The Only Four Yoga Sequences You’ll Ever Need

Man in yoga pose

I understand the desire to be creative with sequencing, I really do. But sometimes we really get in our own way. If you’re someone who agonizes about creating a new sequence for every class, then take comfort in my offering: you only need four yoga sequences.

Here’s what you need:

  • sequence to a backbend
  • sequence to an inversion
  • sequence to an arm balance
  • sequence to a complex standing pose

That’s it. Once you have the skeleton of these four classes in your back pocket, everything else is a variation on a theme.

Let’s take a closer look.

Sequence to a Backbend

A sequence to a backbend needs to build slowly and smartly in order to support your students to a safe and expansive experience. I’ve been to many a class where a backbend gets tossed in at the end (“if wheel is in your practice, then go for it!”) rather than mindfully sequenced. I understand and appreciate the intention (we all need a bit more backbending in our lives!), but your students’ bodies will be sooooo much happier when you take the time to prepare for these larger openings.

You’ll need to warm up these parts of the body:

  • Hip flexors – open those suckers buy incorporating lunges and thigh stretches like anjaneyasana and crescent
  • Spine – specifically, you need to train the upper back (thoracic) to extend as the lower back (lumbar) and neck (cervical) are stabilized
  • Neutral hips – train the line through the ankle, knee, and thigh to remain neutral in the pelvis (ie: don’t turn out the legs)
  • Core – you’ll want to train the core engage in a lengthened position (eccentric contraction) as part of protecting the lumbar spine from hyperextension
  • Shoulders – depending on which big backbend you’re doing, you’ll need to warm up the shoulder girdle in different directions (ie: wheel, you’ll need to do poses where you get the arms above the head in external rotation, while in dhaurasana (bow) you’ll need to work the arms behind you in extension).

I would suggest something like the following for a flow/power class:

  • Warm up: sun salutations modified with plenty of lunges to start opening the hip flexors; focus on training neutral hips and engaging the adductors.
  • Mobilize and engage: get the upper back and spine involved through progressively deep twists and backbends. Use this opportunity to integrate core engagement with the extension of the upper back. Also, incorporate poses that warm up the shoulder girdle towards your peak.
  • Targeted hip flexor stretch: before the peak, I like to do a juicy hip flexor opener, such as saddle, supta virasana or anjaneyasana with a thigh stretch.
  • Peak: variations of your complex backbend; have several progressive versions so that there is something for everyone.
  • Cool down and counterpose: forward folds, outer and inner hip stretches.

Backbends are the sequences that keep on giving. We ALL need more backbending our lives, due to our collapsed posture and sitting habits. There are so many good variations of this sequence; it will never go out of style.

Sequence to an Inversion

When sequencing to an inversion, you are usually training muscular intelligence rather than a specific muscular opening. Sure, the hamstrings need to be opened to get into most inversions, but – unless you’re doing a very complex inversion that requires backbending – the actual poses are pretty much like tadasana upside down.

Here’s what you need to think about:

  • Open the hamstrings. The preparatory poses for most inversions involve “walking in” and “stacking your hips over your shoulders,” which requires very open hamstrings. Use active forward folds to warm them up, such as pyramid, prasarita padottanasana, utthita hasta padangustasna, revolved triangle, standing splits.
  • Squeeze your legs together. I call this “midline,” where your thighs are neutral in the socket and you’re strongly engaging your adductors for support. Your legs must be active, straight, and engaged in order to provide leverage and direction for lift off. Practice this activation in poses such as crescent, chair, lunges, and forward folds.
  • Educate the shoulder girdle: to do inversions, you need to get your arms straight and over your head. You also want to train the upper arm in external rotation and the forearm in pronation. I love working this action by having students hold a block between their hands in chair pose. It’s evil, but it works.
  • Educate the ribs/core: Many of us “pop” the ribs forward when doing inversions. A core warm up can help to fire these muscles up and train the psoas (primary hip flexor) to anchor and stabilize the legs into the core of the body.
  • Educate hands/wrists: teach your students (in poses such as plank, chaturanga, or any pose with their hands on the floor) how to press into index knuckle and finger tips down to avoid sinking in the wrist. Help them turn their hands into little feet that they can stand on properly.

I would suggest something like the following for a flow/power class:

  • Solid warm up of surya A and B’s (depending on level of students)
  • Mobilize/educate: neutral standing poses and standing forward folds to train openness and engagement through hamstrings and legs; also trains neutral hips, which you need when you start kicking up to avoid chaos. Use these neutral poses to train the adductors to squeeze; you’ll need this when upside down. (If the legs aren’t stable, the whole pose will topple.)
  • Educate the arms: you also need to teach the connection of shoulder blades down into the hands. For example, when you’re doing handstand, you have to keep the arms straight. Support for the pose comes from the shoulder girdle.
  • Educate the shoulders: in my training, we balance the action of pulling the bottom ribs in (serratus anterior engagement) with hugging the shoulder blades slightly together (rhomboid engagement). These two opposing actions work together to train the shoulder blades to stay anchored on the back body and provide the necessary support for the body weight. In pincha or headstand, you need to teach students how to pull the shoulder blades into the back to create the necessary stability to invert.
  • Cool down: the cool down should stretch the adductors and outer hips, as well as give students a chance to rest their upper bodies.

Inversions are awesome and mind blowing. Teach them at a wall. Create benchmarks that clearly indicate to students whether or not they should proceed to the next “variation.”

Sequence to an Arm Balance

Sequencing to an arm balance is a fun and interesting challenge. Very different parts of the body need to be warmed up than for an inversion or backbending class. How you warm up for the pose will depend greatly on the particular arm balance that you are doing, as they all have unique requirements.

Generally, here’s what you need to think about:

  • Get the core fired up. No core, no arm balance. I like to start off with supine core exercises if I know that my peak is an arm balance. When you establish core integrity early on in the class, students can bring core awareness into every pose that they are doing.
  • Teach the hands/ wrists: similar to inversions, you have to teach students how to use their hands properly to avoid wrist compression.
  • Teach to the shoulder girdle: like backbends, you need to teach students to become aware of – and stabilize – their shoulder girdle. Draw their awareness to scapular stability in poses such as plank, chaturanga – as well as in non-shoulder weight bearing poses such as warrior 2.
  • Open the hips: depending on the arm balance, you will have to open the hips in different directions to help them get to the pose (the exception here is classical vasisthasana, which is basically tadasana on its side!)
  • Teach to leverage: much of the time, the ability to do an arm balance is not about strength as much as leverage. Doing eke pada galavasana or koundinyasana (A or B) depends on being willing to bring the upper body forward enough of the pivot of the elbow so that the lower half of the body can become light. Teach this action (shifting forward) in transitions such as plank to chaturanga.
  • Don’t fatigue them. Don’t overdo your prep to the point where they’re wiped out for the actual pose.

I would suggest something like the following for a flow/power class:

  • Core primer: a little supine core arm up to get their shoulders and legs integrated into the center of their bodies.
  • Sun salutations as a general warm up.
  • Standing poses and hip stretches that help to open the hips for that particular arm balance. For example, if you’re doing eka pada galavasana, it’s helpful to open the outer hips first in poses such as pigeon, standing pigeon, or awkward pigeon. Most arm balances (crow, koundinyasana, tittibhasana, etc) will require deep hip flexion at the very least. Poses such as lizards and standing poses with binds can help to get the body prepped for this kind of flexibility. Look at your peak arm balance and note what needs to be warmed up. For example, parsva bakasana and dragonfly will require twisting, while tittibhasana will require hamstring opening. Prepare for these openings as needed.
  • Alternate standing poses with prep poses on the hands. Don’t do too many poses on the hands in a row; the upper body will get too fatigued.
  • Peak: have non hand weight bearing options available. For example, if your peak is side crow, provide an option to do a revolved navasana instead. Plan for alternative (challenging!) options so that everyone has something to work on.
  • Cool down: counterpose with gentle backbends and hip flexor openings.

Sequence to a complex standing pose

Complex standing poses – revolved triangle, revolved half moon, ardha chandra chapasana – are challenging and also stabilizing to practice. I won’t go into these too much, but I will say that you can create an excellent, kick ass class by taking your time to teach the necessary actions in strong preparatory poses.

For example, if your peak pose is ardha chandra chapasana, then take your time to really teach your students about the external rotation of the standing leg, and do poses that help them to open the hip flexors and quads. Complex standing poses are delicious and incredibly satisfying. They’re also stable enough to be done in the majority of all levels classes. Best of all, your students will develop more appreciation for their standing poses when you take the time to really suck the marrow out of teaching the alignment.

Shake It Up

Now that you have four sequences at the ready, you can shake it up! Dial up the heat by creating more challenging transitions; or dial the sequence down (all the way to hatha!) by adding modifications and fewer power transitions. Intelligent sequencing can be applied respectively to hatha, power, flow or vinyasa classes; it’s how you teach the poses (pacing, transitions, timing) that will determine your class style.

Moral of the story? You don’t have to create new and wild sequence to create an amazing class experience. As my friend Mel says, “Are you a classical movie, or are you sitcom?” Be a classical movie. Teach confidently from the backbone of your four solid, intelligent sequences. Then spice it up without needing to recreate every sequence from scratch!

PS: Still worried about being boring? Read this!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

Why Boring Yoga Sequences Are Awesome

Blue Starry Night In Canyon

Do you feel the pressure to create a new sequence for every class?

When you tromp into your eighth class of the week and teach the same sequence that you did yesterday (heaven forfend!), do you hear any of these voices in your head?

“My students are getting bored.”

“I need to keep them interested.”

“If I don’t create something new, they’ll think I phoned it in.”

“They’ll stop coming to my class.”

In a saturated marketplace, yoga teachers may feel the pressure to innovate continually. We feel like we have to be different, interesting, compelling…and popular. Our classes need to be full. Our students need to leave happy. And sometimes it seems pretty popular to crank up the dance tunes and lead students in a yoga rave.

Now, let me throw a a healthy caveat in here: a healthy inspiration to innovate and share authentically is wonderful. If you love generating wild flows with complex transitions, then go for it with my ample blessings.

But just in case you’re someone who feels the crushing burden of being continual novel weighing upon you, I want to let you you in on a well-kept secret:

Your sequence doesn’t have to be interesting; YOGA is interesting. You don’t have to hold the students’ attention; their PRACTICE will hold their attention. You don’t have to be entertaining; being PRESENT is all-consuming.

In fact, an excess of novelty can get in the way of the bald ass starkness of simply being present. A wildly entertaining playlist and sequence can inadvertently create an environment of distraction rather than a space for mindfulness.

Some of my favorite class sequences have been utterly simple. For several years, I showed up on my mat and practiced the exact same sequence day after day (I was an ashtangi). Was I bored? Never. Every practice was different. Some days I felt like an elephant; some days I felt like a swan. Because I practiced the same poses everyday, I could more clearly see how the variation in my daily experience was completely subjective.

