Yesterday Abhi asked me how I remember so much of the class when I'm writing the blog. Now today my brain got stage fright and can't remember half of it! Actually this evening I feel that I'm getting a temperature, but don't have a thermometer so not sure. I'm not otherwise ill, so just ignoring it and hope it fizzles away into nothing, but perhaps my brain is not in top form.
The message went out today, that we were all invited to a free practice session this afternoon at 3pm, where a recording of a Geetaji class would be played for us to do together. However we had already fixed up for a friend of Ulpa's who is a massuese, to come to the apartment and give each of us a Thai massage and it was too late to cancel. This evening was seated poses with Rajalaxmi, where she also corrected some of my inaccuracies from yesterday's blog, see below.
Rajalaxmi – Intermediate 1 – 11th February 2020 – Seated leg work
Swastikasana and Invocation– When the teacher sits you see that they make this action to spread the buttock bones to the side and take them back and we learn to mimic this gesture, like a child learns by mimicking its mother. So make that adjustment where you can feel that you are sitting on the top of the thigh bones. Lift the pubic bone up, sides of the navel tall, use the hands to lift up the sternum bone and don’t roll the shoulders back, but widen the clavicles, it’s a different action.
AM Swastikasana
AMVirasana – Extend forward and press the shoulder bones into you to open the armpits – shoulder blades and shoulder bones are different, draw the shoulder bones into you and press them down to open the armpit.
AMSvanasana – Take the thigh bones back and feel the length of the lower abdomen there. Heels have to extend down.
Prasarita Paddottonasana – roll the inner groins back and spread the back thigh from inner to outer to go down, go down with that rolling action only “ROLL!” and take the head down.
Uttanasana – Hands to the top of the back thighs and lift up there to go down further.
Sirsasana – A few minutes straight pose. Then bring right leg down all the way and at last moment follow with left. Then go up by raising the left leg first and following with the right – Go down with left leg and follow with right - continue this sequence x 3. Sirsasana now bend the right leg and come down with right leg bent (akunchanasana) and left leg straight, then go back up and unfold the leg. Now go down with left leg bent and right leg straight and go up. Then bend both legs and go up with 2 bent legs.
3 different methods of uttanasana 1) Slanting uttanasana with feet apart and buttock bones on the wall and heels a little forward of the wall. Use your hands to lift the buttock bones up the wall so that you can descend the sides of the waist down. 2) At the grill. Reach hands back and catch the grill outside the window and then roll the buttocks bones forward and back repeatedly. 3) Back body to the wall, sticky mat folded on the wall itself, so that it is sandwiched between your back body and the wall. Bend the legs and come in closer and closer and then with the bent knees bring your trunk further and further down the wall so that the head is coming closer to the floor. Then maintaining the head down and the descent of the back body, straighten the legs.
Dandasana. Spread the buttock bones and move the buttock flesh back so that you can feel that you are sitting on the tops of the thighs and when you go forwards, move forwards from there. Grip the outer ankle bones in and find out how that grips the outer leg, the outer calf and stretch from the inner groins to the inner heels. Without pulling yourself forward with the arms (so extend your arms back straight) bend forwards towards paschimottonasana no hands. Repeatedly hinging back and forwards and extending the side trunk forward without the use of the hands.
Upavista Konasana – lift up and open the groins and spread further, place yourself down on the INNER thighs. Belt around arms, urdhva hastasana. Take them further and further upward and take them back NOT by moving the wrist back, but by moving the lower shoulder blade into you. Spine has to move into the body, so lean slightly forward and get the spine moving fully in and then maintaining that spine straighten back up to vertical.
Working on some of the different stages of virasana:
1)Vajarasana – belt tied around elbows, quite tight and raise the arms up to urdhva hastasana.
2) Now feet turned a little in towards each other and toes crossing, so that toes press onto toes and sit there. Belt around elbows urdhva hastasana. Repeated instructions above for all of the virasana / urdhva hastasana variations.
3) Point the toes straight back and go for virasana sitting between the feet, only taking blanket of needed, otherwise find out if you can sit there. Knee has to roll from inside out and press down the head of the shin. Urdhva Hasta with belt and spine moving in.
Trianga Mukha eka pada paschimottonasana – Right leg virasana and left leg straight. Now if you immediately take the blanket to support the left buttock that is dropping down, that is a weak pose. How will you learn? No blanket and first use your hand to spread the right buttock to the right side. Then use your hand to tuck outer left top thigh under, that hip has to grip in. Right buttock spread outward, left thigh outer thigh tuck it under. Belt around the elbows, urdhva hastasana – hold working on previous actions explained in upavista.
Ardha Padma Paschimott – place the leg like vrksasana or janu and then keeping the knee down place the foot on the upper thigh. Urdhva Hasta work with belt around elbows.
1 leg Marichyasana 1 leg Upavista – turn the toes of the marichyasana foot a little inward towards the groin and see how that keeps the knee upright. If the toes point the other way, the knee tends to fall to the outside. Urdhva Hasta with belt.
Marichyasana 2 – left leg marichyasana, right leg padmasana – first extend left leg straight and place right foot in padmasana and then bend left leg up to marichyasana. Let the marichyasana buttock bone lift up from the floor and draw the bent leg knee into you, lifting the front body upward. We didn’t raise the arms, due to one buttock bone hovering, so too unstable.
When we bend 1 leg up that is called marichyasana, when we bend up two legs we are in Malasana. Here we squatted but didn't go forward.
Baddha Konasana
Half and full Mula Bandasana
Ardha Matsyendrasana – no twist, just learning to sit on the blade of the foot. Blanket if required, between edge of foot and buttocks.
Paschimottonasana - find out how the body moves forward after all the leg work.
Brick setubandha, straight legs - fingers interlocked so that you can move your dorsal spine into you. Lengthen the lumbar away from you to come down.
Savasana