According to Prashant Iyengar “Standing poses bring strength, backbends are for courage”.
I really enjoy how I feel after these poses, well worth the effort in my world.
Trikonasana, Vrksasana, and Utkatasana are my current favourites, I hope you will enjoy them too.
Here is a quick uplifting yoga practice to start your day.
Love and light,
Lucy
Using a chair (I was using a bench) is a beautifully gentle way to introduce Surya Namaskar (salutations to the sun) into a daily practice and a wonderful way to easy into the day.
Open your heart with this practice and let the sun shine in.
Enjoy 🙂
Lucy
This is one of those unplanned sessions, the yoga just flowed.
Firstly we look at shoulder mobility then towards strength.
It’s chilled and slightly challenging.
Enjoy
Using props in yoga can really help with getting a handle on the slightly more challenging poses. Holding Chaturanga in an Iyengar Yoga practice is a challenge. In the book, Light on Yoga, BKS Iyengar says “stay for some time with normal breathing”, leaving it up to the individual to decide how long “some time ” is. Often we dip in and don’t hold this chaturanga challenge, at the end of the practice we do just that (but only if you want to). Enjoy, Love and light, Lucy
A ‘Yoga chair’ (a metal framed on like in my video) is helpful but not necessary for this practice. Learn how to use the chair to support yoga poses, whether that is because you are dealing with fatigue or you want to explore poses a little longer to improve your technique.
I used to think that props got in the way of a ‘real’ Yogasana practice but, as my practice has deepened, they have become essential tools. Allowing each posture to become (in the words of BKS Iyengar) “Meditation in action”.
I hope by the end of this half hour yoga practice you may feel the same way.
Enjoy!
Love and light,
Lucy
Standing poses feature heavily within the Iyengar yoga practice, bringing strength into the legs and body. You soon feel it when they have not been practiced for a while.
Dan noticed the other day that his inner thighs had become tight. He requested a practice to stretch them out.
Here it is – triangle and sideways stretch with a peppering of the cobbler pose.
Enjoy
Lucy
Ubhaya Padangusthasana are the Sanskrit words for ‘Both-Big-Toe-Pose’.
Quite literally an uplifting forward bend.
We explore a few forward bending asanas before, loosening up the hamstrings and the back muscles, what the Yogi’s called the west (Paschima) side of the body.
Enjoy this 30 minute session.
x
Lucy
Padmasana or Lotus pose, is the pose that often comes to mind when we use an image to represent Yoga, so much so that my phone has a Padmasana emoticon.
In this practice I will take you through a few steps to get towards this elusive posture by releasing tension around the hips, thighs and knees.
This yoga session is great if you can already do, or are working towards, Lotus in your practice already.
I hope this helps.
Love and light
Lucy
Lift your mood and feel stronger with this marvellous pose, Virabhadrasana 2, aka Warrior 2.
With a few different arm movements to allow the shoulders to feel easier and lighter.
I hope you enjoy this mini focused practice.
Lucy
Dog head down easy flow, will allow you to feel like like you have had a little yoga work out.
I knew time and tide were against me and the floor sloped away from my hands, so this 25 minute session was the answer.
Enjoy your yoga practice,
Lucy