step 4: preparing the class

the preliminary postures/ warm up
Sukhasana - easy seated pose (and cross legged forward stretch to open hips)
Viralasana - cat pose (spinal flexion extension & twist)
Suryasana - sun sequence (spinal rotation)
Neck, wrist & forearm release

the sun salutation postures
Tadasana - mountain pose
Kumbhakasana - plank pose
Utkatasana - chair pose
Adho mukha svanasana - downward facing dog
Urdhva mukha svanasana - upward facing dog

the practice postures
Anjaneyasana - low lunge (prep knee down)
Virabhadrasana I - warrior one (prep roll out, arms reach, with knee stretch)
Virabhadrasana II - warrior two (with knee stretch-> extended stretch)
Utthita trikonasana -  extended triangle pose

Utthita parsvakonasana - extended side angle pose (back foot down, prep elbow on thigh-> hand on floor)
Parivrtta parsvakonasana - revolved side angle stretch
Parivritta trikonasana - revolved triangle pose (prep flat back forward->twist)

Prasarita padottanasana - wide leg forward bend (with shoulder stretch)
Kona utkatasana - wide leg chair squat

Dandasana - seated staff posture
Paschimottanasana - double leg forward stretch
Janu sirsana - head to knee forward bend (prep twist & reach)
Parivrtta Sukhasana - revolved easy pose
Ardha Matsyendrasana - seated half spinal twist
Baddha konasana - bound angle pose

Setu bandha sarangasana - bridge pose
Urdhva danurasana - upward facing bow pose
Eka pada pavanamuktasana III - one legged wind releasing pose
Urdhva prasarita padasana - upward stretched leg (with leg stretch back, sacrum down)

Navasana I & II - full boat pose

the sequence
siddhasana.
warm up with breath, release & preliminary postures.
break down the sun salutation building up to vinyasa flow.
introduce practice postures between sets of sun salutations.
savasana - corpse pose.
siddhasana - perfect pose.
namaste.

5 steps towards teaching my first yoga class

1.  create an opportunity.

thanks to my fellow yogi, pilates teacher & constant source of movement inspiration kelly 's encouragement, i have finally plucked the courage to volunteer to teach his vinyasa yoga class this wednesday, during his absence.

2.  practice the postures.

i have maintained a regular yoga practice of roughly 4 hours each week in the past 3 to integrate the movement principles into my body.

3.  practice teaching.

until now, i have only taught yoga to enthused pilatistas as a part of my warm up and warm down activity within my pilates classes. thanks to gerard's impromptu round robin teaching practice session that took place during this past weekend's workshops, i have finally taught my first 15 minutes of vinyasa yoga to a class of yogis.  it was a very different experience.  teaching in what i can only describe as a yogic environment in terms of space, ambience and student objectives, those 15 minutes served to clarify for me the distinct shift between teaching biomechanical efficiency and guiding a room full of individuals along their personal yogic journeys.  the round robin feedback session proved to be rich and insightful.  i left the workshop feeling samadhi, feeling perfectly centred, having found yoga on the subject of teaching, clarity on what i want to obtain.

4. prepare the class.

5. teach yoga.

daily insight: speaking of yoga philosophy - what is yoga?

One Moment in Time

As the Buddha said, impermanence is the nature of the human condition. This is a truth we know in our minds but tend to resist in our hearts. Change happens all around us, all the time, yet we long for the predictable, the consistent. We want the reassurance that comes from things remaining the same. Yoga philosophy offers an alternative to these tendencies. It is to embrace the powerful truth: the power of living in the unchanging, eternal present.

We can even look to our yoga mat to watch the attachment pattern play itself out. We often find ourselves attached to a never-ending process of "improvement" in our asanas. They do improve quickly at first—in the beginning, we are on a honeymoon of discovery; we grow by leaps and bounds in ability and understanding. After a couple of decades, however, our poses change much less. Oftentimes, we can no longer practice certain poses because of age or injury, yet we feel agitated because we assume that the poses of our youth should be the poses of our middle and old age.

What gives life its juice is the ability to mourn anything fully and simultaneously know it doesn't ultimately matter. In other words, we can live to the fullest when we recognize that our suffering is based not on the fact of impermanence but rather on our reaction to that impermanence.

2 May: returning to yoga, la détente

when i think of yoga détente, i am brought back to my yoga mat on a warm summer afternoon in early August of 2008 in Brittany.  it was here that i first experienced an extended practice of yoga for relaxation.  my breath, the poses and how they made me feel are intertwined with visual images of the practice space and the energy of the surroundings.  it was a retreat, in body, mind and spirit.

there is a synergy between our physical, mental, emotional & spiritual dimensions. restorative relaxation is the subtle integration and alignment of these dimensions that yields our body to a state of passive rest while remaining alert and present in our mind.  there is at once in the same moment vitality and calm, presence and surrender.