THE ADVENTURERS OF GENTLE YOGA
I sat down in front of my Gentle Yoga class yesterday, to be greeted with "what's that 'Hanuman' pose you wrote about this morning?" I explained it, some groans in the room. But a certain excitement and curiosity, as well.
So (parrot word?), I decided -- why not? Even if it's not full Hanumansana, the sequence to get there and to at least move towards the general form of the pose, won't hurt them and it's a change from our usual sequences. In this group - as in many in Utah, I've discovered - the quads are the villains. They are so tight on some people, it sometimes is hard for me to believe -- I sometimes think 'how come you can't get your foot closer to your hip -- oh, it's the quads, again!'
Is it the walking we do, the hiking, the gardening (lots of gardening going on around here)? Whatever causes it, it's rampant in Utah.
So a sequence moving towards Hanumanasana, a sequence that requires quad warming and lengthening, is a good thing. Then, we move to the hamstrings. Hamstrings, while tight, are not as frequently (at least, in my classes) as limiting as those quads.
We did about the same as the previous day's class -- using the wall for the back foot. I've seen instructors use the wall for the front foot (even pressed the front foot into another person's foot). The back foot gives us stability and grounding from which to work more intently on the front leg. My theory. Perhaps not the first one to do it or think of it, but I love the feeling of my back foot against the wall.
This will be short - working on parental issues for the next few days. I'll be in touch, but perhaps not so insightful as the 'parrot word' blog -- still shaking my head over that one!
Have a great Thursday,
So (parrot word?), I decided -- why not? Even if it's not full Hanumansana, the sequence to get there and to at least move towards the general form of the pose, won't hurt them and it's a change from our usual sequences. In this group - as in many in Utah, I've discovered - the quads are the villains. They are so tight on some people, it sometimes is hard for me to believe -- I sometimes think 'how come you can't get your foot closer to your hip -- oh, it's the quads, again!'
Is it the walking we do, the hiking, the gardening (lots of gardening going on around here)? Whatever causes it, it's rampant in Utah.
So a sequence moving towards Hanumanasana, a sequence that requires quad warming and lengthening, is a good thing. Then, we move to the hamstrings. Hamstrings, while tight, are not as frequently (at least, in my classes) as limiting as those quads.
We did about the same as the previous day's class -- using the wall for the back foot. I've seen instructors use the wall for the front foot (even pressed the front foot into another person's foot). The back foot gives us stability and grounding from which to work more intently on the front leg. My theory. Perhaps not the first one to do it or think of it, but I love the feeling of my back foot against the wall.
This will be short - working on parental issues for the next few days. I'll be in touch, but perhaps not so insightful as the 'parrot word' blog -- still shaking my head over that one!
Have a great Thursday,