14 backbends for 2014

well,  it is that  time of  year  again.  Join us for the  5th annual  backbend practice.  We started in 2010 with  10 backbends for  2010 and have been adding a backbend per year.

I won't be there myself  due to dental implant surgery recovery time,  but  join Devon and the gang for this fun filled  sequence.

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Amvira
Amsvana
Uttanasana
salamba sirsasana and any variations you do.

Hasta padasana to Parsva HP to vimanasana
parivrtta trikonasana
1.Virabhadrasana I

Chaturanga dandasana
2. bhujangasana
3. urdhva mukha svanasana with blocks/without 
[adho mukha svana]
4. salabhasana
           makarasana
5. dhanurasana
            parsva dhanurasana
[adho mukha svana]
    ardha bhekasana
6. Bhekasana
[adho mukha svana]
7. paryankasana
     parvatasana in Padma to
8. matsyasana

More BB prep work:
chair U dhanura
            feet to wall, chair stretch
            hands to wall, push up
            back to seat of chair push up to open chest
              trestler extensions
              stool-and-bolster extensions
Chair dwi pada viparita dandasana
            catching chair legs
            sirsasana hands
            head to floor, feet on floor pushing up

[open chair twists—several—for nice prep]

9. urdhva dhanurasana full pose
              Hands to wall
              feet to wall
              feet on chair for strength in shoulders

10. dwi pada viparita dandasana, knees bent or straight as possible
            elbows to wall or to blocks at wall
            toes to wall for push
            belt from hands to toes

11. rajakapotasana work on chairs and floor
            support of back leg
            sitting on floor/block/blanket, chair supports trunk

12. standing dropbacks
            partner work or wall work

13. Natarajasana at rope wall and/or with partner support
[13.alternate. kapotasana work
            on the roller
            pushing up from supta virasana
            dropping over near wall
              partner work]

14. hanumanasana

Winding down:

A m virasana
parsva a m virasana
lumbar-happy AMSvana
bharadvajasana II
pasasana on a chair, Arunji style

supported halasana
paschimottanasana

Savasana

Backbends on Friday

Hi All,  We'll backbend on  Friday. This is  Day three from PW  santa fe.

We'll also backbend on  the  3rd.  Devon will lead  14 backbends for  2014.

I'll be back on the  10 and we'll do some arm balances 

then back to an LOY  sequence. 

Patricia Walden @ IHM Retreat Center, Santa Fe, NM

Day # 3 :: Backbends, Part II

Swastikasana

Adho Mukha Virasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

-jump to Uttanasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

-place 2 vertical bricks placed on the high side at the wall

1x do with the blocks, what do you feel?

2x do without the blocks and observe the forearms in relationship to the elements

3x do with the blocks and feel the density of the forearms (you’ll need to call on this in other asanas)

Paryankasana (unsupported)

-Stages:

*come onto the elbows and raise the sides of the chest up while maintaining the action of moving the diaphragm down to 1” below the navel

*Urdhva Dhanurasana arms: bring the head closer in to get the lift in the three bands of the back ribs, then the whole spine)

*now maintain all of those actions and press the roots of the thigshs down to take the arms overhead

-come up by walking the hands in towards the heels and raising the middle buttock up and LIFT UP

Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana

-first balance the hips, then observe the lumbar spine (see that it doesn’t collapse), then reach through the aerial leg heel to extend the spine even more

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

-come up one leg at a time

-move the buttock bones to the heels and then take the center of the heels up to the ceiling

-get density in the forearms by bringing the elbows towards the wall

Virabhadrasana I

1x buttock bones to the heels

2x armband belts “do you feel the consciousness spreading in your chest?”

3x occiput belt (raise the chin up, pull the belt up and surrender the brain to the heels)

Sirsasana

-draw a line from the center of the bicep up through the deltoid and maintain those 2 domes as you do the variations

-Parivrttaikapada: separate legs slightly, roll the thighs in, extend the inner legs, keep the outer hips lifting and let the back leg go down faster as you take it back; now turn from the back leg

-Urdhva Virasana: maintain all of the diaphragm actions as you bring the toes down lift the buttocks up

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

1x for the neck-look at the wall

2x with 2 legs together

3x with 2 blocks

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

1x standing, at wall

2x hands on 2 blocks @ wall

Ustrasana

1x reverse Baddhanguliyasana

2x 3 positions of the hands

3x no hands

Urdhva Dhanurasana

1x come up from the outer thighs and shoulderblades

2x come up to the leg side, straighten the arms,

3x come up and come onto crown of head, bringing the head in to pranacize the chest; move the triceps towards the elbows and hit the shins back, straighten the arms and come up

4x do you feel your consciousness spreading evenly?

5x raise heels up and take forehead to the wall

6x it’s an arc!

7x vertical blocks @ wall, raise the heels up and walk in to bring the elbows closer to the blocks; synchronize the back of the thighs near the buttocks lifting up and the inner heels coming down first (balance the attention and awareness in all parts)

8x PW showed how to swing: walk in, raise the toes up and push the shins back (outer armpits moving back to the wall are a priority here)

Ustrasana with the chair

1x pull the thighs and chair towards one another and go back

2x head to chair

3x arms overhead

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana

1x 2 vertical blocks @ wall

2x w/ blanket under the head to open the armpits

3x st legs, can take blanket away now

Kapotasana

1x “Laghuvajrasana-like” with bolsters

2x classic

Drop-backs

2 Urdhva Dhanurasanas

1x come up and use the exhalations and inhalations

2x eyes closed, keep your mind fixed on the central channel “Live wire”

Rest with bent knees and let the asana rest on all of your cells

Prasarita Padottanasana I

Prasarita Padottanasana

-let the arms go wide apart and rest hands on floor

We’ll add in some f  Sarvangasana  stuff

Savasana

1x let go of the angas

2x observe how consciousness is spreading

3x shower yourself with blessings

Sequence for Friday 12-20

Here's  the plan for  today.    We are going to do some of the sequences from unit two in the back of  LOY  at least from  time to  time  this year. 


