Munster Iyengar Yoga 9 January 2019

“Action is movement with intelligence. The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action.” 

B.K.S. Iyengar

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Getting started….

If you want to do some yoga at home but are short on time, any one of these poses can be done and will need just a couple of minutes. You can then add another pose and build up to doing more. You’ll notice the benefits even from practising just one pose a day.

Two Short Yoga Sequences for Home Practice

Each of these sequences needs about 20-30 min. One focuses on stronger standing poses, the second on more restorative sitting poses. Sometimes we need to be more active, other times to give our bodies the space to rest. See which you need most at the time.

KICKSTART YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

Home Practice |Yoga Sequence

Munster Iyengar Yoga 9 January 2019

A stronger sequence with more standing poses

Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

Extend through arms and spine to give height in your hips, use your legs strongly, move your thighs and shins back.

Uttanāsana

Keeping the feet hip width and legs straight, extend arms up overhead to lengthen your trunk, then hinge forwards at the hips and bring your fingertips to the floor or holding your legs if you don’t reach the floor. Work at lifting up through your legs and extending down

through your trunk.

Utthita hasta pādāṅguṣṭhāsana

Place your heel on a support such as a window cill or chair directly in front of you and hold a belt around the ball of your foot with both hands. Make sure it’s not so high that you can’t straighten both legs. Work at keeping both sitting bones level, the standing thigh pressing back as in tadasana, extend from

the sitting bone to the heel of the raised leg and maintain the lift of your trunk and chest.

Half uttanāsana

Hands to the wall at waist height, walk back so your trunk extends and your hips are directly over your ankles.

Repeat half uttanasana; this time raise one leg behind you to hip height, extending to keep both legs straight and your hips level. Extend through your trunk to your fingers as if trying to push the wall away. Repeat with your other leg.

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Full Yoga Sequence at a glance

1. Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

2. Uttanāsana

3. Utthita hasta padangusthāsana

4. Half uttanāsana

5. Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

6. Pārśvōttāṇāsana

7. Viparita karani

Munster Iyengar Yoga 9 January 2019

Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

Place your mat short end to a wall and place your hands shoulder width apart on the floor with your thumb and index finger pressing against the wall to help extend through your arms and trunk, and

move your sternum towards your thighs.

Pārśvōttāṇāsana

Keeping your mat against the wall, with your left heel against the wall step the right foot forward. With your hands on your hips, press into both feet to bring the hips to be move level (naval facing forwards) , then extend your trunk

forward and place your hands either on the floor or on bricks. Keep your legs working strongly, then bend your arms to extend your trunk forwards and over your front thigh. Change legs and repeat.

Viparita karani

Place a bolster or a tightly rolled blanket or towel against the wall, sit on it sideways, lower your shoulder to the floor and then walk your feet up the wall, rolling on to your back so your hips are on your support and your legs are up the wall. Close your eyes and rest here for a few minutes, relaxing your face and abdomen.

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Full Yoga Sequence at a glance

1. Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

2. Uttanāsana

3. Utthita hasta padangusthāsana

4. Half uttanāsana

5. Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

6. Pārśvōttāṇāsana

7. Viparita karani

Munster Iyengar Yoga 9 January 2019

A gentler sequence with more sittings: (each sitting pose can be held for a few minutes)

Adho Mukha Virāsana

Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

Baddha konāsana

Sit with your back to the wall with the soles of your feet together. Sit on a height such as a block or folded blanket if your knees are high. Press your heels together, extend to your inner knees and allow the inner groins to soften. Keep lifting your chest and remain

in the pose for a few minutes. Take a support for your head (a brick or a chair with a folded blanket on top) and place the support in front of you; extend your trunk forward and place your forehead on the support. Again, remain for a minute or 2.

Upavista konāsana

Sitting on a height, take your legs out as wide as they ’ l l go. Keep your toes and knees f ac ing the cei l ing and extend through your legs ,

pressing them strongly downwards so you can lift your spine and chest. Press your fingers into the floor to help lift your trunk and remain in the pose for minute. Take a support for your head (a brick or a chair with a folded blanket on top) and place the support in front of you; extend your trunk forward and place your forehead on the support. Again, remain for a minute.

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Full Yoga Sequence at a glance

1. Adho Mukha Virāsana

2. Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

3. Baddha konāsana

4. Upavista konāsana

5. Paschimottanāsana

6. Supta Baddha konāsana

7. Savāsana

Munster Iyengar Yoga 9 January 2019

Paschimottanāsana

Sitting on a height with your legs together and pressing down, lift your trunk, then extend your trunk forward and either hold your feet or a belt around your feet. Keep extending your trunk forward and legs straight. You can also take a support for your head for this pose.

Supta Baddha konāsana

Sit sit with your soles of feet pressing together in baddha konasana. Use your hands on the floor to lower your trunk to the floor, lying with your back flat on the floor or with a bolster or folded blanket under your spine and head. Place your arms by your side with your palms facing up, keep length in your lower back, and relax your face, chest shoulders and abdomen.

Savāsana

Original Text by Kathy Anning, Certified Iyengar Junior Intermediate Level 2 Teacher

References: B.K.S. Iyengar: ‘Light on Yoga’Geeta S. Iyengar: ‘Yoga in Action, Preliminary course’ - (Illustrations used)

www.miyoga.org �5

Full Yoga Sequence at a glance

1. Adho Mukha Virāsana

2. Adho Mukha Śvānāsana

3. Baddha konāsana

4. Upavista konāsana

5. Paschimottanāsana

6. Supta Baddha konāsana

7. Savāsana