2/23/23 Week 6 Reflections (After Watching the Recording)

Even though I came to class, I was not able to participate fully. I know these forums are supposed to be for people not regularly attending live sessions, but I like sharing. Fingers crossed that I get it all the way together this time. I took the tree out and kept the wiggles 🤣

1. Greetings and introduction questions....... Any breathing problems, current or prior injuries constricting mobility, current medical issues?

2. Energy Discharge/ Energetic Release cues

Welcome to your practice, I say your practice because you can take this with you the rest of your life wherever you go. As you explore your body, breath, and mind, your practice will change over time. Gratitude for allowing me to lead you through today's movement sequencing.

Bring awareness to the eyes and blink several times. Look around your space seeing your surroundings.

Bring awareness to the hands and shake them out however feels best for you. Wiggle your fingers. Make a fist and release it a few times.

Bring awareness to the feet and wiggle your toes. Then gently step or rock from side to side. Paying attention to any places you feel discomfort.

Notice your breath, notice how the air feels as it fills up your lungs. Is it hot or cool? 

Try to shake your wiggles out how you see fit for you with your full body. Shake off any worries of the day or the week, or even the month or year. Acknowledge your inner child that just likes to play around and move as freely as you desire on your mat or in your chair. Take mental note of what feels easy and what is a little more difficult to move throughout your body.

Slow back down to a soft rock back and forth. Step to the front of your mat and then back a few times. If you have big energy feel free to make small hops or just relaxed steps.

Bring awareness to you shoulders. Inhale in as you lift them up and exhale forcefully with a HA as you throw them down. Do this 3 times.

3. Dynamic Warm Up cues

Roll shoulders up, back and down. 

While standing or sitting, extend your left leg in front of you taping your toe to the floor, take it back and extend your right leg the same way. Repeat this movement 2 more times inhaling as you extend and exhaling as you take it back.

Place your hands in the air at shoulder height or at your waist with your elbows bent inhaling. As you exhale gently rotate your left hand to touch your right hand which is stationary. Inhale to center. Exhale gently rotate or twist your right hand to touch your left hand which is stationary. Repeat 2 more times and breath how it feels comfortable for you making sure not to hold your breath while twisting your body.

Roll shoulders up, back, and down 

Place your hands at your sides and lean to one side as if you were trying to slide your hand down your thigh to touch the side of your knees feeling that delicious stretch in your side. Inhale center, and reverse sides trying to reach for your knee, keeping awareness of not letting your back curve forward. 

Place your hands on your sides while standing or sitting and raise your arms to make a T. Repeat 2 more times always acknowledging your breath. Showing gratitude for the oxygen you are gathering. Hands return to sides and bicep curls either simultaneously or one at a time for 3 reps. 

Roll shoulders up, back, and down

Sitting down or standing, lift one knee to march. At your own pace alternate legs. Notice if one leg goes higher than the other. Then gently rock from heel to your toe either one at a time or both together, being sure not to cause any discomfort. 

As we become still, take a deep breath in and a big sigh out.

4. Centering cues

Bring awareness to your neck, and as we inhale center, exhale and turn your head to your left gently. Inhale center, exhale turning head to the right gently. If you feel any discomfort, try turning less on the next two repetitions. 

Inhale center, and this time as you exhale lift your chin towards the ceiling as far as you can without discomfort. Inhale center and exhale chin to chest or a far down as you can without discomfort. Repeat two more times.

Roll shoulders up, back, and down 

Place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest. Breath in deep through your nose and as you exhale imagine trying to fog up the mirror with the breath from your nose. You can soften your gaze or close your eyes if you like or keep them completely open as we take 4 more breaths like this. Notice how it feels as your lungs fill with air. Bring awareness to each part of your body rising as you inhale and how the air leaves your body while squeezing in all your stomach muscles during exhale.

With hands on shoulders or elbows give yourself a hug for showing up on the mat for yourself today. Squeeze as tight as you like or as little as you like. 

Observe your breath. Inhale deep and pause two seconds before exhaling. 

Rub your hands together and place them on your face or any part of your body you feel needs more attention. 

Roll shoulders up, back and down......

To be continued ☺️

I have the sequence I created below. I had a lot of fun with this! This is the beginning of a sequence where I would end the connection and focus section with tree pose. That’s why I include the hip mobility and the shoulder mobility exercise. 

Introduction

-Introduce myself, if there are new students: introduce yoga, honor what people currently understand as yoga because of social media and advertisements. Introduce yoga as the concept of moving, breathing, and understanding ourselves. Give them a run down of what class will look like (so there are no surprises) 

Energetic Release

-Start off with a brief introduction about energetic release (e.g., dispeling stuck energy or tension in the body)

-movement: shake out the legs and the arms, side stepping, rising up on toes and then heels. -ask students to move however is comfortable for them and offer these movements^

Dynamic Warm Up

-roll shoulders back and forward, neck side-side movement, standing cat cow6x (open up through the shoulders and the chest reaching the arms towards the back of the room as you inhale and as you exhale roll the shoulders forward slightly rounding through the spine and tucking the chin in towards the chest if that feels okay on the neck. Could even take the exhale motion all the way into a forward fold if they wanted to). Then go through a hip mobility exercise with the students (propping toes on the outside of the foot like three and practicing gentle internal and external rotation with the bent knee. Offer different arm variations)

Centering

-standing mountain meditation. Ask the students to pay attention to the body and breath. Instructions:

• Start by noticing the feeling of your feet on the floor. See if you can bring attention there. If it helps, you can wiggle the toes or left and lower the heels to help you bring more sensation and awareness into your feet. Now whenever you're ready, see if you can move your focus up through your legs, maybe allowing the knees to soften on the way. Guide your attention up to your shoulders, maybe let go of tension in the shoulders, allowing them to be relaxed and soft. Move your attention down to your hands, notice sensation in the hands. Maybe wiggle into the fingers and notice how it feels to wiggle the fingers. Gently, guide your focus up to your neck, maybe just like we did a moment ago, you might choose to move your neck around, moving it from side to side. Whenever your ready, come back to stillness. Then guide your focus up to the muscles in the face, maybe allow the jaw to relax, the eyelids to relax, allow them to be heavy. Now your next few breaths, notice your entire body as you stand in your mountain pose. How does it feel for you to be in mountain pose today? Do any thoughts or emotions come up when you think about the question? Whatever comes up, give yourself the space to notice it without judgment or further self analysis. 
• At the end of this mountain meditation, invite them to bring their awareness back into the room.

Discussion over Asteya:

The conversation over sarcasm stealing from people's ability to connect with each other via raw and vulnerable emotions really hit home with me. This shows up very often in my life and I have not thought of it that way. Someone made a sarcastic comment to me this morning and I thought of the conversation and noticed how it affected my body. Even though it seems funny and playful there is kind of a twinge in my stomach that just feels wrong.

I was able to attend the class through group sharing, right in the middle of me part to lead....my internet went out. Country Living has it's Negatives. 

I enjoyed the group I was in and enjoyed seeing the work the other group had done. Just like Marlon, I would see someone else do or say something and think "damn, I should have said that!"

I enjoyed the discussion on Asteya _ Non Stealing. Through Recovery I have implemented the practice of non-stealing without realizing that was what I was doing. But I must admit, I do not participate in much advocacy for this practice in my community. I hope to find ways to be more proactive with this concept as a member of the community I live in and the community I represent as a person in long term Recovery and a Yoga Instructor.