Asana Archives - Iyengar Yoga with Cheree Low

15 April, 201815 April, 2018

Forward Bends – 14 April 18

Here is what we practised on Saturday: a focus on forward bends – taking the top of the sacrum in and using the legs to create length in the trunk.

Swastikasana

Adho Mukha Virasana – hands to the wall

Adho Mukha Svanasana – thumb and index finger to wall, press the hands down and forward to take shoulder-blades in and up

Adho Mukha Virasana – hands to the wall

Adho Mukha Svanasana – hands at wall, lead with the legs, turn back thigh from inside out, broaden hamstrings and take femur back

Tadasana – bend knees, resist calves forward as the thighs draw up, keep weight on the front of the heel

Urdhva Baddhanguliasana in Tadasana Uttanasana – sole of

Uttanasana (concave phase)- sole of foot on rolled sticky mat

Ardha Uttanasana – teachers assist students, one belt around fullest part of calves pulling forward, second belt around fullest part of thigh pulling backward

Adho Mukha Vrksasana preparation – “L” shape, feet up wall at hip height. Use legs as in Uttanasana to lengthen trunk

Adho Mukha Vrksasana – forearms back, shoulders forward; thighs back, buttocks forward

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana – restrain standing leg movements by keeping weight on inner front heel. 3 phases:

3 phases:
1. bend lifted leg to trunk
2. hold foot in both hands and straighten leg only as far as possible keeping leg in contact with trunk
3. straighten the lifted leg by taking lower leg up (thigh may come away from trunk)

Utthita Trikonasana – back heel at wall, place brick under front leg calf, pull up on thigh to straighten leg, repeat without brick

Utthita Parsvakonasana – back heel at wall, bring both hands to floor inside front foot, keep trunk near leg and hand on floor, place opposite hand on hip and enter pose from the bottom up.

Prasarita Padottanasna (concave phase) – gradually narrow the feet towards Uttanasna maintaining the top of the sacrum in as in Prasarita Padottanasana

Uttanasana (concave)- brick on sacrum secured with long belt around heels

Uttanasana – teachers assist with belt just below buttock bones, lifting hamstrings, buttock bones as the trunk descends further

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Sirsasana – eka pada

Paripurna Navasana – from bent legs, lift top of sacrum in and maintain as legs straighten

Ubhaya Padangusthasana

Marichyasana I – movement first, then holding foot in both hands, taking both sides of sacrum and trunk forward

Akarna Dhanurasana I – movement first, then holding straight-leg foot with looped belt, allow ankle to supinate to soften groin (as we do in Baddha Konasana)

Eka Hasta Bhujasana – roll bent leg in, hollow abdomen

Dwi Hasta Bhujasana

chair Kurmasana

repeat Dwi Hasta Bhujasana

Bharadvajasana I

Purvottanasana – bent legs

Salamba Sarvangasana – eka pada

Savasana

16 August, 2017

Sequence from 10-8-17

Swastikasana – Urdhva Baddhanguliasana, Parsva Swastikasana, Swastikasana forward then other leg cross

Upavistha Konasana

Baddha Konasana

Upavistha Konasana

Siddhasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Uttanasana

Tadasana

Utthita Trikonasana

Ardha Chandrasana

Sirsasana

Urdhva Mukha Janu Sirsasana

Urdhva Mukha Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana

Supta Baddha Konasana over crosswise bolster

Viparita Karani

5 August, 20178 August, 2017

3 Hours of Backbends 5-8-17

This is what we worked on in the 3-hour class this morning.

Swastikasana

Adho Mukha Virasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Uttanasana

Parsvottanasana – Prasarita Padottanasana – Parsvottanasana

Tadasana
-work with toes together and heels apart for broadening of back thigh and tailbone space, grip outer hips and buttocks to lift trunk
-create same experience with feet together
-move trapezius down and take C7/T1 diagonally down and in

Urdhva Hasta work
-Quick movements to Urdhva Hastasana
-facing wall, hold brick at wall with wrists
-Gomukhasana (up arm) arms
-Variation of Gomukhasana holding belt

