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Vision & Teaching Ideas for

First Year Yoga Practitioners

Results of the assignment work at the

International Vijnana Yoga Teacher Retreat

Metzukei Dragot, Israel

October 2008


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International Vijnana Yoga Teacher Retreat October 2008

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Index

1.

Introduction................................................................................................................... 6

2. Teaching and Vision Assignment.................................................................................... 7

3. Presentation Tools for Good Yoga Teaching .................................................................. 8

4. Surya Namaskar and Standing Poses ............................................................................. 9

5. Sitting Forward Bends.................................................................................................. 12

6. Hand-balances ............................................................................................................. 16

7. Backbends.................................................................................................................... 19

8. Sitting & Abdominal Postures ...................................................................................... 26

9. Inverted Poses ............................................................................................................. 33

10. The Team..................................................................................................................... 37


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1. Introduction

We flew in from all over the world to participate in a wonderful opportunity An InternationalVijnana Teacher Training Retreat. All excited about being in Israel, in the desert, by the Dead

Sea, in Metzukei Dragot to do yoga with Orit Sen-Gupta and to be together.

As part of our International Vijnana Teacher Training retreat we worked in teams on an

assignment to share views on teaching yoga. Each group had to work on a group of asanas and

each team was to present their ideas, views and teaching skills to the rest of the group.

We put our personalities into our teaching and into our yoga, so even if we are all inspired by

Orit and her teachings of Vijnana Yoga we still have smaller or bigger differences. The

teamwork and the outcome reflected that.

The outcome of the teamwork was presented to the whole group. Each group put lots of love

and effort into their presentations and it was joyful to be a part of it.

Each presentation was followed by a dialogue within the whole group and with Orit. What was

presented has been put in to writing by every group and can be read on the following pages

Many thanks to everybody for their contributions and especially to Orit for designing the

assignment and making it all happen.

Less is more is a key phrase when practicing Vijnana Yoga, but more is more when wework together and are able to share our love for teaching and yoga.

Hope you will feel inspired while reading the following.

Namaste


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3. Presentation Tools for Good Yoga Teaching

Of Just Sitting, Pranayama and Asana

The Yogic Means - CAV(e) PUFF

Centering connecting to the center, the middle of the body

Alignment the vertical line

Vayus pranic alignment

e

Principles

Understanding from inside (inquiry)

Forms order of sequence

Flow

Teaching Skills C (see) GREAT

Gradually building up gradually the knowledge of the above

Repeating not only teaching

Explaining Wide vision, deepening with time, the details

Adapting and modifying the poses and practices according to the needs of the

individual and the class

Touching when needed (less is more in most cases)

Correcting when needed


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4. Surya Namaskar and Standing Poses

By: Aaron, Annette, Eveline, Joey and Shirley

Vision

Yogic Means

C centering Standing mediation

A alignment Standing mediation

Vayus pranic alignmentPractise the vayus in sitting one by one and then applying

them in the standing poses. E effortlessness, ease, empathy, energy.

PrinciplesWe will emphasize on rooting, relaxing and centering, but we will not

ignore the others. Understanding alignment through feeling the placing of the foot

and the effect it has on the rest of the body pain in the groin can be result of

placing the foot out of the bodys natural alignment

Understanding from inside Inquiry Give directions and then have them feel for

themselves. Dont look down while placing your foot, feel from the inside where the

foot should be placed. Dont look down to see if you are aligned, feel from inside.

FormWorking with the sequences, making sure that the students understand that

the transition between the asanas is just as important as the asana itself.

Flow Surya Namaskar is a good place to introduce flow. Slowly introducing flow

from one pose to the other.

Vision

They know the

basics of all the

standing poses,

aside from Parsva

konasana,

paravritta

konasana,

vriksasana 2, Hastapadangusthasana

They have the

ability to work

at home

They have

begun to build

up endurance

and stamina.

They have experienced

moments of quiet

mind, body/ mind

connection in practice

They have roots of

looking for the

perfect pose in a

different perspective

based on the

principles rather than

a preconceived

notion of what the

pose should look like

from the outside

They know the

cycles of the

standing poses

They have

experienced

tapas in practice


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Building up Gradually

Discovering the foot.

Massage the feet including

spreading your toes with your

fingers Foot bhakti

Feel the feet on the ground, touch

of the feet on the ground, feeling

the weight shift from toe to heel,

from side to side, feel the toes lift

off the ground try to move them

separately, put them back on the

ground by spreading them wide spread your fingers and open up your eyes wide

feel the connection, feel the arches of the foot when lifting the toes.

Standing meditation.

When moving from asana to asana feel weight shifting in to one foot and feel the

other foot getting light.

Use your thumbs to spread the little toe in Uttanasana.

Know the directions of the body in standing poses forward Virabhadrasana 1 or

sideways Virabhadrasana 2. All the standing poses are built on that foundation.

Belly is the guru and the back leg is the follower that is the relation.

Visualize the pose.

Gradually building the pose building up strength in the lower body, from the feet to

belly, upper body light, only including arms and hands when the base and center are

firm.

Increasing the length of holding the pose over time.

