KNIT YOUR RIBS . . .

A line from my Pilates instructor? yes; a line from Desiree Rumbaugh in the Wisdom Warriors yoga practice today? also, yes.

For several in the room of 20 Warriors (aged 50+), this was new terminology (unless they have Pilates experience).  For me, well - I'd heard it in Pilates, but I had also heard it before from Desiree (first time, at a workshop in Springdale, Utah; then in Driggs, Idaho). This time, she added on "scoop your tailbone, hard! and keep your thighs back".  What?  (One confession -- she may have said the stuff about tailbone and thighs before; if so, I've blocked that memory.)

Best of all, today, she was giving these multi-tasking instructions with me demo'ing parsvakonasana and transitioning to trichonasana.  It goes like this:

1. Set your foundation for parsvakonasana (side angle pose)
2. Take your gaze towards your navel -- no way you can do this without knitting your ribs
3. Scoop your tailbone strongly as you keep the back thigh back (is that clear enough?)
4. Keeping the actions of ribs knitted and tailbone scooped (and back thigh back), extend the top arm over your ear, breathe, open. Just keep breathing, take gaze to upper arm, you will open; it happened for me.
5. Now, transition to trichonasana (triangle)
6. Once again, check out your navel
7. Scoop your tailbone, extend energy down from solar plexus (lower rib cage)
8. Oh, and keep back thigh back
9. Holding 6, 7, and 8, open and extend your top arm to the sky
10. Take your gaze towards the lifted arm

O.K., I did all this in a demo that lasted at least 5 minutes; maybe 8 minutes.  Then, the group did it -- beginning on the same side.  Gotta tell you my right leg was talking to me when we switched sides.  

This was the teaching today -- lower rib cage held in check (not allowed to flair with abandon), tailbone scooped -- the result?  Stronger poses, more confident poses, beautiful poses.  

What else did we do with our ribs knitted and tailbones scooped?  

Handstands, forearm balances, many variations of bakasana (crow/crane), dhanurasana (bow), some things I think we just 'made up', urdhva dhanurasana (wheel pose), more handstands, ardha matsyendrasana (seated twist), hanumanasana (splits). I've missed a lot, but I think I captured the essence.  Desiree was on fire; and she ignited us.

For me, the best part?  Lasting out that 15 minute demo; maybe it was 20 minutes.  Yeah, I'm sure it was 25 minutes.  

Tomorrow?  Watch out Thursday class!