This session allows you to consolidate some of the standing poses from the first three sessions while adding a few new poses to help expand your base in Yoga practice.
Set up in Supta Baddha Konasana, lying back over a bolster or lining up two blocks with a half-folded blanket over the top. Take a blanket for head support. If this is strong for your hips, you can also place the legs in simple crosslegs if needed. Change the cross of the legs part way through.
Come up and go forward into Virasana, resting the forehead onto your support.
Start the standing poses section by standing in Tadasana, with the feet hip-width apart. Staying aware of your base, your foot foundation, raise the arms up into Urdhva Hastasana. Keep the elbows straight.
Now turn to face the wall and place the hands against the wall, hip height and shoulder width apart. Step the feet back to bring the heels under the buttocks. Half Uttanasana. Feel the length through the sides of the chest.
Come back to Tadasana and extend your arms up again in Urdhva Hastasana. See if there is a little more understanding now after doing half Uttanasana with wall support.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Dog Pose), hands to the wall.
Bend your knees, facing the wall, and place your thumb and index fingers on the wall, palms flat onto the floor. Press the hands down and against the wall, as you lift your hips up into Dog Pose.
Press away from the wall and lift your kneecaps up to come properly back onto your feet. SIde armpit chest long, sternum forward.
A few arm variations in Tadasana, feet hip-width apart.
Stand in Tadasana and place the arms in Garudasana. Change sides. Then take the hands behind in Namaskar, prayer position.
Gomukhasana (Cow pose) arms, one at a time first and then the full arm version.
Raise the R arm up and bend the elbow. Use your L arm to help lift and R elbow higher. change sides.
Then take the R arm behind you, and walk the fingers up along the spine. Change sides.
With a belt over your shoulder for easy access, bend first the R arm back, and then raise the L arm up. Clasp the fingers behind your back, or take hold of the strap with both hands to open the elbows up and back. Change sides.
Step forward and come up for Utthita Hasta Padanghustasana 1 and 2, with a chair for support.
Place the chair with the back against the wall. Face the chair and keep the L leg straight. Facing the wall, bend and raise the R leg up, placing the heel onto the back of the chair. Loop your belt around the ball of the foot and raise the chest up as you take your back ribs in. Knees straight. Change sides.
For the second variation, turn to face to the side, with the R side of the hip facing the chair.
Stand on your L leg and bend your R knee to place your R foot onto the chair seat, turning the leg and knee out to the side. Using your R hand, press the R knee back as you turn the chest to face the front. Keep a firm base in your standing foot for stability. Change sides.
Vrksasana (Tree Pose) – As we did last week, standing on your R leg, place your R kneecap firmly into the wall and turn your hips and chest to face forward. Raise the arms into Urdhva Hastasana. Change sides.
A few lateral standing poses.
Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) – place the L outer heel against the wall and step the R foot one leg length away. Reach out and take the R hand to the shin, top arm up. Turn to face forward and look up towards the top thumb. Change sides.
Parsvakonasana (Side angle Pose)– place the L outer heel to the wall and taking more distance step the R foot forward. Have a block nearby. Bend the front knee and place the R hand onto the outside of the R foot, onto the floor or onto the block. Keep the back leg straight and reach the top arm over the L ear. Change sides.
Ardha Chandrasana (Half moon Pose) – one of the best standing poses to build stability and has good weight-bearing benefits.
Step the R foot forward and place the R hand onto the floor or block and step the L foot up the wall. Turn the trunk to face the side. Keeping both legs steady and anchored, turn the L chest up and, if stable, turn the head to look forwards and then up. Change sides.
Parsvottanasana – Hands in Namaskar (Prayer position).
L foot to the wall, step the R foot forward one leg length away. Take the hands into Namaskar. Turn the chest and the hips to face forwards, and extend the trunk forwards to go half down, trunk parallel to the floor. Come up and change sides.
Prasarita Padottanasana, outer foot to the wall. Raise the head up and go forward, taking the palms to the floor under your shoulders, or onto two blocks for support. Concave spine.
After the standing poses, we move to sitting on a block for Virasana. Extend the toes back behind you. Interlock the fingers and raise the arms up. Change the interlock and extend the arms up.
Sitting on a blanket, take the soles of the feet together for Baddhakonasana (Cobbler’s pose).
Start with your hands behind you to open the chest and lift the spine., Maintaining that lift, take hold of the toes and still extend upwards with the trunk and release the knees out and down.
Upavistha Konasana (Wide Angle Pose) – open the legs wide to the. side, all ten toes extending up towards the ceiling, knees straight and coming down to the floor.
Parsva Upavistha Konasana – take a belt and loop it around the R ball of the foot. Turn to the R and hold the belt in both hands. Turn the trunk to look over the R leg. Now change sides.
Simple crossleg twist. Place the legs into simple crosslegs and turn to the R side. Then change the cross, and turn to the Left side. Spine long as you turn.
Then extend forwards, walking the hands away with length on the front of the chest. Change the cross of the legs.
Set up for legs up the wall, with support.
Place your two blocks in a T shape, and fold a blanket in three to place over the blocks, Sit on the block/blanket base and take the legs up, heels to the wall, at about a 70-degree angle. Shoulders and head to the floor.
After 5 minutes, bend the legs to crosslegs, resting the ankles onto your support. Then slide back until your buttocks are completely on the floor. Change your crosslegs and wait here in Savasana, legs in simple crosslegs. Eyes quiet, face soft and let go completely.
Video stills from this sequence