AMVira, Parsva  AM Vira
AMS
Utt
AMVrk
PM

Here's where the sequence starts.

Sirsasana  1  (184)
Urdhva Dandasana (188)
Parsva Sirsasana (202 and 203)
Parivrrtaika Pada Sirsasana (206 and 207)
Eka Pada Sirsasana ( 208 and 209)
Parsvaikapada Sirsasana (210)
Urdhva Padmasana ( 211)
Parsva Urdhva Padmasana (215 and 216)
Pidasana in Sirsasana (218)

Salamba Sarvangasana  I and II   (223 and  235)
Niralamba Sarvangasana I and II ( 236 and  237)
Halasana ( 244)
Karnapidasana (246)
Supta Konasana (247)
Parsva Halasana (249) 
Eka Pada Sarvangasana ( 25)
Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana (251)
Urdhva Padmasana (261)
Pindasana in Sarvangasana (269)
Parsva Pindasana (270 and 271)
Setubandha Sarvangasana (259)
Eka Pada Sarvangasana ( 260)
Jathara Parivartanasana (275)
Supta Padangustasana (285-287)
Chakrasana (280-283)
Paripoorna Navasana (78)
Ardha Navasana (79)
Ustrasana ( 41)
Virasana (89)  DO the foot work
Supta Virasana  (96)
Paryankasana (97)
JS  (127)
ABPP (135)
TMEP ( 139)
Krounchasana ( 141 and  142)
M1  (144)
Paschimottanasana ( 160
Baddha Padmasana ( 118)
Yoga Mudrasana (120)
Parvatasana (107)
Kukkutasana (115)
Garbha Pindasana ( 116 ) all of the padmasana cycle can be done at a stretch
UV (151)
Akarna D (173 and  175)
BK (102)
M3 ( 303 and  304)
AMats  I ( 311 and  312)
Salabhasana ( 60)
Dhanurasana ( 63)
Parsva D (64 and 65)
Uttanasana ( 48)
Nadi Sodhana  without inhalation retention      10 minutes
Ujjayi Pranayama  in Savasana



 

LOY sequence week 95

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So,  I thought in  honor of  BKS Iyengar’s  95^th birthday, we would do the sequence from  LOY from  week  95.  It is right at the start of  course three where he notes,  “this course is mainly for those who like to preserver futher and who have sufficient devotion for the Science.”

Some of these poses  I personally am no where near,  but I’ll have fun watching the more flexible ones and doing what I can,  and  it definitely has some arm balances in it which we are in agreement that we want to do more regularly.  

Actually, this is  week  95-100  so this sequence will take us through celebration of  his 100th! 

Some  warm up  stuff,    (AM  Sukasana, parva  etc    rope  work  etc)

Sirsasana  and cycle  (184-218)

Sarvangasana and cycle (234-271 except 267)

Supta padangushtasana  (285-287)

Paschimottanasana (160)
Kurmasana and supta Kurmasana (363, 364 and  368)

Yoganidrasana (391)

Ekapada sirsasana (371)

Bhairavasana (375)

Skandasana (372)

Chakorasana (379-380)

Pincha Mayurasana (357)

Sayansana (358)

Mayurasana (354)

Hamasanasana (356)

Bhujapidasana (348)

Bakasana (406)

AM Vrk ( 359)  we’ll work on all the hand positions

Vasistasana (398)

Visvamitrasana (403)

Chair  Dwi pada work

Urdhva  D  (487)  for  8 times  stretching the legs and arms out straight after each time to relieve stiffness in the back

Dwipada  Viparita Dandasana (516)  for  a  minute

Kapotasana (507)

Ardha Matsyendrasana I and II)  (311-312 and  330-331) 

Pasasana (328 and 329)

Uttansana (48)

Savasana (592)

arm balance sequence

I think this is a sequence that  Christina  created originally. I added a few things here and there.    I have practiced it with her and Devon a couple of times. 

Arm balance  sequence 

Adho Mukha Virasana-

Parsva 

AMS-1 minutes

Uttanasana-1 minutes

Supta Padangusthasana cycle-  a la  LOY

Parivritta supta pad

 AMS

LOY virasana cycle 

AMS

Adho Mukha Vrksasana-

Pinca Mayurasana-

Sirsasana-

Uttanasana

Prasarita paddotanasana

Parsvakonasana

Pasasana

Parivritta parsvakonasana

Marichyasana 1

Eka hasta bhujasana

Astavakrasana

Urdhva prasarita eka padasana

Eka pada koundinyasana 1

visvamitrasana

Malasana

Clasped uttanasana

kurmasana

Dwi hasta bujasana

Bhujapidasana

Tittibasasana

bakasana

Maricyasana 3

Eka hasta koundinyasana 2

Dwi pada koundinyasana

Purvottansana 

Dwi pada viparita dandasana on chair

Urdhva dhanurasana chair or otherwise

AMS

Prasarita paddotanasana

Uttanasana

Sarvangasana and cycle

Pascimottansasana

Savasana