Settle down to lift up

MIRRORING NATURE
Seasonal transitions can be quite unsettling. You might notice recently you feel like you’re in limbo land and you don’t know if you’re coming or going. Especially when one day it’s showing all the signs of Spring and the next it’s snowing! But even when, to the onlooker, nature has pressed the pause button it is a hive of activity getting ready for Spring. In our practice we subconsciously follow the pattern of nature, and at this time of year nature is grounding down, growing roots, and bravely reaching up. In last week sequence we explored the stability of the pelvic bowl. This week we’re settling down through this central axis and lifting the body up out of the pelvic bowl.

CREATING SPACE
Throughout our day we naturally forward bend, twist and occasional backbend, but we rarely side bend. The spine is happiest when it’s regularly moved in all direction. Yoga, and this sequence in particular, gives the spine a chance to catch up on some quality side bends. Lengthening up through the side body with side bends tone the core, realign the lower spine, and stretches the intercostal tissues of the ribs to help deepen the breath. They also improve circulation, release compression between the vertebrae and creates space for the abdominal organs. In terms of muscle activity they stretch the glutes, lats, obliques and spine of the lengthened side; and strengthen the lats, obliques and spine of the compressed side of the stretch.

EXPLORING SETTLING DOWN AND LIFTING UP IN YOUR PRACTICE
Think of your pelvis as your anchor in each lateral bend pose. Ensure there be equal weight in each side of the pelvis, paying particular attention to the hip on the stretching side of the body. Looking for this stability first will give you a strong and secure foundation to lift from.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Our peak pose for this sequence is Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana/Revolved Head to Knee. To ensure you don’t collapse the chest towards the floor, the alignment cues below bring you through a twist prior to taking your full expression of the pose. This will help you stretch through the chest and keep the lateral position of the spine that we have been cultivating through the full sequence.

• From Dandasana/Staff, open your legs out wide, bend your right knee and place your foot on the inner thigh of your left leg, press out through your left heel, right knee grounded.

• To take your preporitory twist reach your right hand behind you and hold onto the upper thigh of the left leg. Lengthen through the spine on and inhale, hinge to your left on your exhale, and place your hand or your left forearm, on the ground just inside your left leg. Roll the bottom waist forward and the top waist back to ensure your upper body is moving in the same plane and the shoulders are stacked. Inhale to come up.

• Place your right hand on your right hip. Hinge to your left from the left waist. Place your hand or your left forearm, on the ground just inside your left leg. Palm facing up if you are on the forearm, or hold onto the inside of you left foot.

• Inhale, lift your right arm up high, palm facing left, exhale, reach your right arm up and over your right ear. Reach towards your left foot or hold onto the outside edge of your left foot. Bottom waist rolls forwards, top waist rolls back, gaze up.

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Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Gentle mindful flow

MOVING MINDFULLY
How might you apply mindfulness to your practice today? The essence of mindfulness is bringing one’s attention to the present moment. Being present on your mat during your practice and moving mindfully will help you link to how you are moving, how you are breathing, and how the practice makes you feel. Slow gentle movement gives you the space to listen to what you need in this specific practice and avoid bypassing sensations and warning signs of pushing beyond your limits. Remember when you start to feel sensation, and not beyond it, is your version of the pose. As you move in this mindful way you become more aware of your breath and how you are breathing during different phases of your time on the mat.

SEARCH FOR FEEDBACK
Sometimes we forget what has brought us to our mats, and it becomes habitual as we detached from our practice. Connecting with the feedback your body gives you, with non attachment to perfection, will bring you back to the present moment in the physical body. Moving slowly is no mean feat! It builds stability in the joints as the surrounding muscles work hard to control the movement. It is much easier to quickly step forward from Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Dog to the top of your mat, than stepping forward as slow as possible and activating the stabilising muscle of your core and hips, and the strength of your legs to control the movement.

