On Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to a ridiculously early conditioning class that’s been running for about 30 years. It’s so popular that I have to leave my house at 5am to get a spot in class. By the time I set up my weights and other workout paraphernalia, I still have about 35 minutes […]
Asana tip sheet #33 – Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
Crazy posture! That’s what Guruji (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the father of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga) called parivrtta parsvakonasana. He had put parivrtta parsvakonasana into the Ashtanga standing poses in the late 80s because his Maui students loved it. So why DID Guruji call parivrtta parsvakonasana “crazy pose”? I’m guessing here, but this is a pose that […]
Asana tip sheet #32 – Anjaneyasana
What strikes me most about anjaneyasana, or devotion pose, is its feeling or personality (what Rupali calls its “attitude”) of heart-opening. It always leaves my nervous system soothed and leaves me with a warm, calm afterglow. It’s also a pose I love because the physical openings rendered by devotion pose are yummy! It’s part of every bike ride I do as it opens many of the muscle groups […]
Asana tip sheet #30 – Samasthiti
The name of this pose really says it all: Samasthiti refers to steadiness and balance, both physically and mentally. As you stand in this pose you can feel the world drop away, the chakras line up and the chitta vrittis begin to quiet down. The weight of the body begins to find balance over the […]
Asana tip sheet #29 – Trikonasana (triangle)
Much-loved trikonasana is one of those poses that’s more complicated than it looks. Which becomes apparent when you do it. And whether you’re doing it “right” has more to do with which lineage or style of yoga you follow than the particulars of the pose itself. In some styles, the feet are further apart, the […]