Form + Inquiry = Slow Flow

Key Phrases

Feel your feet on the ground; Feel your feet touching the ground

This is not ballet! Hands in Vrksasana

Feel your front and your back

Feel your two sides

Feet to the belly

Bellybutton coming towards the spine

Groins sweet and soft like honey

Think of roots coming out of your feet, deep into the ground at the same time feel

your arms coming up like floating on warm clouds, feeling the tip of your fingers like

branches reaching for the sun if you sway dont worry its only the wind!

Elephant feet

Knee over the shin

Heel to heel; heel to the middle of the arch

Heel to the middle of the arch

Feel the ball of the big toe

Spread your toes open your eyes


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Relax your face; relax your tongue

Looking at eyelevel

Relax the shoulders

Lifting your arms like the wings of a bird

Feeling the pendulum movement while youtake your hands back

Feel the BENGAY melt into your shoulders

shoulders relaxed

Imagine chocolate- preferably organic German

chili chocolate - melting on your tongue, feel

the sensations in the body and the eyes

dropping into the back of the head

Let the breath flow

Obstacles

Problems and mistakesways to modify

Locked knees bend your knees

Tense shoulders relax your shoulders

Arched back Samana Vayu, Prana Vayu, work without arms, feet closer to each

other

Feet not aligned feet parallel

Opening the arms too much overstretchingwork without arms, moderate the

stretch Thinking more about what the pose has to look like, rather than the true alignment

feel the connection inside the body, stop reading yoga magazines, stay on your own

mat - it doesnt matter what your neighbor is doing

Wrist pain put more weight on your fingertips, feel your thumb, index and little

finger, clean the center

Obstacles in general Staying shorter time in each pose!!

Problems with foot, knee, hip joint etc. More attention to the feet massage the

feet, spreading the toes.

Directions through Touch

Clarity in your touch, be aware of who, where and how you touch.

Relaxing the shoulders Touching the shoulders.

In dog pose touching on the sacrum soft or firm, the shoulder blades, the heels, the

thighs.

In uttanasana touching the heels and the thighs.

In trikonasana and virabhadrasana touching the sacrum and side of the thighs.

We had fun, sun, chocolate and Bengay ;-)))


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5. Sitting Forward Bends

By Alex, Deborah, Miriam and Stacey

Vision

Our vision for forward bends is to treat them as meditative postures stressing being rather

than doing. We will use forward bends as an opportunity to experience the connection

between breathing and awareness of different parts of the body in the present. We suggest

calling them sitting poses at the start and keep the spine erect and hopefully the pupils who

have never met them before will not realize that the next stage is to come forwards.

Our presentation is based on teaching forward bends to a group of beginners who have been

doing yoga for approximately six months.

Asanas

Dandasana leading into Paschimottanasana

Baddha Konasana

Upavishta Konasana

Twist in cross legged position

Marichyasana

Janu Sirsasana

We would place the pupils in the sitting poses with the legs as they would do for the full

forward bending pose. At first we will let them lean against the wall and then next we will be

doing the same postures moving slightly away from the wall. The work against the wall is

aimed at giving an external reference point for understanding correct alignment. We feel it

important to give the students the opportunity to search for this alone. So after each pose

against the wall, we would repeat it further from the wall.

Yogic Means

Our instructions will emphasize Centering and Alignment.

Centering between the front and the back, the left and the right, up and down. Also:

Centring in time i.e. being in the present. The present is both a gift and now (we

don't know if this works in other languages!!).

Alignment of the body through a vertical line between the hips, shoulders and ears.

Horizontally the hips parallel, the shoulders parallel and the ears parallel.

Of the Principles we would focus on:

Breathing: Breathing out and feeling the front of the body move inwards, breathing in

and feeling the back of the body filling in the kidney area. We will use prana and

samana vayu here without using their names at this stage.

We will emphasize Rooting through the sitting bones and feeling heaviness in the seatbones, the elbows and heels.


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The teacher will lead the class with a guided meditation creating Awareness of all

parts of the body especially sitting bones, heels and elbows, spine including the head,

and the breath.


We will gradually build up the exposure to sitting forward bends so that each time the class

learns new postures and sits for longer timing in each one of the poses.

We recommend introducing these postures after about six months of yoga when the students

have learned basic alignment in standing poses and after learning leg stretches against the wall

and with a belt.

We think that it is only advisable to work on forward bends when the students have some

basic understanding of correct alignment, have worked on loosening up the body and creating

a certain amount of flexibility. Also the need to have some experience of mental stillness isneeded for sitting poses.

At first, as stated above, we would teach sitting erect with different leg positions and later

introduce the idea of leaning forward.

The stages will be as follows with each stage taking one or more classes depending on the

students' understanding.

Dandasana, Upavishtakonasana.

Dandasana, Upavishtakonasana, Baddhakonasana, Maricyasana without the twist.

Twisting in crossed legged pose teach how the keep the back parallel and to twistfrom the belly rather than pull with the arms and hands,

Marichyasana with the twist.

Janu Sirsasana sitting erect and twisting

Legs as above teach rocking on the sitting bones and rooting heels. Start with bent

knees.

Forward bends emphasizing heaviness and elongation. Letting the breath carry us

towards the posture.

At the end we would use this work to introduce sitting at the beginning of the class and from

this stage onwards would start each class with a short time of sitting quietly.

