Light on You Yoga

It has been lovely seeing lots of you online. It’s hard to know when we will be back in a room together. With that in mind, I feel that the online platform certain has a place at this time.

There has been a permanent change to the times of the Thursday class, which will now start at 4 – 5.30pm every week. Apologies to anyone if this causes any inconvenience and I hope you will be able to transfer to a class at a time that suits you 🙏🏼

Just to inform you that Zoom have done a mandatory update on 30th May. I found that I struggled on my laptop and had to delete and start over to get this working effectively.

Below I have grouped together some of the asanas we have recently worked on. In case you want to try a home practice, but don’t know where to begin.

Message and let me know how you are getting on, or if you have any questions you would like to ask.

HOME PRACTICE SHEET

In our daily lives, a lot of our activities involve rounding the shoulders and forward bending movements, – rarely do we bend the other way.

Over time, the spine can degenerate. As I have said many times in class, Mr Iyengar continued practicing backbends and twists into his 90’s.

It’s never too late to start…

They rejuvenating the spine, develop strength, flexibility, they can be exhilarating postures that give us energy.

Backbends also nourish the nervous system and increase the efficiency of the glandular system which is essential for physical and mental health.

Is this the time for you to include some backbends in your practice?

Remember as I said in the last blog, start all standing asanas from Tadasana, and repeat on the second side when required, come out of the pose as you went in, and BREATHE…😊

TADASANA

Spread the sole of the foot, join the big toes and inner heel.
Bend the knees and join the inner legs. Straighten the legs, lifting the kneecaps and front thighs up, and moving the shins back.
Lift the front body up, and roll the shoulders down. Outer upper arms roll back to broaden the collarbones.
Lengthen and lift the spine, crown of the head up to the ceiling.

Stand against a wall to see that the alignment is correct.

PADANGUSTHASANA

Stand with the feet hip-distance apart, outer heel and little toe aligned.
Bend forwards and hold the big toe with the first two fingers and wrap the thumb over the fingernails.
Arms and legs straight, moving the front of the thighs back and the back of the arms forward, create space between the two.
Move the shoulder blades down towards the chest, so the skin moves away from the back of the T-shirt.
Widen the collar bones as you look forwards.

If it’s not possible to hold the toes, use a belt under the ball points of the feet.

ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA

Lie face down on the floor, hands by the sides of the chest with the fingertips under the shoulders. Spread the palms of the hands, middle finger pointing forwards.
Tuck the toes under, feet hip-width or wider apart. Press on the hands, come up onto the knees, do not move the distance between the feet and hands.
Press the hands and feet and lift the hips up high, to straighten the legs and lengthen the spine.
Without losing the height in the hips, extend from the back of the knee to the heel down to the ground.

For stiff shoulders, take the hands to a wall, and press the thumb and index finger into the wall.

PARIGASANA

From kneeling at the front edge of your mat, sit back on the heels to establish the spreading of the weight along the shins, ankles and metatarsals.
Carefully come up to kneeling, without losing this action (also needed when doing Ustrasana)
Turning from the top of the right thigh, bend the right leg to the side, then stretch the leg out. Open the chest as you stretch out the arms at shoulder height.
Extend both sides of the truck sideways, taking the lower hand to the shin, bring the upper arm onto the waist, and lift the top shoulder up as you turn from the lower ribs, to maintain the rotation of the chest.
turn the palm on the shin up to the ceiling and sliding the fingers towards the toes, connect the elbow towards the knee.
Turn the trunk towards the ceiling as you lift the top shoulder and the extend the arm over by the ear, with the palm facing down.

Place the big toe joint of the straight leg on to a brick or into a wall if the toes are not yet able to extend to the ground.

CHATURANGA DANDASANA

From Adho Mukha Svanasana, look forwards, take the shoulders to align over the wrists, arms are now straight, as you do this simultaneously, lift the heels and be on the tip of the toes with the legs straight and firm.
Move from the waist down towards the buttock bones, buttock bone extending to the heels, as the front body lifts towards the chin to extend forwards.
The front of the thighs lift away from the ground towards the bone, as the tail bone/sacrum area moves in. These actions bring a containment to the hip and abdominal area, the hips should not be dropping down towards the ground.
bend the elbows back towards the waist, until the body is parallel to the ground, look forwards and remember to breathe 😊

To prepare for this action you could begin by practicing, stand facing a wall, toes touching the wall, tadasana action of the feet and legs. Spread the palms on the wall at the sides of the chest. Lift the sturnum towards the chin and roll the skin from the top of the shoulders away from the ears, down towards the elbows.

SALABHASANA

Lying in a prone position.
Open each groin by stretching the legs back and away one by one.
descend the mid buttocks and tailbone down to the ground
stretch the arms back towards the feet
Lifting the legs and chest, look up

Use a blanket to lie the abdomen on

URDHVA MUKHA SVANASANA

Lie face down on the floor, hands by the sides of the chest with the fingertips under the shoulders. Spread the palms of the hands, middle finger pointing forwards.
Inhale, press on the palms, begin straightening the arms, as you simultaneously make the legs active, the pelvis thighs and knees lift off the floor.
drawing the hips forward as you roll the shoulders back and lift the chest.
extending from the chin to look up towards the ceiling.

This pose can also be done from starting from Adho Mukha Svanasana (Dog Down), or with the hands on bricks.

DHANURASANA

Lying in a prone position, bend the knees bringing the heels towards the buttocks as you simultaneously stretch both arms back to catch the ankles
Take the thumbs next to the index fingers as you grip your ankles. Creating a resistance between the straight arms and the legs
Moving the shins up and back as you lift the chest
Continue to use each exhalation to help lift the chest and legs further.

Use a blanket to lie the abdomen on. Use belts on the ankles if you can’t hold.

PARYANKASANA

From kneeling, have the knees towards each other and take the feet wider than your hips.
using the fingers, draw the calf away from the back of the knee, towards the feet and out to the sides and moving the buttock bones back to sit down between the feet.
Place the hands on the feet, fingertips towards the heels, bend the arms and move backwards until you are resting on your elbows.
Lift the chest, slide the elbows towards the heels, lift the chin up towards the ceiling as you begin to take the top of the head to the floor. You can also grip the hips or the sides of your mat to help with this action.
Release the arms from the floor and stretch the fingertips up towards the ceiling. Fold the arms and extend from the armpits to take them over the head in the direction of the floor.
Swap the cross of the arms and hold for an equal length of time, before releasing the pose.

Supported backbends – Using a bolster to go back over can be especially useful if you are tired, you will still be working but will feel more restful, allowing you to stay longer, and tone the body with minimum effort.

BHARADVAJASANA 2

Sitting in Dandasana, fold/bend the left leg intoVirasana. Taking care of the knee as previously instructed.
Take the right hand behind the right knee and hold the heel/ankle with the left-hand, draw the foot into a Padmasana position. Heel near to the abdomen.
Inhale and lift the side of the body, as you exhale turn to the right, the left hand catches the right knee and the right-hand swings back to catch the toes of the Padmasana foot.
Continue to inhale and lift, exhale and turn.
When ready to release the pose, place the Hans one on top of the other behind the knees to allow them to slowly open as you sit in Dandasana, and then repeat on the other side.

If the fingers do not reach the toes, use a belt around the foot to catch hold.

For knee problems protect the back of the knees by using a belt or a corner of a blanket.

I look forward to seeing you via Zoom, If you haven’t already tried a class then it would be lovely to see you, get in touch.

Thank you to those who have taken the time to give me feedback 🙏🏼

Debbie 🤸🏻‍♂️