Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving Day Practice

I had a really great Thanksgiving Day. We started off with a lovely group practice down in San Marcos. As is probably somewhat  predictable, we worked on some back bends.

Here is the sequence I taught:

1 minute timings:
Adho mukha virasana (AMV)
Adho mukha svasanasana (AMS)
Uttanasana
prasarita paddotanasana

Sirsasana- 5 minutes
handstand- 1 minute timings 3X
pincha mayurasana- 1 minute timings 3X

surya namaskar variation-- lunging with backbends- 7 minutes

  • upward prayer to standing back arch
  • uttanasana
  • lunge to backbending anjaneyasana
  • plank to chataranga
  • up dog or cobra
  • down dog
  • lunge to backbending anjaneyasana
  • uttanasana
  • standing back arch
  • tadasana


1 minute timings:
crescent
standing back arch
uttanasana
parsvakonasana
trikonasana
virabhadrasana 1
parsvottanasana
prasarita paddottanasana
ustrasana
utkatasana
urdhva prasarita eka padasana- at wall- 2X
utthhita hasta padangusthasana, hands around foot forehead  to shin, top leg high up on the wall
utthita hasta padangusthasana- same set up, this time take top leg off the wall and balance
urdhva prasarita eka padasana in the middle of the room, working on balancing

upper back opening with the chair (see my last Yoga Tips Post)

shalabasana- 2X
makrasana- 2X
dhanurasana -2X
parsva dhanurasana- 2X each side
Standing Bow Pulling Pose- 4X (we really worked on this)

vamedevasana prep- 2X (think massive  quad stretching in a lateral angle pigeon, knees in one line to the side- or just do pigeon quad stretching if that seems confusing)
hanumasana
samakonasana
supta trivikramasana

Urdhva Dhanurasana- 1 minute timings-5X
drop backs to urdvha dhanurasana 2 and standing up- 5X
rajakapotasana
scorpion in pincha
scorpion in handstand
eka pada rajakapotasana 1, 2, 3, 4
natrajasana

down dog
uttanasana
parsva uttanasana
down dog
childs pose

sarvangasana- 5 minutes

savasana


Enjoy.

After practice we cleaned up, posted some photos and headed over to Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving festivities. We had a great group of people  assembled- Me, Kelly, Mom, Dad, Anne, Jeff, Jason, Brooke, Jason's two boys, Devon, Gioconda, and Sam. As we went around the table to share what we felt grateful for I shared that I was very happy to be with my "family of origin" and my "family of choice" and that these two circles overlap.

Practicing yoga and teaching yoga has expanded my family of choice in some really amazing ways over the years. I have friends, students and colleagues from  all over the world who are sisters-and-brothers on the Path. I am very grateful to have so many people with whom the shared love of practice and the Teaching lives at the heart of the relationships we share. Also,  as I reflect a bit here, it seems clear to me that because of the teachings and practices of yoga I have cultivated love, forgiveness and compassion for myself and others that allows me to enjoy my family of origin in ways that would not have been possible if I had never considered the teachings.

We had a very fun and funny evening with great food, drink, and conversation. It was probably one of my favorite thanksgivings ever, which is really great since this year has been a bit of an ass-kicker. I really enjoyed blowing off a little steam and being with people I love and who love me in a casual and open-hearted way.

At any rate, I spent a lot of the day practicing asana today and then met Gioconda to talk a bit about our plans for a Teacher Training in 2013 here in Texas.  Stay tuned for details on the program and if you are not on my mailing list, make sure to sign up for it so you will be in the loop for the announcements that will be out soon.

Okay, more reflections soon. Hope your holidays are going well. (And if they are not, that at least you are being nice to yourself in the midst of whatever challenges are arising.)






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