TO THE WALL . . .

Subbed for Sam last night - a hatha class.

The majority of students requested work on their upper back, opening the chest/heart. So -- add in a little Anusara®, and what theme/heart quality works better than gratitude? Several had significant life-altering events to be grateful for, but everyone in a class can find something to be grateful for --

Warmed up, did a few surya namaskars, then to the wall. First a couple shoulder openers (or, I like to think of them as pec openers, since these muscles take advantage of our tendency towards dropping the shoulders forward/down, and tighten up to really cement slouching as a habit in our body). Then shower pose (?) -- if anyone has a better name, let me know, but in this version of wall dog the hands are placed slightly above the head as the student steps back from the wall, allowing greater access to shoulderblades. Then wall dog.

I then decided we should try a modified utthita parsvokonasana at the wall. Standing with bent right knee facing the wall (about 1-2 ft away), right elbow to knee, take a breath and extend left arm over ear to the wall. Using that extended arm and the wall, being mindful of the shoulderblades, they got such great opening in this pose. Fun to watch; fun to teach. We did both sides twice, the second time placing the arm to be extended first on the rib cage. (The bent elbow really gives access to shoulder blades.) Moving into the pose, opening the heart, then extending the arm, using the wall as leverage to further open the upper body into the pose. Not a sign of kyphosis anywhere.

Back to the mats, for more standing & balance poses, to the floor and then a restorative pose -- placing a small roll under that stiff spot right about armpit level. Making sure their shoulders could touch the floor -- that required a bit of experimentation and a different size roll for each. Intense if the back is pretty kyphotic, so we held it for just a minute. Savasana - finally.

Hey, I sound like a yoga teacher!

Cleanse just rolling along -- the mornings are easier than later in the day. If I don't prepare food early in the day for the evening meal, then the question becomes "what do I eat". Near-panic can set in at that point. Trying to avoid that.

Enjoy Thursday,