A simple practice can be confrontational. In a world that is cluttered with tasks, chimes, alerts, and to-do lists, clearing the slate and breathing into the present moment can take surprising courage and vulnerability. Holding space for students to simply be with themselves – as they are, with no distractions – can be scary. We can’t hide behind the sequence or the music. It’s just them, and it’s just us. And here we all are. These spaces – free from errands, tasks, and distractions – is rare and nourishing. We feel the life beyond the clutter. The “I” beyond the Iphone.

If wild and varied sequences don’t feel authentic to you, I encourage you to throw them out. And here is a very practical challenge: I dare you to teach the exact same sequence for a month. Not only will you challenge those nasty little fear gremlins in your head, but you’ll be able to focus on other aspects of your teaching (student connection, hands on assists, verbal assists, rhythm, class tone, theming, etc.) that you may not have time for when you’re constantly working a new sequence. And more importantly, you may offer your students a surprising new experience of their own practice.

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How To Sequence To Camel Pose

Camel Pose Ustrasana

Camel pose (ustrasana) is one of the few backbends that encourages a strong engagement of the front line of the body. Because you are moving backwards into the pose (imagine gravity like a heavy blanket trying to push you further into the pose), your abdominals (rectus abdominis) need to work eccentrically (engaged and lengthening) to enter the pose properly. If you attempt the pose without putting your hands behind you, you’ll feel the abdominals work very hard to keep you from collapsing backwards!

Camel is also a gateway pose to other challenging backbends (laghu-vajrasana and kapotasana), if you are you interested in such exotic treats.

Component Parts

A component part: a part of the body that needs to be warmed up or educated in order to do the peak pose effectively.

In order to prepare the body for camel pose, the following activations and lengthenings in the body need to be specifically addressed:

  • neutral hips: the thighs need to stay neutral at the hip. Because the big ol’ glute max will tend to engage and externally rotate the thighs, you’ll have to use your adductors to squeeze the legs in and internally rotate them slightly.
  • lengthened hip flexors: the hip is in a position of extension in this pose, so a few deep hip opening poses for the hip flexors is a good idea.
  • spinal extension: backbend should be targeted to the upper back. Backbends are great poses for counteracting some of daily slouching postures.
  • core engagement: the core needs to be activated to prevent hyperextension in the lower back.
  • arms in extension (behind you).

Let’s take a look at these component parts one by one to see some of the preparatory poses that can help you get there. Keep in mind that preparatory poses should be more accessible than the peak pose 🙂

Neutral Hips

Poses that help you to “scissor the legs” and “hug your inner thighs together” are teaching your adductors to engage. These muscles line the inner legs and help to both adduct and internally rotate your inner thighs. Some good poses for teaching this action:

  • chair with legs together (squeeze the legs)
  • hero’s pose (teaches a bit of internal rotation
  • lunges (high lunge or low lunge)
  • twisted chair
  • twisted lunges
  • locust pose
  • eagle pose (when done properly; see this video for tips)

Lengthened Hip Flexors

The hip flexors are muscles that cross the front of your hip joint. To stretch them, take your thigh back relative to the pelvis.

  • lunges (high lunge or low lunge) – awesome hip flexor openers! The best. Do several.
  • side angle pose – the back leg, if you give your glute a good squeeze
  • reclined hero’s pose – as long as your careful of your knees: see here

Spinal Extension (Backbends)

The trick with teaching backbends properly is to focus the spinal extension into the upper back while stabilizing the lower back. When you are teaching all your backbends, make sure to set your students up for success by integrating these instructions early on. You can also add backbends to your standing poses.

  • low lunge, high lunge with backbends
  • sphinx
  • locust (all variations)
  • bridge
  • cobra (low and high)
  • upward facing dog

Core Engagement

In backbends, the core needs to be activated to prevent hyperextension in the lower back. In backbends, the muscles of the front of the body are lengthening eccentrically while they are contracting, which is a nice change from doing crunches (when they contract and shorten).

  • plank
  • chaturanga
  • boat (note that this pose can get a little tight in the hip flexors though)
  • supine leg lifts

Arms In Extension

Though you probably don’t need to warm up the shoulders that much, the shoulder joint is in extension (arms behind you). What needs to be trained here is the extension of the shoulder WITH the widening of the collarbones. In other words, don’t let the shoulder heads drop forward when you take the arms back. You want the shoulder blades to move closer together to help support thoracic extension (backbend). For tighter students, have them hold a strap with hands shoulder distance apart so they can get the action of the shoulder and chest together.

  • tadasana with hands interlaced and arms in extension
  • locust
  • high lunge/low lunge with hands interlaced behind you.
  • prasarita padottanasana C (wide legged forward fold with hands clasped behind you)
  • bridge

Putting It Together

Once you’ve put these poses together in a sensible sequence, it’s time for the peak! Here’s my favorite entrance into this pose. You can also place a bolster across your students’ shins to help make the pose more accessible. Check it out!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How To Sequence A Yoga Class: Peak Pose Sequencing

Sequencing is the hidden art of the yoga class. Peak pose sequencing is a sequencing style in which you select a challenging apex pose and then creates a sequence that will sensibly prepare the body to get there.

Peak Pose Sequencing: a yoga sequencing style that builds the class progressively towards a challenging apex pose.

There are other styles of sequencing. Some yoga styles (like hot and ashtanga) use a set sequence where the same poses are practiced each time, while other styles of yoga (like wave vinyasa) build upon repetitive iterations of postures. Teachers may sequence a class around an energetic focus or sequence to create a well-rounded and balanced class.

I prefer peak pose sequencing because

  • the body is prepared pragmatically and logically for more challenging postures,
  • the students feel empowered because they have the openings and the education to give the peak pose their personal best shot,
  • the students gain confidence because – even if they can’t fully do the peak pose – they can see the pathway towards increasing their own skill levels,
  • peak pose sequencing is style blind and can be adapted for multiple styles of yoga (hatha, vinyasa, hot, etc),
  • peak pose sequencing encourages teachers to be very specific, clear, and mindful in our use of asana.

Peak pose sequencing has five steps.

  1. Choose your peak pose
  2. Determine the component parts of your peak pose
  3. Brainstorm the poses for your sequence
  4. Organize your poses from easiest to hardest
  5. Plan your transitions based on your yoga style and class level

Step One: Choose Your Pose

In peak pose sequencing, we first must define the peak pose for the yoga class. For our purposes, let’s choose a peak pose of warrior 3.

When you select your peak pose, you will generally want to choose a pose that is complex and challenging for the average practitioner.

Step Two: Determine The Component Parts

Component parts are the parts of the body that must be educated or warmed up appropriately in order to do the peak pose.

Component parts: parts of the body that must be educated or warmed up appropriately in order to do the peak pose.

For example, let’s consider warrior 3. What makes this pose challenging? What parts of the body need to be warmed up our educated in order to do this pose safely and effectively?

Well, we know that it’s very hard to keep the hips square in this posture. So one of our component parts may be “neutral/square hips.” We also know that the hamstrings need to be open, so another component part may be “open hamstrings.”

Note: it is important to be specific with any component part that is referencing the hips or shoulders. It’s not enough to list a component part as “hips,” since the hip is a ball and socket joint and “hips” could mean anything! Be specific about what is happening at the hip and shoulder joint.

Your ability to balance is challenged, so another component part may be “balance,” or “foot/ankle stability.” You may also recognize that the back body has to work against gravity to find stability and lift, so you may add in “back extensors.”

While you can dive down a component part rabbit hole, it’s better to restrict the number of component parts to about six or so in order to focus on what is most important to teach or address in order to achieve the final posture.

Our final list of component parts for warrior three may be:

  • Hips square
  • Hamstrings open
  • Foot and ankle stability (balance)
  • Back extensors
  • Core
  • Final position: arms reaching forward (flexion/external rotation of upper arm at the shoulder)

Step Three: Brainstorm Your Poses

Now that we have a list of our component parts, let’s examine how we would choose our poses. For each component part on your list, brainstorm a list of less complex poses that also teach to this component part or action.

For example, can you think of other poses in which the hips must work to be square? What can you come up with?

There are lots of options, but our list may include:

  • High lunge
  • Chair
  • Pyramid
  • Low lunge
  • Half hanumanasana
  • Etc.

For each component part, brainstorm about five poses that you feel really help your student to understand its action. Note: you may have the same poses in multiple lists; for example, pyramid pose helps train both “square hips” as well as “open hamstrings” so it’s a double whammy!

Step Four: Organize Your Poses From Easiest To Hardest

Once you’ve created your list of poses, put them in order from most accessible (easiest on the body) to hardest (most difficult for the average practitioner). Your peak pose should be the most challenging, so warrior three will be the last pose on your list. If you have a pose on your list that’s harder than your peak, save it for a different sequence!

By organizing your poses in this way, you will create a class plan the builds logically in the body and helps each pose prepare for the next.

Step Five: Plan Your Transitions

Remember that peak pose sequencing is style blind; this means that this logic will work for many hatha, hot or vinyasa styles. Although the order of the poses may not change, the way in which you transition the poses will create your style. For example, in a flow practice, you may link multiple poses together, repeat poses several times, and link poses via a vinyasa or sun salutation. In a hatha style class, you may practice one static pose simply after the other.

By planning your transitions skillfully, you will create an intentional experience for your students.

Bonus: The Cool Down

One final thought.

The class doesn’t end at the peak pose. Students often need to wind down and counter balance the body.

Consider: what poses would counterpose or balance the action of the peak pose? For example, if you have practiced warrior three as your peak, then you really don’t need to do more hamstring opening. You probably spent the whole class preparing to open the hamstrings! Instead, it may feel really nice to stretch the outer hips and inner thighs, which were active and engaged to support balancing and squaring the hips.

For your “cool down,” consider what needs to be stretched and what needs to be “contained” in order to counterbalance your peak posture. Then choose 3-5 poses that help to unwind the body from its efforts.

Pro Tip: understanding component parts can also guide your cueing. Now that you understand which component parts that are being targeted in each pose, use your cues to reinforce and instruct to those actions as you move through your sequence. By the time you reach your peak pose destination, your students will have a deeper and more embodied understanding of what they need to do.

Free Sequences

Check out my sequences to these poses:

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How To Sequence to Tittibhasana (Insect Pose)

Tittibhasana (insect pose) is very fun pose to try, requiring deep hip flexion, hamstring opening, and a keen sense of balance. Part of the pose requires training the connection between the upper arm and the thigh; by connecting these parts of the body, you can create buoyancy and stability. Candidly, access into this pose (and many of these tighter arm balances) is dictated in part by the structure of the hip joint. Students who have a good deal of hip flexion and longer arms will find it easier to access.