The plan of a lesson lasting one and a half hours would be as follows:

Breathing or relaxation as a form of transition from the outside world to yoga.

Sun salutations and standing poses to warm up and get rid of excess energy and

tension.

Forward bends as described above

Counterposes this could be twists lying on the back, Setubanda lying on the floor or

with legs on the wall, hugging the knees and rocking etc.

Relaxation.


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At first we envisage that the sitting part of the class would be no more than ten minutes in

length. As time goes on and the students get more used to this type of presence it could be

extended to as long as 45 minutes.

Key Phrases

For stressing the present:

Watch

Be aware of

Pay attention to

See what happens

Notice

Be Present

The parts of the body:

(rotate over the) Sitting bones

(connect to the) Belly

(root the) Centre of the heels

(heavy) Elbows

(visualize the) Spine including feeling the head as a continuation of the spine

Breathing:

Exhale and feel the front of the body drawn towards the centre,

inhale and feel the back of the body filling whilst the sitting bones sink.

Obstacles

Physical

Inflexibility

Over-flexibility

Pain in the back, hips, legs

Lower back pain or injuries

Neck and shoulder tension / position

Problems of lack of flexibility or pain can often be overcome by using props; for example sittingon one or several blankets, placing a folded blanket under the knees, or leaning against the

wall. It is also possible to work with a belt holding it in the hands or tying it around the feet and

the lower back.

Orit suggested that a wooden slant is ideal for inflexible people. Aaron suggested sitting on a

hill outside. Orit pointed out that very stiff people (or those with lower back injuries) might not

be able to do sitting poses or forward bends at all, or that this work would have no benefit for

them. Instead she recommends leg stretches against the wall with legs straight, Upavishta

Konasana and baddhaKonasana.

For over-flexible people we would emphasize rooting and connecting to the centre and

working with awareness so they don't just flop into the poses. Orit reminded us that one of the


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major problems for flexible people in these poses is an overextended upper back. The teacher

should gently correct this.

Mental

Competitiveness and ambition

Boredom

Distractions

Self judgment

Feeling for frustration for less flexible people

We will try to counter these obstacles using an approach of learning to watch the process

suspending judgment which would also pave the way for meditation. Also we will build up

these poses gradually so that the amount of time spent in the poses increases in accordance

with the students' physical and mental state.


The teacher will touch the students gently on the back in the kidney area to encourage and

stimulate breathing to here. Also gently touch on the middle and upper back would help

beginners to develop awareness of this area.

With love,

-- Deborah, Miriam, Stacey and Alex.


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6. Hand-balances

By Nira, Liz, Gabriele and Teresa

Vision

Our vision for teaching hand balances to beginners, is that by the end of the first ten classes on

these poses they should:

understand the position of the hand and be able to feel it going forward and down in

dog pose head down

be able to take weight on their hands and arms in chaturanga dandasana (including

with the knees on the floor, if they cannot do the full pose)

be able to do preparatory work for handstand and elbow balance, by shifting the

weight forward into the hands and lifting one leg up

be able to balance the weight evenly on hand and foot in vasistasana, connecting tothe belly

In balancings it is important to show the lightness that comes into the posture. This can only

be done by showing it in a light, playful way; maybe even only half of the posture if the

students are apprehensive. Beginners mainly need to move a lot during the yoga class. They

need to start feeling their bodies and enjoy them moving. So too much explanation is not

really useful at this point.

In these postures the main factor is the centering of the body with the compactness, strength

and simultaneously the lightness they bring. The center is very clearly the belly and therefore

the breath has to be well used. The students are well able to feel the power of the exhalation

with the center of samana and slight apana vayu.

Asanas

Asana we plan people will learn after a year:

down facing dog (adho mukha s'vana),

chaturanga

down facing dog with one leg (eka pada),

vasis'ta 1,

preparation for hand and elbow balance

Yogic Means

Deepening the skills:

with centering () (prana and samana vayu)

moving the weight of a one unit body

working on the way the palms root into the earth

relaxing the body, relaxing the shoulders in order to feel from inside the weight on the

palms

visualization, imagining


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A gradual plan for hand balance:

down facing dog - bending one

knee (without lifting the foot

from the earth) - to feel the

weight passing to one hand

eka pada - down facing dog with

one leg up - keeping the pelvis as

it was with bellybutton facing the

earth

passing weight back and forth by

lifting the heel of the foot on the

earth, working from the ankle and keeping the body in one unit

legs on the wall - hand balance in diagonal line

A suggestion for teaching the re-bounce quality of the hand on the floor in adho mukha

svanasana:

how much to press, how to press, how to feel the weight and the consequence of this

weight are difficult concepts to bring into practice.

sit on the heels on a blanket on the floor, pressing the hands down and forwards until

the center (hara) gets pressed back. In the real adho mukha, it is not the blanket

sliding backwards but our own body.

the hand is big and broad and slightly in a bowl form that sinks down with the

pressure of the weight of the body, but always wanting to become round again and

re-bouncing up.

Key Phrases and Words

Key Phrases

attention to the shoulders, relaxing them and keeping the shoulder blades wide

slowing down in passing weight, keeping the elbows straight yet not locked,

attention to the foot work in vasistha, emphasizing direction in hand balance

going forward and not upward

Key Words

Hands: by pressing the hands the belly goes back.

