Tree pose outside the inn in Spencer, Mass. one early morning in June, after a rain storm

On Breathing and Yoga

On Breathing and Yoga Today , for some reason, I found myself restless in mind and spirit. I did not have a sense of satisfaction nor ease I made a greater effort than usual to focus on my breathing, to actually be aware of my inhalation when told to inhale and my exhalation when told to exhale. I wanted to see if I could quiet down the chatter that was occurring in my head during yoga. I often find that during yoga practice or any form of exercise, my mind drifts at some point and I lose focus on the present. Focusing on the breathing and thinking are often difficult to achieve simultaneously.Perhaps we were designed that way intentionally to remind us of our truer spiritual nature and to get out of our egoic thinking.

Tiger Pose

Today we did an interesting flow: We began with prep for camel. First when we sat on our knees, we tucked the tail bone toward the earth, so the back was flat and then tilted back, first with hands on our sides, then with hands stretched in front.
Then we transitioned into table top, stretched right leg out, bent it, brought it left and caught it with the left hand and looked forward and lifted the leg up against the hand. Then bent the knee to the chest, curving the back and repeated the tiger pose again. Then we lifted the bent knee from chest upward to three-legged down dog. Repeated the same thing other side.

From this we flowed into sphinx, cobra, dhanurasana. Wide leg cobra. Wide leg balasana.

Sitting with knees bent, hands stretched forward, we moved back as if to lie down and then straightened up, tilted back and straightened again--this was like a crunch. Then we lay down, knees diamond shape, brought knees together and lifted the legs as well as the hips, exhale, and then, inhale, diamond, knees together, and exhale, lifting up.  This is another crunch. Flowed into Jatara. Then one leg up, the other stretched out, head to knee, hand in toe lock. Hip opener. Both sides.

I love the tiger pose. It is powerful, the face lifting itself off the body to let out a roar, tail skyward and alert.

Emphasis on spine today.

Mudras

I love mudras. Forming my fingers into different mudras is like creating pictures. Forming a lotus in bloom makes me imagine the flower as well as notice the shape of the fingers forming it.  Or when I create flower bowls--pushpaputta--with my hands upturned at the heart center, I imagine welcoming someone with petals in my hands. Our fingers can represent the elements and bring them right into our very being. Water, fire, earth--they are all at our finger tips!
I am now entertaining myself by creating my own mudras. Crossing, binding, intertwining, locking and stretching my fingers into interesting shapes and ascribing meaning to each shape. Dancers do it all the time; not only do they use the set mudras, but they invent newer ones to fit stories in newer contexts.
So, if you are into the aesthetics of mudras, then you will have fun practicing traditional mudras used in yoga and in classical dance as well as creating your own.

Yoga or not

I have been doing less yoga and more swimming lately. From the swimming pool, I next go into the hot tub to soak away the aches and pains of the winter. I attended a somewhat vigorous yoga class this week, and I realized that I was not as flexible as I was a year or so ago. This led me to an internal contemplation of just what do I want from my yoga practice. Ok, so I might not be as flexible, but I still am able to enjoy the class. The key for me is to do what I can do, and not force my body into poses that are not comfortable. To swim or to do yoga? That is my question for today.

Vinyasa

Doing yoga as vinyasa is like dancing, one movement stitched to another. The movements acquire grace and fluidity. Transitioning from one asana to the next without coming back to samastithi brings about fluidity of movement. I love moving from Virabadrasana 1 to Virabadrasana 2, then to uttita parsva konasana, then to Peaceful Warrior, to Trikonasana, to Parivritta Trikonasana, to Virabadrasana 3, to Parasva Uttanasana, then Uttanasana, Ardha Uttanasana, Vrikshasana, Natarajasana, Plankasana, Bhujungasana, Adhomukhasvanasana, ending in Samasthithi.  Doing this right and left side is a lovely dance. What's more, repeating this vinyasa a second time and including a couple more, such as Parivritta Konasana to follow the Parsva Konasana, and a toe lock following the Vrikshasana, makes this vinyasa composition even more beautiful.
Improvising transitions from one asana to the next is where my imagination comes into play. for example moving from standing to sitting postures provides an experience of vertical space. From goddess pose to descending, without breaking the pose, into malasana, then to camel, and balasana is a nice vertical pace. Stitching side bending postures together, such as vasishtasana, followed by bending the back leg and locking it in the elbow after kapotasana bring to relief the body's curves.
I am aware of how I hold my face, its muscles perfectly relaxed--at least that is my goal. I like to imagine my fingers and toes aligned to the pose, head and neck aligned to the spine, shoulders relaxed and down.
Breath is the music that moves us from one pose to the next, so the movements seem effortless, graceful. In this way, yoga can seem like painting or music, beautiful to our inner eye as we practice it.