Peak pose: Tittibhasana

Component parts:

  • Hamstring opening
  • Hip flexion
  • Midline (adductor connection, squeezing inner thighs in)
  • Core
  • Hand and wrist education

Here’s the flow sequence I taught. For the sake of simplicity, I am not outlining the transitions. Because it was a flow class, most transitions occurred through vinyasa. I frequently used the “mountain climber” transition from 3-legged dog, where you round forward and draw the knee to the chest or outer upper arm. This action helps to train core, hip flexion, adductor midline, and continued engagement and lift of back leg – all essential in many arm balances.  Linked poses are indicated with “-“.

Use good sequencing sense.

Sequence

  • Sukhasana
  • Surya A x 5
    • taught students to walk to front of mat in small steps, heels down first and palms flat, to begin to train hip lift and open hamstrings
  • Low lunge-half splits flow (to start opening hamstrings)
  • Parsvakonasana with hand to inside of leg (get shoulder inside knee and hug in)
  • Uttanasana, working to get chest to inside of thighs
  • Garudasana – nesting eagle – crescent – lizard (do R/L)
    • Lizard: back leg lifted (trains hip flexion and shoulder/thigh connection, as well as teaches back leg to stay engaged with the back hip lifted).

  • Transition to downward dog by clamping front knee on upper arm and – keeping back thigh lifted – bending front knee to lift up front foot from floor (beginning of eka pada koundinyasana B). You can add a mini chaturanga here.
  • Humble warrior 2 – parsvakonasana with hand inside of leg, trying to bring forearm to the floor – prasarita padottasanana A (R/L)
  • Malasana with twist (to get shoulder/thigh connection) (R/L)
  • Bakasana
  • Crescent – low lunge – hanumanasana with foot reaching slightly diagonally to front corner of mat (to stretch adductor line) (R/L)
  • Flow to low lunge position for eka pada koundinyasana B  (R/L)

  • Peak: Bhujapidasana (with blocks under hands)

  • Tittibhasana (with blocks under hands, big strap loop around feet)
    • Non-weight bearing modification: navasana (boat) with legs working to straight (can bring arms inside legs to approximate tittibhasana)
  • Cool down:
    • baddha konasana (adductor and outer hip stretch)
    • parivrtta janu sirsasana (open side body, stretch adductors) – baby wild thing (stand on bent knee, take arm over head, nice side body stretch and front body opening)
    • reclined twist
    • ananda balasana (happy baby)
    • savasana

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How To Sequence a Delicious Hip Opening Yoga Flow Sequence

I’ve been playing with this delicious hip opening sequence this week.

This sequence is a well-rounded flow yoga class for all levels that take an “around the world” tour of the hips: opening the front, sides, and back of the hip joint. Rather than sequencing to a peak pose, this anatomical intention of this sequence is rather to mobilize the hip joint in all directions.

Energetically, this sequence is lunar rather than solar. Solar energy is like a blast of sunlight: direct, fierce, and forceful. Lunar energy is more feminine; when we embrace the sacred power of the feminine, we invite surrender, receptivity, creativity, changeability. The strength of the moon is equally powerful, but she moves like water or air. Rather than focusing on long holds and fixed alignment, invite your students to move in spirals, loops, and undulations. This is an “unsticking” sequence, where practitioners find the energetic flow to release densities in the body.

A few tips:

  • Make sure they’re breathing. As this is a more cooling, lunar practice, you can invite exhales through the mouth rather than consistent ujjayi.
  • Every practitioner’s hips are different; students should be encouraged to embrace their own unique structure and capacity.
  • Focus on flow and feeling rather than getting poses “right”
  • Help practitioners get out of their head by playing music that invites movement and softness
  • Use juicy language to evoke a nourishing practice (words like yummy, delicious, nourish, sense, connect, enjoy, delve, carve, explore, etc)
  • Create a theme to get students out of the head and into a nourishing state of surrender/receptivity
  • Soft joints (bent knees, bent elbows: find more “buoyancy” in joints)
  • Props: two hard blocks, one chip foam block (for under knee in low lunge, or to sit upon)

If I had to choose a peak, it would be upright pigeon (more on the two pigeons here), but really the intention is the hips.

Sequence

Opening

  • Sukhasana
  • Add in cat/cow seated undulations, sufi grinds (make a circle through hips) – change legs and repeat
  • Cat/Cow
  • On forearms and knees, take hips in circles
  • Downward dog, forward fold, walk to front of mat, uttanasana, roll up Tadasana

Warming Up – Surya Namaskar

  • Surya namaskar A x 3 (offer lots of modifications, etc, focus on breath)

Warming Up – Flow One

  • Do first part of surya namaskar, but step right foot back to low lunge
  • Low lunge flow: low lunge to half splits (flow between poses), probably hands on blocks
  • Step back three legged dog (open hip, do hip circles)
  • Step forward, come up to warrior two: flow exalted to side angle (focus on movement of hips)
  • Hands down, step forward to a baby standing split (standing leg bent)
  • Uttanasana, roll up, shoulder rolls etc
  • Repeat second side

Warming Up – Flow Two

  • Standing pigeon (standing ankle to knee, opening outer hip)
  • Release leg to step back to a high crescent lunge
  • High crescent lunge version 1: add side stretch
  • Hands down to blocks, keep back thigh lifted, flow from lunge to modified pyramid (similar to first flow but with back knee lifted)
  • Step back three legged dog
  • Step forward, hand to inside of front leg for side angle, option to bend elbow (making it a bit more like a modified lizard, as if you were going to bind – but don’t) Option to take top arm on giant circle.
  • Hands down, step front foot halfway back for a modified vasisthasana (turn on outer edge of back foot, you’ll be facing the right side of mat; this variation opens outer top hip)
  • Hands down to inside of foot, play with glueing front knee to outer right shoulder and taking baby chaturangas (arm balance prep)
  • Complete vinyasa, include a few breaths in an accessible backbend (sphinx, locust)
  • Step right foot to front of mat, standing splits
  • Uttanasana, roll up, shoulder rolls etc
  • Repeat second side

Intermezzo

  • Malasana
  • Bakasana

Warming Up – Flow Three

  • Standing pigeon (standing ankle to knee, opening outer hip), option for eka pada galavasana
  • Release leg to step back to a high crescent lunge
  • High crescent lunge version 1: add backbend
  • Hands down to inside of leg, lower back knee, lizard (option to lift leg)
  • Lift back leg, optional eka pada koundinyasana play
  • Step back three legged dog, open hip
  • Step forward side angle pose to half moon
  • Forward fold at top of mat
  • Uttanasana, roll up, shoulder rolls etc
  • Repeat second side

Working to Pigeon

  • Surya namaskar to downward facing dog
  • Lift right foot up, step forward: anjaneyasana with backbend and thigh stretch
  • Awkward pigeon (lizard with external rotation of front thigh to stretch outer hip)
  • Hands down, modified vasisthasana (turning to right)
  • Okay this part is a little wild:
    • Lower hips (facing side of mat)
    • Draw bottom leg in (right leg is on top in ardha matsyendrasana) – take twist (toward back of mat)
    • Stack knees (still facing side of mat): gomukhasana
    • Come out way you came in, but draw right knee into chest, extend leg under you to the left for Brigid’s Cross (right leg is straight out to side of mat, left leg back behind you, forward fold/twist towards front of mat; this creates big IT band stretch on right leg. Think revolved half moon – parivrtta ardha chandrasana – but laying on floor)
    • Come out the way you came in, optional wild thing
    • Downward dog
  • Second side

Backbends and Peak

  • Spinx to cobra (mobilize upper back)
  • Saddle or supta virasana
  • Upright pigeon – nom nom nom – feel free to do with hands on blocks and lifting UP into backbend (the backbend pictured may be a bit extreme for most folks). Practitioners should lift away from floor rather than sit into the left hip.

Cool Down

  • Cooling pigeon (or swan, figure four, etc)
  • Wide legged forward fold (upavista konasana)
  • Cobbler’s pose (baddha konasana)
  • Seated pranayama: chandra bhedhana (cooling, yum yum)
  • Savasana

Enjoy this yummy hip opening exploration!

Let me know if you have any questions at all. Happy Hips!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

Yoga Sequencing Skills: Sequence to Forearm Stand (Pincha Mayurasana)

Forearm Stand (Pincha Mayurasana) is a HUGE pose. It’s a backbend, inversion, hamstring opener, and shoulder opener all in one. To adequately prepare for this pose, you need to be aware of the following component parts.

Component Part: body parts that need to be warmed up or educated in order to do the peak pose

Video step by step to teach Forearm Stand

Component Parts of Forearm Stand

  • hamstrings (you don’t need these to do the pose, but you need the open to get into it
  • shoulder opening: arms above head, upper arms in external rotation
  • tricep /lat opening: part of the arms being above the head, and the elbows being bent
  • shoulder girdle stability: since you are weight bearing through the upper body, the shoulder girdle needs to be stable
  • backbend: focus education of back bending into the upper back (this includes getting the shoulder blades firmly connected into the upper back)
  • core: use abdominal core connection to prevent taking the backbend into the lower back
  • midline: hugging the legs together in order to maintain neutrality through the pelvis (rather than letting the legs turn out into external rotation, or the hips to fall out to one side)

Okay!

So the following sequence could be used for a variety of student levels. However, if you’re teaching a more hatha style class, then I would do less sun salutations, do very stable transitions, and likely not do the final pose (I’d make the peak pose dolphin rather than full pincha). For a flow or power class, I would use more vinyasa to link the poses.

Class Opening

  • virasana/ vajrasana: set up the neutral pelvis position here
  • cat/ cow, and dancing cat/ cow: general warm up, educate shoulder girdle
  • downward dog, forward fold, stand to Tadasana

Warm Up

You may link these poses or teach each one by one. This is a listing of poses that I would use to help prepare for forearm stand (and in the rough order that I would use them), but I have not included transitions or described specifically how to teach them. Also, this is not a complete list, just some of my must have faves!

[table id=1 /]

Peak

Forearm Stand, naturally! Optional props: shoulder width strap above elbow (to prevent elbows sliding out), and block between hands (to prevent hands sliding in). Video of step by step. 

  • Stage 1: sphinx
  • Stage 2: dolphin
  • Stage 3: dolphin with one leg lifted at a time
  • Full: at wall

Cool Down / Integration

Counterpose with poses that release muscles that have been worked (such as abductors and adductors) and bring spine into flexion. Options include:

  • Baddha konasana (cobbler’s pose)
  • Janu Sirsasana (head to knee)
  • Seated twists (Maricyasana or Ardha Matsyendrasana)
  • Outer hip openers (Thread the needle, “Swan,” Cooling Pigeon)

Have fun, look forward to hearing how it goes!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How to Sequence to Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise is a bound standing pose, where you balance on one leg and try to look like a stork. But, you know, an elegant stork. It’s a doozy of a pose, requiring balance, open hamstrings, external rotation, and deep hip flexion. Let’s take a closer look at how you can get your students there.

