Autumn Lotus Yoga

Nicole Clark led the second workshop this past Sunday at Back Bay Yoga, focused on the power of touch.  Nicole is a powerful Forrest teacher as well as touch therapist, trained in craniosacral therapy among other modalities.  She is also a gorgeous Brooklyn girl. This manifests in stick straight black hair, dark lipstick & a fabulous Attitude with a capital A.   Nicole’s bio is listed here: http://www.backbayyoga.com/bodywork.html  Just scroll down to the second half of the page, under Christine Raffa’s.

Having healthy touch in your life is pretty darn important.  A yoga class is one place to find that, hopefully.  I’ve been in some where I cringed anytime I thought the teacher was about to assist/adjust/touch me, usually because they were untrained or incompetent.  In most classes, when the teacher walks by, I’m begging internally like a puppy — “Pick me! Pick me! Pick MEEE!!!”  That’s the power of touch in action.

Nicole started the workshop with a very gentle, trance-inducing yoga session done mostly on our backs.  Everyone was a bit stoned by it, which was exactly the result desired.  She paired us up, & had us walk around our partner, seeing them, then laying hands on them to work at the issue that showed up.  This scenario repeated itself a number of times with different partners, going into deeper & deeper stuff.  The last pairing worked Savasana adjustments, especially on the feet, shoulders & neck.

It was an amazing way to work.  And normally I am VERY pessimistic on random partner assignment.  But in this case I know the people at the studio, many of the people in the workshop, knew they were led by a very competent teacher.  AND.  Most important.  Said teacher emphasized also training oneself & one’s students to communicate during touch.  How does X feel?  Ask.  Get the response.  Then adjust accordingly.  Elicit meaningful feedback by making a safe space. 

My first partner got into my low back because he saw quite clearly there was still very little breath moving in there, & when he disengaged I swear I felt like he was sucking out poison by making a vacuum with his hands.  Bizarre, intriguing, cool.  Another partner worked away at a knot in my shoulder like a persistent critter digging into hard ground.  Better work than I’ve received at many massage therapy sessions. 

Nicole emphasized again & again how criticial it is that in yoga class touch be MEANINGFUL — which makes the teacher responsible for slowing down enough while giving an adjustment to really see, get in there, connect slowly, disengage slowly.  Slow slow slow.  Nothing callous, fast, unseeing, automatic or abrupt.  Because people will know, tense up & get little benefit from it.  Another thing I found intriguing was Nicole’s key question coming into a class — “who’s here?”  — and feeling for the individuals in the room.

Both Nicole & Christine said several times how they never get bored after years of teaching & bodywork, because they see each person who walks into the room as a puzzle, as someone magical & interesting. 

My inner 12 year old must have the last word.  Classic line of the session –”you can’t go too deep, only too fast.”

True, but… he he.

Okay, got the duct tape out for the computer one more time (figuratively speaking… or not… & have the chance to type up today’s sequence. I like poses that get people warmed up for Astavakrasana & also enjoyed mostly leaving out chatarangas. It was a small class with injuries that didn’t really go with traditional suns, so substituted going from plank to side plank to other side plank to down dog rather than a more standard half sun vinyasa between sides.

In other news, fell down the front steps bumpbumpbump like Pooh Bear yesterday morning on the way to class. Sneaky Cambridge ice at work again! Shook it off & kept heading to class, until I realized I had a long scrape on one arm. Going into a public place with an open wound is just bad form. Plus, sweat would really frickin’ hurt! So turned around for home & contented myself with a mellow home practice, rolling around on the Yamuna ball, & a nice back massage at an Aveda salon (coupon! score!) The poor masseuse had her work cut out for her — I had golf balls in my upper traps & sea urchins living under my shoulder blades.

Today I warmed up at the local studio for almost an hour, then taught, then did Vanessa’s fun Hip Hop class at Back Bay. Satisfying day!

Now, on to the sequence.

