Fall Session 2009-1 Review

As we approach the end of our session, let's review.

We have focused on standing poses and learning Sun Salutation.

Standing poses help bring alignment, balance, stability and awareness to the feet, ankles, knees and hips.  In the process, all aspects of the skeleton are effected.  Alignment, balance, etc., transfers all the way through the spine, shoulders, neck and head.

We began in mountain pose, or tadasana, learning how to balance the weight between the ball mounts of the big toes, pinkie toes and the center of the heel.  We learned how to lift the kneecaps to engage the front thighs.  By preventing the knees from locking, we maintained a gentle contraction in the hamstrings as well.  We learned how to level the pelvis.  For some, that requires the back pelvis move down some.  For others, a small lift is needed.

We learned how to draw the abdomen back towards the spine without bracing the muscles hard.  We lifted the breast bone, drew the shoulder blades towards the spine and gently down the back.  Finally we balanced the head correctly on the neck, without jutting the chin forward or lifting it above parallel with the floor.

And then the real work began!!

Some of the salient points of standing poses include:
1.  Maintaining the "plumb-line" alignment along the ankle, knee and hip joints.
2.  Keeping the weight balanced evenly on the feet.
3.  Carry no weight in the toes.
4.  Maintain a firmness in the legs for safety in the joints.
5.  Maintain a level pelvis.

As you can see, regardless of the standing pose, they are all merely variations of mountain pose.

Some of the benefits of standing poses include:
1.  Developing or maintaining a healthy arch in the foot.
2.  Strengthening the small muscles in the feet.
3.  Stretching the calf muscle.
4.  Maintaining a healthy knee joint.
5.  Stretching and strengthening the thigh muscles.
6.  Developing or maintaining a healthy range of motion in the hip joints.
7.  Developing or maintaining a healthy gait.
8.  Increasing circulation in the legs and hips.
9.  Cultivating an awareness of the feet, knees and legs and bringing their actions under control.

It may seem from class to class that you're just performing poses at the teacher's direction.  However, when you begin to breakdown the work that is done, and the benefits which accumulate, you may begin to see the fullness of the practice and your active involvement in it.

My hope is that you begin to feel the benefits of yoga throughout your daily life and allow yourself to be attracted to the good things that come from practice.

Although I don't mention it often, we are using the body as the text from which we gleen a greater understanding of ourselves as a piece of the universal whole.  As a well-known yogi once said, "how can you become enlightened if you can't even lift your knees!"

When you practice, you end up looking like Pixie's alter ego.  Isn't she fabulous.

Something New

We are working on standing poses and Sun Salutaiton this session.  One of the hardest parts of Sun Salutation is the transition from downward dog to a lunge.  Stepping one foot up is extremely difficult for students, especially beginners.

I have stumbled upon a technique which recruits the abdomen "a lot" during that transition, using it's strength to wave the spine forward, lift the knee high and get that foot up.  We will begin working on that technique tonight.  It is challenging to be sure but worth the effort.

Overall, we begin the transition by lifting the leg that will step forward back and up.  We then begin to tuck the tailbone, allowing the back to round, pulling the abdomen in towards the spine and up, moving the shoulders forward over the wrists and keeping the hips high.  The knee of the leg stepping forward will tuck high towards the chest first, before the foot steps down.  This lift in the hips and strong abdominal pull in and up creates a lift for the leg and some nice momentum for the leg to come forward.  We'll try it and see if it helps.  I think it will.

Fall Session 2009-1

This fall we will be working on standing poses and sun salutation.  I have posted very little about sun salutation, so to get us started, Pixie has kindly agreed to let us see a lovely overview of the poses commonly involved in Sun Salutation:

Pixie is practicing a typical Sun Salutation sequence.  She will repeat this sequence, stepping the opposite foot back (#4) and again, that same opposite foot forward (#9).  

Sun Salutation can be modified, practice quickly or slowly, and done as a stand-alone, complete practice.

Abs, Arms and Air

This session has been about strengthening and loosening the arms and shoulders, strengthening the abdomen and learning about the mechanics of breathing. Here are some of the poses we have practiced so you can try at home!

Stuff for abs. Be sure to keep the throat open and the low back rolling down towards floor.

Single Leg Lift

Plank Pose

Fire Series

Boat Pose; variation and full pose

Double Leg Lifts

Stuff for the Arms:

downward facing dog

fierce, powerful pose

upward hand pose
dolphin plank pose

Breathing:

Bunion Exercises

Here are the bunion exercises we practiced in class this week. These should be considered excellent exercises for overall foot health. Feel free to practice them even if you have healthy feet. These exercises will help keep them that way!

1. Soften the soles of the feet with a tennis or golf ball. Put a little pressure on the ball as you roll your foot over it, front to back to front to back. Do that for a least a minute, maybe up to 5 minutes.



2. If you don't have a ball, use your thumbs.



3. Try to thread your fingers between your toes from under the foot. This is commonly known as the "yoga handshake" and is replicated with YogaToes.



4. Once that is easy, try threading your fingers between the toes from the top of the foot.



5. Once you have relaxed the foot, time to strengthen. Lift all the toes, keeping the balls of the toes and the heels on the ground. Keep the feet close together, including the big toe. Try to spread the toes apart.



6. Now try to reach just the big toes down to the ground, then up again. Like little toe push-ups. Down and up. Keep the toes together. You may need a rubberband to hold the toes together.



7. Now reach just the pinkie toes down to the ground. Reach them out and down. Then up. Repeat.



8. Now, for the grand finale, try to reach just the big toes and pinkie toes down to the ground. Reach out and down. Lift. Repeat.



Practice these exercises consistently and you may just relieve your bunions. It takes effort, to be sure, but effort that's well worth it.

Spring 2009

This session we will work on standing poses and twists, while still maintaining a healthy respect for the phases of the moon and the poses they dictate.

Standing poses should be an integral part of any yogi's regular practice. Standing poses strengthen the legs, bring healthy circulation to the legs and internal organs and, as a bonus, the arms usually get a thorough work-out as well.

Twists support the cleansing nature that comes with the springtime and makes our insides fresh and new.

Here are some of our favorites:

Side Angle Pose

Warrior II

Triangle Pose

Bharadvajasana

2008 - Winter

We allowed the phases of the moon to dictate the type of practice we followed: Here are some of the main poses we worked on:

2008 - Fall

Fall of 2008 brought us closer to understanding the basic categories of yoga poses and their various actions and effects. Here were some of the main poses during that session:

2008 - Summer

Fall of 2008 involved learning about leg health and the stability of the pelvis. There was much standing, stretching and strengthening to be done, and we sure did! Here are a few of the main poses worked on during that session: