sample of class sequence

yoga class sample sequence (9/20/06)-

begin several minutes of any easy stretching on our own.
we start from comfortable sitting with some seated
loosening up: forward&side bend, torso twist,
neck&arm and shoulder rolls.

alternate nostril breath. the ida and pingala nadis
are balanced and cross directed- breath from left
nostril into right lung, ...pause... and out across
the front surface of the right lung, ...pause...slowly
backfilling in thru the right nostril, diagonally over
into the left lung, ...pause...slowly out across the
front of the left lung. ten times w/ the aid of right
thumb closing right nostril, right ring finger to left.
repeat starting from the other side (left thumb closing
left nostril). 10x.

on hands&knees, rocking the pelvis as we bend the
inside and outside of the spine and side to side
(cat/cow posture in all directions), co-ordinated w/breath.
twisting along the spine-several exercises-
still on hands and knees, diagonal hand/knee balancing
then reaching back for the foot to stretch further.

a gradual flow of postures from child pose to raising
hips into rabbit pose, back again, repeat w/arms raised
in reverse temple mudra and forward, back again, to
slink forward to cobra pose. (the breath flows inside the
movement, restricted and encouraged in various parts
of the body. the motion of the asana tends to stretch
those moments where breath co-ordinates with the fullest
expression of the pose, at times motion apparently holds
still as we are able to focus on interior expansions.)

slowly working up thru the d/ward dog asana
then into the warrior series
(warriors I, II and reverse warrior flowing into
side angle pose and back to reverse warrior,
back to side angle and into half moon pose).
hold each posture long enough to direct our breath
into those spaces opening inside our body.

subsequently:
our balancing takes time, each side of tree pose
stretches out long enough to explore different
ways of support thru our skeleton, our focus and our
energetic alignment. after connecting to a dristri,
(visual focal point on the floor ahead of us) we
create a triangle from eyes to dristi, along the floor
to the feet, from there up thru the body, back to our
eyes. using not only the length of our body but also a
third point of contact, we shift some of our physical
weight onto the floor ahead of us using the connection
of mind as an energetic conduit thru which the physical
body supports itself by leaning into our dristi.

savasana takes us from clenching and releasing muscle
groups, and letting go by breathing along with the mantra
"hum sa". once we have let go of some physical tensions
and busier thoughts, entering a moment of relative
stillness, where our personal boundaries gradually
diffuse into our surroundings, and our mental reflections
become less refracted, more resembling the serene
surface of a quiet pond...
eventually to find our way back to dry land, we toss an
action into this stillness, a pebble into the pond,
re-engaging our active selves and begin attaching small
muscles, one at a time, to our active control, and work
out of this posture by rolling over and sitting up.

namaste

wed. class- tomorrow at 7pm.
sun. class- 10:30am

)oh~

some people have asked for an early morning
weekday class- is anyone interested to do an
early 6:30, 7 or 7:30am class?
..........................................