Theme: Come back to the breath relentlessly. Don’t be relentless in the pose but with the breath instead.
Props: Block, strap
Technique: Inner leg activation, arm balance, shoulder opening

Pranayama: Inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4
Supine figure 4 stretch
Twisted root abdominal, both stages
Bridge figure 4 (block)

Dolphin/Elbow plank/Side elbow plank/Other side/elbow plank center/dolphin
Child’s pose
Down dog/Plank/Side plank/other side/plank/down dog
Child’s pose

Rag doll

B series into:
- High lunge with chest opener & knee lowering up & down; twisting lunge
- WII; Triangle with half bind; Half Moon with half bind (block)

(always option to do side plank vinyasa covered at beginning of class instead of chat-style vinyasa)

Chair; twisting chair; step back into twisting lunge; Pyramid with back heel up; IT band Pyramid stretch

Crow pose

B series into:
- WII; Reverse; Extended warrior variation; option to full bind

Astavakrasana

Down dog into:
- Pigeon; Janu sirsasana; Shin-bound half lotus spinal twist; half lotus spinal twist (strap)

Savasana

Well, it’s pretty funny.  I was waiting til after an afternoon assisting workshop to write, then completely forgot!   And after commenting on writing everyday so recently too.   I blame the excitement of going out for a fabulous dinner right after the workshop, then sitting down to watch the Travel Channel & zonking out on the couch.

Yesterday worked out to be a great day, though there was a little slogging cuz of a random 4 am wake up (repeated today for some reason — what is UP with that??).   Did an early yoga class, then took Beloved Husband’s spin class.  (Yep, he was teaching!  Very fab.) 

The aforementioned workshop was taught by Lynne at Back Bay from 2-5 & it was AWESOME. 

It was open to 200 hr certified teachers from any style & focused on “feel good” assists rather than corrective, alignment based adjustments.  That means assists that help a student get space in the pose.  Lynne set up an opening circle where we each gave our name, main style of teaching & favorite yoga pose.  She then took us through a few suns.  To cover assists, someone goes into the pose, Lynne would demo the assists then we’d pair up & practice on each other.  Alot of the assists were Forresty, but Lynne has a diverse background & some were new to me.  

Rather than try to describe assists (which is tough in words if you haven’t seen them before), instead here’s a few of the concepts she emphasized in each of the poses we looked at:

Child’s pose — press sacrum back & down; don’t push chest down because it compresses cervical spine if head on floor

Down dog — lengthen sacrum up & away

Seated — lengthen back, align head

Seated twist — never crank the twist; lengthen & lift

Lunging twist — it’s never about the shoulders, rather lift up ribcage & revolve

Handstands — leverage always best at hips

Backbend — create space between sacrum & ribs; make sure to press sacrum back before any movement down & ribs UP

Basic jist is to make more room rather than compression & never force anyone anywhere. 

Okay, caught up!

Truth in sourcing — this comes from February 2010 Allure magazine, page 90.  (Yeah, sue me.  I don’t always read the Bhagavad Gita when on the T.  Though it has happened on occasion. :)

But the magazine does cite a study that supports what I’ve often felt, and it is always nice to be scientifically proved right.

“Exercising in class or with friends produces more pleasure than working out alone.  In a study at the University of Oxford in England, 12 rowers had higher increases in endorphins (as indicated by their ability to tolerate pain) when they trained in groups of  six than when they trained by themselves, despite equivalent workouts and effort.  Endorphins are believed to play a role in social bonding, notes Robin Dunbar, professor of evolutionary anthropology at the university.  These natural painkillers can help you exercise longer and harder and boost your immunity…”

Okay, not endorsing the whole “exercise” and “pain” association with yoga, BUT!  Frequently class is a huge upper, and doing asanas with others produces more pleasure & we’re also able to access more/different experiences than when alone.  It’s just plain interesting to apply the endorphin/social bonding aspect to group practice — pleasure in practice & community enhancing chemicals, all for free in the body!!

