Autumn Lotus Yoga

Popped down to New Haven to take & teach a class at Fresh Yoga under the lovely eyes of Forrest Yoga mentor Heidi Sormaz.

Two distinct bits of feedback stand out for me.

1) Forrest Yoga focuses on opening & supporting the joints.  When teaching it, prioritize giving cues that help with that very significant aspect of the practice.

2) In cueing, each pose has elements of strength & softening that need to be reflected in the voice.  So the teacher starts working the voice at a level of detail that is quite amazing.  “Push down through the feet” is said in a tone that is different from “release the neck.”

Sequence is below.  I taught a hip/neck/shoulders Level One class — ahhhhhh.

—-

Theme: working with contentment

Pranayama: Nadhi Shodhana

Shoulder shrugs in Baddha Konasana

Forward bend in BK

Abs with a roll

Frog lifting through

Rest in BK

Bridge

Dolphin Prelude

Dolphin

Down Dog to Warrior II, Warrior II with Shrugs, Triangle

Other side

Down Dog to High Lunge, Easy Twisting Lunge, Twisting Lunge

Other side

Frog belly down (over roll option)

Neck Release

Supine Twist

Savasana

The past few days since I last posted were defined by a short visit to Fresh Yoga (www.freshyoga.com) in New Haven to see my mentor, the lovely & talented Heidi Sormaz.  

Here’s Heidi, being fabulous:

It’s also been good to take a little time NOT trying to put everything into words.  Words are great.  I love words.  But by defining & structuring experience, words also limit it.   It’s fun to spend a few days outside of ‘em.

But!  Returning to words! There are a number of short posts I’ve planned for the next few days on the trip.  Wanted to start simple though.  While there, I taught a 1 hour, Level 1 Forrest yoga class.  I’ve put out a fair number of more complicated Forrest classes & wanted to provide a basic class as well.

Theme: Connecting to (meaning feeling) your breath

Props: Rolled up mat

Pranayama: Sivananda breath (inhale as long as comfortable, hold as long as comfortable, exhale same, pause at bottom of exhale same)

Seated side bend with neck stretch in Baddha Konasana

Frog lifting through

Abs with a roll

Bridge with a roll

Dolphin prelude

Dolphin

Wall: Chest opener at the wall/Dolphin on the wall/Forward bend at the wall

Standing series:

Warrior II; Warrior II shrugs; Triangle; Warrior I; Pyramid; Twisting lunge; Pigeon

Happy Baby

Savasana

Catch ya’ll tomorrow with the next snippet from the visit!!

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

Today I did a very nice melty two hour practice.  Tomorrow I have am practice here, then will drive to Providence, RI with Beloved Husband for an Ana weekend at Raffa Yoga!  Too awesome.

Here’s Monday’s class sequencing, btw.  It was a fun day.  I love Monday holidays because attendance at a mid-morning class goes way up & everyone is quite happy to be playing on a school day, as it were.     It’s also fun to keep pointing out during an inversion class that any pose that brings your head below the level of your heart counts to inversion “quota” & turns the world upside down. 

Theme: Connect with what joy feels like in your body.  Use the energy generated from the poses to feed that joy & in turn, feed your spirit.

Props: Block, roll, blanket

Pranayama: inhale, hold, exhale into uddiyana, hold

Seated roll backs with a block, warming up the spine

Abs with a roll

Leg circles

Bridge over a block, adding leg circles

Rolling like a ball

Down dog, with leg lifts & circles

Rag doll

Classical suns (use blanket for back knee)

Agni sara in horse stance, 4 sets

Forward bend with neck traction

Wall: 

Down dog at wall, adding leg lift & optional circles

Chair at wall (block)

Handstand 

Forward bend at wall

Dolphin at wall

Bridge

Forearm balance or handstand, adding agni sara optional

Returning to center:

B series into

WII, Reverse warrior, extended side angle, bird of paradise or standing leg extension

Ostrich, Head to ankle variations

Seated cross-legged twist or half lotus spinal twist

Shoulderstand (blanket) or bridge at the wall (for neck tweaky)

Eagle legs spinal twist

Savasana

Monday’s class!  I like this one because it was largely created on the fly & went well overall.  I had a friend in class request hips/shoulders, & I’ve been obsessed with directing breath, especially into the ribs/back when the stomach is working.  That theme starts in this class with the rollbacks & climaxes with crow/scissors variations.

Theme: Recognize breath is life.  And that life force (yours!) is precious.  Cherish each breath & send it where it’s most useful!

