I enjoyed planting up my pot this morning to brighten up our balcony – the white rose smells exquisite and the scent wafts around in the heat. Lovely. I still need a bit more earth though – one of my blog reading local indian friends has offered to help with that! Every time I’ve come to Pune I’ve published a blog on WordPress, but this is the first time it’s been picked up by the local crowd. I bumped into Sue and Kate walking through the park this afternoon and they’d just returned from a visit to the incense shop out at Phadke Haud, where Kate was mistaken for me and asked if she’d got her slippers back yet!! (BTW the answer is NO, NO SLIPPERS BACK YET)
Snooze O’ Clock
We took a visit over to Rima near the Chetak who makes and alters clothing and Jenny left a couple of tops to be reshaped. Rima is a lovely, friendly and skilled tailor who lots of people from the institute recommend, but she did ask me to say, it would be great if people could come with their orders at the BEGINNING of the month so she doesn’t have to work 24/7 for the last two weeks trying to get everything done!Rajalaxmi’s class this evening was all about preparing new intermediate students to learn full arm balance. We started off in swastikasana arms upward straight and interlocked, leaning diagonally forward so that we were sat on the back thigh, cutting the spine deep inward and taking the arms further and further backward, then keeping the spine IN sitting up a little more straight (see pic below). We repeated this work several times in swastikasana and virasana. We prepared the legs and hips in uttanasana with firmly grounded palms on the floor with many repeated, fast paced leg raises, focussing on keeping the down leg hip steady and the up leg knee straight.
By the time we came to full arm balance her new intermediate students were well prepared. Here the class became pretty chaotic with so many people trying to learn to kick up at the same time, lots of excited chatter and at one point a spontaneous round of applause broke out, as the observers at the back witnessed a slightly rotund man finally manage to kick up after many, many determined attempts. After a good 40 minutes of watching the students attempt to kick up, there was just time for sirsasana and chatushpadasana. The advanced students could have done with some alternative poses or challenges to work on as we lost a large part of the class just watching.Home via the fruit market where we stocked up on some delicious local produce; watermelon, strawberries, fresh figs, Chinese gooseberries and lemongrass to make tea, which I’ve developed a taste for after my stay at KARE.
16th February – Rajalaxmi
Adho mukha swastikasana each side
U H in swastikasana – extend arms up lean forwards so you are sitting on back thigh, not buttock bones- now cut your spine into your back and take the arms back.
UBaddangullyasana in swastikasana – slide the little finger deeper in so they cross at the webbing, then reverse palms without allowing them to slide apart. First classically, then look up and take arms further back, then come diagonally forward and cutting the spine deep into the back, especially dorsal and arms further and further backward. Then come a little more upright, but keep sacrum lifting.
AMS jumping to UTT
Virasana – come all the way forward onto the head and then reach back with the hands and use the flats of your palms to press the calf muscle outward and down. Maintain the pressure on the outer shin as you sit for Virasana – like before she did not tolerate any rolling in of the knee.
UH and Baddangullyasana in virasana both interlocks – same action as previously, inclining the trunk forward, cutting the spine deep inward and taking the arms further and further backward.
Gomukhasana – beginners version with the feet further out to the sides, not a tight entwining of the legs. Spent a long time getting correct rotation of both up and down arm. First extended up arm out to the side in line with the shoulder, then rotated from the shoulder socket, the palm to face up thumb further down towards the floor. Keep this rotation as you raise the arm up and fold at the elbow to place hand on upper back. Outer upper arm roll in and take the elbow further back. Then down arm has to take the long cut, not the short cut –before you bend it up take it straight back and swing it further and further round to completely open front of shoulder and don’t allow that area to close as you bend the arm up the back.
AMS to UMS to AMS to UTT
AMVrksasana prep – from uttanasana many times energetically swing each leg up straight whilst maintaining the other hip level. Demonstration that the wrist side of palm has to spread and press, that way the elbows can’t bend.
AMVrksasana – teaching her students to kick up, same placement of the palms.
Sirsasana – everyone in centre of room, if you can’t go up ardha sirsasana only. Working on dorsal in like dog pose.
Chatushpadasana
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