FB, long timings (This class not for beginners, she said)
6:00 p.m.
SWASTIKHASANA -invocation
Namaskar mudra: some of you have hands too high; outer edges of hands at lower sternum bone, not up toward chin; elbows descend downward not out to sides; Geeta spent a long time making our minds quiet before the start of class
get blanket, block and strap
ADHO MUKHA VIRASANA
rest the brain, brain quiet; front brain to back; don’t push pubis back, bring it forward to open the chest
UPAVISTHA KONASANA - about 15 min.
legs wide; shoulders over the hips; hands behind pressing into floor to descend legs more; back body and buttocks in line; inner and outer knees descend to floor; broaden backs of calves with hands spreading out to the sides; cup shape the fingers (not flat palms) by sides of hips; cup shape action creates an arch in the palm that activates the chest and whole torso lifts; when palms are flat and pressing down, the pubis is heavy and descends; broaden backs of knees same way; broaden backs of thighs and release tops of thighs down; then gradually femur bones descend downward to floor; bone further descends; observe R and L sides to see if opening evenly; keep space in knee joint; open bottoms of feet; little toes away; big toes spreading opens the inner groins; little toes spreading opens the outer hip flexor; head of femur and outer buttock in to keep the sharpness in that area; pubis should not go downward; pubic plate lifts then tailbone can come in; some had hard navals: lift low ribs up so sides of naval elongate; sit on back shoulders and lift up, then backs of thighs down; lift again; then
PARSVA UPAVISTHA KONASANA - 5 min. a side
extend arms straight up like VIRABHADRASANA 1; back ribs in; keep both buttocks in the same position as in UPAVISTHA KONASANA; arms extending behind the ears; pubis lifting; press thigh bones down and lift; turn toward R leg; L leg not lifting or turning in when turning and folding forward; R anterior ribs to R; L posterior ribs to L; R side chest open; L side chest open; shoulder blades well into back body; press shin bone down to come up; other side
“Now everyone’s brain is quiet.”
BADDHA KONASANA - about 15 min.
heels well in toward perineum; if groins are tight sit up on a lift so knees release to sides; if groins too open, sit on a lift too creating resistance where there is none in groin region; outer thighs roll in but outer edges of buttocks sucks in; open feet like a book: press open mound of big toe metatarsal to gain more opening in inner groins; big toes control inner groins, little toe controls outer hip flexor; The took arms back; arch of foot in more and more to open side hip flexors; roll outer sides of hips in; shoulders back; shoulder blades in; trapeziums down; shoulder blades in toward body to support lungs and create opening in chest; ascend buttock bones so it reaches the sternum; use thumbs and make space behind inner knees because this is the area that shortens when you bend your knees; arch of foot in more and more to open side hip flexors; cup shape fingers are pumping body up;
She said men do not do this pose enough. That is why they are so stiff in the hip region.
7:00 p.m.
JANUSIRSASANA - blanket or no lift; block behind foot placed horizontally to keep broadness of chest and to activate opening of arch
L leg forward; R knee bent: take holds of sides of block; when turning toward L leg, don’t turn head; keep eyes stable then spine turns; when head turns only rib cage turns and not spine); create the space then turn; outer heel in line with outer hip; stretch hands not back to fold forward; move the scoliosis to make it straight; L anterior floating ribs to L, R posterior floating ribs spreads to R (not down and to L); shoulder blades well into back body; abdomen spreads, sternum spreads.
When awareness is lost, when you get tired, when you say “Oh, that’s enough, my back hurts,” when you say “Geeta is over there helping someone else, I can let go and not work so hard”, when all you want to come up ..... that is when you begin your tapas. In the beginning your practice is tantra (technique) then you practice over and over and over and it becomes mantra (repetition); finally mantra becomes yantra, when technique moves to repetition to prayers; then you have a connection to the soul. If you have no technique, then you have to continue to do over and over and over. You must have the technique before reaching meditative state.
Don’t press stomach; spread by pressing feet into block, extending forward; look forward; soft organic body; belly soft and dips into body; don’t hip naval back; it comes in on its own; back floating ribs in; inhale, come up.