Component parts – what needs to be warmed up or educated to do the pose

  • hamstring opening – particularly inner leg/ groin
  • flexion and external rotation of the lifted leg
  • internal rotation of the upper arm and openness to the chest
  • balance
  • binding – needs to be intelligently educated for health of shoulder
  • standing up – needs to be intelligently educated so that the work is coming from the legs and you’re not “hauling” the leg up with the upper body

Props you need

  • Strap

For this pose, there are some actions that need to be educated: binding and standing.

How to bind

I often see people binding in such a way that their chest collapses into spinal flexion. Binding at the expense of the chest (or binding and “hanging on for dear life”) is not optimal. Use a strap to lengthen the arms when needed. Everyone has different length arms relative to their torso. A bind that is easy for one person may be challenging for someone else. Honour the integrity of the pose over the aesthetics of “getting it.”

How to stand

Also, in Bird of Paradise, you have to stand up onto one leg. I often see students hauling themselves up by their upper body – in particular, letting the heavy weight of their bound leg rest in the bind of their arms.  Poor rotator cuff and shoulder! The leg is bigger – and heavier – than the arm, so don’t let the shoulder do the work of supporting the bound leg. Instead use the legs to lift the legs. Let the arms be decorative – not hauling machines.

Sequence of yoga poses

  • Wide legged child’s pose (opening groin)
  • Cat/ Cow
  • Sun Salutations – use to thread the remaining poses for flow class. Or simplify for hatha.
  • Side angle pose (parsvakonasana) with back shin down and parallel to back of mat (like a baby side angle) (flexion/ external rotation)
  • Low lunge (anjaneyasana) to half splits (ardha hanumanasana) (opens hamstrings)
  • Warrior two (virabhadrasana two) to side angle (parsvakonasana) (external rotation, flexion)
  • Humble warrior (extension and internal rotation of the arms)
  • Chair (utkatasana) shift weight side to side and balance on one foot (beginning to teach actions needed to stand up)
  • Chair (utkatasana) balance on one leg to step back into high lunge with hands clasped behind (extension and internal rotation of arms)
  • Tree (vrksasana) (balance, external rotation)
  • Lizard (flexion, external rotation)
  • Step forward to standing splits with top hip open (hamstrings, groin, balance) and stand up knee to chest (teach action of standing up)
  • Wide legged forward fold C (prasarita padottanasana c(hamstrings).
  • Add side to side shift (skandasana) for inner thigh stretch
  • Utthita hasta padangustasana b (balance, external rotation). This is bird of paradise without the bind.
  • Side angle pose (parsvakonsana) with teaching bind, use strap (flexion, external rotation, arms to bind, use strap)
  • Peak! Bird of Paradise. Teach how to get up into it first, then play.
  • Cool down should include outer hip stretches (those guys have worked to stabilize you!), perhaps a hamstring stabilizer like bridge.

Check out my sequence below.  While I’m not teaching this exact sequence, it shows how I teach you to come up into the pose safely (at about 44 minutes) and will give a similar sequence for you to practice and explore.

Happy sequencing!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How to sequence safely to Natarajasana – Dancer’s Pose

Natarajasana – Dancer’s Pose – is a beautifully challenging yoga pose. It’s a complex pose with a lot of benefits:

  • Opens the chest and front line of the body
  • Works your balance (ankle and hip stability)
  • Increases focus

The component parts (parts of the body that need to be warmed up or educated in order to do the pose) are as follows:

  • Hip flexor opening: the front of the hip needs to be stretched and opened.
  • Backbend: the backbend should initiate from the upper back (thoracic) and the lower back should be stabilized by the core, which leads us to ….
  • Core stability: engaging the abdominals intelligently prevents over-compression in the lower back
  • Hamstring opening: to hinge forward from the hip, the backs of the legs need to be open.
  • Arm in extension: the arm that is holding your foot is moving backwards in space. This helps with chest opening.
  • Balance: training the outer hips and ankles to support us in space.

Here’s a flow sequence that helps you warm up your body to make the most of the pose! Props you may want:

  • Strap

Opening

  • Virasana – Hero’s Pose
  • Cat Cow with leg and arm extended (Dancing Cat)

Warm Up

  • Surya Namaskar A with low lunges
  • Triangle trikonasana
  • Twisted chair parivrttta utkatasana
  • Eagle garudasana
  • High lunge with arms clasped behind
  • Wide legged forward fold prasarita padottansana  c
  • Sphinx and Locust salabhasana
  • High lunge into twisted lunge parivrtta parsvakonasana
  • Thigh stretch (add a quad stretch in low lunge, or do a pose like saddle)
  • Locust and Bow dhanurasana
  • Warrior 3 virabhadrasana

Peak

  • Dancers holding foot with simple standing quad stretch natarajasana
  • Dancers holding foot with arm in extension (behind), adding hinged forward backbend
  • Dancers holding foot with both arms above head and elbows bent – use strap to hook foot

Counter

  • Forward fold janu sirsasana or paschimottanasana
  • Seated twist ardha matsyendrasana
  • Thread the needle or seated outer hip stretch agnistambhasana

Happy sequencing!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

Icon for infographic from:

How to Sequence to Wheel Pose

This class yoga pose is complex! Requiring deep opening through the hips and shoulders, wheel uses the strength of the arms and legs to leverage the practitioner into the pose. Make sure to use stages for the peak, starting with bridge pose. 

Here’s a look at how I may sequence this pose for a flow style class. 

 

Component Parts (Parts of the body that have to be warmed up or educated to do the peak pose effectively and safely):

  • backbending (thoracic)
  • upper arms in flexion/ external rotation
  • hip flexors open
  • core engaged (lightly)
  • neutral hips

Sequence:

Opening

  • sit in virasana on blocks (meditation/ teacher talking, breathing etc) – find midline (squeeze block lightly)
  • interlace hands – take arms above head. reverse hand grip, repeat
  • cat/ cow (focus on movement of thoracic spine
  • dancing cat – core integration even when arm in flexion (don’t pop ribs)

Warm Up

  • 3 sun salutation A’s
  • intermediate/ advanced – add 2 B’s

Targeted Warm Up

  • Thread A (open hips) – right leg (these poses are linked)
    • Vinyasa to Dog
    • Right leg to 3-legged Dog
    • Step through to Warrior II
    • Parsvakonasana (arm over ear)
    • Warrior II
    • Three-legged dog then step right foot through to…
  • Thread B (closed hips):
    • High lunge
    • Open Twist
    • Lizard
    • Vinyasa to Dog
  • Repeat Thread A and Thread B on the left side
  • Intermezzo: Cobra, Sphinx
    • Finish vinyasa to front of mat
  • Thread C (closed hips):
    • Chair with block between hands – hover step back to …
    • High lunge – add backbend
    • Closed twist (parivrtta parsvakonasana)
    • Standing split (option stand up to chair)
    • Tadasana
    • Repeat left side
  • Intermezzo – Salabhasana, Sphinx with thigh stretch, Dhanurasana
  • Thread D (closed hips):
    • Chair with backbend
    • Vira III
    • High lunch with backbend
    • Low lunge with quad stretch
    • Plank – Dolphin (shoulder opener)
  • Peak
    • Bridge
    • Stages of Wheel
  • Cooldown
    • Janu Sirsasana
    • Ardha Matsyendrasana
    • Paschimottanansana
    • Meditation
    • Savasana

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How To Sequence to Dragonfly Pose

I taught this delightful little power sequence in YYoga’s 3-Day Principles of YYoga Teacher Training as a demonstration of sensibly sequencing to peak poses. Keep in mind that access to Dragonfly is limited by the joint of the hip – not just the muscles. For more info on skeletal variation, check out Paul Grilley’s outstanding resources. Suffice it to say, the shape of the hip joint itself limits and controls how we move.  The deep external rotation and flexion that Dragonfly calls for means that it is simply not a universal pose.

But that’s no problem! It’s great fun and delicious to work towards it. And side crow and eka pada koundinyasana are awesome stages for getting there. Check it out.

 

Dragonfly Component Parts

What needs to be warmed up or educated for the peak

  • Core & Butt staying high
  • Hugging legs to midline/ neutral hips
  • External rotation and deep flexion at the hip
  • Lateral spinal flexion and rotation
  • Bright and engaged scapula – lots of serratus anterior
  • Hand engagement (hasta bandha)
Sequence
Opening
  • Start on back – transition to yoga practice, breathing, etc.
  • Figure 4 stretch both sides
  • Core integration (pelvic floor, slow crunches, slow obliques)
  • Move to child’s pose and walk hands to right (lateral stretch, yum) then left
  • Downward Dog – Uttansana – Tadasana (roll up, yummy, take time)
General Warm Up
  • Surya A with some extra plank core and scapular push ups – 4 x
  • Vinyasa to Downward Dog…
  • Three-legged dog right leg, three slow core crunches (knee to nose). Take one across body to opposite elbows. Cue hip height (get bum up!) and pressing through hands
Targeted Warm Up
  • First series:
    • Vira II – link to Parsvakonasana (can have elbow to knee, elbow in front of knee, or hover core)
    • Hand to floor, turn back heel up, then core sequence: place hands on block. Train hips to stay lifted as you hover front foot. Press into hands. Float foot back to 3-legged plank. Then draw knee in and hover foot again. Slowly two more times. Then step back to 3-legged dog (can keep hands on block if want).
    • Open hip. Keeping hips back and up into down dog, take knee out to side like doggy at fire hydrant. Extend legs – outer hip engagement, YA!
    • Step slowly through foot between hands
    • Vira II to humble warrior
    • Hands to floor, turn back heel up, back knee down – Lizard (bum up again!)
    • Repeat all second side, then vinyasa
  • Second series:
    • From front of mat.
    • Revolved chair – step slowly back into Revolved Side Angle. Raise up to Crescent. Lift front heel up and hold three breaths. Put it back town. Hands slowly to floor.
    • Awkward pigeon (external rotation front leg, bum up and back!)
    • Step front foot halfway down mat, root down through the left hand, turn onto outside of back foot, lift hips high, supported Side plank.
    • Repeat all second side, then vinyasa
  • Third series:
    • From front of mat.
    • Eka pada galavasana prep (ie: standing figure four) – slow transition to Warrior 3
    • Step to crescent and transition to Revolved Side Angle pose
    • Hands to mat. Step front foot halfway down mat, root down through the left hand, turn onto outside of back foot, lift hips high, supported Side plank.
    • Staying lifted through shoulder, lower hips. Pull left heel to bum. Ardha Matsyendrasana. Transition to Agnistambasana (stacked shin) or seated figure 4.
    • Transition out the way you came in to supported Side Plank.
    • Draw right knee into chest, shoot right foot under left arm to left side of mat, turn onto outside of back foot, Side Plank Variation.
    • Staying lifted in shoulder, set hips down (legs look an “L”). Straight legs, twist to front of mat, deep belly twist and IT band stretch (this looks like a prone revolved triangle). Five deep breaths.
    • Come back out the way you came in, slowly. Down dog.
    • Repeat all on left side.
  • Core:
    • Navasana with twist from side to side.
    • Tolasana
    • Repeat
    • Seated Dragonfly
      • Version 1: Twisted navasana
      • Version 2: Seated figure four with twist towards foot
      • Version 3: Seated figure four with twist towards foot, bottom foot lifted off floor (like navasana)
Peak
  • Version 1: Side crow
  • Version 2: Eka Pada Koundinyasana A
  • Version 3: Dragonfly – from eka pada galavasana prep
Cool down and Savasana
  • Anjaneyasana optional thigh stretch
  • Upavista Konasana
  • Happy Baby
  • Savasana
Tips
  • Bum up! It’s not the body part, but the action that is so key
  • A theme about accepting our unique, magnificent bodies is a beautiful way to invite play, exploration and fun to this sweaty, yummy, twisty practice 🙂

