Free Yoga in the Park
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Submitted by weeksc on Mon, 2010-08-02 19:56.
Well, I did it, the flyers are up at several coffee shops and the local food co-op. Tomorrow at 7 pm I am off to the park to see if there are any takers. Yikes! | |
Submitted by weeksc on Tue, 2010-08-03 21:59.
#2
Wheeew, that was different. I had two participants (yeah!) and many people strolling by looking at the poster (and us). It was strange "talking yoga" on a bumpy lawn, while people walked, skated and biked by on the path. Across the street was a bar/eatery called "Downward Dog" with many patrons conversing and enjoying outdoor seating. The weather cools down in the evening, so it was a little chilly with a good wind. I noticed quickly that the routine should be more on the energetic side. Our savasana was short, due to the wind and coolness (note to self, blankets, socks and sweater, yes I know it is August). My next class in the park will be Thursday morning, 7-8 am. Curious to see if anyone shows up.
Knees to chest, hip opener/figure 4, seated forward fold, easy side stretch, cat/cow, child/plank flow, downward dog, mountain flow, chair flow, + forward fold flow, sun salutation variation, lunge to hammock to side angle to triangle to warrior 2 to reverse warrior, (1/2 series with easy cobra-locus-bow,) Mountain to down dog to pigeon to seated twist to seated tree, to butterfly to boat (abdominal bicycles), repeat other side. Bridge, lying twist, savasana, reclining budha, easy seat, namaste.
Tomorrow I am teaching at the Homeless Youth Shelter for teens. I shadowed last week and noticed a kid trying out crow after class. I am thinking of having crow as my peak pose. Any ideas for preparing them to fall on their face / prepare for crow? Thanks!
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Submitted by kira on Wed, 2010-08-04 07:40.
#3
awesome cathy!! xo | |
Submitted by weeksc on Tue, 2010-08-03 22:01.
#4
John, Thanks for the note! it is great to hear from you. Did I read that you lead a yoga blue? | |
Submitted by johnwatkins on Wed, 2010-08-04 22:03.
#5
Hi Cathy, I did lead Yoga Blue a while back kind of spur of the moment thing only one peep. It went well, we both had a good time. If I put a folded blanket in front of me when practicing crow the fear of falling on my face leaves me. Without it I worry to much about hitting my face. | |
Submitted by weeksc on Thu, 2010-08-05 06:32.
#6
Yeah on Yoga Blue! I like the blanket idea for the crow. Thanks for the hello. I looked through the yoga sequences and found Winifred's routine (yeah Winifred) with crow variations, which was very helpful. Then I went to Yoga Journal and watched a quick video on playing with crow poses and how to prep for them. Well, I couldn't do much in the way of crow but I decided to bring it into the teen class and play around anyway. The kids responded very well. I was able to give the cues, show a weak version of crow and away they went.
Warm-up: child's pose with attention to breath, supine hug knees and rock, easy flow bridge, easy bicycle legs to warm up core, hug knees, windshield wipers. Cat/cow with attention to cat for future crow pose. Attention to arms and wrapping shoulders back and down. Tea party(alternate arm and leg out on all 4) to focus on core and easy balance. Downward dog, forward fold/monkey with attention to breath. Sun Salutation- One of the kids stated he really liked Yoga. I thought it would be fun to teach them this flow so he could try it out on his own. We talked out this part and did it 3 times. Once- I stated the words (Mountain, waterfall-forward fold, monkey, lunge, down dog, plank, crocodile, cobra, down dog, lunge, fold, reverse waterfall, chair, mountain. Then we did the words together, then I talked out 'inhale, exhale'
Play time: Crow Prep- Down dog --- 3 legged dog to touch opposite arm flow. This is like going into pigeon but only touching the knee to opposite arm and then back up. 3 times each side. Then we relaxed into full pigeon. All 4's rocking forward and catching yourself, attention to arms. Crow demo with block & without -- let them explore. Forearm Crow (baby crow)- this was hard, two people found success but preferred the regular crow
Side crow- Prep: twisting chair. I talked about how this is what side crow feels like. We extended our hands from prayer position. After this, I had one of the staff demo while I went through the cues. Not much luck but motivated to revisit. Kids explored, one kid got it.
River-straight leg stretch, seated twist, butterfly, boat/flower, bridge, lying twist, shavasana, roll to one side(reclining budha), easy seat, namaste- "The coolness in me recognizes the coolness in you and together we are cool." From an anonymous teen.
This was a fun class. I think the kids liked the idea of explore/play.
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Cool Cathy, keep us posted. Put a pic up so we can see your smiling face,