Inspired By Scaravelli Track 14

Classical Sun Salutations. As an alternative to three movements from three positions, consider how Yoga poses can flow into each other: We are always inviting small muscles to come into play, releasing big ones, finding space at the joints. this can be a more formal dance for our bodies
Instead of the basic three poses considered separately, we begin to form form a habit for our practice, where one pose leads to another, without having to think too much about what comes next. Notice how each pose brings awareness of different groups of muscles, and take what your body teaches you in one pose into your understanding of the next one. As you do more, you become more aware of what your bodies need, what your bodies like. Listen to your body: pay it attention and take away your mind’s intention. Discover the intelligence and harmony of your body.

Transcript

Track 14,

Sun Salutations.

As an alternative to three movements from three positions,

In your practice,

You can consider how yoga poses flow into each other.

Remember that each pose doesn't matter itself.

It's more about a feeling inside the body and undoing tension,

Relaxing the outer body and awakening the core and bringing the spine to life.

It's always a dance for our bodies,

But this is a more formal dance.

We're deliberately flowing from one movement to another.

So you explore the movement of where you are,

And this might take you somewhere else.

You can't define it and pin it down.

It doesn't belong to anybody,

And it isn't one person's invention except yours.

It's a discovery.

It's your yoga.

Always you're inviting small muscles to come into play,

Releasing big ones and finding space at the joints.

So instead of three basic poses considered separately,

You can start to form a habit for your practice where one pose leads into another without having to think too much about what comes next.

As you do more,

You become more aware of what your bodies need and what your body is like.

Listen to your body.

Pay attention.

This is much more important than any intention to perform a particular pose in a particular way.

Discover the intelligence and harmony of your bodies,

And remember that imagination is really important.

It fills the gaps while your awareness is developing.

Every body is different.

You know your body better than anyone.

Let your thinking mind release control.

Let go of thoughts and feelings.

Put your body's intelligence in charge,

Finding deeper,

More subtle control.

Let go of dominant surface muscles.

Experience how the pull of gravity helps you,

And stay in touch with how you're breathing.

All the way through this,

Remember you're working with your body,

Not against it.

If it hurts,

It's wrong.

Remember how,

And be aware how,

In going from one pose to another,

You can make discoveries in one position,

And you can carry those ideas,

Those feelings,

Through to inform the next pose.

And if at any time you're feeling any strain,

Try to make a gentle movement within the pose,

Or adapt it to your own needs.

Maybe supporting on your elbows rather than wrists,

For example.

So,

Starting in Tadasana,

Bring your attention to your feet.

They're hip-width apart,

And the outer edges are parallel.

Your heels are strongly rooting into the ground.

The crown of your head is aspiring upwards.

Your eyes are soft.

Your jaw,

Neck,

And lips are relaxed.

The back of your neck is lengthening.

Your shoulders are relaxing downwards towards the waist.

The small of your back is lengthening.

Your breastbone is lifting.

Your sacrum eases gently downwards with gravity.

Your knees are opening,

With the kneecaps floating,

But rather than locking the knees,

They can be slightly bent.

Your legs are letting go of the surface muscles.

Your spine is long.

Your arms are relaxed.

Your hands are in prayer position.

Namaste at the front.

Inhale and grow tall.

Feel the muscles in the lumbar and the neck areas lengthen and release.

Feel you've got a long,

Heavy tail like a dinosaur.

Feel that your weight is on the outside of your feet.

Exhale,

Put weight into your heels and bend your knees and lift your arms slowly from the sides,

Extending without the knees locking.

Maintain a lightness in your upper body,

Placing your hands into the hip joints to maintain the space there.

Exhale and fold forwards.

This is Uttanasana.

Allow the heels to be grounded from your center.

Maintain space at the tops of your thighs.

Take a long exhalation and putting your hands on the floor,

Either side of your feet,

Again you can bend your knees,

Take a big step back with your right foot.

This is the lunge position.

The right leg is light.

Rest your right knee on the ground.

Drop your hips,

Keep your chin in,

Feel the back of your neck long,

And then with hands feeding back to the spine,

Continue exhaling as you take the left foot back to join the right one,

And roll onto both knees,

With the tailbone going down towards the heels.

You're going towards child pose,

But you're doing it as if against resistance.

You're not relaxing into it.

You're not,

It's not like a soggy hammock.

The whole of your back lengthens,

Gathering into your center.

Your stomach is tucked under as you breathe out.

Maintain a collected feeling in your center.

Inhale,

And then as you exhale,

Come out with space between the knees into the eight point pose.

You're creeping forwards towards your hands,

Head down,

Chin,

Knees,

Chest,

Close to the floor.

Your neck is relaxed.

If you find this difficult,

You can go into all fours,

Instead the cat pose.

Open your elbows,

Don't push.

Slide through to lie face down in prone position,

Raising your feet to release the thigh muscles and the groin muscles.