Try it and comment!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

Enjoy! 🙂

 

How To Sequence to Eka Pada Galavasana (Standing Pigeon Pose)

To do this pose well, you need open outer hips, coupled with hip buoyancy (from the core and back leg activation) coupled wtih a willingness to reach the chest forward to counterbalance the lifting of the back leg.  Component Parts:

  • Core (spinal flexion) – strengthening
  • Scapular stability – strengthening
  • Hands/ wrist (education)
  • External rotation of thigh – opening
  • Reaching of the chest forward (education)
  • Buoyancy through back hip/ thigh (education)
  • Toe education and awakeness

 

Sequence:

Props needed: Strap, two blocks, chip foam block

  • Sukhasana with forward fold (stretches outer hips)
  • Cat/cow – focus on spinal flexion
  • Surya A – break down and include section on effective chaturangas.  Chest remains wide, shoulders stabilized, and chest reaching far forward
  • Vinayasa to downward dog and…
    • Virabhadrasana II with humble warrior and strap.  Place feet heel to heel for more room.
    • Parsvakonasana with hand into inner leg, upper arm moving towards bind
    • Vasisthasana with top leg in external rotation and foot placed halfway down the mat (this is often used to modify, here is it to stretch the outer hips as well as educate hands and shoulder stability)
  • Vinyasas to front of mat.
    • Garudasana into…Vira 3 (focus on midline, extension of back leg as reach chest forward).  Step into..
    • Crescent and then lower to
    • Lizard – focus on lift of back hip as you reach chest forward
    • Return to top of mat, second side.
  • Vinyasa to front of mat.
    • External hip stretch (standing ankle to knee pose to open outer hip. Chest forward, hips back).  Vira III into…
    • Crescent….lower to…
    • Awkward pigeon – focus on moving from the thigh to externally rotate the leg – not the foot.  Again, back leg buoyant as chest reaches forward. Play with balance by taking your hands off the flow if you wish.
  • Navasana – Tolasana x3 – focus on core, shoulder stability, midline
  • Seated ankle to knee pose (flexibility through outer hip, lift of chest)
  • Seated toe stretch
  • Eka pada galavasana ** peak
    • Put it all together.
  • Cooldown
    • Anjaneyasana with thigh stretch
    • Upavista konasana
    • Baddha konasana
    • Savasana

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

Teaching Flow versus Power: what’s the difference?

These two styles look the same, so what’s the difference?

At YYoga, we make a distinction between Flow and Power.  Now, these styles are very similar and use the same kinds of poses (sun salutations, standing poses, arm balances, inversions, complex backbends).  They both derive from the Ashtanga tradition, which incorporates standing poses held for 5 breaths interposed with vinyasa.  While there is also a temperature difference for our studios (Power classes are heated), the goals of each style are actually slightly different and will prompt us to use different tools as teachers.

Because they have similar components, we can envision Flow being on one end of the spectrum, and power on another.  While we will use elements of both for our teaching, we can benefit from being clear about which side of the spectrum that we are playing with and WHY.

flow-power

 

 
 

Power Classes

  • Tools:
    • Fewer poses held longer – static
    • Ujjayi pranayama
    • More time for props, teacher demonstrations, going to the wall
  • Strength building
  • Slow, steady work
  • Focus on alignment and muscular action
  • Encourages body awareness – annamaya kosha (physical body)
  • Grounding
  • Creates tapas (transformational heat), intensity, focus, stability
  • Harnesses energy IN
  • Consequences of the style to be aware of:
    • Burning out your students in long holds
    • Impact of holding on wrists, etc.
    • Moderation of chaturangas etc. when you’re peak pose is on the hands
    • Keeping ambitious students within their means (Power students may like to push)

Flow Classes

  • Tools for Flow
    • More poses moved through more more quickly – dynamic
    • Linking poses
    • Ujjayi
  • Flexibility building (or strength in movement)
  • Smooth, almost continuous movement
  • Focus on breath and fluidity
  • Encourages breath awareness – pranaymaya kosha (breath body)
  • Flowing
  • Illuminates spanda (the divine pulsation in us – here in the breath), breath expansion, mobility
  • Expands energy OUT
  • Consequences of the style to be aware of:
    • Necessity for safe transitions when you are moving quickly
    • Newer/ stiffer students may have a hard time keeping up
    • Can’t cue as much alignment in flow when you’re cuing the breath and moving quickly

As you’re creating your class, consider:

  • What is the experience that I want to offer my students?  Stabilizing and grounding?  Or flowing and expressive?
  • Which tools can I use from each style to create this experience?
  • How can I deliver this experience being mindful of the “Consequences to be aware of?”

Happy Teaching!

 

Linking in flow classes: how to teach smart transitions

Have you been in a class where any of the following have occurred:keep-calm-and-vinyasa-flow-2_large

  • The teacher (maybe it’s us) links 12 million poses on the same side.  Thighs are trembling.  Anger is mounting.
  • The teacher forgets to do one side, or forgets and entire series of poses
  • You have to change your foundation to get to the next pose…and the next
  • You’re not even sure how to get from one pose to another
  • You’re up.  You’re down.  You’re up.  You’re down.  You’re up.  You’re down. You’re seasick.
  • You’re not sure exactly what you’re supposed to be doing in the pose (what pose is it?) because it’s not about alignment, baby, it’s all about the FLOW

Alright.

So before we chat about how to flow SMART, let’s talk about why we flow, period.

Why We Flow

“Flow” yoga has its roots in Ashtanga yoga, where practitioners interpose a vinyasa (Chaturanga-updog-downwdog) between most static poses.  Each pose is held for five breaths, and the breath links the practice from its absolute beginnings until Savasana.  This steady, meditative practice invites a profound connection with the inner body, the breath, and the core.

It’s also a set sequence.

Flowing is a heck of a lot easier when you know where you’re going.

However,  now we have “flow” classes that are not set sequences.  In fact, the pressure is on for teachers to create increasingly wild and creative sequences so that students stay engaged and – dare I say – entertained by the class.  In other words, rather than addressing the crazy fluctuations of their minds through slow one-pointed focus, students are craving classes that bulldoze these fluctuations by replacing them with something so consuming that it is impossible to focus on anything else.   Oh right – and then add music.

Now, despite my cute tone, this is not a bad thing.

After all, meditation is the process of giving the practitioners something to harness their attention to.  If the bells and whistles need to be a little louder in order to break through our insane headspace, then I’m all for it.

But what I’m not a fan of is reckless transitions.

Why our Flow can get gnarly

In our zeal to create a powerful flow sequence, we can get carried away by our own invention.  And we also forget that:

  • our students don’t have the same proprioception that we do
  • our students aren’t as experienced as we are; they don’t know the risk factors of the asana
  • our students generally aren’t as strong or as flexible as we are
  • our students don’t already have the sequence in their heads
  • we are generally teaching multi-level classes with beginners
  • our students have injuries.  And need a I add: knee injuries.

SMART FLOW!  Rule number 1:

Here’s the number one rule of flowing smart:  in transitions, keep the action of the hips the same.

What this means:

  • Link externally rotated poses with externally rotated poses.
  • Link neutral poses with neutral poses.
  • And when you don’t link “like with like”, teach the heck out of the transition

That’s it.  This simple protocol will keep your students knees and lower backs happy.  And hopefully keep them from falling over.

Does this mean never break the rules?  No, of course not.  But be sensible about it.  If you are going to change the action of the hip, you must change the foundation of the pose and you must therefore TEACH the transition.

This means that instead of saying, “Warrior I, okay now takeWarrior II…”, you’d have to say something like:

  • “From Warrior I, tack your outer right hip back so the front knee tracks over the ankle…
  • Keep this as you turn your back toes to be parallel to the back of your mat..
  • Heel-toe your front foot to the left so the front arch bisects the back foot…
  • Now, keep your right hip drawing back and your knee over your ankle as you turn the pelvis towards the left.”

Phew!

Or you could just link Warrior II to similarly externally rotated standing poses such as Side Angle, Triangle, and Half Moon and spare yourself some trouble and verbiage.

If you want to really flow – that is, move fairly quickly through yoga asana in order to create a dynamic movement experience – then it is sensible to link poses smartly and safely so that you can maximize your students’ stability and enjoyment of their practice.  Smart Sequencing will allow them to think about their breath and not about their ouchy knee.

SMART FLOW!  Rule number 2:

Always use a stabilizing cue.

In your transitions, ask yourself, “What is at risk in this transition?”  Then offer a quick cue to stabilize the student against this risk factor as you move them through the action.  For example:

  • Transition: Triangle – Half Moon
    • Risk: Knee
    • Cue: “Hug your standing outer hip back as you…” or “Anchor your knee over the center of your ankle by pressing it towards your pinkie toe as you…”
  • Transition: Chair- Revolved Chair
    • Risk: Low back/ Hips moving
    • Cue: “Hug your knees together/ Firm your outer hips in as you…”
  • Transition: Crescent – Revolved Side Angle
    • Risk: Balance
    • Cue: “Hug your legs to the midline as you…”

Now these are pretty straight-forward, but you can apply the same principle to more complex transitions.

Linking “like with like” and using stabilizing cues in your transitions will keep your students connected and safe while allowing you to create to your heart’s content.

Happy Flowing!

 

 

Open those hips! Eka Pada Koundinyasana A

My IT Band is tight.

Tiiiiiiight.

Or more correctly, I should say that my gluteus maximus, which feeds into and inserts on the IT band, is tight, so that the resulting pull tautens the IT band.  (“IT” stand for “ilio-tibial”, and this band is a swath of connective tissue that runs from the pelvis to the outer knee.  The glute maximus and the tensor fasciae latae insert into it.)

Here’s an IT band loving sequence that culminates in Eka Pada Koundinyasana A – a crazy extension of Side Crow (Parsva Bakasana).

