Evolution
Yoga
Pose Archives
Each month, Evolution Yoga will choose one specific physical and/or philosophical theme to weave into our classes so that we can continue to be active learners on the yogic path.
April 2008 theme of the month:
PRANAYAMA, breath control
“In the work of Pranayama, the back is the blackboard, the air comes to write, and the mind holds the chalk.” -B.K.S. Iyengar
Breathing
in, breathing out. Our breath is our partner that never leaves us – but
it’s rare that we actually stop long enough to pay attention to
it, much less to try to manipulate or control it. Pranayama calms the
mind, strengthens the lungs and creates a feeling of inner expansion
and spaciousness. This month in our evolution yoga classes, we’ll
focus on a variety of pranayama exercises and skills to connect us to
our breath, get our body’s energy (prana) flowing, and ground us
as we move along our yoga paths.
March 2008
ADHO MUKHA VRKSASANA, Handstand
From downward facing dog, walk your feet
in toward your hands a few inches, bringing your shoulders over your
wrists. Lift one leg in the air as you breathe in, bend the standing
leg as you exhale, and on the next inhale hop the standing leg off
of the floor. As both legs sail toward the wall, full weight will come
into the hands with the hips over the shoulders. You are balancing
in handstand!
The Sanskrit for handstand translates as “upward facing tree pose.” What a great way to think about our handstands! Tree pose brings us confidence – it’s a balance that feels accessible, beautiful and fun. See if you can bring this same feeling of playfulness and ease to your handstand practice this month. When we turn life (and our yoga poses) upside down, our anxiety and fears tends to spill out of our pockets like loose change. What a great opportunity to see what comes up (or down) for you.
February 2008
SAVASANA, corpse pose
Lie down on your back. Let your legs roll out naturally at the hips, feet about 8-10 inches apart. Rest your arms 1 foot from your sides, palms up. As you close your eyes, soften the muscles around the eyes and the mouth. Scan through your body for any other spots of tension or holding, and release those with your exhale.
Savasana can be practiced after a yoga class, as a wind-down before bed, or as a break at work. Keep your focus slightly on your breath, and notice the thoughts as they come and go through your mind. This pose is a great way to practice our theme of the month, AHIMSA (nonharming). Can you slow down and show some peacefulness toward yourself this month?
January 2008
VASISTHASANA, side plank pose
From downward facing dog or plank pose, roll your weight onto your right hand and the outer edge of your right foot. Stack your left foot on top of your right, and extend the left arm up to the ceiling. Shining from your feet on a long diagonal through your head, you are balancing in VASISTHASANA.
The many variations of this pose allow us to find our own strength and truly shine through our hearts. We can take this lesson into the new year with us – By listening to our bodies, not pushing too hard but finding challenge and “stepping up to the plate”, we approach 2008 with vigor, energy, and Tapas (Sanskrit for drive and burning effort).
December 2007
SUKHASANA, easy seat
Sit
comfortably on the edge of a blanket, block or bolster. Cross your legs
at the ankles or set one foot in front of the other. Be sure your hips
are higher than your knees in order to relieve hip tension. Lengthen
your spine from the base all the way to the crown of your head. Rest
your hands on your thighs and close your eyes.
Sukhasana is a great pose to “come home to” during this holiday season. Slow down, sit, focus on our breath, and clear away the layers of busyness and clutter in our minds. Evolution’s theme of the month for December is Satya, or truthfulness. As we sit quietly in sukhasana, we move from our chattering mind to our deeper truth, our feeling heart and find balance.
November 2007
VRSCHIKASANA
Scorpion Pose
Kneel
on the floor and place your elbows, forearms and palms down, shoulder-distance
apart. Lift the knees, coming into a version of downward facing dog.
Walk the feet into the arms as much as possible. Kick the legs up into
a balance. Once the legs are up, bend the knees and move the feet toward
the head as you arch the head toward the feet.
As the weather grows colder, we begin to sink into hibernation mode. Why not strike at the imminent weather blues with the intensity of a scorpion instead? Be brave, take a risk, laugh, and prepare for the holiday season with gusto. This pose, like life, is one step at a time.
October 2007
EKA PADA RAJAKAPOTASANA
Pigeon Pose
From downward facing dog, draw the right knee onto the floor by the right wrist. Keep the hips square and the left leg directly behind you as you lower the hips to the floor. Inhale, lifting the chest to the ceiling. Exhale as you fold forward with an even spine.
Pigeon is the most requested yoga pose at evolution. It’s a great hip opener – ancient lore says that you store all of your past relationships in your hips. So come on, folks, let’s get to it!
September 2007
HANUMANASANA
Kneeling on your shins, extend one leg forward, bringing your hands to the floor. Square your hips and begin to slide your extended leg forward. Pause every-so-often to re-align your hips and lengthen your spine. Open the legs as much as your body allows. You are extending into Hanumanasana.