EXPLORING GENTLE MINDFULNESS IN YOUR PRACTICE
As you move gently with mindfulness, search for small change brought on through your practice not big changes and perfection – a gentle stretch, an opening, a quietning of the mind. Before you move from pose to pose consider how you are going to journey there – as slow and controlled as possible.

ALIGNMENT CUES
This one is about being kind to yourself and moving gently. Start your practice lying on your back, with your hands on your belly, and take a few rounds of Viloma breath. Viloma breath breaks the exhale into three and helps to naturally lengthen the breath without tension – inhale completely then exhale, pause, exhale, exhale pause the full breath. As you run through the sequence pause in each pose long enough to register how the pose makes you feel and ask yourself if you need to back off a little or go further to find an appropriate sensation. Pay particular attention to your breath. There are a few mini flows in the first two rows that will help you link breath with movement.

• Spend plenty of time in the warm up phase of the sequence. Feel into the ball and socket hip joint as you move through some of the hip opening warm up poses in row one.

• Find your most supportive version of Balasana/Child’s Pose either arms forward, arms back, forearms either side of the head or a bolser between the knees to support the chest and head.

• In Ardha Uttanasana/Half Forward Fold reach your chest forward and peel your shoulders back. Feel a stretch in the chest and strength in the upper back.

• When moving from Uttanasana/Forward Fold to Tadasana/Mountain press strongly into your feet to ground down as you rise up.

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Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Hands free flow

RETHINKING TRANSITIONS
Injuries can really test our patience. Wrist injuries in particular can feel like the end of your practice for the foreseeable future! But it doesn’t have to be so drastic. Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Dog is the most obvious pose that will cause problems with a wrist, hand, arm or shoulder injury. We predominantly use Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Dog as a transitional pose through the standing sequences of our practice. There are more than one way to get from standing pose to standing pose. Often the answer to many sequencing conundrums are answered through the beginners mindset. Stepping forward from Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Dog is not an easy transition for most beginners. When teaching beginner students we step them back from Tadasana/Mountain into standing poses, similar to how we transition in Iyengar. Taking a leaf out of the beginners book will help you flow through your practice without having to worry about encountering a wrist intense pose. Once you safely navigate the standing poses, and find your way to the seated poses, there is less of an issue with wrist problems.

ADAPT TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS
A sequence without Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Dog can also come in very handy if you are practising outdoors and the ground doesn’t look very inviting. I’ve also sometimes had to adapt my practice to this method in Hotel rooms. Carpets can hold onto the memories of the many previous guests and not be very inviting to vinyasaing through Ashtanga Pranam/Knees, Chest, Chin and Bhujangasana/Cobra! You can start your practise with some standing side stretches and twists and then start from ½ Surya Namaskara on the second row.

EXPLORING HANDS FREE FLOW UP IN YOUR PRACTICE
This hands free flow is perfect for wrist, hand, arms and shoulder injuries. It is also suitable for carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. It bypasses Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Dog, Four Limb Staff/Chaturanga, Phalakasana/Plank and any poses that puts excess body weight on the hands and arms. Instead of taking Balasana/Child’s Pose as your resting pose you will pause in Tadasana/Mountain and assimilate the practice. When you are stepping back step your left foot back first so that you are practising with the right leg forward first.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Our peak pose for this sequence is Vrksasana/Tree. It will teach you the principle of rooting down, finding your centre of gravity and feeling the surface beneath you.

• From Tadasana/Mountain, hands on hips, inhale, pour your weight into your left foot, draw your navel towards your spine.

• Bend your right knee and open your hip out to the side, place your right foot on your right calf, or at the top inside of your left thigh.

• Press your right foot against your inner left thigh and your thigh into your foot.

• Place your hands on your hip bones to check they are level, press firmly into the standing leg, exhale here.

• Lengthen through your spine to the tip of your crown, bring your hands to prayer position, inhale, raise your hands up over your head, broaden your collarbones gaze forward.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru