Yoga Pose of the Month is:  Supta Virasana  

(in sanskrit supta = supine or recline, vira = hero, asana = pose)

Supta Virasana, like seated Virasana (see my February newsletter), is a challenging pose for beginners.  It has been a pose that I have had to be very patient with.  It has taken several years for me to be able to practice this pose low to the floor.  Now that I am there, I have made it a staple in my yoga practice.  I am told that Geeta Iyengar (the guru's daughter and a master teacher from India in her own right) says that "a practice without Virasana is not a practice".  I have found this true on my own yoga journey.  As soon as I regularly practiced Virasana and Supta Virasana, my practice grew, my flexibility and strength increased, my feet, ankles,knees, legs became more flexible and strong.  It helps my spine as well, giving me improved range of motion for backbends.  

Begin this supta higher up as in the left photo, leaning back against a chair seat.  Kneel on the floor, knees together, feet as wide as your hips.  If your ankles are tight, roll a blanket support to place under them.  Adjust the block height for your ability, it should be under your buttocks not thighs.  Sit on the block and test to see if you are far enough away from the chair so the shoulder blades land on the edge of the seat.  Have a second block ready on the seat to support your head.  Come back up right and sit in Virasana for several breaths (more on that in February's newsletter).  Lift the spine well with an inhale, exhale recline back, shoulder blades on the edge, head on the block.  Tuck your tailbone toward the back of the knees.  Lengthen the legs to the knees, and press the knees to the floor. Breathe deeply to increase the length in the front body.  The arms can dangle at your sides or elbow frame above the head to increase the stretch in the body.  Hold for several breaths to start this new practice and over time increase your stay to five minutes.

After you have mastered this pose against the chair, then you can go lower and lower.  Eventually right down to the floor.  The right photo shows the pose with the buttocks on the floor, the back supported on a bolster with a blanket propping the head.   Same instructions, just going lower. 

I LOVE this pose!  ENJOY!   

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(in sanskrit uttihita= extended, stretched, tri = three, kona = angle, asana = pose)

This pose is a staple, like garlic to a recipe, it adds a lot to the taste of the meal.  Trikonasana, or triangle pose has many benefits for the spine and the entire body.  When done correctly, it brings length to the spine, it de-rotates the curvature, it strengthens the body (back muscles, legs, arms, abdomen) it increases flexibility and builds endurance.  Wow, what a list of benefits. 

Basic instructions begin in Tadasana, standing straight and strong, with a lifted spine. Step your feet wide apart, arms extended out from collarbones.  To go to the right, turn right foot out to side, ball of foot on block, left foot angles in.  Extend right side out, hinge from the hip and place hand down.  Legs remain straight and thighs firmly pressed.  Repeat to the left side.

When bending from the thoracic convex side, so the convexity points down toward the floor:

convex side down 

From basic instructions, lower the hand to a block or a chair seat next to the outer side of the leg.  Place the upper hand at the hip and rotate the top shoulder and hip back and press the shoulder blades into the back body.  Then, raise the upper hand and arm over the shoulder.  Lengthen the tailbone toward the back heel.  This is like the classic pose.  

When bending from the thoracic concave side, so the concavity points down toward the floor:

concave side down 

From basic instructions, turn the concave side foot toward a wall.  Lift the ball of the foot up on a block.  Reach out with that arm to a wall and press the hand high up on the wall to lengthen the cave. Take your vex hand and press the vex ribs toward the wall for more elongation.  Rotate the vex shoulder and hip back in space.  This modifies the classic pose to lengthen the cave. 

For a Lumbar curve, practice with the side of the curve like the convex instructions, and the side opposite the curve for the concave side instructions.

Have a HOOT! 

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The ART of Your Home Yoga Practice...

