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
Iyengar yoga is known for the use of “props” and these props are used to improve a yoga practice in so many ways.
Just recently I have found myself admiring tables, chairs, railings and so on, not for their beauty but as a potential yoga prop.
Some objects are just the perfect height, width and strength to do the job.
With a little bit of imagination, a baked bean can becomes a yoga brick, a pile of old magazines (taped together) a foam pad and some railings by the sea…….
The wind was icy cold but the sun was shining.
Here are a few standing poses that sprung to mind whilst hanging around the railings at Hayle river mouth.
Please make sure any objects you do use are strong and suitable. My rule of thumb; if you are not sure, don’t use it.
Listen to your body, don’t overstretch yourself.
Enjoy! x
I just found this little re-visit to last summer.
A quick practice to give you a bit of ooomph for a wintery duvet day.
Enjoy!
If I could only explain the joy a few good standing poses brings to my body, the captured image would be it.
With a strong and well balanced action in the legs we have support for our spine and the rest of the yoga practice.
Standing poses are key within the Iyengar yoga system and yet soooo easily forgotten when we become obsessed with more complicated asana.
The late summer sun, the sound of the sea and the standing poses brought a great sense of grounding with upliftment, the play of opposites!
As always listen to your body and work to your own capacity.
Love and light,
Lucy
Learning to move with a relaxed abdomen can allow our bodies to access deeper release.
It is so important to undo the undercurrents of tension that lie below our asana practice.
These elusive patterns hide away un-noticed as we can sometimes try harder and harder to get the posture “correct”.
Let go a little, feel the holding patterns that may no longer serve you, then maybe you can allow your self to rest well within.
I hope this practice helps a little.
Listen deeply, stay peaceful, enjoy.
Trees are the lungs of the earth. Trees help our planet breathe. Vrksasana (tree pose) enables our chest and lungs to open more, enabling us to find a deeper fuller breath too.
Forests around the world are also our planet’s air conditioning system and help keep the planet cool. In Vrksasana try to breathe through the nose to filter and prepare the air before it enters the lungs. Breathe out through the nose to gently cleanse the nasal passage of any dust or debris.
Practice makes better.
Root your feet into the ground, prepare your base, trunk and mind for a short practice that will help you breathe more easily.
Work to your own capacity and capability.
Breathe and enjoy,
Love and light,
Lucy