This last standing pose session will help to consolidate the poses you have learned through repetition of poses done in previous sessions and through practising the poses in a slightly different way. A few new pose additions will round out the sequence.
Set up in simple crosslegs, lying back over two blocks with blanket support. After a few minutes change the crossleg. By starting in a similar chest opening pose each session, you may start to notice how it prepares you for your yoga practice.
Come up and go forward: Virasana with knees apart and extending your arms forward, with elbows straight and chest moving forwards.
Come to the standing pose part.
Tadasana – a foundational standing pose – with feet hip-width apart. Then extend the arms up into Urdhva Hastasana. This opens the side armpit chest, the seat of physical energy. Continue with this action in half Uttanasana, hands hip-height and shoulder-width apart. Extend the arms all the way back to the side waist. Palms firmly to the wall, elbows straight and chest bone forwards towards the wall.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Dogpose). Kneel facing the wall and place your palms on the floor, thumb and index finger against the wall. Lift the hips up and press the thighs back to open the back of the knees and bring the weight into your legs more.
Now turn the other way, and do Dogpose with the heels up the wall and the hands on your mat. Elbows straight. Lift the hips higher.
Take a chair and place it against the wall, seat facing out.
Stand and face the chair and bending the R leg place the R foot onto the chair seat, knee in line over the heel. Raise the arms up, Urdhva Hastasana. Keep steady on your R foot and leg to improve balance and to increase weight bearing. Change sides.
Second attempt: Bend the R leg and place the heel onto the backrest of the chair, toes facing up. Loop a belt around the ball of the foot and draw the back ribs in. Arms straight and chest raised up. Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana 1.
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana 2. Start with a bent knee. Face forward with the R side of your body side on to the chair. Bend the R knee and place the R foot onto the chair seat, knee bent and over the R heel. Turn the trunk to face towards the front, knee turning back. Change sides.
Repeat this, but now taking the R leg up and see if you can place the R heel onto the backrest of the chair without bending or compromising the position of the L leg. Loop the belt around the ball of the R foot and turn the trunk to face forward. Keep both knees straight and opening back. Change sides.
Vrksasana (Tree Pose) with the back against the wall. As you stay and stabilise, try to move your buttocks away from the wall, and then your thumbs and hands as well.
Set up for a few standing poses, placing the back foot to the wall.
Trikonasana (Triangle Pose): notice the same actions occur as when you were doing Vrksasana and Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana 2. Change sides.
Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose)– L heel to the wall and bend the R leg to a square, R thigh parallel to the floor and knee in line over the heel/ ankle. Take the top arm over the ear, keeping the back leg straight. Change sides.
Virabhadrasana 1 (Warrrior 1) – Turn to face forward. Back heel to the wall and the R leg forward. Turn the hips so that the two sides of the hips and chest face forward. Raise the arms straight up, keeping the back knee and leg straight and the trunk facing forward as you bend the knee to 90 degrees. Change sides.
Parsvottanasana (Uttanasana to the side).
Back heel to the wall, step the R foot forward about one leg length apart. Turn the hips and trunk to face forward over the R leg. Place the hands in Namaskar (Prayer Position) behind your back and bend forward, chest forward to bring the trunk parallel to the floor. Hold a few breaths. Then release your arms and take the hands onto blocks on either side of your R foot. Concave spine.
Change sides.
End the standing pose section with Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide Stance Pose). Turn and place the outside of one foot against the wall. Spread the legs wide apart facing forward. Raise the chest up, look up and then bend forward from the hips to take the hands to the floor or onto your shins. Concave spine, chest forward.
Come to sitting on a block in Virasana to rest the legs after the standing pose sequence. Interlock the fingers and raise the arms up. Change the interlock.
Extend the legs forward in Dandasana (Rod or Staff Pose). Keep the knees straight and the trunk upright and lifted.
Baddha Konasana (Cobblers Pose): Sit on your block or on a folded blanket and take the knees to the side with the soles of the feet against each other. Fingers pointing back, raise the spine up, back ribs in. Next, turn the fingers to face forward, hands by the hips. Then take your belt and slip it under the outer edge of the feet and draw upwards to help lift the chest and keep the front body open while releasing the knees down.
Janu Sirsasana (Head to knee Pose).
Sit in Dandasana and bend the R knee to the side, placing the R heel against the inner R groin.
Take your belt and loop it around the ball of the R foot, and draw with the arms on the belt, back ribs in and raise the chest up. This is partly a twist and partly a sitting/forward bend. Keep the two sides of the trunk facing forward. Change sides.
Triangmukhaikapada Paschimottanasana (Folded Leg sitting/forward bend).
Sit on a folded blanket and extend the L leg straight and bend the R leg back to Virasana. Loop the belt around the ball of the foot and raise the chest up and take the back ribs in. Change sides.
Bharadvajasana. This is one of the foundation Iyengar Yoga twists.
Take your feet to the outer L side of the hips. Place a support as needed under the R outer buttock to keep the two sides level. Turn to the R for 3-4 breaths. Change sides.
Setu Bandha (Supported Bridge Pose) lying over two blocks and a folded blanket.
Set your blocks up one in front of the other, about 2 feet away from the wall. Fold a blanket to place over the top of the blocks. Lie back over the brick support, legs straight and feet firmly placed against the wall. The shoulders and head on the floor. Stay for 3-5 minutes. Then place the legs into simple crosslegs and stay a minute or two with the legs bent. Then slide the buttocks onto the floor, change the crossleg and lie quietly in Savasana with your crossed legs resting on your support. Quieten the eyes, the face, and the breath.
Video stills from this sequence