R leg forward, L knee bent: take hold of sides of block; R anterior floating ribs to R; L posterior floating ribs to L; notice that when many of you twist to R how you drop your posterior L ribs down and to the R and your anterior R side ribs go up; turn your head as many of you are doing and see how that makes it even worse; now come back to center; extend evenly over R leg; R floating ribs goes in, then sternum moves up, then head goes down; forehead to shin, nose to shin, chin to shin; look at your foot; make stomach soft and spread to the sides; head down, go into the yourself; release the skin fibers on your shoulders and back body; intercostal muscles drop in; expand the ribs then make intercostal muscles alive; don’t just let them drop away; watch your mind, it can become reluctant
PASCIMOTTANASANA - blanket or no lift; block behind feet placed horizontally to keep broadness of chest
Legs together; inner and outer knees down; when going forward there is a tendency for knees to bend and inner knees to go out to sides; lengthen calves to heels without losing broadness of calves; notice how one side opens more then the other; one femur head well into hip socket more then the other; bring other side into contact continuing to lengthen and broaden backs of legs; compare and stretch more and more; spread balls of feet; little toes open; the brain becomes more relaxed; then arches open and back ribs dig in; front ribs well open; don’t just pull yourself forward; tops of thighs down makes space in the abdomen; spread legs to outer edges or mat; shoulder blades well into back body; lift head to take shoulder blades in and broaden chest (Do not come completely out of pose! Just lift the head!) Then go forward again; head to shin; nose to shin; chin to shin; look at your foot; front side ribs broadening to sides;
(to undo tightness in lumbar)
ADHO MUKHA SWASTIKHASANA- sit on blanket
tailbone passive; R leg in first; spread sides of trunk and go forward; open waist; open pelvis bones; extend arms up wide away from ears; URDHVA HASTASANA; spread out fingers; when fingers spread ribs open more; exhale and fold forward; with same cup shaped fingers; shoulder blades in; BADDHA KONASANA groins; release buttocks and groins more and more; bend elbows with cup shaped fingers, lift the head, open chest more; inhale and come up; now L leg in, same instructions as above
VIRASANA
ADHO MUKHA VIRASANA
come forward and extend forward; tailbone was going back not down; we were not spreading across pelvis as in SUPTA BADDHA KONASANA; we were not spreading the abdomen nor spreading the chest as in all the poses; "why do you now narrow everything in this pose?", tailbone down not back; thighs down. cup shape hands and bend elbows to pressurize fingertips and bring tailbone down; Had us come up because we weren’t getting tailbone action
VIRASANA touch bottoms of feet with hands then buttocks will not fly out; then fold forward with cup shaped fingers; back ribs in; block either under head or hands depending on where you need it; inhale and come up
Geeta wanted us to look at Guruji doing the seated forward bends in the photos on the walls; Guruji’s tailbone was definitely down and his back was slightly rounded but shoulder blades were not sticking out; back was smooth;
SETUBANDA - heels to wall (no more walls so another girl and I flanked a block, can strap thighs (I did)
1 buttocks to heels; tailbone toward head; if low back hurts, widen legs; we weren’t getting tailbone action, so she told us all to come down
2 bend knees, see how tailbone comes toward head and also head of femur draws inward; same VIRABHADRASANA 1 action where pubis lifts, without hardening belly); then when you lengthen the legs keep the tailbone towards you moving buttocks toward heels; pubic bone into body; pubic bone surrenders to your body; then femur bone is received into hip socket; femur heads still well into the socket; (the action of tailbone moving towards head changed where lumbar/tailbone hit the block); then toes belong to body, knees belong to the body; thighs belong to the body;
SAVASANA - lumbar releases to floor as buttocks move to heels
flat on floor except blanket for pillow; bend knees and lengthen lumbar to floor; then carefully extend legs by bringing buttocks to heels; maintain contact of lumbar to floor; continue to lengthen the lumbar region; (this felt great after SETUBANDA and the forward bends)
(Notes compiled with Noriko Enslin (Osaka, Japan), Rina Ortiz (Philippines) and Hideko Sunaga (Yokohama, Japan)
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