Technique: Directing breath into areas of the body

Props: Block

Seated pranayama: Sivananda breath

Kneepile, shoulder shrugs & circles

Rollbacks (Pilates move) with a block, adding twist after first few sets

Figure 4 back release

Bridge with figure 4

Down dog, with hip opening

Rag doll

Surya namaskara A, 4

Surya namaskara B, 2 — add variations of leg reaching out in DD, also knee to chest

Own choice of A or B series, 1-2x

SN B to:

WII; Reverse Warrior, Extended warrior

Plank with knee to outside of elbow

SN B to:
WII; Extended warrior variation (half bind) into standing pigeon OR full bind into Easy Bird of Paradise

Chair, twisting chair

Crow or Squat

SN B to:

Ostrich; Head to Ankle variations

Demo crow/scissors variations

DD into crow/scissors variations OR repeat Head to Ankle variations

Half lotus spinal twist

Reclined spinal twist

Savasana: guided meditation directing breath into chakras, using hands on chakra areas to help

After some knee tweakiness that kept me doing a mellow hour at home yesterday, I was back at sweaty studio for 2 hrs & it felt reeaallly good.  I loved New Haven, but the studio heat was not enough.  My body this winter is craving heat like nobody’s business. 

Said as the snowstorm approache Boston…

Classes today were diverse & entertaining.  Did hour at sweatlodge 0630-0730 to warm up to teach 9-1030 at BBY, then “warmed down” *hee! not so much!* with Vanessa’s Hip Hop class.

Today’s lesson plan is below.  It uses a lot of uddiyana & joint circles to get folks in touch with core stabilization, then finishes up with peak poses at the wall.  If you’ve never done arm/leg circles in a balance or uddiyana/agni sara while in a forewarm balance, do try it!!  It will crack ya up.

Theme: not forcing through poses, letting things move
Technique: Uddiyana bandha & joint rotations
 
Demo uddiyana standing

Uddiyana on back, knees parallel, internal & externally rotated
 
Still lying down, thigh circles manually
Figure four cross, extend leg, point/flex foot, circle ankles
Extended full leg circles (pilates)
Double straight leg with block
Elbow to knee with block & extend leg straight to ceiling
 
Kneeling cat cow, uddiyana in neutral tabletop
Neutral tabletop again: opposing arm/leg reach; add circles & uddiyana option
Down dog – extend leg, circle bent knee, circle ankle, circle straight leg
(can also be done on hands & knees)
 
Rag doll with side bend;  soft forward bend, hands down, back long with uddiyana

SN A x 4/5
 
SN B to Lunge with arm circles; Easy twisting lunge with uddiyana
 
SN B to Side plank; option to add arm circles 
 
SN B DD into WII; Reverse: Side Angle
 
SN B to Side plank; option to add leg circles or both arm & leg
 
Vinyasa from there out can be left out, or done with side planks instead of chat/backbend

Chair with uddiyana; Twisting chair (optional uddiyana)

WII; Triangle; Half Moon — option to add upper arm or leg circles
 
 
Tree with shoulder circles
Standing bent knee twist with uddiyana
Repeat standing balance of choice

 
Wall:

Down dog on wall — opt to lift & circle leg;

Chair with block, uddiyana or agni sara

Dolphin at wall – opt to lift & circle leg

Bridge at wall

Forearm balance &/or Handstand with uddiyana or agni sara
  
Bridge or Viparita at wall; headstand; shoulder stand choice
  
Reclined twist
 
Sava — legs up wall option

Awesome awesome awesome day.  Hiked through wind & snow to snuggly Back Bay.  Taught 9-10:30, took Vanessa’s Hip Hop 10:30-12 & then did Peter’s Freedom Joy Yoga workshop 12:30-2:30.  Phew, I’m a wee bit tired now!  

Today’s class was a very lungey backbending class.  Mostly improvised at the time with a basic jist of intention– I’m experimenting with working more intuitively somedays though I do love having a class at least lightly planned.  Focus was on opening hip flexor/front of thigh as well as lifting and breathing into the ribs, both to help facilitate backbending.  I have become obsessive on prep for healthy backbending.

Props: block, strap, blanket

Technique: Telescope ribs, tuck tailbone

Theme: Pick spot in body that needs more freedom or healing

Pranayama: Kapalabhati, 1 round of 25, 1 round of 50, 1 round of 75-100

Abs: Elbow to knee, twisted root (both stages)

Down dog with lifted leg into knee-to-chest, knee-to-elbow, knee-to-opposite elbow

Rag doll

Classical Suns, 3 together, 2 on own (use blanket to pad knee in lunges)

B series into:

- low lunge; low lunge with hands at hips telescope ribs

Wall work:

- Down dog at wall; Chest opener at wall; Handstand; Lunges at the wall

B series with held backbends (boat/low cobra/cobra or up dog) into:

- Lounge lunge

Chair/twisting chair/side crow or twisting scissors

B series with held backbends (boat/low cobra/cobra or up dog) into:

- WI, long hold, add in hands at hips to telescope ribs then into WI backbend

Dancer either holding foot or using strap

B series with held backbends (boat/low cobra/cobra or up dog) into seated

- Bridge with Block; Bridge/Wheel (optional)/Bridge

Repeat backbend of choice: boat, low cobra, cobra, up dog, dancer, bridge or wheel for 10 breaths

Unwinding the back:

- Elbow to knee with extended leg going straight to ceiling

- Pigeon each side

- Supine bent knee twist

Savasana