Rockstar Yoga

Backstory: wheel (the yoga pose) and I are nemeses. There’s a chasm of mistrust and pain between us. I feel that way about most backbends. (I’m a committed supported bridge girl.) Except flip dog. LOVE it. Some how, flipping my dog lets me feel the sense of lightness and flight that I think I should get from backbends.

So you can imagine my joy when I was introduced to “rock star” earlier this week (Adena’s 4:00pm class at yogapower in Waltham, MA). We came into the pose from side plank and I could feel my chest fall open, my shoulder blades move down and in … and I was grinning like a fool the entire time. Love at first pose.  So of course, I have to share my love and all my classes this week have incorporated rock star as a mid-way point for deeper backbends. Love rock star and I’m starting to reconsider my perspective on backbends in general.

Rockstar Yoga
75 minutes
(Much gratitude to Adena for inspiring this sequence!)

supported fish
roll to table top
cat/cow
opposite arm/leg extension, with optional bind
all-fours core (press toenails to mat, lift knees one inch – YIKES!)
downward facing dog
high plank
down dog
plank with knees down
lower to belly
cobra
all fours
down dog
three-legged dog
runner’s lunge
pyramid
(breathe lunge/pyramid three times, then repeat other side)
walk to front of mat
tadasana
om om om
vinyasa to down dog

dolphin

down dog
three-legged dog with hip opener
core plank
three legged dog
runners lunge
crescent lunge
tall twist
reverse twist
windmill down to plank
side plank
ROCKSTAR
vinyasa to down dog

three-legged dog
core plank
three-legged dog
warrior II
reverse warrior
half moon with optional bind
warrior II
reverse warrior
reverse triangle
triangle
prasaritta A/B
revolved triangle
utkatasana twist
dancer

half pigeon

(take mats to the wall and roll egde of mat in 3-4 times that’s closest to wall to provide knee padding)
quad stretch against the wall
lunge out from wall

(lengthen mat back out)

bridge/wheel at wall
supta baddha konasana
happy baby
inversion at wall
spinal twist
savasana, optional legs up the wall

Note: “Rockstar” and variations are also called “Wild Thing”.  Two names you cannot go wrong with in a yoga class!

Happy Feet

haha! I wish!

I’ll be the first to admit that my feet take a lot of abuse. I walk everywhere in cheap flip flops, I run in old sneakers, and when I’m at work I wear at least 2 inches of very cute heel, and then proceed to lift boxes, climb ladders and stand on my feet at least 3+ hours a day.  My feet are a mess, but thanks to yoga, they are slowly starting to recover from 30 years of neglect and abuse.

It’s not surprising that the foot is a much more delicate instrument then we realize. A single human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 tendons and 20 muscles (if you consider the extensor hallucis brevis to be an individual muscle and not a part of the extensor digitorum brevis … and who doesn’t?! ::wink::).  That’s A LOT of mechanics for something we rarely stop to think about.

What’s the  best way to make cranky, sore, overworked, neglected feet feel happy and free again?

YOGA! duh

Yoga helps strengthen and stretch the muscles of the feet in ways you can’t get anywhere else.  Most yoga teachers will, at one time or another, talk about the feet and the important of even weight distribution.

Standing tall in Mountain Pose, spreading the feet wide to support Warrior II, and any balance pose you can think of all strengthen each muscle, ligament and tendon in the foot.

Toes pose and pressing the top of the opposite foot into the sole of the other are great ways to stretch and lengthen tight feet.

Here’s a short yoga sequence designed to make happy feet — something we can all use now that we’re midway through a summer of cute heels, cheap flip flops and long summer runs!

