This sequence involves mostly supported versions of classical yoga poses. The supports or props can be used to inform the body of alignment in each pose, can aid release into the pose and can allow the student to work into the pose within the context of the yamas
1/ Ardha Uttanasana / half-intense stretch (standing forward […]
VARIATION: belts on door handles
* Place two long yoga belts (firm rope/ dressing gown ties) around door knobs on either side of one door with the door open mid way.
* Place a yoga mat at the end of the door.
* Place the right side belt around the very top of your left thigh bone and […]
(Variation with chair and blocks)
PROPS:
* Place a chair in front of a high bench with its back closest to the high bench (i.e kitchen work top)
* Place blocks on to the chair seat at mid thigh height and a neatly folded blanket on top. (adjust higher or lower as appropriate)
THE POSE:
* Face the chair […]
LIFT:
*Fold three blankets neatly and stack them one on top of the other.
(Alternatively, make a lift by placing four blocks together to make a rectangle, one-block depth.)
* Place a blanket over the top with the blanket flush to one of the long ends and hanging over the other. Score a crease in the blanket with […]
One day you finally knew
What you had to do, and began,
Though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice -
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
‘Mend my life!’
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was […]
Beka Card continues her diary from retreat in India…
Read Part I, Part II, Part III
As my time in India is progressing, there is an inward deepening happening. This is due to the continuing exploration of the inner world and the fact that I have now participated in four group and one solitude retreat.
The […]
VARIATION: Hands and heels on blocks, hands at wall, feet wide.
* Place yoga mat with its narrow end to a wall.
* Take two yoga blocks (or firm large books) and place them against the wall to the outer edges of the mat.
* Place two blocks about three quarters of the way back on the mat, […]
Ch’an or Zen is a school or Buddhism developed first in India, China then Japan. It is recognisable by its pragmatic, uncompromising approach to truth. Its spirit connects closely with the yogic teaching of Ishvara pranidhana (dedication or surrender to god). Although Buddhism is a non-theistic tradition, the two traditions (yoga and Buddhism) are pointing […]
Whether you are a yoga student or teacher, the practice of yoga (in the spirit of Patanjali’s Astanga path) and in particular practice with others, inevitably starts to tease the edges of your heart. The spirit of working with the breath, creating space in which to move the joints and in the mind in which […]
* With the back to a wall, place the elbows shoulder-width apart, interlink the fingers to the hilt, no further than 4 inches/10 cm from the wall.
* Check that the shape made by the arms is symmetrical and elbows are equal distance from the wall.
* Take a few breaths while the little finger side of […]
(standing forward bend)
Take a chair and some yoga blocks (or large books) and a firm blanket (cotton if possible).
* Place blocks on to the chair seat at mid-thigh height and a neatly folded blanket on top.
* Face the chair seat with the back furthest from you.
* Place your hands on to the top […]
This month sees two new graduates from the Vajrasati teacher training school as well as a new intake of students…
April is a time traditionally associated with birth and the Easter festival often falls in this month. The Christian message of the death and resurrection or rebirth of Christ follows an older lineage of rebirth festivals […]
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