August 2011
5 posts
Aug 14, Strong Vinyasa
19 people in class to day.
19? 19! A heap, too many, more than I can handle according to my Sunday morning conditioning. On average, these classes are no more than 10 people. Nearly doubling it brings along some thoughts of arrest. “I should put a 15 mat max sign on the door” or “A bakers dozen is our limit, unless you bring that many duck eggs” (I have a sweettooth for...
Strong Vinyasa, Aug 12
8 people
Opening
seated butterfly
janusirsasana
wrist openers
cat/cow
downdog
Kali series 3 times with Warrior 3 play, Hanumanasana and Sprouting Tree
We introduced so twisting of the hips and back
Laying prone with arms out perpindicular to the body. Lift the right leg up into a little backbend and reach the right foot to the floor near the left hip or left midback depending on...
Ashtanga Play, Aug 11
Moved through the standing and half of the primary series with ease tonite. Having a steady group of regulars has had a great influence on the practice. Individuals are much more inquisitive in class and willing vocalize their curiosity. Engaging in dialogue during a set series definitely challenges the progression of the series, a fact that I hope everyone else in class approaches with the same...
August 9, Ashtanga Play
We’re still playing with the first half of the Primary Series. Tonight we went up to Arm Pressure Pose, Bhujapindasana. We’ve also been doing ‘half vinyasas’, performing the vinyasa after a seated pose is performed on both sides. In between in each pose we’re trying Uth Pluthi for a few breaths in efforts to have a class with full vinyasas.
For the finishing series...
July 31, Strong Vinyasa
5 peeps
Opening
Baddha Konasana
Janusirsasana
Pavritta Janusirsasana
Cat/Cow
Downdog
Uttanasana
Sun Sals of choice for 5 minutes
Kali Series with:
Grasshopper Chatturanga
Parsvattonasana
Warrior 3
From here we ventured into some of the poses from the Ashtanga Intermediate Series, Nadi Shodana
We played with Salabhasana Ustrasana, Laghu Vajrasana, Kapotasana and Pashasana
With this...
July 2011
3 posts
July 15, Strong Vinyasa
15 peeps
Opening
Butterfly
Head to knee
Head to knee side stretch
Cat/Cow
Down Dog
Plank with variations to engage the wrist and shoulders
Sun Sals of choice 5 min
Kali series x3
Wrist opening for Crow prep
Malasana
Crow/Malasana play
Crow
Side Crow
Straight Arm Crow
Closing
Ashtanga Play 7/12/2011
4 peeps
Sun Salutations A and B
Standing Series
Primary Series up to Boat Pose
Modified Finishing Sequence
Lots of progress with Jump Throughs and Hamstrings tonight
Visvamitrasana July 10th, 2011
Before he became a sage, Visvamitra was the King of India. Known to be a lion of a warrior and having a volcanic temper, Visvamitra demanded immense respect and obedience. Its this anger that, according to rumor, guided Visvamitra to yoga.
The following is a rumor Ive heard:
The King was traveling with his army across India and came up a little ashram, no more than a hut, where a sage lived with...
March 2010
1 post
Strong Vinyasa Friday March 26
830 am class
5 people
Baddha Konasana
Marichyasana A
Pashasana
Sun Salutations x5
Kali Series x4
Supine Twist
Bridge
Shoulder Opening with Chair
Viparita Dandasana with Chair
Scorpion with Chair
Handstand Scorpion at Wall
Freeform for 10min
Svasana
June 2009
1 post
Safe Spaces
A few yoga teachers were sitting around the local-organic-juice-kirtan-om-nagchampa-zen-freetrade-internet cafe when the idea of safe space came up…
‘When is it that you are aware of how safe your teaching space is?’, asked a pony-tailed Yin teacher while sipping his kale and beet smoothie.
The Americano drinking Bikram teacher with the gauged ears piped up first, ‘The...