Feet: by using the feet go to the belly

Centering: the center is very clearly the belly

Weight: before you move, feel stable and pleasant

Obstacles

Problems

Hands: pain in the joints from too much pressure

Shoulders:

Upper back: tightness between shoulders and sternum


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Lower back: hyperlordosis, lack of stability

Neck: keeping it tense and rigid; lack of alignment

Mistakes

Pelvis: pulling too high with the leg in the air and pulling the pelvis out of

alignment; losing the center

Elbows: locking or bending the elbows when shifting weight - letting the weight

fall on the elbows or shoulders

Neck: needs to be relaxed, heavy, yet not rounded inward

An example of how to make adaptions for problems

Vasisthasana 1

Preparation in dog pose head down, shifting the weight and practising rooting the

hands.

Pain in the hand joints

o build up slowly, at first holding only a short time

o practise rooting the hands and activating the fingertips.

Tightness in the back

o move the upper leg forwards, with less weight

o possibly also practising against the wall.

Pelvis sagging

o activate the feet and root the hands.

Unstable lower back

o work with samana and prana vayus, without naming them as such

o connecting the belly to the feet

Tension in the neck

o work with udana vayu, without calling it that


Gentle "push" (or even just a suggestive finger) of the lowest rib inwards can help in keeping

the center; placing the palms on the widening of the shoulder blades

Preparation for Pincha MayurasanaIn this hand balance, we have a longer hand, stretching from the finger tips to the elbow.

The head is consequently much closer to the floor and the hand therefore has to root

strongly to keep the shoulders high.

Just as we secure the base of a step ladder before going up on it, it is vital to learn how to form

a secure base rooting down before we attempt to take the body up into the final balance.

Group discussion revealed that members of the team felt the weight in different areas of the

hand and arm. Everyone felt weight in the elbows, but some felt the hand and fingers

extending forward and rooting; one felt the weight in the forearm sinking down into theground and one felt more connection through the wrist. Despite these differences of

emphasis, all the team were agreed on the importance of rooting or sinking the hand down

into the earth as the prerequisite for being able to go up into the final pose.


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an arch instead of a bolster. Support the head with blankets to make sure the neck is not

arching too much backwards - taking the head backwards will immediately stop the opening of

the chest. Therefore, teach your students that taking the head back is one of the last steps in

the backbend action, after the lengthening of the spine and the opening of the chest is done.

When opening the chest on an arch is reasonably comfortable for the student, let him raise the

arms and rotate the arms inwards before the student takes the arms over the head, so he

experiences a backbend with a broad, soft back.

When the students know the concepts of lengthening the spine and opening the chest, move

further by introducing ustrasana. In ustrasana, strong legs are important. As beginners will do

a lot of standing poses in all classes, their legs will have become stronger already by all the

work they have done so far. So incorporate strengthening the legs in backbend classes at this

stage.

Setu bandha is also a good pose to teach at this later stage. Make your students move slowly

into the posture by instructing them to make the feet heavy and the pelvis will lift up by itself

rather than saying push your feet into the floor. Setu bandha can also be used as a restorative

pose by using a block. Place the block under the sacrum (not in the lower back), so the spine

can arch naturally by itself to its heart content. For some students you can place the block

short side down; others would feel more comfortable long side down (which is considerably

lower). Students will only relax in this pose when the support is not too high for them.

Finally, keep the backbend classes playful. Add some humor now and then, and try to create a

nice, steady flow in your backbend classes in order to make your students loosen up and not

get frustrated. In the beginning, mix the backbend asanas with other poses and end the classeswith restorative poses. When the time has come for the students to learn to open the chest,

introduce mild, gentle leg stretches at the end of the classes. This will relieve pain in the lower

back.

Gradually, as time progresses and students slowly grasp the essentials of backbends, add more

poses and when you get the feeling people get stuck, loosen them up with the simple

movements of going from tadasana to urdhva dhanurasana. This can be as simple as a just-

out-of-bed stretch.

Key PhrasesIn general, make a habit of exaggerating when you verbally instruct students. Asking them to

raise the legs a few millimeters will result in legs being raised many centimeters. Try to make

your students do less without realizing it themselves by the verbal instructions you give.

For opening the chest for example, a wide range of colorful phrases and words are available:

wide heart, a broad smile in the chest area, sun coming up and rising in the chest. Do bear in

mind, however, that also straight men attend yoga classes: too much girl talk will put them off.

While teaching salabhasanas, to make the students lengthen from their centers, suggest they

move like a human starfish, connecting from the toes to the center to the tips of the fingers.


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Obstacles

Shalabasanas

Squeezing the buttocks and putting pressure on the lower back.

Possible corrections: apana and samana vayu, pull hip and shoulder joint closely intosockets, feel like a turtle, bend the elbows slightly, with exhaling in vayus think down

into the floor, lift from the center.

Working from the periphery instead of from inside/middle/center line/ belly.

Moving diagonally and twisting the pelvis. Go back to breathing, rooting, relaxing,

thinking down, root right thigh while lifting the left leg, keep the head on the floor,

slightly bend the elbows, do not bend knees.

Lifting the head and chin up as compensation for a lack of space in the upper back.