How do you begin your home practice?  You need to be a willing and persistent participant.  Your path will be filled with trial and error.  Be prepared for ups and downs, ins and outs. Just hit the mat.  Just do it! Do what it takes to make your yoga practice part of your daily life on the mat and off the mat.  You do not need to be an expert to practice.  Pick a few of your favorite poses, add a quiet pose to begin with, end with a quiet pose, and breathe your way into and through your practice. 

Your practice will develop over time, through several stages.  Compare the growth in your practice like the growth of a child.  At first you will be like an infant, coming to class and taking your first baby steps to learn a pose.  Your practice will start small, consisting of only a few favorite poses at a time.  As a child, you will be curious about trying poses outside of the classroom.  You may begin to make your own sequences based on needs.  Later, you may begin to study and research poses for yourself, heal your pains yourself, calm your breath yourself as a young adult student.  As you establish a path of study and practice, you will need to seek out master teachers and writings of a masters and gurus.  You may be lead to study to become a teacher yourself.  Through your adult life you will be carried by breath into a deeper experience of the pose.

You must accept and embrace each of these stages.Each stage will have pitfalls, doubts, roadblocks large and small.  Each stage is appropriate, needs time to develop, and has teachings for you.  These stages will take months, years, and the rest of your life.  So, slow down, what's your hurry?

Helpful Tips: 

Stay in the present moment. BE HERE NOW is an appropriate sign to paste in your yoga corner to be referenced each time you practice.  Stop whining about what you "should be" doing and hit the mat.  Do not make your practice into drudgery. Have fun. Practice what you like to do, what you need to do for your aches or your level of stress.  Being in Savasana for the entire practice is a practice! 

Start small. Start with a small space and a small amount of time. Practice a few days a week with a few home spun props.  Do not make it complicated.  Pick a favorite pose and practice it often until you find another favorite pose, then add that one to your practice.  Listen carefully to your teacher and take notes after class.  Ask your teacher for the sequence. This will serve your practice.

Consider your home space.  Choose a quiet spot conducive to focus your mind (not in front of the TV or in the middle of the hallway).  Enter a sacred space each time you lay out your mat.  Make it sacred and set up an honoring altar with cherished objects and a candle.   Set up a separate room for sacred time.  Turn OFF the phone.  Turn off any distractions.  Do not allow interruptions.  This is important work! The world can wait for you.

Kick your judge, expectations, rules and regulations, critic, baby whiny voice, out the door before you start.

Gather your props.  The sky is the limit.  You can do anything, and everything with what you've got at home. Use your bare floor, your couch, kitchen sink, door, partner, robe tie, War and Peace, kitchen table, chair, etc.  You do not have to spend a wad of bucks to do yoga, remember the ancients only had the earth to stand on!   

Make yoga part of the rest of your life! It will continue to reward you and challenge you.  It is never too late to begin Yoga.  Become a vital, passionate seeker and explorer, never retiring, moving ahead with every breath. It is the path of a lifetime.  Make it yours and enjoy every bit, every in and out, every struggle, all the tears, even the pain, even the joy, and everything in between!

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YOGA FOR SCOLIOSIS 6 WEEK SERIES  

 
Preregistration and prepayment required. Call DL to schedule a recommended preclass private to assess your scoliosis and curve pattern, and learn 3 poses to begin a personal practice. $100 for 11/2 hour session at my home studio.  (Add on rent if meeting at one of the studios I teach at.)

 

Series Dates for Summer:

July 12 - August 17 (current session under way!)

Call DL to schedule a pre-class private to assess your scoliosis and curve pattern,  

and learn 3 poses to begin a personal practice. $100 for 11/2 hour session.

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YOGA PRIVATE SESSIONS AT ALL LOCATIONS

Schedule a private session with DL in Brookfield at her home studio.  Learn to work with a specific ailment, pain, back issue, Scoliosis, MS, and more, or just to deepen your practice.   

These sessions are one on one.  Learn how to take that practice into your daily life.  

Private sessions are $100 for and hour and a half.  

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