The monkey god Hanuman is named for an impossible task he completed during mythological times. In order to save Rama’s brother and in devotion to Rama’s wife Sita, Hanuman stretched from India to the Himalayas in one mighty leap. While we are opening our hamstrings and hip flexors in this pose, hanumanasana also reminds us that through deep devotion even more challenging tasks are possible.
August 2007
PASCHIMOTTANASANA
Intense West Stretch
Sit on the floor with your legs stretched in front of you, spine long. Flex your feet and activate your legs strongly into the floor. As you exhale, fold forward bringing your head toward your knees or shins. Extend through the entire spine. You are bending into pascimottanasana.
The word “paschima” means west. In this stretch, the back of the body represents the west, or moon side. The back is full and open as we bow into ourselves in this quieting pose. For the month of August, we explore ways in our practice and in our lives we can find a cool, quiet place.
July 2007
BAKASANA, Crow Pose
From a low squat, bend the arms and bring the elbows to the insides of the knees. Slowly shifting the weight into the hands, lean forward and hug the knees in to the arms. As you lift the feet from the floor and round your spine, you are balancing in crow pose.
This posture imitates the shape of a bird taking flight. With the arms becoming like the legs for support, how can you feel a lightness not only in your body but also manifested in your willingness to try this arm balance? Let the pose of the month be about taking flight from your pre-conceived ideas of what you can and cannot do!
June 2007
VRKSASANA, Tree Pose
Rooting
down in the right foot, lift your left leg and press the foot into the
side of the right shin or inner thigh. Energize both legs toward the
midline of the body, and press your palms together with thumbs moving
toward your heart. You are balancing in Tree Pose.
Tree Pose tones our leg muscles and strengthens the arches of our feet. In this standing balance, some days we feel strong and even, and some days we topple over in the slightest breeze of the teacher walking by. Our focused or unfocused mind can be the biggest player in this pose.
May 2007
URDHVA MUKHA SVANASANA
Upward Facing Dog
Lying on your belly, engage the legs and press the tops of the feet into the mat. Place the hands under the shoulders, and press up to an arch in the spine with only the hands and feet touching the mat. You have curled into Upward Facing Dog.
Upward Facing Dog rejuvenates and strengthens the spine. Because of chest expansion in the pose, the lungs gain elasticity and the heart pumps blood efficiently throughout the body.
April 2007
SIRSASANA, Headstand!
From downward facing dog, lower your elbows shoulder distance apart and interlace your fingers. Rest the center of the head on the mat by your hands, lift your hips, draw into your center, and raise your legs in the air for headstand.
Upside-down poses bring up a lot of fear and ego for many of us. How can we soften in order to meet our edge with honesty and invite both our bodies and minds to see life from another angle?
March 2007
VIRABHADRASANA, the warrior poses
Feet grounded, legs engaged, spine extended. Radiating out from the center, we stand strong in warrior pose.
What does it mean to be a warrior? How do we strive toward peace and compassion? This month, evolution yoga will look at the question: “What are the qualities of the warrior that we want to cultivate in our lives?"
February 2007
USTRASANA, Camel Pose
Kneeling on the shins, inhale length up the spine. On an exhale, press
the shins down and the thighs forward as you arch your spine up and back,
releasing the tailbone. You are opening into USTRASANA.
February is LOVING-KINDNESS month at evolution! Our theme of the month focuses on this concept of “metta” in our thoughts, words and deeds to ourselves and others.
Evolution Yoga's recommended reading for the month of February is Sharon
Salzberg's LOVING-KINDNESS, The Revolutionary Art
of Happiness.
January 2007
Firmly root in the sitting bones. Cross the right foot over the left thigh. Sitting tall, rotate the spine, looking over the shoulder. Bring the left elbow across the right knee. You are twisting in Ardha Matsyendrasana, seated spinal twist.
Enjoy a deeper twist with each exhale. Seated spinal twist removes toxins from the body, re-aligns the organs, and brings flexibility to the spine. As our THEME OF THE MONTH, evolution yoga will explore the beginning of 2007 as an opportunity to re-align our intentions and find an even flexibility around our hearts.
December 2006
Feel energy pulling the legs upward as the weight of
the pelvis is evenly balanced on the shoulders, head and elbows. You
are balancing in SHOULDERSTAND.
Sometimes called “the Queen of all Poses,” shoulderstand rejuvenates the body by supplying fresh, oxygenated blood to the thyroid gland and stimulating the kidneys. It is a quieting pose – bringing peace and focus to a tired, listless body and mind.
Rejuvinating the mind and body is not always easy. This December, evolution yoga will focus on how to be an active participant in letting go as our THEME OF THE MONTH.
November 2006
Shine from the crown through the inner heels. Feel the blissful evenness in the front and the back of the body. Connect the shoulderblades on the ribs, draw your navel in, and hug the muscles onto the bones. You are floating in PLANK POSE.
How do we transition in and out of plank pose? What can we gain by paying attention to our transitions in our physical yoga practice? Where do we notice clear transitions in our lives and how do we respond to them?
Evolution Physical Therapy & Yoga
20 Kilburn Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401
phone: 802-864-9642 | fax: 802-864-9643
email: info@evolutionvt.com