Restorative Yoga 1.29.08

11 peeps showed up tonight. There's something dynamic about a larger class size that encourages me to "drop in" and teach from my heart- to share myself, to pick and choose my words thoughtfully with a sense of ease and clarity. And it's all about the chemistry of the group...who is there and the energy in the room. Not one class is ever the same...that is facinating to me. You could teach the exact same postures and tell the same stories, or offer the same alignment information and the class is completely unique and different. As Kira expresses: it's all about who shows up- including me...meaning HOW i show up. Am i present, preoccupied, in the past, future, or in the moment- guiding them in and out of the practice.

i feel honored to teach restorative. it resonates with me so clearly. i think because it reflects my home practice. it has saved my life and "destroyed" it over and over. To drop into my heart and feel into the subtle layers of the physical, emotional, and energetic bodies. The currents of energy, points of stagnation, holding patterns, old habitual worn-out tired patterns that no longer serve me. Laughter, tears, nothing-ness, sadness, anger, joy, happiness...it becomes revealed and surfaces during the practice.

tonight's sequence: free-style cuz 11 peeps showed up. here's what we explored:

opened with supta buddha konasana, supported with a bolster

transition on to all fours- cat/cow tuck, activating energy around the spine.

supported childs w/bolster

following gentle movement, stretching out the back of the knees, easy down dog, a few breaths of free style- coordinating your movement with your breath with an emphasis on initiating the movement from WITHIN (pilates insight).

side-lying stretch pose w/bolster (5 min each side)

elevated spinal twist w/ bolster under sacrum/low back (5 min each side)
transition out of the pose with a guided bridge pose to remove the bolster
from underneath the sacrum. spine rests on the earth. easy windshield wiper pose.
hugs knees into chest and rock from side to side.

legs up the wall

final relaxation/savasana

i find that it is nice to incorporate gentle yoga in between each (or most of)
the postures. this helps to circulation the blood and energy flow throughout the body. it also feels good to ME, so I teach it. I find that goes from one pose directly into the next can be a bit mechanical, however sometimes encouraging peeps to free-style during restorative can shift the mood in the class because they have options and start to think too much! i really like offering up a bit of freestyle movement because it helps to set the tone, especially in the beginning of class, allowing peeps to listen.

what i noticed:

for older bodies, doing the elvated twist on the bolster can be a bit dramatic, so
giving the option to remove the bolder and do a gentle twist with their spine on the floor seems more comfortable and relaxed. having props on either side as "landing pads" worked out well, too.

side-lying stretch is a tricky one to demonstrate. it really have to come around and adjust peeps to help them adjust the bolster. i gave them the option of how to work the stretch "more actively" or "passively". this instruction worked well, i think because you can choose to feel and discern between the actions.

legs up the wall seems to be a favorite. i like leading up to this...
peeps are using their own creative way to get their booties against the wall.