Restorative 3.11.08

6 peeps- regulars

My energy felt a bit grounded this evening. i had a good cry right the middle of the day that left me feeling heavy, raw, and refreshingly REAL. So I "showed up" this evening to class and taught from that place of rawness. Not hiding, pretending, just Being- allowing myself to feel the emotional waves fully and with ease. In this case,
teaching was the perfect medicine this evening.

I felt drawn to guide the students in a brief, seated meditation to begin the class.
Recently, I have embraced the flow of sitting before sunrise. The meditation usually guides me towards an easy yoga practice. So this evening I felt inspired to begin in sukasana- a comfortable crossed leg position, with the intention of grounded myself, as well and directly the flow of the practice. It feels right...I will continue to integrate my own meditation practice into the class.

The sequence this evening looked like this:

Sit- helped to set the tone of the class
"let the inhale lengthen the spine, lifting the crown of the head towards the sky, and feel the exhale ground the sit-bones towards the earth. Observe the natural rhythm of the breath without making an effort."

Mountain Brook- supported heart opener

transition into side-lying rest pose: fetal position with folded blanket under head and between the knees. This offers an easy, restorative transition between each pose. I found that it helped to set the pace with nice, slow, deliberate breathing down the back of the body. Resting on the side can be very sedating, as well as soothing and calming to the nervous system.

Wide-leg forward fold (upavista konasana):
Fold blanket under sit bones to encourage inward spiral/ tilt of the pelvis.
For tighter hamstrings, bend knees and rolled a blanket underneath. Rest in prayer position, elbows to bolster, or rest chest comfortably on bolster.

supta baddha konasana- bolster lengthwide under spine. Roll blankets under thighs to encourage the femur bones to relax in the hip-socket.

supported spinal twist- forward fold with bolster under chest (both sides).

legs up the wall with bolster under low back. Nourishes the kidney energy.

final relaxation pose/savasana

comfortable seat
namaste