Autumn Lotus Yoga

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!!!

This morning’s class at Back Bay was quite mellow (for me .  I figure during the weeks going into the holidays, people’s lives are rough enough & there’s no need for buttkicking in yoga.    Focused on neck, hips, shoulders — it’s a classic Forrest physical focus, as is picking a specific spot to work on during class. 

The non-Forrestisms include the rolling bridge (Pilates based move there), abs with a block between the feet (that’s also a Pilates  move, specifically a variation on Double Straight Leg), hips circling in cat/cow/Down Dog, stepping back from a twisting chair into a twisting lunge, oh and the externally rotated lounge lunge especially with the back knee coming in.

Folding over a roll in child’s pose & a forward bend, using a block for the elbow to knee variation as well as the use of the strap for birdwing are my own devices, but I think are quite within the Forrest paradigm.   Pigeon with the back knee in while forward folding is quite Forrest & fab, btw.

Theme: Pick an area that is tense or shutdown & needs to release & open

Technique: Relaxed neck, use of roll, uddiyana

Props: Strap, block, roll, blanket

Crosslegged — set theme; Pranayama – Nadhi Shodhana

Kneepile: Shoulder shrugs; birdwing with a strap; side bend with neck release

Abs: Elbow to knee, feet down first then with knees over hips.  For the second variation, hold block with thighs & do Elbow to knee variation with opposite leg straightening to ceiling (in order to start opening hamstring & easier on back)

Rolling bridge

Abs 2: Hold block at ankles, leg straight to ceiling (ish).  Lower legs a few inches (low back presses on mat) then lift SLOWLY to a count of 5 or so

Held bridge, with block support as needed.  Add leg extension each side.

Cat/Cow/ribcage & hip circles

Child’s pose over a roll

Down Dog with leg up: ankle, then hip circles

Rag doll over a roll

Classical Suns — slowly, blanket down to protect knees.  Go from boat, to low cobra, to cobra.  3 together, 2 on own.

Horse stance with uddiyana/Wide leg forward bend, hands clasped/Horse stance with agni sara/Wide leg forward bend with neck traction

Chair to twisting chair to forward bend, each side

Twisting chair; step back to twisting lunge; knee down, low lunge; externally rotate front foot, bend back knee into buttock, slight twist & back bend, each side

Vinyasa into:

- Warrior II; Reverse warrior with neck release; Extended Side Angle

- Warrior I; chest opener; Ostrich; full bind; Easy bird of paradise (or standing pigeon if not binding)

- Pigeon; pigeon with back foot in

Shoulderstand, variations welcome or Viparita karani

Plough (optional)

Karnapidasana (optional)

Support fish using roll at back of shoulderblades & block under head

Savasana

After class, took Peter’s noon hour-long Journey to the Core & just did some light stretching.  Have to say, getting warmed up this morning was tough after a day off!

Well, due to a variety of reasons, my turn as an assistant at Back Bay looks to be complete.  I mourned last night and today am focusing on moving on;  resetting my schedule a bit and working on setting up a volunteer gig.  Hopefully there will be more on that soon!

Also taking the time now to give some general guidelines for how a Forrest class gets put together.  These are pretty top-level, basic things & I hope to give a more nuanced discussion later since I get toset the groundwork today.

Generally speaking, a Forrest class runs like this:

1) Centering/theme/intention/grounding

2)  Pranayama

3) Warm up pose or two, like a side bend, gentle twist, neck stretch, hip or shoulder opener

4) More warming/strengthening stuff.  For example,  a Dolphin/Dog variation follwed by Abs, then Bridge.   Or maybe Abs, then Bridge (to stretch abs out & lengthen low back as well as backbend prep) followed by Dolphin/Dogs.

5) Maybe more Ab work in the form of standing Uddiyana/Agni Sara/Nauli.  Maybe it’s wall time.  

6)  Moving into the “Hot Zone.”  Can start with Classical Suns.  Or go into B Series with 2-3 Standing pose variations put in.  Or a Standing Serie (5-15 standing poses done in a row on each side; no vinyasas)

7)  Perhaps wall work if not already done.  Can put wall work in lots of places.  Personally, I love it after the first warm up stuff or after doing Suns, before the meat of the Hot Zone cuz folks aren’t too tired yet.  But if the Apex pose is at the wall, it would go after everyone is nice and hot.

8 ) Apex pose.  The class ideally has been working up to this all along, warming up, getting technique & alignment set.  Depending on the class, this might be something as simple as a pigeon variation or deeper backbend, ranging on up to Scorpion or some other funky arm balance or perhaps a lotus entanglement.

9) Warm down.  Depending on the apex pose, warming down might include more abs (great for warming down!  really!), even standing poses in a simpler series (also great! really!), that wall work, or it could be more “traditional” warm downs like slow hip openers, forward bends, shoulderstand & variations, twists etc.

10) Savasana, then seated closing.  Yummmm.

That’s the jist/outline of a Forrest practice.  It gets more complicated, of course, and has lots of variations but that’s a start! 