Lie on the floor lift elbows up, hands flexed, on inhalation and prana vayu lift the

chest and extend the arms backwards, hand stay flexed, learning to move the upperback and shoulder girdle, extending the front line.

Stretching the arms too far, pulling them out of the shoulder girdle and tensing.

Relax arms, keep head down, move elbows slightly out, move one arm at a time with

prana vayu.

Bending the knees instead of legs stretched

Instruct to keep legs straightened, teach the lengthening thru the inner foot, give a

demonstration of how the feet work in standing or with legs up in the air, explain

rooting the front foot, work in partners moving the shinbone in, while rooting front of

big toe/ little toe; teach inner leg to belly connection.

Dhanurasana

Working too fast and muscular, wanting to move up too quickly

Doing a few virasanas first to learn the inner rotation of the legs and to lengthen the

thighs:

slide down the wall, sacrum against wall a foot length away, with hands on the wall

when down, move into squat en move forward into virasana.

Contracting the back and throwing the head backwards

Catch feet with hands, before extending the legs up, root pelvis, lengthen thighs in

moving upper body up legs backwards, release tension in arms, shoulders and mind,think down, center with vayus in the belly and release sacrum, then stretch legs up.

Possible to use blankets under the hipbones, especially for people with short arms.

Work in partners on holding the feet and bringing the legs backwards.

Bhujangasana

Lifting the hips from the ground

teach rooting the front foot and connection to the belly, release sacrum. Start with

hand further in the front, root hands and leave elbows close to body, prana vayu,

lifting the chest while rooting the hips.

Urdhva mukha

Neck and lower back crunch

In salabhasanas move arms backwards, prana vayu, fingers interlaced in the back,


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open chest; then place the hands near the chest, root hands and align elbows on top

of writs, keeping elbows close to the body, root front feet and hands, keep straight

strong legs; root more hands and come up like mermaid with upper body leaving

the sacrum quiet, lower body quiet, prana vayu and extend thru the crown.

Ustrasana

Lower back pain, thru pulling the tailbone up into the lumbar, neck pain

Build up rooting feet and shin bones on the floor, leaning backwards without arching

yet to develop strong legs no back

Partner work, hands on thighs to learn moving legs and groin forward, sacrum quiet

learning to lift the chest with prana vayu extending arms backwards, with inhalation

leave head/chin towards chest and extend head back at the end. After a few classes

reaching the heals.

Setu Bandha Knees hurt; tension in the lower back

Learn rooting foot, inner foot, placing knees towards each other at the start to

emphasize inner rotation of the legs, possibly lifting toes, think from rooting feet to

lifting pelvis back to upper body, talk about the front body, easier in the beginning

than speaking about the back, lift chest as practiced before and interlace fingers

extending arms, or hold mat, root and think down into the floor, thus gradually

coming up without tension and building a strong arch. Keep chin up, do not straighten

the neck.


Generally we feel that more repetition of the pose and verbal explanation is better than too

much touch.

Placing the hand/knuckles on the sacrum of the student, to quiet it and give it

direction is effective. Correcting the feet as explained above is good.

Placing a hand on the back of the head in order to lengthen the spine and keep the

neck aligned is possible in salabhasanas. Giving a little pressure on the upper arms in

salabhasanas makes upper body movement clearer

Giving the thighs resistance inustransana in order to get the

rooting of shins and connection

to the belly stronger is very

helpful.

Putting two fingers on the mid

thorax to lift from there helps to

keep the arch unbroken in

ustrasana.

In setu bandha, giving the thighs

direction with hands stabilizes

the position of the pelvis and

keeps the sacrum quiet.


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the need to yawn as the center channel of the body opens up, experience the connecting to

the belly through the rooting of the feet, the "tucking" of the shoulder blades (as they

naturally slide down) and once out of the stretch feel the quality of the skin, its buoyancy

noticing the state of mind... Wouldn't you want to do it again ?

4) In this assisted salabhasana we will be using "touch" as a way to suggest and guide the body.

Touch is a powerful tool and we need to respect its potential; it can also help tune into our

own sensitivity and sense of awareness. Have student lie on the belly with forehead resting

and arms by the side with the palms facing up. Feet can be slightly apart at first. Lengthening

the legs one by one then relax. The back body is the "unknown territory" and there could be a

sense of vulnerability from the student and the unconscious need to protect by tensing.

As a partner encouraging to relax any muscular resistance to the downward movement

(feeling heavy...).

Then coming to the first rooting point, the top of the feet. Establishing the "springboard"

quality to the top of the feet by leaning into it either with your knuckles, knees or your own

feet: also make sure to connect the little toe to the floor. As the connection is made

intentionally you might observe a wave like reaction in the rest of the body like the slight

inward rotation of the thighs allowing broadness in the sacrum region. If not, gently guide your

partner towards it. Then bring your fingers to your partner's sacrum encouraging the centering

down of the base of the spine and "walk up" the spine (index and middle finger) vertebrae by

vertebrae ,allowing more time around the thoracic area as you will experience more density

there; as he gently responds to the touch of the fingers by slowly lifting the chest encourage

your partner to maintain the rooting quality of the feet as well as the top of the hands andrelax the buttocks which might clench. "Walk up" all the way to the base of the skull then

cupping the back of the head, allow your partner to feed back into you which will create a

sense of lengthening through the spine.