Have fun, enjoy and breathe into your feet

Yoga for Happy Feet
mountain pose
mountain pose with toes lifted towards knees
starting with pinkie toes, rest one toe down on the mat at a time
forward fold
half-way lift
plank (pressing heels back)
low plank
upward facing dog (press tops of feet down)
downward facing dog

three-legged dog (pressing standing ankle down towards mat)
step forward to runner’s lunge
hover torso with airplane arms
crescent lunge (focus on lift of back foot and pressing down of front foot)
airplane
eagle
tree
mountain

hero pose
child’s pose

close your mini practice with this double self-foot massage:
- from child’s pose, sit up on knees (padding if needed)
- behind you, bring top of one foot to rest on the sole of the other
- sit back on your heels like in toes pose
- press the top of the foot into the sole of the other
- you can slide you foot down, heel to toes, slowly or gently rock side to side
- repeat on the other side
(this lovely exercise came to me via Lauren Saraiva who learned it from Jacqui Bonwell.)

Here’s to happy, healthy, strong feet!!

Moving Half-Pigeon: Yoga Sequence for Late May 2010

The “Creative Sequencing” workshop I took a few weeks back continues to inspire me as I play around with moving half-pigeon.  Traditionally, in the style of vinyasa/power yoga that I practice, half pigeon comes near the end of the class, after the backbends.   However, if you’re looking to make the backbends the high point of class, the poses that all the other poses build up to, it’s more useful to put half pigeon before the backbends rather than after.  (This was news to me and it really rocked my world in a good way!  I LOVE having the freedom to get creative and scientific with my sequencing.)

When I ‘m teaching my Vinyasa II/III and Power Yoga III classes, or any group that I know is more advance/has strong energy, I have been sequencing my classes so the pinnacle comes with the backbends.  HUGE full body connectors, back bends open the entire front line of the body, activating pretty much every major and minor muscle and every chakra.  Most of the activity, I find anyways, is centered in the 4th or heart chakra, called Anahata.  The heart is the energetic space that connects the lower body with the upper body, provides an energetic bridge between the two and is the space most strongly activated in backbends.  Others have spoken at much greater length and with far more eloquence about this than I have, so if you’re interested check out Anodea Judith’s Eastern Body, Western Mind.

One of the main reasons for moving half pigeon BEFORE the backbends, rather than after, is that with open hips, backbends become that much easier.  When placed as the pinnacle of the class, the whole body has been stretched, strengthened and opened and it’s the final job of the backbends to connect all that energy built up in both halves of the body.

When in half pigeon, I encourage students to stay with an active ujjayi breath to keep their energy and heat up.  We also learned in the workshop that after deep hip work it’s always a good idea to restabilize the hips, low back and abs with some ab work.  One of my favorite ways to do this is the “kill two birds with one stone” approach and have the student put a block between their thighs and go through 2 sun salutations with a long utkatasana hold in between.  This stabilizes everything as well as ramps up the energy and internal heat — perfect prep for backbends!

Here’s a general outline of the sequence I’ve been teaching:

Moving Towards Backbends
rag doll
downward facing dog
down dog to plank
childs pose
broken vinyasa/gentle twist
tadasana
intention setting
standing side bends
3 Sun As
3 Sun Bs/Cs

three-legged dog with hip opener
warrior II
side angle
extended side angle
half moon (in the 75/90 minute classes)
triangle
pivot to front
airplane/warrior III
eagle/figure four with arms extended
tree

vinyasa to down dog
runner’s lunge into prasarita A
prasarita C/ gentle twist/ “kung fu” lunges (depending on class energy)
walk hands back around to runner’s lunge
three legged dog
half pigeon
three-legged dog with hip opener/flip dog
vastistasana

ab work: 2 sun As with block between thighs or dolphin plank with thigh block

2 locusts
2 bows
1 bridge
2/3 bridge wheels (depending on class length)

supta baddha konasana
gentle spinal twist
happy baby
inversion
optional second spinal twist
savasana

What do you think teachers and students?  Where do you like your half pigeon?