Today’s practice has me off to Back Bay for Nicoline’s morning class & hopefully Kate’s nooner as well.   Got a good feeling about it.

Happily long day.  Started the morning in a bit of a tizzy but all worked out.  Subbed Vanessa’s 10 am Forrest, took Peter’s 1215, teacher’s practice 3-5 & assisted Lynne’s 5:40 Forrest class.

Here’s the lesson plan from today’s am Forrest class.

Theme:  Work with feeling sense, let go of thinking mind
Technique: inner line of leg, active feet, active hands
Props: Blanket, block, roll (strap optional)
 
Cross legged, Sivananda breath
Knee pile: side bend, neck release, 1 set shoulder shrugs
Switch knee pile, repeat all
 
Turbo Dog
 Dolphin, one arm up at a time, then one leg at a time
Twisting abs with a mat, feet down then up
Twisted root abs, both stages

Bridge
 
Classical Suns, 4-6
 
Wall:
Down dog OR Dolphin on wall, leg lifts allowed (depends on wrists)
Chair at wall with block
Handstand OR Forearm balance, Twisted root variation
Shower at wall

Forward bend at wall 
 
B series into:
- WII, Reverse, Extended side angle half bind variation (full bind option)
-  Triangle, Triangle chest opener, Half Moon(block)
- Lunge with chest opener, Pyramid, Standing Splits (balance option)
 
Down dog to seated
- Astavakara or Crow
 
Frog, belly down, over a roll

Supine twisted root

Savasana

Finishing: Take feeling sense off the mat with you.  Come back to it when the mind becomes… tricky.  Go into feeling instead.

There’s a definite order to Forrest sequencing that is probably apparent by now.  Will go into it more next week… Tomorrow, I’m off early am to visit a dear friend in Houston & don’t expect to blog while there.  However, lots of stories expected upon return.  Happy weekend!!

Today went well.  Details perhaps another time.  Tired now!  Beloved Husband & I went to a French Bistro in Back Bay called Bouchee after the excitement of the day & I am SOOOO ready for bed.  Sleepy yogi.

Here’s the tripartite lesson plan from today.  It’s semi-indicative of what went down.  Remember, this was for a Forrest then a Core then a Vinyasa class… there was some improvising especially with injury modifications.

Forrest sequencing is an endlessly interesting pursuit.  Been meaning to post on it really since starting this blog but finally clued in this morning that it’s just not a single post thing, but a recurring motif.   Which is why I wanted to post my sequence from last night’s backbending class first. 

Reason I like it & also why it’s a complicated class to teach is because it has several ongoing thematic & technical elements that get previewed pretty well early on & then show up ALOT. 

Looks like this (pretty much; think I changed one thing on the fly since I had so many of the same students from Tues in Wed nights class; we did one more advanced ab rather than the two listed)

Theme: Pick spot in spine (eg, neck, upper back, mid back, low back) for attention & release

Technique: Telescoping the ribs, back traction, uddiyana/agni sara, use of roll

Props: roll, strap, blanket (block optional)

Pranayama: Crosslegged, inhale hold 10, exhale into uddiyana forward bend hold 8

Warming seated pose: Side bend with chest opener in baddha konasana

Abs: Elbow to knee

Abs with a roll

 Bridge with a roll

Turbo Dog

Standing back traction with Uddiyana or Agni Sara

Classical suns: DEMO hands-on-hips telescope ribs; back bend variations — boat, low cobra, cobra,  free for 2

Wall:

Down Dog on wall with leg up

Chest opener at wall in Warrior 1 stance

Handstand or repeat DD

Camel at wall with roll — Telescope ribs

B series with progressive backbends — boat, low cobra, cobra — and option to Turbo Dog into:

 - Warrior I withTelescoping the ribs; Warrior I chest opener; Twisting lunge with back knee down *this is the heating B series*

- Low lunge; hands down or hands on thigh; low lunge back bend; low lunge with back heel to hip in using one hand; low lunge with back bend using both hands on back foot (use blanket, do lion’s breath x 3) *this is the release B series*

- Easy twisting lunge, lounge lunge *this is the “recovery” B series*

Moving into apex poses: 

Lying over the roll

Cobra over the roll

Bridge/wheel/bridge with roll

Unwind/Warm down:

Back traction with uddiyana/agni sara on the back with the roll

Repeat elbow to knee ab, modified with foot to ceiling to unwind back

Baddha konasana reclined with back traction, option for uddiyana

Down dog to pigeon

BK on back variation with feet over chest, soft uddiyana

Bent knee supine twist, hands on low/middle/upper ribs then close to spot with focused exhale

 Savasana

Finishing: Come back to spot, notice change; if more openness, choose what to bring into your spot; following release, fill up again with every inhale with what you want more of in your life

Yeah, that’s pretty much what my notes look like going into a class.

Today’s plans are still totally TBD.  Likely home practice… got the heater running now in the little yoga room!!