In case of lower back "pinching " use your other hand to move the sacrum towards the heels.

When these two actions are done simultaneously elongation comes at no cost.

Note on "feet": As we are constantly searching for expansion and widening in order to create

space, feet could also be of interest as they often have lost "space" in which they can wiggle

freely... They are after all "foundational" !

In making this attempt we would suggest working at first with a tennis ball. As you step on it

notice how tight the transversal arch feels ( especially if you try to cup the ball with your foot)

Layers of tight fascia have buried the metatarsal bones and this could be a way to soften it up

and bring back the definition of each bone.

The broadening of the transversal arch will also allow for a stronger connection to the

"springboard" quality of the foot in backbends (e.g. ustrasana , urdhvamukha). As it becomes

more aware, the definition of the front line support will show more continuity and clarity.

Sometimes working with one small part can affect the functioning of the whole and the

unevenness in the arches of the feet as well as tight plantar fascia often correlates with tight

hamstrings, lumbar lordosis and even hyperextension in the upper cervical.

On a personal note my students wouldn't miss the "foot massage" at the end of a long day !


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What we feel we are up against in backbends are usually the tendencies for the body to

protect itself against the unknown and its apprehension to deal with whatever emotions

might surface.

The heart center might cave in.

Clenching the buttocks

The head coming up first (for instance in ustrasana)

Loss of feet connection

Lack of support in the front body & loss of the center

Reflections on Centering and Back side

(preparation for simple back bends)

The body as a landscape has different places that have different effects and meanings and

represent different emotions and values.

Inquiry in language brings up experience and knowledge of what is already there, using

metaphors, pictures, associations for understanding feelings that are not easy to grasp and

comprehend (e.g. you may think of somebody/something you want to get off of your back or a

backbreaking job or fear creeping down your back, etc.).

What represents the back-side of the body? It is the unconscious, unknown, invisible (as all

senses are directed to the front side) and that means that the back is outside the control of the

eyes and thinking and therefore you can sense anything scary and threatening as well as

support in a good way.

How to approach the unknown, invisible, unconscious? Yoga (and some other traditional

eastern ways of practice) emphasize attention on the center, the area of prana-samana-vayu

and keeping with the breathing an anchor there while practicing simple back bends.


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8. Sitting & Abdominal Postures

By Vivi, Naama, Michal and Vesna

Vision

Sitting postures are:

basic in yoga tradition, beginning and ending every practice.

the basis for meditation and pranayama.

helpful for sitting in everyday life.

Challenging but possible and important to learn in the first year of practicing yoga

Asanas

For Sitting postures we choose to teach our first year students:

Suhkasana

Vajrasana, including adho mukha vajrasana (childs pose) and sputa vajrasana.

Baddha Konasana

Ardha Padmasana, according to the students abilities.

By the end of the first year the students will be familiar with the postures and their cycles of

variations

For Abdominal postures we chose to focus on in the first year on:

Eka pada ardha Navasana

Paripurna navasana

Yogic Means

Teaching sitting postures we can introduce the following tools and principles:

Rooting of the sitting bones

Alignment of the back and head above the pelvis

Centering in the abdomen

Breathing: gentle practicing of prana, samana and apana vayu Looking inwards and quieting of the mind

Teaching abdominal postures we can introduce to our students the following tools and

principles:

Connecting the feet to the belly.

Centering in the abdomen.

Strengthening the abdominal muscles, building up stamina, and protecting the back

Balancing the body, which also requires quieting of the mind.


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Building up

Gradually

Vajrasana

1) First stage is the

work of the feet:

massage

contracting and

widening of the

toes

flexing, pointing

and circling the

feet

putting weight

on the top of

feet in Adho

Mukha Svanasana (one leg at the time)

sitting in Vajrasana with the toes tucked under.

This work of the feet is very important for the beginner, and is basic for every asana and for

rooting.

2) Supta Vajrasana

one leg at the time

both legs

3) Adho Mukha Vajrasana (child pose)

pull and separate your little toes from the rest with your fingers, simultaneously

bringing your inner arches towards each other

4) Standing in cat pose

Come to a cat pose, lift your feet and shins up ( knees stay on the ground), bring your

inner arches towards each other then take your feet together down to the floor.

By using your hands root into the ground - push your sitting bones down towards your

ankles. The back is still tilted forward, hands pushing down like in dog pose.

Slowly rolling up with straight back using your hands towards the ground sitting with

your back straight in full vajrasana.

5) Full and wide back.

Hold your hands together on your back.

Hands on forearms.

Push your back towards your hands, heavy sitting bones.

6) Same thing with Samana Vayu

7) Variations in Vajrasana, resting in dog pose. Keeping the centre.


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Key Phrases

Key words used when teaching sitting and abdominal asanas:

yielding of the sitting bones

let the sitting bones grow heavy

pin your sitting bones down

feel the weight of your sitting bones

root the sitting bones down

connect the sternum to the pubic bone

elongate

locate the centre (abdomen)

gather the abdomen to the centre

sense from inside (the alignment)

find the balance

activate your feet, strong feet

push the balls of your feet as if you were pushing into an invisible wall

Key phrases

Let all the tension and tiredness melt down from the top of your head and shoulders

like the snow melts down from the top of a mountain.

