Feb. 2, Geeta, Friday night class

For you yoga teachers who have been asking me about the yoga, here are my notes from the first asana class taught by Geeta. Enjoy!


SWASTIKHASANA - Invocation

ADHO MUKHA VIRASANA

ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA

UTTANASANA - feet wide, hands on floor in front of feet

get a strap; alternate head, toe people on mats
SUPTA TADASANA
be on center of mats, palms facing sides of hips; feet and big toes touching; bringing legs together is easy, that is only the beginning; inner thighs move toward outer thighs; outer thighs: skin moves to flesh to the bones; shoulder blades in, shoulders rolling back; waist back and buttock flesh moves down toward heels; open backs of knees; from here, go to
SUPTA PADANGUSTASANA
1 #1: put strap around foot and hold with each hand; align outer R ankle with outer R hip; do not bring leg in more then 90 degrees; work to draw head of femur into socket; bring leg down; align yourself before bringing L leg up
2 #1: loop the strap and hold loop, palm facing forward; outer R ankle in ling with R hip; pull head of femur into hip socket; other side
3 #2 with looped strap around R foot, strongly pull head of femur into socket; outer L thigh moving inward, heel down; then take R leg out to side keeping more awareness in L leg; L palm pounds down the floor; L outer leg: skin to flesh to bones; shoulder blades in; shoulders rolling back; other side

to SUPTA BADDHA KONASANA - without props
heels and mounds pressing from outer thighs, not inner groins; toes out to get action then maintaining that action, brought toes together

ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA

TADASANA
legs together, waist back, buttocks forward and down; inner thighs out; outer skin to flesh to bones; bring a compactness to body; talked about difference between compactness of body by drawing skin and flesh towards the center and merely tensing different muscle groups (pushes awareness to outer edges); compacting of muscle fibers moves to core

UTTITHA TRIKONASANA
outer L hip lifts; don’t drop the head; look up at L thumb with R eye; when coming out continue to follow thumb with R eye; other side

TADASANA

UTTHITA PARSVAKONASANA
don’s lift head to arm, take arm to head; skin on outer L thigh turns back to turn the chest; other side

ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA
press thumbs and index fingers down then spread to little finger side; skin outer edge of little finger side makes contact with floor. She said we were all pushing the outer edges of out skin out, not brining it in.

Demo’d on Abby showed how if hands not properly making contact with floor how there is hardness in shoulders, back dipping, neck tense. Talked about how a bird lands and takes off. When taking off, the hands of the bird spreads from inside out; the bird is light. When a bird lands and makes contact with ground it touches down first with outer edges to inner edges of hands; the bird is heavy. Be mindful when placing hands on floor before going into pose. Spread open hands placing thumbs, index fingers down first, then spreading out to little fingers; maintaining the spreading, keep skin on outer edges of little fingers down to floor. That action changed the girl’s pose considerably. Now we did again. Pose felt lighter.

VIRABHADRASANA 1
arms up shoulder width apart; turn to R but see how front of L thigh falls forward; center of L thigh back and externally rotate skin on back leg without coming out of turn, so back leg does not bend; long sides of naval; demo: when turning toward forward leg, back thigh collapses inward; turn skin on back thigh out to maintain straight knee and extended leg; do L side

VIRABHARASANA 2
same external skin on both legs particularly on back leg; then inner R knee moves to outer; finally elongate tailbone. demo’d above action on external rotation on guy then we did on L side. Showed how on back leg some of his skin on the back thigh was turning in and some was turning out. Turn entire skin back. This action stabilized pose and there wasnn’t a hardness in the hip sockets and groins.

ARDHA CHANDRASANA
same awareness with external rotation of thigh & buttock muscles

PADANGUSTASANA
muscles elongate but skin spreads

PARIVRTTA TRIKONASANA
same awareness with external rotation of thigh & buttock muscles

PARIVRTTA ARDHA CHANDRASANA
same awareness with external rotation of thigh & buttock muscles

PARSVOTTANASANA - classic version turning to R then center to L and come up hands in PASCIMANAMASKARASANA; outer thighs roll back and up; when outer thighs roll down then balance and extension is lost; this action helped stabilize my base.

UTTANASANA - feet wide, hold elbows

ADHO MUKHA VIRASANA

WIDE DANDASANA to PASCMIOTTANASANA - grab outer edges of feet and fold forward; elongate top of calf away from knee; inner thighs out, outer thighs in (same instructions as throughout class)

SIRSASANA
couldn’t hear so well, but I presume same leg instructions to get compactness of hips

SALAMBA SARVANGASANA - 3 thick mats, one halved sticky mat over thick and folded blanket, strap
1 lift sides of torso upward; I always love doing SARVANGASANA on their “magic” mats
2 FAST EKAPADA: don’t think about leg coming forward and down, concentrate on lifting side ribs more and more, then bring leg down; 6-8 times each side. This quick action felt good.

SAVASANA
head on mat; the gal next to me said I fell asleep. I must be tired.