This week, we will be focussing on separate parts of the body rather than on any particular asana type. So, today’s class will be more dynamic and diverse, featuring a wide variety of poses. Our main aim is to increase our shoulder and hip mobility and work on our grounding and stability.
We will start off today’s class with a few arm movements to warm up the shoulders. Standing in Tadasana, we will go through Urdhva Baddangulyasana, Garudasana Arms, Paschima Namaskar, Gomukasana Arms, and Urdhva Hastasana. While doing this try to pay attention to the way your feet interact with the ground. Try to imagine that you have no toes: this might make it easier for you to shift your weight into the centre of your feet and become more grounded.
Further on, we will practise some inversions, using blocks to help us gain more stability. After all, it is often the case that an extra surface (like a block or a wall) can act as a reference point and give us deeper insight into how our bodies move. This is why it is recommended that students use wall support from time to time: just to get a fresh perspective.
To deepen our sense of grounding, we will then go on to do some standing balances, like Vrksasana, Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, and Ardha Chandrasana. Once more, we will be using wall support to enhance our sense of stability.
Before finishing off with some more inversions, we will sit down for a series of seated twists. These are extremely useful for improving our sense of grounding and stability while also allowing us to decompress and lengthen our spine.