Observe your breath with a curiosity of a child who has found a new toy and wants to

know everything about it.

Imagine you are carrying a heavy bag on your shoulders Experience that feeling ofrelease and feeling of being light in your shoulders once you have dropped the bag

down

Imagine zipping your trousers up from the pelvic floor up to the diaphragm, as you

exhale.

Imagine you are a bird and you are lightly holding the egg inside of you

Imagine that you are sitting in a bath and you pull the plug out. Feel the weight of

your body sinking down as the water goes out of the bath.

Imagine that you have a rope coming out of the crown of your head which is tied up

to a heavy stone in your pelvis.

Imagine you have a pair of suspenders attached to your frontal lower ribs and hips

keep the elastic loose (in order to stay connected in the abdomen)

Imagine your pelvic floor diaphragm is a shape of a hammock, gather it together, and

scoop it up towards the ribs.

Obstacles

Common problems

backache - offer alternative asanas for strengthening back and abdominals

week psoas muscles Mukunda Stiles psoas strengthening exercises jaw clenched remind the students to relax their facial muscles, unclench the jaw

shoulders shrugged - keep the shoulders relaxed

tight hamstrings leg stretches must be practiced prior to and along side navasanas


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Abdominal exercises

Lower back pain -over arching of the lower back in abdominal exercises when lying on the

back

How to help:

Work with knees bent. Begin with one leg, then the other until the body gets

stronger, then work with two legs at the same time.

Raising and lowering legs abdomen to back, lower back gets ironed down

Placing hands under upper part of buttocks

4. Placing a support (pillow) under the back

*Pregnant women Do not do abdominal exercises

Sitting Asanas (Sukasana, Ardha Padmasana, Padmasana)

1. Lower back pain large arch of the lower back, chest comes forward, over arching of

the upper back

How to help:

o Placing hand on the students lower back

o Breathing into lower back

o Gentle pulling in of the abdomen

o Think of lower ribs connecting to the ileum crest bones. (they are "friends"

they dont want to separate but they mustnt be to close, so they dont

"quarrel".o Lean against the wall with a pillow behind the back (total beginners)

o Bounce gently on a large gym ball try to preserve this feeling and remember

it when you sit on the mat ( it releases, loosens up lower back)

o Pair work releases back (see in "touch" paragraph 5)

o Place hands on the upper chest to release any tension there

o Place hands on shoulders to release tension

2. Tension/pain in the upper back (in sitting positions)

How to help:1. Massage the back with spiked ball (or a tennis ball) whilst standing against the

wall (relaxes and releases back).

This will help the following:

o Pain on the lower back

o Shoulder blades

o Breathing ( opens )

o And bending backwards

2. Do some exercises for opening of the shoulder girdle

3. Pain in the hip joints causes:

short hamstring muscles


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closed/stiff joints

How to help:

o Place some support under the knees ( pillow or block)

o (if the muscles are not supported, they are not relax)

o Sit on a block, bolster - elevated sitting position.

Both methods create wide angle of knee joint

o If there is pressure on the hip joint while leaning forward we can put fists

into the hip joint in order to create space there

o Breathe into the joint to create more space there and spread the joint aria

4. Knee pain

o Open the knee joints by creating more space behind the knee make sure

you dont create any pain.

o Breathe into the area of pain and spread the joint area

Vajrasana

1. Outer knee pain (where the patella is touching the ground) put a blanket under the

knees

2. Back of the knee pain and pressure insert a thinly rolled up sock or a belt folded into

four layers in the space at back of the knee to create opening of the joint. Make sure

its not too big.

3. Inner knee pain

o lengthen the thigh muscles

o breathe into the knee

o seat on a bolster or a rolled up blanket between the thighs and lower legs

4. Pain on the top of foot elevating with pillow/ blankets under the back of sole of foot ,

let the toes rest on the slope at the edge of the pillow/blankets ( in order to make wide

angle in the back of the foot)

How to exercise while protecting the knees

o breathe into the knee area and spread the areao Lengthen thigh muscles gently without reaching the knee

o Work with top of the feet

o Seek to get close to the pain without reaching it.

o Imagine yourself in the students' position

o Be here and Now


1. The teacher gently pulls upwards a small amount of hair at the crown of head (can

also be done by the pupil himself) in order to create sensation of lengthening,

elongating.

This helps the student to:

o Straighten up his spine


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o Lengthen the back of the neck

o Bring the chin slightly down

o Fill up the back

o Pull the stomach in

o Feel the heaviness of his sitting bones, moving down

o One finger on Samana Vayu can do the trick as well

2. The teacher places the hand on the back of the students scull


o keep the neck long and full

o root the buttock bones

o collect the stomach (keep it in)

o lengthen up from sitting bones

o keep the back full

o continue straightening

3. The teacher places one hand on the sacrum student breathes into the hand


o Fill up the back with the breath

o Gently pull the stomach in

4. The teacher gently places the hands on shoulders


o Release the built up tension

o Relax the shoulders

5. Work in pairs on the lower back put two feet on the to sides of the spinal column

near the sacrum and push with your feet softly, one leg at the time, and also both legs

together.