Adho Mukha Vrksasana
-Half handstand: keep weight toward finger side of palm and move shoulderblades towards wall; leg work as in Tadasana above
-Full pose – strategies for getting up (spring leg, swing leg, rocking)

Pinca Mayurasana
-Prep with chair (both with chair on its back or with someone sitting on chair seat)
-Full pose with brick, belt, and folded mat

Salabhasana
-receding abdomen, trapezius down, keep pubis and bottom front ribs down

Salabhasana II – hamstring work

Salabhasana II to I – maintain hamstring

Bhujangasana – tailbone down, ASIS up (teachers may partner and place knee at tailbone pressing down and in and lift ASIS with hands)

Ustrasana
-Activate hamstrings. 1. Lean back and press shins down to come up 2. Come up then stretch inner upper hamstring back to big toe as if to kick the mat backwards
-Facing wall: keep pubis and front ribs on the wall as you coil, pull down on chair rail to lift chest
-Complete pose

Chair Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana
-Keep abdomen receding
-Hands under, then urdhva hasta, then reaching for front legs of chair

Urdhva Dhanurasana
-Over chair back
-From floor/bolster/blocks

Adho Mukha Virasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Prasarita Padottanasana head down

Modified Ardha Matsyendrasana

Bolster Halasana

Viparita Karani

4 August, 20178 August, 2017

Sequence from 3-8-17

Unfortunately, due to a mix-up with the community centre this class was only about 1 hour long. Here’s what we practised:

Adho Mukha Virasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Uttanasana

Tadasana

Urdhva Hastasana in Tadasana

Utkatasana

Vrksasana

Utthita Parsva Hasta Padangustasana – facing the wall with the leg on support – keep standing thigh back as the buttock descends and grips in

Supta Padangustasana I & II – first, taking leg straight up and creating evenness in the sides of the abdomen, then taking leg to side, resisting underside of thigh up into the bone, then taking foot all the way to the floor and turning the trunk away from the leg

Utthita Trikonasana – back heel at wall

Ardha Chandrasana – back heel at wall

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Sarvangasana

Ekapada and Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana

Savasana

21 July, 2017

What I Taught 20-07-17

I’ve decided to start posting the sequences of what I teach in the blog. Hopefully this can help students with their home practice.

This sequence is inspired by the work we did with Kirsten Agar Ward on Saturday. We focused on keeping the width in the tailbone space by broadening the back groins and thighs while engaging/gripping/lifting the outer buttocks to lift the trunk and open the chest.

Swastikasana (Seated Crossed Legs)

Adho Mukha Virasana (Downward Facing Hero)
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog)
Uttanasna (Intense Stretch)

Tadasana (Mountain) – spread heels from inner to outer heel then grip outer buttock

Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle) – bear weight in sole of front foot and heel of back foot

Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II) – bear weight in both heels as you stretch the legs away from each other

Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle) – bear weight in both heels as you stretch the legs away from each other, observe how this affects the chest

Parsvottanasana (Intense Turned Stretch) – concave back, facing wall, bear weight in sole of front foot and heel of back foot, press hands to wall to keep back heel down

Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle) – bear weight in sole of front foot and heel of back foot, keep back groins broad and weight distribution the same as you turn trunk

Sirsasana (Headstand) – keep length on bottom of forearm and wrist

Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle)

Janu Sirsasana (Head of the Knee) – 3x – first time, classic entry; 2nd time, extend trunk over bent leg and find ease, softness; then crawl trunk over straight leg; 3x, focus on maintaining breadth across back groins as the outer hips and buttocks grip to lift and lengthen trunk

Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana (Revolved Head of the Knee) -extend trunk over bent leg and find ease, softness; then crawl trunk over the straight leg, revolving the trunk up as you crawl

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge) – spread back groins and grip outer buttocks

Savasana (Corpse)

22 May, 2014

Reflecting on the Convention

Over the first weekend in May, Abhihjata Iyengar taught at the Iyengar Yoga UK Convention in Harrogate.

Here’s what I thought she emphasized:

Do not let your memories define your present state. She said that it is easier to teach beginners in some ways because they do not have memories and habits that hold them back from what they are able to do. More intermediate students have to remember to approach each day as a beginner.

