A standing pose sequence if you have minimal props

If we want to do more yoga outside the studio, it is best to be practical. I like to integrate yoga into my work day, and therefore keep a few props at my desk at work. For this sequence, all you need are a mat, a block and a strap…

 

1 Tadasana

2 Urdvha Hastasana

3 Urdvha Baddanguliyasana

4 Gomukhasana Arms (use strap if you can touch hands)

5 Utthita Trikonasana (illustration Lior Hikrey)

6 Utthita Parsvakonasana (use block if needed)

7 Ardha Chandrasana (use block if needed)

8 Prasarita Padottanasana (use block under head if can’t reach the floor)

9 Salamba Sirsasana (omit if mensturating, high blood pressure, or eye problems)

10 Dandasana

11 Upavistha Konasana

12 Baddha Konasana (use strap around feet if you can’t reach them)

13 Setu Bandha (bend knees, feet on floor if only one block)

14 Savasana

Enjoy your practice!

 

 

 

 

Teaching at a special event

Every now and then I take a the opportunity to teach at special events. Today was the “Plants and Healthy Living” expo at Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu which was set up by my old friend Naomi. You never know what to expect when teaching at an unknown venue, so it is best to keep things simple.

There are so many different types of yoga styles out now, I wanted to find a way to promote Iyengar that showed the subtlest difference with the largest impact. Since this was an outdoor venue, the only props I brought were my bag of Pune straps.

I taught two 30 minute demo classes with a very basic standing pose sequence that can be done in a park setting:

Tadasana/ Urdvha Hastasana

Virabhadrasana I

Utthita Trikonasana

Vrksasana

Swastikasana

I had everyone get a strap and put it around their wrists for the urdvha hastasana action. This creates a dramatic chest profile which is hard to attain without the prop. It was well received by the attendees.

It is not until you teach people with little to no experience that you realize the value of this method. It is step by step and un-intimidating. An attendee approached me afterward and said “I have never seen warrior broken down and taught that way before, I helped me a lot.”

What I appreciate about being a teacher of this style is that instructions are given for each movement in the asana one at a time. This allows the teacher to watch and see if the instructions are taken. I feel this prevents a lot of injuries for one. Secondly, it forces the student to pay attention taking them into a focused state. This in turn shuts down the mind chatter.

I passed out a few class coupons and schedules at the event to drum up some business. It is best to get students from a grass-roots level instead of mass marketing because you have a deeper sense of connection with them. The one thing I have found out about Iyengar yoga students is they tend to stick around for years once they see the benefits. Thank you Foster Garden for the opportunity to share my practice.

 

International Yoga Day Everyday

Happy International Yoga Day! In some parts of the world it is June 21 already. We are very fortunate to live in a time when the world can recognize India’s gift to humanity: the art, science, and philosophy of Yoga. Here is the UN’s official statement on this day:

Addressing the UN General Assembly on 27 September 2014, the Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi had said: “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.”

To commemorate this day, Geeta Iyengar constructed a sequence. Some of the poses here can be found in my blog’s “Asana-s” page.

• Tadasana – Mountain Pose
• Namaskarasana – Palms together (prayer pose)
• Urdhva Hastasana – Extend arms upward
• Uttanasana – Standing forward bend
• Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward facing dog pose
• Urdhva Mukha Svanasana – Upward facing dog pose
• Uttanasana – Standing forward bend
• Tadasana – Mountain pose
• Utthita Trikonasana – Triangle pose
• Utthita Parsvakonasana – Side angle pose
• Virabhadrasana I – Warrior Pose I
• Parivrtta Trikonasana – Revolved triangle
• Parsvottanasana – Intense side stretch forward bend
• Prasarita Padottanasana – Wide stance forward bend
• Dandasana – Staff pose
• Janu Sirsasana – Head to knee seated forward bend
• Adho Mukha Upavishtakonasana – Upright wide angle seated pose
• Virasana with Parvatasana – Hero pose, clasped hands up
• Swastikasana with Parvatasana – Cross-legged pose, clasped hands up
• Parsva Dandasana – Staff pose twist
• Bharadvajasana I – Twist named after the sage Bharadvaja
• Marichyasana III – Twist named after the sage Marichi
• Urdhva Mukha Svanasana – Upward facing dog
• Dhanurasana – bow pose
• Ustrasana – camel pose
• Adho Mukha Svanasana – downward facing dog
• Sirsasana – head balance
• Sarvangasana – shoulder balance
• Halasana – plow pose
• Chatushpadasana – bridge pose variation
• Setu Bandha Sarvangasana – bridge pose
• Savasana – corpse pose
• Sit in dhyana (meditation)

May you have a peaceful and happy International Yoga Day!

A sequence to commemorate Iyengar a week after his passing

Today at 8:30 pm EST, Iyengar communities throughout the US will be doing the above sequence in memoriam to Guruji who passed away a week ago today.

As seen in one of my earlier posts, I wrote that asanas can be used for other purposes. In this case, the sequence is devotional (bhakti) as the asanas are used for the higher purpose of  commemorating rather than just physical exercise.

The standing sequence is also stabilizing, reminding us that Iyengar’s legacy will be strong and will last many many years even though he is no longer physically with us.

I invite you to also take part in the sequence and know that thousands of other practitioners will be doing the exact same sequence at the exact same time for the same purpose…to remember the man who has given so much to humanity.

A restorative sequence for a tough week

It has been a rough week for the Iyengar community for obvious reasons. To pick up with Guruji’s quote “My ending should be your beginning” I will continue to publish teachings on my blog to further yoga. Here is a restorative sequence for beginning students at the request of my friend Sudhanshu in Kolkata.