May 2009
1 post
Teaching Teachers
My vinyasa class has been going great. I’ve got a group of regulars who show up and are really into the structure of the class. Usually there is a round of sun salutations, then some fun variation of a warrior series followed by whatever the class chooses, arms, back, hips, whatever. Small classes make it easy for a dialogue between the students and teacher and we can kinda go wherever.
...
April 2009
1 post
Spring in Moab
Its springtime here… kinda. The desert likes to surprise me with weather that hits like a sucker punch to the kidney. One week of brilliant 80 degree sunshine followed by freezing rain and snow that lasts twice as long. Today the Sun is out and all the Jeeper tourists are in town. Jeep Safari week. During ths little festival Moab hosts 4x4 enthusiasts by the thousands. A spectacular...
November 2008
1 post
i got stung
it happened! i couldn’t believe it, i was in diegos class at the crib and we were practicing forearm balances. these are real hard for me. i injured my shoulder awhile ago and it just hasn’t been the same. i was near the wall and holding myself for a few breaths when he said to try out scorpion. a few days prior uschi had us working scorpion as well so i had some familiarity with it.
...
October 2008
1 post
potential
i’ve never been a ‘strong’ male. real skinny, not real confrontational, not a fan of contact sports and usually smiling a bit too much. my understanding has for the most of my life been that i am just not very masculine.
it all probably started with my first word. in my late 20’s my aunt informed that on a drive to visit grandma and grandpa i was staring out the window and...
September 2008
1 post
still inspired
wow. thats all i could think as i stared at my new puppy shitting on the passenger seat of my car in traffic. i was about to yell at him, i rarely lose my temper but stinky puppy shit does something to me, just as another driver honked and yelled at me… ‘what the fuck?!’ he screamed. i almost broadsided him, distracted by puppy poo. i looked back at the puppy and he was just...
August 2008
2 posts
inspiration
where does it come from? how do i remain inspired? because i get bored so quickly. its hard to commit to practicing things when i am not inspired. forward folds, taxes, washing my car, monogamy, low fat mayonaisse. so i read books, lots and lots of books. ganga white, katsuki sekida, baldwin, sutras, how-to’s, how not to’s. i go to classes as well. the idea of the sangha is very...
flexibility... more than physical
i truly enjoy what my body can do. i have been blessed with a naturally flexible body. i have known this for a while now. i’ve been that guy who can put his foot behind his head or step way too high on the wall to tie his shoe. and then i started yoga a year ago. bang! wow, i had no clue what this body’s potential would be. immensely open hips, shoulders that turn so far around and a...
July 2008
2 posts
bonsai yoga
it is really easy for me let myself be dissappointed. i put a bunch of energy into something and just before it is about to blossom, the bloom takes on its own life. it becomes something other than i was expecting. dammit, that is my usual response.
last night was my free class at the rec center here in moab. i had put the sequence together and took it apart 8 or 9 times. i couldn’t fill...
back to work
after not working for almost a month, a lot of my life was in need of some restructuring. bounced checks, cracked windshield, supervisor forgot about my paid time off. word up. i had one day in moab and then off to the wilderness to play with young addicts for 8 days. going to work is easier for me than my off time. i spend 8 days in the high desert sleeping on the ground, making fire with sticks,...
June 2008
2 posts
pose X
my expectations are crafty. they tease and taunt me into trying new poses, foods, countries and crafts that many times have proven to be excellent endeavors. they also convince me to stay in my chair and find another yoga site explaing how to do pose ‘x’ before trying it out myself. these thoughts tell me that though my hips are pretty bendy, those noodly arms aren’t quite ready...
opener
once upon a time i started a blog. it was great. it was used to chronicle my peeking into native american spirituality and primitive skills. alas, it was a short-lived affair. as it turns out, i harbor a deep fear of the CAPS LOCK button. there are other puncuation keys as well that insist i take a typing class. instead, i spent many evenings praying that there would be a digital armageddon and...