This releases the lower back and creates heaviness in the lower pelvis and sitting bones.


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Outbreath to anus, inbreath up. Outbreath from navel to sacrum, inbreath up to diaphragm.

Outbreath from front-part-diaphragm to back-part-diaphragm, inbreath to shoulderblades.

Outbreath to the throat, inbreath up spiral movement in the head. Feel the back, breath up

and down along the spinal column no kumbakkas let it flow and connect the inbreath thinking

already towards the outbreath.

Effortless(relax the mind, relax the body)

Principles Rooting, empty mind and connecting is the main-focus in the beginning. Rooting the

head (feel the place of the head on the ground) or elongate the head in sitting, standing and

lying down while emptying the mind and connect along the spine to the centre/belly. Knowing

something has to go down to go up.

Understanding from inside People have to focus inward and backwards to find the balance

eventually in the spine.


1. bringing the awareness backwards

2. wide shoulder blades

3. bringing the body upside down

4. weight into elbows, lower arm.

5. slowly placing the head on the floor

We will graduallly bring the awareness backward into the spinal column while sitting, lying

down and standing. Maybe in the beginning sitting back to back or against the wall or a corner

or placing a stick along the spinal colum.

We will graduallly build and work on the wide shoulders and relaxed (when down) or

elongated neck (with weight). With a partner whose hands are on the shoulderblades you can

move feel and bring the awareness into this area.

In standing, sitting and lying

down feel the shoulder girdle

and the shoulderblades

move them up, down and in

all directions.

Bringing weight into the spine

keeping the spine elongated

and the shoulders wide. Than

elongate the crown of the

head up with something on

the head (book, block, arms

around).

Finding the center, connect

the crown along the


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elongated spine to the belly. Then bringing the body upside down work in adho mukha

svanasana keeping the wide shoulderblades.

Then you can go down, one by one placing the elbows down dropping the weight down in

hands and elbows keep the wide shoulderblades and elongate the spine. Interlock the fingers.

If it is too heavy place the knees on the floor for a moment. Feel the ground, feel the weight

and elongate up to the center. Connect to the belly. Elongate the head down out the spinal

colum and place it down on the ground while elongating it through the ground and connecting

it to the belly.

Shift the weight from heel to toes forward and backward connecting to the center. One leg up

playing with the movement with the weight. Stepping by shifting the weight from feet to head

go up with one leg.

Key Phrases

Relax the head. Empty the mind. Mind in the belly. Breathe into the belly. Breathe to the back. Yogah citta vritti nirodhah. Bring the awareness to the back. Eyes

in the back.

Dont read yoga magazines (thanks Aaron).

Wide shoulders. Shoulderblades as wings of a bird or an aeroplane.

Heavy head. Sinking head down. Drop the head. Elongate the head.

Deeper deep deep deeper into the earth toward the center of the earth.

Obstacles

Fear of falling, fear of up side down, fear of change, neckpain, no awarenes in theback, tense upper back, shifting weight into the back, rounding it too much instead of

elongating the head upwards or downwards.

Rolling with the thoraxic spine backwards while lifting one leg up.


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Not knowing avidya the principle connection.

Staying a wall flower. Staying attached to the wall or to help. i.e. not being able to do

headbalance away from the wall.

Not trusting the inner guide/guru.


Teaching from inside. Feel if someone wants to be touched. If not, dont touch. Give it

time.

As a teacher try to feel first your own center when you approach or want to touch

someone. Know the direction you want to give. Touch from the back. See the back.

Feel your own back.

Clarity in the touch, relax and breathe in the touch.

Touch the shoulderblades, widen them.

Give breath to the areas you touch ask them to breathe.

Dogpose shoulderblades widen and towards the sacrum.

Hands on the sacrum with firm touch.

When the head is on the floor you can help to elongate the back of the head down by

touching the skull. The ears pull a little down.

Orit suggested the first time going up in the middle of the room with help of the

teacher standing behind catching the leg.

JolandaOm Gan GanpatyeNamah


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10. The Team

Name Team Email

Aaron Chankin Standing [email protected]

Annette Tzfanya Standing [email protected]

Eveline Torres Standing [email protected]

Joey Ltke Standing [email protected]

Shirley Woods Standing [email protected]

Alex Loopik Forward [email protected]

Deborah Tobin Forward [email protected]

Miriam Fein Forward [email protected] King Forward [email protected]

Beverlie Downie Handbalance [email protected]

Gabriele Petri Handbalance [email protected]

Liz Short Handbalance [email protected]

Nira Halevi Handbalance [email protected]

Teresa Freire Pereira Caldas Handbalance [email protected]

Florence Dedame Backbend [email protected]

Josef Hartl Backbend [email protected]

Marco Overbeek Backbend [email protected]

Ute Wohlmuther Backbend [email protected]

Jolanda Schoenmaker Inverted [email protected]

Nitzan Peri Inverted [email protected]

Olivia Mitri Inverted [email protected]

Silvia Francesca Sferlazzo Inverted [email protected]

Michal Bodenheimer Sitting [email protected]

Na'ama Ravid Sitting [email protected]

Vesna Lazarevic Sitting [email protected]

Vivi Harari Sitting [email protected]

Orit Sen-Gupta Our Teacher [email protected]


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