Gomukhasana arms to open chest and shoulders

Chair Adho Mukha Svanasna to address hamstring stiffness and further open the chest.

Chair Trikonasana to charge legs and further open chest

Prasarita Padottanasana stage I with blocks to get more concavity from upper back.

Vrksasana for lift in the side chest and abdomen and to hone concentration

Dandasana maintaining lift in side chest

Virasana with lift in side chest

Upavistha Konasana to recirculate knees and lift chest

Supta Baddha Konasasna with bolster. If you don’t have a bolster use this setup of blankets.

Setu bandha on blocks with feet same level as hips

Viparita Karani (omit if menstruating and do Savasana instead)

If you don’t have bolster you can do Urdvha Prasarita Padasana against wall

Savasana

Note there is no time for each pose. Hold as long as you are getting benefit from them, but don’t overstay your welcome if you become agitated. You can even repeat poses until you feel you have gained the benefit from them as well.

Enjoy your practice and blessings to you all!

(Photo above is my niece in supported Triangmukaipada Paschimottanasana with Disney chair).

 

 

Iyengar Yoga with no props? No prop-lem!

Iyengar yoga has a mistaken reputation nowadays as “the style that focuses on props.” While it is true that props were introduced to recover from and prevent injuries through proper alignment (see Shoulder Stand Done Right), a main objective for Iyengar instructors is to develop the students to rely less on the props and eventually achieve the classic asana.

Here are two examples of Utthita Trikonasana:

You can’t get any better than this. Notice how his palm is on the floor BEHIND the shin and notice what that does to his upper body. It makes his chest spacious and vital. This is the classic pose. Notice how there are many triangles in this pose emulating a sri yantra. See if you can count them all.

This is how I see a lot of beginner students doing the pose. Notice how the hand is in front of the shin and the effect on her chest. It is collapsed and not vital. Her front leg is also slightly bent diminishing the structural integrity of the pose. She clearly needs a prop.

So what should she do if she does not have any props around? Use a shin! That is your body’s natural prop for Utthita Trikonasana.

By using her shin, this woman is recreating the vital chest of the first example. For some of my students, I even have them put their hand on the thigh to get the correct chest. You want to avoid putting the hand on the knee as it is a joint and can cause injury.

For this blog, I am addressing primarily basic students. For the first five years of Iyengar yoga, students should have a strong emphasis on Utthista Stithi (standing poses) to develop a strong skeletal-muscular structure to withstand more advanced poses.

Next time you are at a park, or want to do some yoga during your lunch hour with no props around. Here is a good standing sequence:

1) Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

2) Tadasana Urdvha Baddangulyasana (Mountain pose with bound fingers over head)

Utkatasana (Fierce pose) most mistakenly call this “chair pose”

3) Utthita Trikonasna with hand on shin

4) Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II)

5) Vrksasana (Tree pose)

6) Virabhadrasana I

7) Virabhadrasana III

8) Dandasana (Staff pose)

9) Upavistha Konasna (Seated angle pose)

10) Vajrasana (lightning bolt pose). If this hurts your knees, omit and do more upavistha konasna work.

11) Savasana (corpse pose) No photo needed. If you are are on a dirty floor or grassy surface, you can omit and end in Vajrasana.

The above is one of those “go to” sequences when you are away from your normal yoga practice. You could even build a practice on the above poses, but you want to eventually incorporate Viparita Stithi (inverted poses).

There are many “prop less” poses. The whole book of Light on Yoga shows asanas without props. Just remember than when Mr. Iyengar wrote and published those pictures, he was doing 4 hours of yoga daily for decades. But he started that practice with the basics of the standing poses like the ones featured above.

Tracing the “Lineage” of a Pose

Last night in Mary Obendorfer’s workshop, we worked on Padmasana (Lotus Pose) as seen above. Today, my legs feel “lighter” as the pose works the tight hip flexors, gluteus maximus while elongating the groins. It also creates space and movement in  all the major leg joints: hips, knees and ankles. It is easy to see why this pose has lasted thousands of years.

In usual Mary O. style, she gave us homework to trace the “lineage” of this pose from the sequences in the back of Light On Yoga (Iyengar’s foremost text), and through our certification manual. Lineage in this case refers to poses that lead up to Padamasana and how those poses have similar action. Since I have some time on my hands, I went through Light on yoga and did the assignment.

The sequences in the back of Light On Yoga is a whole other blog post topic. He gives a 300 week course going through all 200 poses and sequences building up to them. When I first started doing Iyengar yoga, I went from week one and was stopped dead in my tracks at week 16. After 14 years of practice, I could probably make it to week 30. A senior teacher asked Mr. Iyengar about the difficulty of the sequences compared to the time allotted and he said “just add a zero a the end of each week.” 3000 week course, got it!

In the back of Light On Yoga, Padmasana doesn’t rear it’s head until week 22. Poses with similar actions include Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasna, Bharadvajasana II, Siddhasana, Baddha Konasana, Janu Sirsansana, Maha Mudra, Virabhadrasana II, and Utthita Parsvakonasana. In the Certification Manual, Padmasana does not appear until Intermediate Junior II (I am far from qualified to teach it). But if you see the previous post, I speak at length about Baddha Konasana which has many of the major muscle actions of Padmasana without the extreme joint movements.

For more advanced practitioners reading this blog, find a “target” pose and trace back poses with similar actions and use that as a sequence. For beginner students, just work on building your time in Baddha Konasana as seen in the previous post.