Once again the women’s class was taken by Raya. The numbers in the great practice hall are beginning to dwindle as a steady trickle of students depart for home. Today the class was pranayama preparation and again Raya’s main theme was to teach us to refine the postures so that we are not grossly overdoing. He commented on the use of a single upright brick in the dorsal as we might use for paryankasana or matsyasana – a favourite he sees regularly in the practice sessions. He made a caricature of a totally overdone pose, exaggerated back arch, ribs pushing the skin, temples bursting and said these poses we like to do are “beautifully ugly” – while if there is tremendous stiffness in the dorsal this direct approach with the brick may be appropriate, mostly the people here do not fall into this category and this pose will be ‘drying’ and no coolness will come – ever – when done this way.
Raya talked at length here about the cooling effect of baddha konasana – especially now the heat of the summer has come, baddha konasana brings a quality of water of coolness that can be experienced in many different poses – chair sarvangasana, viparita karani, viparita dandasana – use the baddha konasana position of the feetto
bring the quality of cooling to apose. We looked at different modes of doing Supta Baddha Konasana feet flat, feet raised, arms over the head, spine support etc. and compared the ‘texture’ of the abdomen in each – he encouraged not to get fixated on only one way of doing but to observe the different qualities of each.
We worked for a long time in baddangullyasana with lots of different leg positions and had to learn to’gather the sacrum up’ without over pushing lumbar and ribs. Again he showed how we tend to go at it aggressively with the spine cutting into the body and hardness showing on all the spinal muscles – same in viparita dandasana – here he leapt up energetically with the crown of his head on the bare floor, to show us what we do when going up into sirsasana with straight legs – it was a familiar looking pose. Slightly disconcertingly he spent much of the class with his shirt off to illustrate the point, so that we could really see the contrast in the skin and muscle when he overdid. He pointed out many pictures of Guruji all around the room and showed that in none of them – not even maha mudra – was there this aggressive quality, his skin is visibly soft and supple.
He used the rope to illustrate a more subtle way to work with the dorsal – There is an anterior (facing inward to the organ body) and posterior surface of the spine (facing outward to the skin), right? We are not just trying to grossly over push the dorsal
No idea what these are!
forward (except in the case where there is a real hardness outward there, then yes the gross adjustment) but we are learning to refine the movement in such a way the anterior surface of the dorsal we have to draw upward. This was helpful and very similar feeling or a continuation of the internal adjustment I have learned to make in medical class to prevent the pancreas from dropping downward. After inversions; baddha konasana in sirsasana and the singularly most uncomfortable chair sarvangasana I have ever experienced, we ended with cycles of ujaayii 1 and 2, seated and supine.Despite the difficulties and discomforts I felt beautifully centred and healthy as I walked home.
After lunch we headed over towards Laxmi Road to have a look at Phule Mandai – Pune’s biggest vegetable market. There is a central tower, with eight covered areas, radiating outward, each section for a different type of produce. The building has stood since 1882 and much of it is completely unchanged since then.
As you wander along the veg stalls each seller has a different song or chant advertising their wares which blend and tangle together on the air – quite a banquet of sights, sounds and smells.So many different products on offer, including (see pic below) lizard repellent spray.
We went home via FC Road to eat at Shabree – our new firm favourite, for completely delicious array of thali dishes and cardamom ice cream.
24th February – Women’s Class – Raya
Swastikasana seated on the very edge of a tightly rolled blanket (you should not be able to see that blanket from the front) , blanket placed so that you come more on to the front edge of the buttock bones – we had to lift slightly up and make the buttock bones ‘sharp’ – invocation – simultaneous movement of back armpit coiling forward and shoulders rolling downward. Lengthen back shoulder down the upper arm towards the elbow.
Swastikasana – baddangullyasana – the sacrum / top buttock has to be ‘gathered in’ without the lumbar pushing forward. Bottom ribs should not project into the skin, but spread to the sides. Sufficient height to sit that the groins are not pulled downward, causing sacrum to drop and increasing the tendency to push forward the lumbar to give the illusion of lifting up.
