The Sadhanistas at the end of our last morning
We are all in the picture together because Jenny set my camera up to do a time lapse photo, and she and Koreen piled enough chip foam blocks on a chair to achieve the right height. We’re missing only one Sadhanista, Maureen, who had an early morning bike trip planned, and couldn’t convince her fellow bikers to start a little later.
As happy as I am to have the choice of rising early or sleeping late for the rest of the summer, I’m going to miss this group, and the energy, enthusiasm and good humor that filled the studio every morning.
And the restorative practice?
Perhaps yesterday’s proposed class plan would have been possible if we’d all known all of the poses and all of the setups ahead of time. But we didn’t.
By 7:30 I was looking at the list and deciding what to skip. And Savasana was only five minutes, not the promised 10.
Restorative classes always go quickly. That’s a lesson I seem to learn and then repeatedly forget, swept up in the excitement of trying a different sequence, or a new setup that felt so good when I tried it.
Perhaps I might make a sign that reads: “Keep It Simple,” and hanging it on the wall by my desk.
Here’s what we really did:
Restorative: Day 10
Adho Mukha Virasana (downward facing hero) 2 to 3 minutes
Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward dog) in sling at rope wall or with head support and hands to the wall. 2 to 3 minutes
Uttanasana (standing forward bend) head support, to chair
3 to 5 minutesSirsasana (headstand) in the ropes 3 to 5 minutes
Viparita Dandasana (inverted stick pose) on two stools, with two bolsters, or one bolster and blankets, feet at the wall. 3 to 5 minutes
OR chest opening on horizontal bolster, support for the head if necessary
Salamba Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) on a chair, 5 to 10 minutes
set up with your head to the wall and move from the chair to Nirlamba SarvangasanaNirlamba Sarvangasana (unsupported shoulder stand) feet to the wall
5 minutesSetubanda Sarvangasana (shoulder stand bridge pose) on long bolster, feet to the wall, strap around the thighs, blanket under shoulders. 10 minutes
Paschimottanasana (seated forward bend) with head support 3 to 5 minutes
Viloma Pranayama with interrupted exhalation, lying down, five minutes
Savasana (corpse pose) with chest elevated 5 minutes
My thanks to all of the Sadhanistas. I hope your practice stays steady, strong and joyful.
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Well done Yoga on 7th’s Sadhanistas!!
Eve your plans each day were very useful, thank you so much for sharing them
I learn something from this wonderful discipline whether alone or in a group, whether I managed to make it happen each day or .. missed a day
I learn about my body and I learn about myself, all of it useful for the next challenge
Thank you for your leadership
Enjoy you holiday and hope to see you soon
Hi Eve,
Congratulations to you and the other Sadhanistas who completed the practice.
Thanks as well for giving us the opportunity to participate at home. I really appreciated your earlier posting on kypho-scoliosis.
Thanks again for your interesting and informative blogs.
Noga
Thanks so much Eve – for the photo and for the great, inspiring, challenging ten days! Have a wonderful summer, see you in the fall –nancy
My first elbow balance practice during the Sadhana was a simple shoulder opener, with my forearms against the wall and my elbows resting on the plank on the wall at waist height. Yesterday, my elbow balance finished with me kicking up into the full pose without support. That’s never happened before. Today my heels tentatively touched the floor in downward-facing dog – hello hamstrings! That’s also never happened before. Besides these personal gains to my yoga practice, I’ve been walking taller and with more of a bounce this past week or so. Eve, thank you so much for your inspiring work – what a wonderful way to welcome summer (it is here, isn’t it?).