Eka Pada Koundinyasana A

Component Parts:

  • core
  • scapular stabilization
  • thoracic rotation (and some lateral flexion)
  • IT Band/ outer hip opening
  • Engagement of back line

Now, to be fair, this is really more a pose about the torso’s rotation and flexion than about the IT band…but, I think it warrants the exploration.

Here’s the sequence I used:

  • Sukhasana with unleveraged, then leveraged twist

I place my hands on the ribcage and twist from there, then release the arms and keep the twist to work the obliques.  Finally, we leverage the twist by using the arms to find the full range of motion.

  • Cat and Cow with leg (and arm) extension
  • Surya A 5 times
  • Warrior II with a twist and fingers interlaced overhead  -> “floating” Parsvakonasana to work core
  • Trikonasana -> “floating variation” to work the obliques
  • Plank with one hand lifted to work obliques.  Can also lift a foot.
  • Uttanasana with IT band stretch (both sides)

My teacher Chris Richardson introduced this to me.  Come into Uttanasana.  Place your hands on blocks and then turn around to the right on your feet so that they face the back of your mat and your legs are crossed.  Then continue to walk your hands further to the right (you can place them on blocks) as you like.  Press through the big toe mound of your left foot and shift your hips further back to the left until you feel a stretch through the outer hip.

  • Crescent -> Pvt. Parsvakonasana (unleveraged, then leveraged twist)
  • Lizard  (deep lunge) -> Ardha Hanumanasana (externally rotate the front thigh for another IT band stretch…yikes!) -> Brigid’s Cross (IT band stretch and deep twist: it’s like Parivrtta Supta Hasta Padangustasana facing down)

Eka Pada Koundinyasana A – take off sequence

  • Stage 1: Squat with knees together, twist: belly, waist, ribs
  • Stage 2: Hands to floor, shoulder distance apart
  • Stage 3: Parsva Bakasana
  • Stage 4: Eka Pada Koundinyasana A

Happy arm balancing!

Rachel

Sugarcane in the moonlight: Ardha Chandrachapasana

Who doesn’t like sugarcane in the moonlight?  De-lish.

Photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

But let’s face it, getting into this variation of Half Moon (Ardha Chandrasana) can test your balance, flexibility, and coordination as you reach back and grab your lifted leg.  Never fear, here are some tips that help make this elusive pose more accessible.

Component Parts

First, to approach the pose, we must understand its component parts.  Let’s start with Ardha Chandrasana:

External Rotation of Standing Leg

The key to Half Moon is the strong external rotation of the bottom leg.  (Think about it for a moment: the bottom leg.  Often we get confused and think it’s the lifted leg in rotation, but actually the lifted leg is neutral.)  The strong external rotation of the lower leg is counterbalanced by the drawing in of the lower shin and anchoring of the inner edge of the bottom foot.  Together, these two actions create a diagonal spiral effect that keeps your standing leg stable.   Against the external rotation of the standing thigh, the pelvis can open to the side plane.  If you lose the anchor of external rotation, the standing knee will collapse in, the booty will swing with abandon to the back plane, the the containment of the pose will be lost.

Great poses to teach this external rotation in a non-balancing position: Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II), Triangle (Trikonasana),  Gate (Parighasana), Side Angle (Parsvakonasana).

Hamstrings/ Adductors

The standing leg hamstring must be open, as well as some of the adductors.  Imagine triangle pose on its side, so the back leg is now in the air, and you have Half Moon with a balance added.  Good standing poses for opening the hamstrings: Uttanasana, Triangle (Trikonasana), Wide-legged forward fold (Prasarita Padottanasana), Hanumanasana and Ardha Hanumanasana (splits), Pyramid (Parsvottanasana), and Standing Hand to Foot Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangustasana).

In traditional Half Moon, the torso stays steady in all three plane so that it is like Tadasana, but with the arms wide.  If the neck is comfortable, the gaze anchors to the top hand.

Getting into Ardha Chandrasana

To move into Ardha Chandrasana effectively, you must impress upon your students the imprint of the external rotation of the standing leg so that you can steady the knee appropriately.  Without this rotation, the inner knee will collapse in and the foundation will usually become unsteady.  The knee will torque and the lift that we need out of the standing leg will deflate.  Rooting through the inner edge of the bottom foot while strongly externally rotating the standing leg thigh will create a powerful dual action to steady the lateral lines of the leg.

For this reason, coming to the pose from another externally rotated pose is ideal.  Trikonasana is an obvious choice, but Parsvakonasana (Side Angle) is also effective.  Once you have transferred your weight to the standing leg, pause, and bend the standing leg knee.  With the knee bent, you can clearly discern the efficacy of your external rotation.   Strongly wrap the standing leg buttock under you until the sitting bone actually feels like it’s sliding towards your lifted leg.  When this action is effectively performed, your standing leg knee will again track over the center of your ankle.

Now, maintaining that rotation and lateral engagement, begin to straighten your leg by rooting strongly through the standing leg heel.  Because you’ve entered the pose from Trikonasana or Parsvakonasana, the torso is likely already facing the side.  Maintain the rotation of the bottom leg as you open the pelvis further.  (Rather than turning your chest, first turn your pelvis.)  Where the pelvis leads, the body follows.

In traditional Ardha Chandrasana, the body is essentially in Tadasana with the arms wide, except the bottom leg is strongly externally rotating.

Ardha Chandrachapasana

When we elevate the pose to Ardha Chandrachapasana, we add two elements: the bending of the top leg and a backbend.

Adding a thigh stretch to the upper leg requires balance, coordination, and open hip flexors.  Prepare for the action of this variations in non-balancing poses such as Anjaneyasana (low lunge), Crescent (high lunge), and variations with a thigh stretch.  I recommend doing a low lunge with a thigh stretch where the student reaches back with the ipsilateral hand for the leg, in order to imprint of holding the foot with the same side hand in ACC.  Awkward pigeon with a thigh stretch is also an interesting warm up, as the hip are mimicking some of the actions of ACC: the front leg is externally rotating while the back thigh’s hip flexors are stretching.

Backbending requires thoracic extension, which can be efficiently added to poses like lunges and thigh stretches, and warmed up separately in poses such as Bhujangasana (cobra), sphinx, and Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Dog).

Putting it Together

To enter the pose from Ardha Chandrasana, the obvious transition is to simply bend the top knee and reach for the top of the foot.  However, this is frequently inaccessible to many students.  Another way in is to bend both knees and actually draw your top knee into your chest.  For most, this makes it easier to find the top foot.  From this contracted position, actively hug towards the core of the body until you are stable.  Then, unfurl the pose by pressing your back knee towards the back of the mat.  The back thigh stays parallel to the floor; watch the tendency to float the knee towards the ceiling, which diminishes the stretch of the front of the thigh.

Like Ardha Chandrasana, the external rotation of the bottom leg is essential.  That rotation is the “brake” that allows the body to then uncurl into a backbend.  Without the hip drawing under, there is little leverage for the body to move back.  With the bottom leg still bent, reaffirm the external rotation of the leg by drawing the hip firmly under and lengthening your tailbone towards the lifted knee.  Now keep that strong action as you begin to draw the shoulder heads and the throat back and open the chest.  The foot and the hand form a reinforcing energetic loop; press the foot strongly into the top hand to further open the heart.  When the body is steady, take the gaze to the ceiling.

Releasing the pose

Coming out of the pose is just important an opportunity as coming into the pose.  Bring your gaze to the floor to create a visual anchor.  Re-establish the steadiness of the bottom leg.  Energetically maintain the bend of the top leg as you release it from your hand and bring the spine back to Tadasana.  Re-connect to the external rotation of the bottom leg as you step back to Trikonasana or Parsvakonasana.

Playtime

Experiment with this pose at the wall.  Place your standing foot parallel to the wall and about 18 inches away (everyone’s distance will be a little different, you’ll adjust if you need to.)   Come into Ardha Chandrasana.  Then bend the top leg and place the top of the foot on the wall behind you.  With this third point of contact, the body will have a chance to settle more so that you can work the actions without worrying so much about balance.  Also, you can explore the actions here without actually holding on the foot.

If possible, reach back to hold onto the top foot. Otherwise, wrap your standing leg hip under, press the top foot into the wall, and begin to explore the opening of the backbend with the top arm simply lifted towards the sky. The connection of the foot to the wall will begin to imprint the actions of the pose into the body.

 

The Elegant Wheel

Photo courtesy of YYoga

Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow, also known as “Wheel”) is one of the most delicious and expansive of yoga asana, inviting a full opening of the “Eastern,” or front, side of the body.  As in all yoga asana, the stability (sthira) of the back body is essential for supporting the full expansion and sweetness (sukha) of the front body.  Also, Urdhva Dhanurasana calls for a profound opening in the hips and shoulders in order to access the fullest expression of the spine.  Since the body has to put all these parts together effectively, accessing the full expression of this pose can sometimes be elusive.

However, with some preparation and variation, the benefits of this pose can be readily be made available to a wide range of students.

Component Parts

Hips

Finding the full range of motion in the lower body for Urdhva Dhanurasana is more than a matter of spinal flexibility.  For most of us, we can find about 45 degrees of mobility through the spine, and an additional 15 degrees of extension between the hips and the thighs.  What this means is that in order to access the full “bow-ness” of Upward Bow, we must be conscious to open the hips as well as the back.

The muscles to target here are the psoas, iliacus, and rectus femoris (one of the quads).  By effectively opening these muscles, over time the full hip extension of Urdhva Dhanurasana becomes accessible.  While opening the quads can be targeted through thigh stretches (think low lunge, bending the back knee, and drawing the heel towards the buttock), the ilio-psoas needs to be stretched by a differential between the angle of the back thigh and the pelvis.  Crescent and Upright Low lunge are great candidates.  When stretching the psoas, the back leg will often turn out in a clever attempt to avoid the stretch.  Focus on softening the upper inner thigh of the back leg towards the back plane of the body until the thigh is neutral in the socket.  Once space and alignment is created, the anchoring of the tailbone down will create the posterior action needed to begin stretching this important muscle.

Because the psoas attaches all the way up the lumbar spine towards T12, conscious alignment of the hips is one half of the equation.  Note that in the stretch, the lumbar and thoracic spine will want to pull forward in space.  Instead, consciously draw the lower belly and sides of the waist back and up (almost like scooping your belly with an ice cream scoop).  This lifting and scooping action will draw the superior fibers of the psoas away from its insertion on the back thigh.  Like ice cream: delicious.

