Day 2
We covered a lot today.
We layed the groundwork for an basic understanding of the movements of the spine, hips and shoulders to begin to understand the Anatomy of Breath. We dove into unpackaging the Autonomic Nervous System. We practiced looking and touching.
I feel that we were able to do so much because I was very clear about why we were doing each thing. This helped focus the exercise and lay the foundation for deeper learning. For example, we were able to use Downward Facing Dog as a posture to start practicing big strokes in looking and touching without getting detrailed on a coversation about the elbows.
Opening Simple Practice
Designed to connect to movements of spine and prepare some understanding for Nervous System Lecture.
Impressing the Heart
Supine with Knees Bent
Windshield Wiper
Tailbone Awareness
Eye of the Needle with Tailbone Awareness
Ankle Circles
Roll up to sitting
Sukhasana with side bending
Sit, 3 minutes
Stress, Breath and the Vagus Nerve Lecture
This is one of my favorite topics to try to communicate clearly. We covered the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic, both branches of the Autonomic. The main point of the talk was to understand some of the physiology about how yoga works.
This talk leads so easily into Sutra 1.2, 1.33 and 1.34.
Good questions with one really big one asking for a definition of what “opening the heart” really means emotionally, phsyically and mentally. The question was so big it will most likely get drawn out through the rest of the training.
Break at 2:25
Gather again at 2:45
Another Easy Practice to Connect to the Anatomy of Breath
(I begin to try to peal back the layers of teaching, pointing out and discussing why I teach in the way I do as we practice).
Supine
Hip Pocket Softening Sequence
Hamstring and Hip Rotation Sequence
Roll up to Sitting
Baddha Konasana to connect with Tailbone, Hip Rotation and Pelvis Understanding
Malasana with Hip Rotation and Feet Awareness
Uttanasana with Same Awareness
Tadasana
Brick between thighs to understand Hip Rotation Standing and Relationship in Sacrum/Tailbone
Swamp Monster/Hallelujah to understand rotation of shoulders
Play with understanding Anatomy of Inhale and Exhale
Ujayyi Pranayama
1/4 Sun Salutations
1/2 Sun Salutations
3 of the Peeps Practiced Leading to start to hear each other’s voices.
1 Round Easy Lunge Salutes with hamstring stretching to continue the anatomical awareness
Childs Pose
Down Dog
Childs Pose
Learning How to Look
We looked at everyone's downward facing dog, simply giving the space to allow them to be unique expressions.
The we looked at 2 specific down dogs to start to introduce the concepts of space and stability. This is always where it can be easy to get into “danger”, but we just get coming back to the mantra that each person is unique and the “medicine” of the posture will be specific.
Learning How to Touch and Communicate
With a few exceptions, this group is not already friends. So, this exercise began to allow the group to talk and touch. It felt funny to show these assitances because I rarely touch people like this anymore in class, but it felt effective for it’s purpose.
We looked and played with 4 different DownDog Assistances.
Transition Back to Indiviual Mats
Bridge pose x 2
Easy Spinal Twist
Savasana, 10 minutes
Homework: review nervous system reading, write down everything we did today, review the anatomy section of the manual, read “The Effort Effect, Dr. Dweck
I appreciate being able to view the order of the yoga poses that were shared. Last night I wrote down what I thought was the order and came pretty close, due to the sequencing having unique layering and making sense. (I found myself writing down a pose and then going backwards, because of what we learned to prior to that pose.) With this approach, you are able to refer back to feelings earlier in the practice ("remember the heart opening at the beginning?" "Remember the "shimmy?") that participants can hold onto. It feels safe and comforting, knowing there is intention within the sequence.
It is also new for me, and remarkable to allow 'space' for 'memory' building (How does that feel?" "Is it different that before?"). It is almost like 'wait time' in teaching, allowing students to process what they learned or heard. It is new to me that I am communicating with my body, not just moving it. I love it!