Use other mental states such as imagination and memory as tools to lead you to a state of yoga (not bhoga or pleasure-seeking.) Abhi presented a lot of imagery in her instruction. She said we should take the trunk to the side in Utthita Trikonasana as if we had hundreds of arms like an Indian goddess sprouting from each rib, along the side of the waist, and pelvis that were all trying to reach the floor. In pranayama, she had us breathe in and open the chest as if a flower was blossoming on the sternum.

Be honest about whether you are actually doing what you think you’re doing/Go back to the basics. We spent all of Friday evening really working on openning the back of the knee and broadening the back of the thigh. She was relentless in her instructions, insistence, and varied methods for trying to get the group to achieve something that most people assume they do: straightening the legs.

Please feel free to add your impressions and recollections in the comments!

8 April, 2014

Workshop with Sallie Sullivan

This weekend, I attended a yoga day with Sallie Sullivan and I really enjoyed her teaching. She taught in a way that inspired more reflection rather than just giving instruction. She encouraged us to explore the connections between poses and the connection between the actions of a pose and the breath.

She had us do the following sequence 3 times:

Utthita Parsvakonasana (hand in front) directly to Utthita Trikonasana (hand behind)
Virabhadrasana II directly to Utthita Trikonasana
Virabhadrasana I directly to Utthita Trikonasana

The first time, she didn’t offer much guidance other than to observe the connections and how each preceding pose changed our experience of Utthita Trikonasana. The second time, she gave some clues about what we might have noticed (perhaps the extension of the trunk, the movement of the tailbone, or the awareness of the back leg), and the third time she had us see how each of the preceding poses affected the breath in Utthita Trikonasana. Each time through, I felt as if my mind was able to move more inward and be more reflective.

11 May, 2013

Twists in the morning

Wednesday morning we started with examining twisting actions in the abdomen, ribcage, and shoulders in chair Bharadvajasana and applied that awareness to the other poses.

Swastikasana
Adho Mukha Virasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Uttanasana
Tadasana
Paschima Baddanguliasana
Chair Bharadvajasana
Partner work in Chair Bharadvajasana – belt around shoulder blades, under the armpits. Partner pulls on one side of belt and presses on opposite head of humerus to assist the twist, coordinated with exhalations
Utthita Trikonasana
Parivrrta Trikonasana
Parivrrta Parsvakonasana – from kneeling on the floor
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Salamba Sirsasana
Dandasana
Marichyasana III
Salamba Sarvangasana
Halasana
Supta Konasana
Parsva Halasana
Savasana

8 May, 2013

Eka Pada actions and the feet

This is a class highly influenced by the teachings of John Schumacher in a class where he stressed the action of spreading the skin of bottom of the heel and sole of the foot from inside out (medial to lateral) to bring stability to the hips and softness in the abdomen. I taught this sequence on Tuesday when I filled in for Mary Heath.

Swastikasana
Adho Mukha Virasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Uttanasana
Tadasana
Urdhva Baddhanguliasana
Padangusthasana
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana – stage 1 – holding big toe with knee bent
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana
Urdhva Prasarita Ekapadasana – hands to floor
Salamba Sirsasana
Dandasana
Paripurna Navasana
Marichyasana I
Eka Pada Bhujasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Salamba Sarvangasana
Eka Pada Halasana
Eka Pada Sarvangasna
Halasana
Svanasana

1 May, 2013

Workshop with Marios

This past Saturday, Marios Argiros taught a yoga workshop in Southbourne. (Only about a 5 minute walk from my house!) His teaching was very clear and challenged me to work with my legs with more awareness and much more action.

The concepts he presented were familiar– I’ve heard it from all the teachers I’ve had the pleasure of studying with– but his presentation was slightly different which gave me another way to feel the actions of keeping the hamstrings broad and the hips compact. Some of the imagery he presented was that the femur heads are like dials that you rotate up on the front and down on the back while maintaining the broadness of the back thigh. Just once he used the instruction “spin faster!” meaning increase the “dialing” action of the femur head, but hearing it that way made it feel much more dynamic. Even with the most basic actions I feel like I’ve “learned,” there is always more to do and feel. Just changing the verb in an instruction can shift the awareness completely.