There will be a long standing pose section followed by a shorter seated pose section. The aim will be to incorporate lessons we have learnt in previous sessions. In other classes in this collection there has been a lot of focus on the collarbones and shoulders. Here, we get to see how to apply that focus even to poses that seem to have nothing to do with shoulders or collarbones. The ultimate goal of this session is to see how the actions we learned can be applied to increase our capacity in poses.
We begin with the usual Supta Virasana to Virasana Forward transition.
During the invocation we will set our intention for this practice: to find evenness and increase capacity. See if you can start moving in that direction already within the cross-legged seated pose during the invocation: watch the breath go in and out through your nose, feel your ribs expand and the body subtly lengthen as you release tension.
You will need 2 blocks and a belt for the main part of the session.
Begin with the following sequence: Uttanasana to Adho Mukha Svanasana to Virasana Forward, back to Adho Mukha Svanasana, back to Virasana Forward, back to Adho Mukha Svanasana a final time but this time with the palms of the hands upturned to make contact with the wall. Lift your leg up behind you in Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana. Walk forward into Uttanasana.
Now, do Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana 1 and 2 to the wall. Then, try them again but free-balancing.
Stand in Tadasana, bend your knee out to the side and plant your foot against the inner thigh: Vrksasana.
Go up into Adho Mukha Vrksasana, then Pincha Mayurasana. Come down and take a few breaths in Virasana Forward. Go back up, this time in Sirsasana, including some variation: Eka Pada Sirsasana and Parsva Eka Pada Sirsasana. Come down and release in Virasana Forward.
Stand in Tadasana. Jump out into Utthita Trikonasana. Back to Tadasana. Jump out into Utthita Parsvakonasana, then back to Trikonasana. Then, lift up your leg behind you, plant your hand to the ground: Ardha Chandrasana. Ideally, do this pose with the foot to the wall. Now, try these three poses again but in a slightly different sequence: Parsvakonasana -> Trikonasana -> Ardha Chandrasana. Now, try Trikonasana with the foot to the wall as well. Finish up this standing pose sequence with Parsvottanasana: see how deep your body lets you go. Don’t force it; instead, work with it.
Release in Virasana, sitting upright with the arms in Urdhva Baddanguliyasana.
Stretch out your legs in front of you, lengthen your spine. Dandasana. Shift your center to go into Paripurna Navasana. Hold here, focus on the balance: where does it come from? Try playing around with shifting it until you find the place it most naturally sits in. Sit up in Baddha Konasana. Twist to the side, decompress the spine and ribs. Then, swing your legs out to the side and twist some more in Bharadvajasana. Finish in Marichyasana 3.
Practice going into Sarvangasana with chair support.
This time, instead of Savasana, we finish in Simple Cross Legs Forward with the head on chair seat.
Video stills from this sequence