Practice yesterday was teaching a super fun inversion class (more on that later this week; I’ll post the sequence) and taking Vanessa’s Hip Hop, all at Back Bay.  Today there’s volunteering, sweaty class & maybe more Back Bay!  Go endorphins!!

That’s the sound of my behind hitting the couch for practically the first time in a week.  

It’s also the sound of me feeling grounded.  Ahhhhh.

I’ll update on today, then in a separate posting recap Day 4 of the FYCET.

Today, my friend, Beloved Husband and I all STILL woke up before 4 am!  There was lounging around, then friend & I went to a 6:30 am Baptiste class.  (BH sensibly stayed home.   Following that, we went to Nicole Clark’s Hop, Pop & Rock class at Back Bay Yoga.  That class was fan-f’ing-tastic!  Her way of holding a space that is both supportive & playful is amazing.  She also “had me at hello” by giving me the most luscious attention all class.  I was feeling a bit whomped (as opposed to “Whump! and she gave me like a cumulative 30 minutes of TLC including breathwork, back massage & the sacral therapy part of cranio-sacral therapy.  It was beyond words, but the best I can provide are that it was like turning from rock to liquid, or from transforming from a cranky, creaky armadillo into a purry sleepy, floppy kitten still in the nursing stage.  If you are in Boston or can run, hop or fly here, get to one of Nicole’s classes!

The other big event of the day was a site visit to my volunteer project.  It looks like I will have the good fortune to initiate a program between Back Bay Yoga and a Boston subsidized housing community.  The community is in a large converted former school that houses 50 residents between the ages of 18 and 80, many previously homeless and/or with mental health challenges or addictions.   Each resident lives in a kind of shared semi-private apartment with large common rooms available to all.  It’s an amazing place.  After some weeks of phone calls & emails, today I visited the facility, met with the coordinator & was able to talk to several of the residents.  It was a skin-tingling delight.  Next week I’ll do a small presentation & mini-class & see how this rolls!

It was nice teaching on the solstice.  I was thinking about it on the way into the studio & came up with the theme on the T ride. 

I find it intriguing & comforting that the shortest day of the year marks the turning point towards spring.  The darkest of times heralds a new beginning, even if it’s not obvious for some time.  Long before the frost melts & the flowers come out, change has occurred.  So we set the intention of finding renewal, even (especially!) in the midst of darkness. 

Class plan was focused physically on neck, hips, shoulders.  Kinda went like this:

Pranayama, cross-legged: Inhale, hold; exhale to uddiyana, hold

Unlocking the hips in Baddha Konasana

Rollbacks with block between thighs

Figure four hip/back release with leg extension

Twisting abs with a roll

Bridge with a block, figure four

Dolphin with one leg up

Classical Suns, 3 together, 2 alone

At wall: Dolphin, Chair with block, Forearm balance, Twisting Chair alternated with standing forward bend

Center: Twisting chair alternated with standing forward bends

B series into:

1) WII; Reverse warrior with neck release; Extended side angle variation with half bind

2) Triangle; Half Moon; Standing Splits

3) WI; Ostrich; Head to ankle prep; Head to ankle

Down dog to seated

Half Lotus Spinal Twist (strap modification)

Closing pose choice: Shoulderstand; Headstand; Pigeon

Savasana

Did Peter’s class after my own.  Up WAAAY early tomorrow to practice before our flight.  Cross fingers!!!

First, thank you for the yin DVD guidance!  Looks like Sarah Powers is a winner!

Today was a very mellow yoga marathon at Back Bay tonight.  Did Kathy’s 4-5:30 Vinyasa, Lynne’s 5:40-7:10 Forrest, then Lynne led a 2 hour Slow Flow to live sitar music.  Have to say, at least tonight, it was easier to take Lynne’s Forrest class than to assist it!  It was a great night & I’m glad I ignored the “excuse voices.”  They show up all the time; I just choose not to listen most of the time. 

Tomorrow, back for the am sessions!  Packing in classes before we go off for the holidays.  Yeah, still not telling where.  It’s too good a thing to string a long for awhile…