This explanation maybe came later in the class, but was relevant throughout. He used a rope hanging from the wall to illustrate the point. There is an anterior (facing inward to the organ body) and posterior surface of the spine (facing outward to the skin), right? We are not just trying to grossly over push the dorsal forward (except in the case where there is a real hardness outward there, then yes the gross adjustment) but we are learning to refine the movement in such a way the anterior surface of the dorsal we have to draw upward. We looked up at the hands and took the arms further and further back. We worked on these refinements in each of the different leg positions. We observed the effect of the different leg positions on the groins and consequently the abdomen.
Baddha Konasana – baddangullyasana
Virasana – baddangullyasana – He wanted us to take the feet and the knees a bit wider, so we were sat completely between the feet, no contact between the feet and the body. He quoted Geeta as saying “sometimes you have to be a little bit fat”. It was clear how knees wider brought helpful space to the abdomen
Vajarasana – Baddangullyasana
Urdhva Hasta Dandasana – as you press the backs of the knees down the weight comes a little forward on the buttock bones, but do not make the back body muscles rigid and hard. Raya pointed out many of Guruji’s pictures around the room and in none of them, not even maha mudra is there a trace of hardness, tightness, tenseness on the skin or muscles. He took his t shirt off to illustrate the point about what we do (or overdo). He said Guruji used the word ‘taut’ muscles ‘taut’ not rigid. Periods feet apart and he also came and moved my feet apart without explanation.
Urdhva Prasarita Padasana – to get the feel, the lumbar releasing down so that the abdomen is completely soft – we are not building a six pack here. The legs have to stay by the leg work alone.
SBKonasana 1) Arms over the head, shoulder blades a little bit like dog pose so that the back body is not completely inert on the floor 2) Feet flat on the floor, feel the abdomen 3) feet raised on the folded blanket – feel the texture of the abdomen now – doesn’t the lumbar naturally release more? 4) For comparisons sake now blanket rolled for length of spine – now how is abdomen? There are many, many different modes of supta baddha konasana – try not to get fixed on the idea there is only one – here he showed SBK lying backward on a backbender (he said this effect was sometimes achieved with a setubandha bench propped up against the grille) in such a way that there is a downwards slope from the abdomen towards the head – this again has a different effect, how the cooling is descending towards the head.
Raya talked at length here about the cooling effect of baddha konasana – especially now the heat of the summer has come, baddha konasana brings a quality of water of coolness that can be experienced in many different poses – chair sarvangasana, viparita karani, viparita dandasana – use the baddha konasana position of the feet to bring the quality of cooling to a pose.
Talked a little about use of props – Guruji said we have to be careful that the props don’t make us tamasic.
He also spoke again of our tendency to overdo – he talked about another common sight in the practice hall of people going back (from virasana etc) over the tall brick, he called this “beautifully ugly” this gross pushing of the body, here he did a caricature of ribs pushing into the skin etc. and pointed out there is no quality of coolness going to come here ever and no softness in the abdomen for the breath to flow. He said this practice would be’drying’.
Sirsasana baddha konasana – feet had to be FORWARD almost in line with the perineum, no distortion of the body where we arch and become hard in baddha konasana in sirsasana – he also showed how hard we make the spine muscles in urdhva danadasana (a very familiar picture he painted here). He spoke again of Guruji saying that he used the brain to get into a posture, but then the brain has to withdraw so that the asana can be experienced by the body. The brain becomes to withdraw to become the observer not the driver.
Chair Sarvangasana – hands had to go underneath the crossbar, neck support on vertical bolster or 2 pranayama pillows. 3 positions of the arms 1) catching crossbar between back legs of the chair from underneath 2) catching seat of chair 3) wrapping inner elbow around front legs of chair and bringing hands towards the head side – here he said it is an over rotation that he had been talking about last week, but he wanted us to witness how it brought the shoulder blades deep into the upper back.
We sat in front of the chair in seated pose of choice (swastikasana, padmansana, virasana) for 6 cycles each of ujayii 1 and 2 .The tri folded blanket was on the thighs and the back of the hand was on the blanket. Before we took the head down we had to press the trapezius and top shoulder blade down. Coiling of the back armpit, skin of the back shoulder has to release down the back of the upper arm toward the elbow. The inhalation has to move in such a manner that it climbs the anterior surface of the dorsal, like it’s climbing steps.
Savasana – Lying down flat on back, no sticky mat so that the cold floor can help to cool the body, calves over seat of chair. Bolster on shins. 6 cycles each of ujayii 1 and 2.
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