Variations on a Vinyasa

With six classes and a full time job I’ve finally come to terms that there’s no way to keep up with blogging every single class, especially since I pretty much just operate with variations on a theme.  So here’s this week’s core idea.  I’ve tried to include moments where I played around with things and/or introduced new things.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Classes taught this week:
Monday, 6:15am Prana Power Yoga in Cambridge, 75 minutes
Tuesday, 5:30pm Shad Hall, HBS, 60 minutes
Wednesday, 7:00pm, MAC, Harvard University, 75 minutes
Thursday, 6:15am Prana Power Yoga in Cambridge, 75 minutes
Thursday, 7:00pm Hemenway Gym, Harvard University, 55 minutes

rag doll
downward facing dog
down dog to plank x3
broken vinyasa
tadasana
intention setting
3 Sun As
3 Sun Bs
crescent lunge twist
warrior II
reverse warrior
side angle/extended side angle
reverse warrior
half moon
triangle
pivot to front
parsvotonasana (or warrior II/airplane)
standing leg split

balance sequence
OR
utkatasana twist with side crow
padangustasana/padahastasana

runners lunge
walk hands around to prasarita A/B
frog

half pigeon
three-legged dog with hip opener/flip dog

dolphin plank with block between thighs or leg lifts
inchworm pose
sphinx/cobra

2 locusts
2 bow
1 bridge
3 bridge/wheel combos
supta baddha konasana
happy baby
inversion
spinal twist
savasana

On Saturday I went to a great workshop led by Alex on creative sequencing.  In the workshop we worked on ways to identify the ability and energy level of our students and how to sequence to meet those needs.  We talked a lot about the five major lines of he body and which poses activated and opened those channels.  Alex broke it down for us in a really simple pattern: Integrate, Awaken, Heat, Reset, Build, Rebalance, Restore.  Following these “guidelines” will help build a sequence that will work for any class.

This week I’ve been trying to integrate that into my teaching.  It’s a lot to taken in, though it builds really well on everything I learned in teaching training and what I’ve learned in the past year of teaching. I’ll confess, though, it’s hard when I’m operating on near burn-out level with teaching.  Thank goodness this workshop came when it did.  It’s re-inspired me at a time when I needed inspiration to carry me through this coming month and it’s given me a focus.  I’m looking forward to having more time for my own practice through the summer to really sit with a lot of what I’ve learned and let it soak into my brain.

Teaching from this perspective, from a fully integrated flow, has made it easier to teach in certain respects.  It’s mentally more challenging and now I REALLY can’t check out, however, the flip side of that coin is that despite my weariness I feel more checked in.  It also makes it easier to cue anatomical adjustments and physical cues since the class is sequenced in a way that builds to a specific pose or energetic place.  I know I learned all this back in teacher training, but having it hammered home again, with new language and a year’s experience makes a huge difference.

Teachers: how to you stay inspired?  What is your current teaching methodology?  Do you sequence for energetic balance?  A specific pose?  A bit of both? What do you find most successful?

Finish with a smile

Prana Power Yoga
Central Square, Cambridge
4/21/2010
75 minutes
12 peeps

Going Flying – 4/14/2010

Vinyasa II/III
4/14/2010
MAC, Harvard University
75 minutes
18 peeps
no music: forgot the iPod

Vinyasa Flow – 4/12/2010

Vinyasa Flow
4/12/2010
HBS Shad Hall
60 minutes
8 peeps
Music: Yoga Pop Mix on iPod

Vinyasa Level II/III – 4/7/2010

thecamreport.com

Vinyasa Level II/II
4/7/2010
MAC, Harvard University
75 minutes
17 peeps
Music: Yoga Pop mix

Introducing “Sun Cs”: Vinyasa Flow – 4/5/2010

Vinyasa Flow
4/5/2010
HBS, Shad Hall
60 mins
14 peeps

Music: Buddha Bar X

Hip & Happy!

Vinyasa II/III
3/31/2010
MAC, Harvard University
75 minutes
16 peeps
Music: Prana After Dark, Ray  Mucci