hip.

I think that the movement in the  hip and  upper ribs is more straightforward to access in parighasana (there are links below if you don’t recognise the names) and there’s a carry over into trikonasana. By that, I  mean, the second trik is better because of the physical effort of parighasana, but future trikonasanas should also be better because you now understand the right action in the top ribs and hip…that was the plan anyway.

I’m undecided whether to provide english translations for asanas or not. I don’t want to be elitist and exclude you by using the sanskrit, but then again, I don’t use english names myself (and it is helpful for you to become more familiar with the sanskrit).

 If you’re not familiar with the names try this  site for reference: trikonasana http://www.bksiyengar.com/modules/IYoga/as_stand.htm and parighasana: http://www.yogaartandscience.com/poses/Standing%20Poses/parig/parig.html   The second site is the closest approximation to parighasana to the  way I taught it through the week. Ultimately, for asana reference, I would direct you to ‘Light on yoga’ by BKS Iyengar.