Shoulders

Urdhva Dhanurasana requires a lot of openness through the shoulders.  Invariable, this is why some of our sturdier male students remain landlocked on the ground.  The arms need the facility to flex fully at the shoulder joint.  External rotation of the upper arm is preferred to help anchor the scapulae firmly on the back.  Prepare the body for this position by focusing on poses that get the arms above the head: crescent, chair.  One of my favorite poses is to do Chair (utkasana) with a block firmly positioned between the hands.  Work on pressing your hands into the block as you externally rotate the upper arms, straighten the arms, and then lift them overhead.  Once you’ve worked in these positions, move the body in weight-bearing positions to open the shoulders in such asana as dolphin and handstand.

Thoracic Spine

Naturally, a backbend ain’t a backbend without the extension of the thoracic spine.  Start small and target the upper back through poses such as cobra and sphinx.  Once the upper back has been educated, then you can move to fully spine extensions such as full cobra and updog.  When working in spinal extension, it is important to maintain the stability of the lower back in order to avoid over-compressing in the lumbar and lower thoracic.  The lower back is the backbendiest place of the spine, and the juncture between the lumbar and thoracic is particularly mobile.  While we do use this mobility when we backbend, we don’t want to overly capitalize on it and neglect the opening that needs to occur in the upper spine.  Create length and stability by maintaining a broadness in the mid and lower back and focus your backbending efforts higher up.  Use the external rotation of the upper arms to facilitate a greater sense of drawing the scapulae into the back.  This will help with your thoracic extension.  (Try it: do a mini standing backbend with your arms externally rotated, then internally rotated – which is easier?)

The pumpkin

The buttocks in backbending can become overly zealous.  My teacher Catherine Munro called this phenomenon the “pumpkin.”  While the glutes work, we want to be careful that they don’t overly engage.  The secondary action of the glutes is to externally rotate the thigh, which can lead to compression through the lower back and inability to lengthen the tailbone.  Use the muscular midline (adductors, internal rotators) to keep the legs neutral even when the glutes engage.

You can teach proper engagement in your backbends, but also in poses such as crescent or 3-legged dog, where the back leg needs to find a slight internal rotation to bring it back to neutral.

Getting up there- Two hand positions

After you warm up your students thoroughly and appropriately, start your students in bridge and confirm the neutral placement of the feet.  The feet – as a distal reflection of the thighs – will attempt to turn out when the glutes engage.  Use midline to keep the legs (and feet) parallel.  As your students lift into bridge, confirm the action of the legs and pelvis in this non-weight bearing position.

From here, they place their hands in position #1: by the ears and close.  The proximity of the hands to the head will give them more muscular access to lifting up.

Once they come onto their heads, widen the hands into hand position #2, which creates a little more space into the shoulder girdle.  While they will have less power to press up, most students appreciate the extra space.  They can also turn their hands out slightly to create even more room.

Now it is time to affirm the lift into the thoracic spine and appropriate action of the shoulders –  before they become weight-bearing through their arms.  Have your students roll towards their hairline to draw their chest forward through their arms as they root the upper arms bones back into their sockets (towards their hips).  This will anchor the scapulae on the back.  From here, they can then press into the hands and feet evenly (watch the feet don’t move – continue to hug the midline) to come up.

There are two variations of Urdhva Dhanurasana. In variation 1, the student works to create an even bow through the whole body, with the pelvis and ribs level.  While this is easier on the shoulders, it’s harder on the wrists as they are at a very acute angle.  In version 2, the student begins to bring their shoulders forward over their wrists (see pic above). Easier on the wrists, but asking for lots of space in the shoulders.  Eventually, you can take version 2, then walk the feet in as is comfortable to tighten the bowstring.  Students should maintain the capacity to feel grounded in the feet (good for standing up eventually from this pose) as well as rooted in the hands (great for shoulder opening).  Here’s a tip from Asthanga teacher Chris Richardson: To keep the lower back long, move everything from the navel through the thighs towards the feet, while the navel through the back spine reaches forward into the hands.  Move both parts of the body away from each other to create spaciousness in the center.

If you have students who are limited through their shoulders, you can have them hold your ankles.  They should place the webbing of their hands into the crease where your leg and foot meet and hold there, rather than wrapping their hands around your lower leg.    (Make sure to keep your feet on the wide side.)  Otherwise their hands will slide down to your feet anyway, giving you a you an unwelcome skin massage.

 

One step at a time

Many times students will forget about the foundation in the excitement of getting up and turn their feet and leg out every which way in an effort to “do the full pose.”   While this may be initially exciting, it is far better to proceed with patience so that the whole body can be integrated in the pose – from the toes to the fingers.  Otherwise, cranky low backs will ensue rather than the adrenal stimulating, expansive awakening that Urdhva Dhanuarasana provides.

The”full expression” of Urdhva Dhanurasana allows you to leverage the action of the arms to open the upper back and chest, your students in bridge are still experiencing the delights of spinal extension.  Over time and patient practice, the body will become more receptive and open to this luxurious expression.  Warm up intelligently, manage your foundation and actions, and allow the pose to unfold from there.

 

 

 

 

 

“Eka pada Koundin-What?”

Eka Pada Koundinyasana.  It’s one of those poses that you see on the cover of yoga journal, performed by someone smiling peacefully (and seemingly in no state of stress or panic) that makes you go, “Huh?  Riiiiiiiiiight.”  As my boyfriend said with alarm upon seeing this picture to the left, “Jesus!  That is not good!”  (Photo courtesy of Yoga Journal.)  But despite it’s daunting appearance, there are accessible roads into this seemingly impossible position.

Eka Pada Koundinyasana #1 (there are two versions of this pose) is not only an arm balance, it’s also a deep twist.  To warm up the body effectively, we must first imprint our body (especially our upper body) with the alignment necessary to support the pose.

Common misalignments

In a word: hunching.  Coming into this arm balance from a deep twist, we tend to slouch our shoulders forward and collapse in our chests.  In fact, we tend to do this even in more accessible twists.  For example, bring to mind parivrtta parvakonasana (revolved side angle).  (See right, thanks again, yoga journal!)  Usually in order to get our arm to the outside of our leg, we make a big ‘ol C curve in the spine – anything to get that (in this case, left) elbow over there.  Our head and pelvis are no longer lined up, and we shorten the upper side of our torso.  This causes the left shoulder to droop forward, which means that we can’t get that left shoulder blade down and INTO our back to facilitate the twist. We get stuck.

To protect the shoulder joints and create maximum length in the body, we instead need set up for this pose by maintaining even alignment in both sides of the spine.  As we lengthen the spine, the keep the shoulder blades ON the back, so that they act like little shovels  and lift our thoracic spine up and INTO our body.  We maintain a virtual backbend in our upper back.  Our chests lift and our collarbones stay wide.

Then we need to keep this openness through the upper body AS we move into a twist and balance on our hands.  No biggie, right?

Component parts

Upper back/Thoracic: As discussed, this is essential for the pose and for the happiness of the shoulder joint.

Shoulderblade Position: On your back. This goes with upper back.  Upper arms gather in.

Core: Yep, you gotta find a some core stability here  – even while you keep the chest open.  That means we need to engage the deep core muscles like the transverse abdominis rather than the rectus abdominis (those six-pack, or “crunching” muscles).

Legs: Work those legs.  If you want to get airborne, stretch through the legs and feet with great enthusiasm.

And actually, that’s kind of it.  No hamstrings, no great flexibility needed here. Just a brave, open heart and some core engagement.

Sequencing:

This week, I’m sequencing this pose with an intent to work on maintaining the lift and openness of the spine during the twist.

To get everyone imprinted with the right body in the action, I start everyone at the wall with a block.  Standing in tadasana a little aways from the wall, place the block on your shoulderblades so that the block is giving encouragement for the thoracic to draw in and up.  You may have to play with your distance. You want to be far enough away that you don’t have to lean forward, but close enough in that you are upright and getting the feeling of the block lifting your spine up and in.

Then do the same thing, this time with the block in the middle of your buttocks (so the tailbone is lengthening down to your heels).  Imagine the block moving up and into your chest.

Tadasana into Urdhva Hastasana with a block between your hands.  Imagine the other two blocks now: one into your upper back, the other pressing your tailbone down to the floor.  Straighten your arms, stretch your legs, and reach, baby, reach!

Then, use the recall of the two block positions all through class to encourage chest open, long lower back.  Here are some highlighted poses I’ll hit:

Dandasana (seated on block – length and evenness of spine)

Maricyasana III, both sides.  No bind – remember, we want to avoid the rounding of the spine and sliding off of the shoulder blades.  Focus on keeping skull atop pelvis, even length through both sides of waist, and lift in the thoracic.

Sun salutations – again, weaving the focus of the upper back lift throughout.

Low lunge (back knee up)

Low lunge with twist)

Trikonasana (triangle) to focus on even length of both sides of waist

Twisting chair (no C-curve)

Parivrtta Parsvakonsasna – less is more.  Have them keep length in both sides of waist rather than end gaining and getting elbow across at all costs.

Getting into it:

To actually get into the pose, I like YJ’s description below, with a couple of modification possiblities.

As a modification of the pose, Ardha Mastyendrasa with the bottom leg extended.  Work on keeping the lift and openness in spine – all the same actions we’ve been doing all class.

As a variation, put the sitbone of the crossed over leg on top of a block (not everyone can sit on their heels).  Work the twist from there, but don’t bring your hands to the floor.  Instead stay upright.  Explore the constraint of the legs as you lift, open, and twist.

Here’s the YJ exerpt with my notes in blue:

Step by Step

Come into it from a standing position. First bend your knees as if to squat, then take your left knee to the floor. Turn your left foot so it points to the right and sit on the heel. Cross your right foot over your left thigh and place it, sole down, beside your left knee. Your right knee should point toward the ceiling.  (Okay, here’s where I say, place a block underneath your right butt if you can’t sit back on your left heel.  Work the lift and twist from there and be happy.)

To twist, bring your left waist, side ribs, and shoulder around to the right. Place your left upper arm across your right thigh and slide your left outer armpit down the outside of the thigh. Use movements similar to those you used in Parsva Bakasana to maximize your twist and make good contact between your left upper arm and right outer thigh.  (Okay, you may need to do a little rounding here, but as soon as you find the connect, work the same actions you have been.  Get your shoulderblades back on your back, lengthen your chest forward.) Maintaining this contact high on the arm and far to the outside of the thigh is the secret to the pose.

To place your hands on the floor, first straighten your left elbow and put your left palm down (you may need to lean to the right to bring your hand all the way down). To place your right hand, carefully lift both hips without losing the left-arm-to-right-thigh placement, lean even more to the right, and put your right hand on the floor. Your hands should be shoulder width apart, with your middle fingers parallel to each other. Most of your weight will still be on your knees and feet.

Without losing contact between your left arm and your right outer thigh, lift your hips so you can flip your left foot and stand on the ball of the foot, heel up. Next, lift your left knee off the floor so most of your weight is on your feet. Lift your hips a little higher and start shifting your weight to bring your whole torso above and between your hands with its midline parallel to your middle fingers. Leaning your weight slightly forward, bend your left elbow a little, then tilt your head and shoulders a bit toward the floor. This should leverage your right foot up in the air. When your right foot is up, lean your weight farther forward until your left foot becomes light, then lifts up with an exhale. (Keep your shoulderblades ON your back, reach your sternum forward.  No droopy shoulders!)

