my personal practice

This is the first time I have shared my personal practice. It is an extended version of the classes I have taught in the past week. It is a practice I will continue to do until the end of the year. And I am sure parts of it will continue to come up during the classes I teach.

For the past few months, I have had a very unstructured personal practice. I have let myself just flow through asana as my body felt it needed to move. It has been eye-opening. Now, I think it is time to move into a more structured practice, so I can deeply learn to feel each asana.

Below is my sequence, without much commentary. If there is a variation of an asana I use, I will make note. If there are specific questions about the sequence...email me and I will try to clear it up. This is just off my notes, which I suspect make more sense to me than to others.

Centering

• Hero Pose (Virasana)


• Sphinx

Warming Up

• Flow between low Cobra Pose and Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)


• Cat & Cow (Marjaryasana & Bitilasana)


• Flow from Down Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana through "cat plank" to Up Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)


• Sun Salutation B (Surya Namaskar B) *done twice. The first round is "on the breath". The second round with a longer Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I) moved into a Revolved Triangle (Parivrtta Trikonasana). If the second round is too much, just another Surya B on the breath.


• Flow between Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana) and Half Standing Forward Fold (Ardha Uttanasana)


• Come to a squat, feet between hands

The Practice

• Step back with right foot to high lunge (hands over head), hold, then move into revolved lunge, hold, come back to center and step right foot up to meet the left. Repeat by stepping back with left foot, during lunge and revolving, BUT THEN STEP BACK TO DOWN DOG.


• Down Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) Low lunge (step up with left foot)(Anjaneyasana). In low lunge, pull in right knee gently for variation on One Leg King Pigeon Pose II (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II), Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana), Lizard Pose, Outer Hip variation, Half Split Pose (Ardha Hamunanasana). Switch sides by moving through Down Dog. When finished on both sides, walk feet up to hands.


• Rag Doll with deeply bent knees.

Standing Poses

• Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana), then fold right and left, then twist right and left


• Triangle (Trikonasana) to Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) to Standing Split (Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana to Sugarcane Pose (Ardha Chandra Chapasana). Do both sides. Transition through Wide Legged Forward Bend C (Prasarita Padottanasana C).


• Eagle Pose (Garudasana).


• Tree Pose with Cow-Face Arms (Vrksasana with Gomukhasana arms)


• Step to Side Angle (Utthita Parsva Konasana), half bind and holding bind, move to Triangle. Move back to Side Angle, release bind and repeat on other side.


• Repeat Side Angle and Trikonasana, but with full binds

Backbends and Seated poses

• move to child's pose


• Locus (Slambhasana)


• Half Frog (Ardha Bhekasana)


• Bow (Dhanurasana)


• Side Angle (Vasisthasana)


• Down Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasna), 3 legged variation


• Wild Thing (Camatkarasana)


• Half Camel (Ardha Ustrasana)


• Child's Pose


• Dolphin Pose


• Full Boat Pose (Paripurna Navasana)


• Reclining Big Toe (Supta Padangusthasana)


• Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)


• Head to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsanana) Right leg, then left leg


• Staff Pose (Dandasana)


• Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasa)


• Heron Pose (Krounchasana)


• Easy Pose (Sukhasana)


• Sage's Pose III (Marichyasana III)


• Seated Wide Leg Forward Fold (Upavistha Konasana)


• Half Lord of the Fishes (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

Ending,,,

• an inversion, such as headstand or shoulderstand


• Corpse Pose

This is what I am practicing at the moment. It seems like a lot, and it can take a while if you stay in each asana for a while. Some days, its nice to go slow, but you can flow through these as well.