Iyengar yoga Standing poses, Tresco

In the back of ‘Light on Yoga’ is a 300 week yoga programme. I though it would be interesting to practice week one. Guruji said “My body is my first prop”. Today this is all I had too, so this is a practice without any other props, not even a mat 🙂 and I kept slipping in the sand which made it slightly more challenging.
For more info about the poses check out the Light on Yoga book, it is amazing.
Next week I will put up the second version I made, with props and shoulder stand too.
Love and light,
Lucy

Improving Triangle and Sideways Stretch

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

Sun, sea and standing poses

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

Standing in your legs

Right… at the beginning I say this will be a 10 minute practice… my timing this time was not so good, it is more like 15.
The legs hold us up, keep us grounded, mobilize us and motivate us. They need to be a stable and flexible.
Let’s give a great big cheer for our legs and celebrate the amazing work they do every day.
Here’s a practice to help you get to know them a little better.

Twisting up Trencrom

Before the lock-down rules tightened I took my mat up to the shelter of the boulders up on Trencrom.
The back of the hill was still frosty and the wind was icy cold but the sun gave the gift of summer.
Seated twists are a marvellous way to keep your socks on, if, like me you are not so keen on chilly toes.
The twists head towards a simple forward bend then onto the arm balance Eka Hasta Bhujasana to bring the awareness back to the core of the body, re-balancing with Adho mukha svanasana (dog pose) and viparita karani (inverted energies pose).
No need to leave your home to practice this one, my thick yoga mat felt quite cumbersome and heavy.
Please pay attention that you practice these poses with care and attention, with your own needs and requirements in mind.
Love and light,
Lucy

Happy Standing Poses

What to say? Dan said it all; “Happy standing poses!”.
The winter brings such joy when the sun shines.

You might notice that I have shoes on my mat… the shoes were clean and new. I bought them last summer but i had no-where to wear them out. They have come into their own now though. It was a little strange wearing shoes on my yoga mat at first, I got used to it pretty quickly and they are so much more comfortable than slipping around in socks (toe-socks or otherwise)

Join me as i run (well, stand and jump) through these poses.
Enjoy, and work within your own capacity.

See you soon, love and light
Lucy