To finish the pose, straighten both knees simultaneously with an inhale. Lift the left leg until it’s parallel to the floor. Bending your left elbow more, lift your right foot higher, and reach out through the balls of both feet. Adjust the height of your right shoulder so it’s the same as the left. Lift your chest to bring your torso parallel to the floor. Breathing smoothly, hold the pose for 20 seconds or longer (Um, whatever?  Be happy with whatever you do, even if you just get an inkling of taking the weight off your feet), then release both feet to the floor with an exhale. Repeat on the other side for the same length of time.

Have fun, see you in class!

Natarajasana

Natarajasana, Pose of the Lord of the Dance, is a complex pose that is deep backbend with the added fun of balance.  As with any backbend, is it essential to fully warm up the thoracic spine and hip flexors as well as integrate core stability for the safety of the lower back.  A myriad of arm variations possible in this pose also allow for shoulder and chest opening.

Risk factors: Falling, low back.

What to warm up:

The hip flexors (front of the thighs).  Low lunge, high lunge, and Virabhadrasana I are great poses for opening the front of the thighs.  Hanumanasana with a bolster and a focus on a sagittally neutral pelvis in order to access the BACK leg.  Instead of treating Hanumanasana as a stretch, instead use it to access and tone the adductors, make the legs neutral, and then open the hip flexors of the back leg.  Ardha Bhekasana can also be used to stretch the quads, particularly when we focus on anchoring the pubic bone as we draw the shin in.

The thoracic (upper back).  Work to open the front of the heart by broadening the collarbones, lifting the sternum, and drawing the shoulders deeply into the body.  Can you work to isolate the drawing in of the upper back while you keep your lower back long?  It’s a little bit of a conundrum, but this is exactly the paradoxical work that backbends require.  Poses such as sphinx, bhujangasana (baby cobra), dhanuarsana (bow), and salabhasana (locust) can refine this work.

The core. To maintain a long lower back, we must use strength through the front of the body to contain the area between the front hip points (the ASIS) and the lower ribcage. Poses such as plank, forearm plank, and navasana (as well as other non-yoga varieties that might be in your repertoire) can bring awareness to this area.

The inner thighs/neutral legs.  The adductors link to the core and help keep our legs neutral when they would otherwise flare into external rotation.  Prepare the legs to remain neutral through engaging the adductors in lunges, Virabhadrasana I and Virabhadrasana III.   By engaging the inner thighs and rolling them slightly to the back body, we widen the sacrum, create length through the back and more room to squeegie the buttocks flesh down the thighs.

The shoulders. Classical Natarajasana has the standing leg arm reaching forward, while the bent leg arm reaches over the head in external rotation and flexion to grasp the foot or big toes.  (Like the upper arm in Gomukhasana.)  While this is quite a feat for most of us dealing with tight shoulders and hip flexors, we can approximate the actions of this pose by using a strap around our bent knee ankle.  Make a Grecian sandal with your strap by wrapping it around your ankle and threading the two ends between the big toes.  Presto, you’ve made your leg longer!  Work the actions of the pose here: draw the inner things to each other, tailbone to the floor, lower back long, upper chest opening.  Breathe and then climb your hand down the strap as the opportunity avails. To prepare for the classical variation, use poses such as Adho Mukha Svanasana (down dog), Utthita Hastasana (hands up in tadasana), Gomukhasana (cow-face pose, arms only), and inversions to open the shoulders.

A great variationof Natarajasana is to reach back with both hands and clasp the foot (like your clasping your hands around the top of the foot).  In this variation, the shoulders are in extension, which creates a delicious opportunity for opening the chest.  Use Prasarita Padottanasana C (wide-legged forward bend with hands clasped behind), Purvottanasana,  Setu Bandha (bridge), and Dhanurasana (bow) to prepare the shoulders for this variation.

Props:  Use a strap as a Grecian sandal to assist in the classical variation (see above).  Use the wall to assist in balancing.

Variation: At Wall.  Start in Virabhadrasana III at the wall, hands at the wall, with one foot under the hip and the other reaching back into the center of the room.  Keeping the lower back long, begin to move into a backbending variation by walking the hands up the wall.  Alternatively, strap the arms above the elbows and bring the forearms on the wall parallel, fingers pointing up.  Option to bend the lifted knee , keeping the thigh open and neutral.  Natarajasana at the wall!

Energetics: Natarajasana is a pose about opening into fear.  We are asked to open our hearts on uncertain ground (on one leg).  Before you begin, relax.  Smooth out the breath.  Grounding the energy and stabilizing the standing leg are crucial pillars.  Once the base has been established, then slowly open the upper back into a backbend.  Less is more at first.  From a stable base, let the breath open the pose from the inside.

Urdhva Dhanurasana

DSCN3338
Rachel, photo by SBK

Urdhva Dhanurasana, aka Upward Bow  – don’t call it Wheel, that’s a different pose ;).  One of the ultimate yoga stretches for the front of the body, Urdhva Dhanurasana challenges us to maintain our strength though the core as we radiate through our upper chest and heart and stretch our hip flexors and shoulders.  Any restriction in the shoulders or hips will immediately translate into a crunched lower back, so Upward Bow requires a great deal of warming up and opening in order to be happily explored.

Risk factors: The low back.  This is priority number one.  In order to keep our low back long and strong, we much engage the rectus abdominus and create containment through the front of our body.  Opening the shoulders and hip flexors will help us to find an even arch through the spine and take pressure off the lower back to do all the bending.

What to warm up:

The shoulders in flexion (reaching forward and up). Whenever we have the arms over our head, our upper arms must in in external rotation.  This means that poses like adho mukha svanasana (down dog), urdhva hastasana (arms over the head in tadasana – I love this when squeezing a block between the wrists, arms straight, front ribs in), and handstand (urdhva hastasana upside down) will be great warm ups for the shoulders.  You should be able to straighten the arms above the head without bending the elbows or bowing the spine.  If this isn’t possible yet, then keep working on the shoulders and wait before trying Upward Bow.  With time, it will come.

The hip flexors (front of the thighs).  Low lunge, high lunge, and Virabhadrasana I are great poses for opening the front of the thighs.  We are particularly interested in the psoas rather than the quads, as the knees in Urdhva Dhanurasana aren’t really that bent.

The thoracic (upper back).  Work to open the front of the heart by broadening the collarbones, lifting the sternum, and drawing the shoulders deeply into the body.  Can you work to isolate the drawing in of the upper back while you keep your lower back long?  It’s a little bit of a conundrum, but this is exactly the paradoxical work that backbends require.  Poses such as sphinx, bhujanghasana (baby cobra), urdhva mukha svanasana (up dog), and salabhasana (locust) can refine this work.  Twists such as parivrtta parsvakonasana and parivrtta trikonasana are excellent at teaching the body to open the upper spine while engaging the abdominals and lengthening.

The core. To maintain a long lower back, we must use strength through the front of the body to contain the area between the front hip points (the ASIS) and the lower ribcage. Poses such as plank, forearm plank, and navasana (as well as other non-yoga varieties that might be in your repertoire) can bring awareness to this area.  Doing a mild camel with your frontal hip points stuck to the wall and focusing on lifting up an out of the hips can be an effective way to bring attention to the work of the abdominals.

The inner thighs.  The adductors link to the core.  Also, as we press into backbends, the tendency is to grip the buttocks, which can cause external rotation in the thighs and squash the sacrum.  By engaging the inner thighs and rolling them slightly to the back body, we widen the sacrum, create length through the back and more room to reach the sitbones away from the back.  The adductors can be accessed in almost every pose, but are particularly obvious in neutral lunges when we can “scissor” the inner thighs towards each other.  Putting a block between the upper thighs or the inner feet immediately creates and adductor-engaged imprint in the body.

Props:  Use a strap shoulder-width above the elbows to prevent flailing out in the arms and loss of external rotation.  Strap the upper thighs at hip distance apart to keep the legs parallel the hips (and inner thighs down, and sacrum wide).  A block between the upper thighs cues the inner thighs to engage and roll to the floor.  A block between the feet or a strap around the big toes helps to keep the feet parallel and tracking (keeping the thighs neutral rather than externally rotating).  Blocks tilted at the wall can take the pressure out of the wrists by decreasing the angle at which they need to bear weight.

Energetics: Urdhva Dhanurasana is one of the great heart openers.  But we cannot move to opening unless there we have strength through the core of the body.  We need a solid foundation through the legs, pelvis and lower core (energetically we need stability in chakras 1-3) in order to radiate and expand through the upper chest (chakra 4, the heart chakra).  In a recent workshop, Anodea Judith invited us to open our hearts while staying in our core.  In relationships – the purview of chakra 4 – we often find ourselves either hardening and retreating or becoming too malleable and floppy.  We are either defensive, or we let too much in.  Urdhva Dhanurasana invites into the great balance; the more strength and grounding that we can find in our center, the more open and receptive that we can safely become.

Backbending thoughts from Aadil Palkivala:
Physically speaking, backbends move the spine into the body, creating strength in the back of the body and length through the groins, abdominal cavity, rib cage, throat, and frontal shoulders. Backbends charge the kidneys by drawing them into the body, rejuvenating the adrenals and drawing the life force given by the kidneys back into the body. Backbends generally open up three major areas of the body – the pelvis, heart and throat. Therefore, they can open the hips, free the chest from congestion, and bring back a healthy curve to the neck. Most of our daily habits (sitting, driving, working at a desk) cause a collapse in the front of our bodies and push the spine backwards. This is why you will often feel bony lumps on the spine of older people. Backbends bring healthy alignment and mobility back into the spine, moving the vertebrae forwards.

Psychologically speaking, backbends move us toward our future and away from our past, since the back of the body represents the past and the front of our body represents our future. Backbends quieten the hyper-analytical activity of the front brain, and because of the extension produced, trigger a feeling of openness in the limbic system (the emotional center of the brain). In contrast, when we are in a state of fear or anger, we curl up and go into a position of flexion (protection). Thus, psychologically speaking, backbends move us from fear to power.

Energetically speaking, backbends move the spine toward the Pillar of Light in the body. They open up congested and stagnant pelvic energy. This allows the energy to move upward in an expression of aspiration for growth, where it can be transformed by the wisdom of the Heart Chakra. Backbends open up the Heart Chakra, expanding the feeling of love and joy. They also open the throat, allowing the Heart Chakra to express words of beauty and love. This opening also allows the mental energy to move more easily down to the Heart Chakra.

However, a caveat: All the above happens in backbends only if there is the intention for this to happen as you practice. Otherwise you will simply become more flexible!