Tomorrow is officially the beginning of summer. It’s also the beginning of the second annual 10-day Summer Sadhana at Yoga on 7th.
At 6:15 tomorrow morning, 18 of us will meet at the studio and begin to practice together.
We’ll repeat a sequence of forward bends (days 1, 4 and 7), back bends (days 2, 5 and 8) and twists (days 3, 6 and 9). On day 10, which falls on Canada Day, we’ll have a restorative session.
Every day follows a similar pattern. First we sit. Then we move from child’s pose into dog pose, and then into handstand and headstand, or whatever preparation for those poses is suitable for each person’s practice.
(Check out Get a Leg Up on Downward Dog and Half a Headstand with Three Blocks and a Wall for ideas, if you’re not sure what to do.)
Standing poses follow. Each day, the standing poses work with the theme of the day. Tomorrow it’s forward bends, so we’ll be including Parsvottanasana and Ardha Chandrasana, both of which help to prepare the body for seated forward bends, as well as the more advanced standing balance, Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (standing splits).
Depending on the day’s work, it’s either shoulder stand, or the focus poses next. In forward bend practice, we do the shoulder stand first, because the seated forward bends continue its soothing, cooling action.
Then it’s a gentle twist and savasana, and we’re out the door, to find out how it feels to live a day that started with 90 minutes of practice.
If you’d like to follow along at home, the sequence is below.
Some tips for home practice:
• You may find some of these poses difficult. Each one has a bus stop – a place to pause and wait, rather than going all the way to the end of the route.
• If a pose completely eludes you, spend the time repeating the pose just before, or, if you’d rather, move on to the next pose.
• If neither the Sanskrit nor the English name rings a bell, try searching the Yoga Journal website. The poses may not always be exactly as we do them in class, but they’re very close.
• Be sure to leave enough time for Savasana at the end. Your body and your nervous system need it to absorb the work you’ve done. Five minutes is a bare minimum.
Forward bend sequence: Day 1, 4, 7
Sitting, centering 5 to 10 minutes
Constructive rest position 3 to 5 minutes
Adho Mukha Virasana (child’s pose)
Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward-facing dog pose) 1 minute
Adho Mukha Vrksasana (handstand or preparation) 2 x 30 seconds
Sirsasana (headstand) or preparation, 3 – 5 minutes
Uttanasana (standing forward bend) 1 minute
Tadasana (mountain pose) 30 seconds
Vrksasana (tree pose) 1-2 minutes
Utthita Trikonasana (extended triangle pose) 1-2 minutes
Uttanasana (standing forward bend) 1 minute
Utthita Parsvakonasana (extended side angle pose) 1-2 minutes
Parivrtta Trikonasana (revolved triangle pose) 1 minute
Ardha Chandrasana (half moon pose) 1-2 minutes
Parsvottanasana (intense side stretch pose) 1-2 minutes
Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (upward extended one leg pose) 1-2 minutes
Uttanasana (standing forward bend) 1 minute
Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) 5-10 minutes
Eka Pada Sarvangasana (one-legged shoulder stand) 1 minute
Parsvaika Pada Sarvangasana (one leg to side shoulder stand) 1 minute
Halasana (plow pose) 1-2 minutes
Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana II (upward facing forward bend, Plate 169/170 In Light on Yoga; start by lying on your back, legs at 90 degrees, strap around your feet, gradually bring your feet overhead into an upside-down Paschimottanasana.)
Upavistha Konasana wide-angle seated forward bend) 2 minutes
Baddha Konasana (bound angle pose) 1 minute
Janu Sirsasana (head-to-knee pose) 2 minutes
Paschimottanasana (seated forward bend) 2 minutes
Jathara Parivartanasana (supine twist or revolved abdomen pose) 1 minute
Savasana (corpse pose) 5 to 10 minutes
Sunrise photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons, Fr Antunes
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I recently discovered this site. Thanks so much for sharing all your knowledge. I enjoyed today’s sequence and look forward to the others.