This is a well-balanced restorative sequence for Level 3 students with a slightly longer and more dynamic asana practice than normal.
We will start off with the usual: incantations followed by some standing forward bends to activate our legs and elongate the back. After this, we’ll warm up our shoulders. Starting in Tadasana, we’ll go through a few exercises working on opening up the shoulders. Urdhva Baddanguliyasana comes first. Then, we’ll spread our arms out and go through a few repetitions of a swan-dive action, going from having our arms raised in Urdhva Hastasana to folding forward in Uttanasana, then standing back up again. Then a deep forward bend: Prasaritta Padottanasana. Back to some more shoulder and arm exercises in Tadasana: Urdhva Namaskarasana and Paschima Namaskar.
Then we switch to some supine postures to work into our hips. Mainly, we will do Supta Padangusthasana 1 and 2 and then move on to the restorative part of the session. This class is a little more dynamic than usual, meaning we cover more postures than we would normally do in a restorative class. We go through different variations of some classic restorative poses, experimenting with the use of props, trying to see how greatly minor changes can affect the way we experience a pose.
Video stills from this sequence