Your hands feed back to the spine,

Informing the shoulder blades.

You may find that as you exhale,

Anchoring your feet and putting weight into your legs encourages the upper body to become light.

Your back is invited to start to arch upwards.

Your head comes off the floor into the cobra position.

The head doesn't crane backwards,

It just moves with the spine as if it's the last vertebrae.

Inhale with the front of the pelvis and the legs heavy on the floor,

Widening your body.

Keep your feet and legs well anchored.

Inhale again and then start bending your arms to bring your body backwards,

Keeping your neck soft and again,

Either in eight point pose or in the cat position.

Creep away from your hands,

Head down,

Knees,

Chin and chest,

Close to the floor or in the cat.

Feel spirals in your arms,

Opening space between the shoulder blades.

Feel a smile there.

Exhale,

Knees unfold and you're going into downward dog,

Gently keeping your elbows soft with wide shoulders,

Wide hips.

The spine is going up into your skull as the heels go down.

The arms are moving from the upper spine,

Head in line with the spine,

Looking at your navel.

You can walk your feet in a little bit if you like.

Your knees are not locked.

Your knees can stay slightly bent,

Slightly soft.

You can walk the dog,

Releasing the heel,

One heel towards the floor and the other knee goes forwards and then alternate that.

Maintain a smile at the back of your knees.

Inhale,

Leaving the hands where they are.

Bring the right foot forward to the inside of the hands.

It's a big lunge.

Keep your spine lengthening forwards to the head.

The hands feeding back to the spine,

Exhaling,

Make the left leg feel light and bring the left foot forwards by the side of the right foot.

Keep your legs long,

Head dropped,

Hips over heels and your back in Uttanasana.

Maintain space at the tops of the thighs.

Inhale,

As your hands brush the front of the body,

Bring them over your head,

Hips still over the heels.

Maintain lightness in the upper body.

Exhale,

Lengthen up from the ground into a standing backbend and swinging the arms in a big circle around you,

Complete the sequence to stand again in Tadasana with feet shoulder-width apart,

Hands in prayer position,

Shoulders and elbows released down,

Inhaling deeply.

Exhale,

Put weight into your heels,

Bend your knees,

Lift your arms slowly from the sides,

Extending without the knees locking.

Maintain lightness in your upper body,

Placing hands into the hip joints to maintain space there.

Exhale,

Fold forwards again into Uttanasana and allow the heels to be grounded from your center.

Maintain space at the tops of the thighs.

Take a long exhalation,

Putting the hands on the floor either side of the feet,

Bending your knees if you want to,

Taking a big step back,

This time with the left foot into a lunge position.

Your left foot is light.

Rest your left knee on the ground,

Drop your hips,

Keep your chin in,

Keep the back of the neck long,

And then with hands feeding back to the spine,

Continue exhaling as you take the right foot back to join the left and roll onto both knees with the tailbone going down towards the heels into child pose as if against resistance.

The whole back lengthens,

Gathering into your center.

Your stomach is tucked under as you breathe out.

Maintaining a collected feeling in your center,

Inhale and exhale and come out with space between your knees in the eight-point pose and creep forwards towards your hands,

Head down,

Knees,

Chin and chest close to the floor with a relaxed neck.

You can go on to all fours instead into the cat pose.

Open elbows,

Don't push,

Slide through to lie face down in the prone position,

Raising your feet to release the thighs and groins.

The hands feed back to the spine and forming the shoulder blades.

You may find that as you exhale,

Anchoring your feet and putting weight into your legs encourages the upper body to become light.

Your back is invited to arch upwards into cobra and your head may come off the floor as if the last vertebrae.

Inhale with the front of the pelvis and the legs heavy on the floor,

Widening your body.

Maintain your feet and legs anchored.

Inhale and start bending your arms to bring your body backwards,

Keeping the neck soft and again in eight-point pose,

Creep away from your hands,

Head down,

Knees,

Chin and chest close to the floor or on all fours.

Feel spirals in your arms,

Opening space between the shoulder blades.

Feel a smile there.

Exhale,

Knees unfold into downward dog with wide shoulders and hips with soft elbows and knees.

Your spine is going up into your skull as the heels go down,

Arms moving from the upper spine,

Head in line with the spine,

Looking at your navel.

You can walk the feet in if you like and then walk the dog again to release the heels towards the floor one at a time while the opposite knee goes forwards.

Maintain the smile at the back of your knees.

Inhale,

Leaving the hands where they are,

Bring the left foot forward to the inside of the hands in a big lunge,

Keeping the spine lengthening forwards to the head.

You could add a triangle forward bend if you've got time.

Hands are feeding back to the spine,

Exhaling,

Making the right leg feel light and bringing the right foot forwards by the side of the left foot,

Legs long,

Head dropped,

Hips over heels into Uttanasana.

Maintain space at the tops of the thighs.

Inhale as your hands brush the front of the body to bring them up and over your head,

Hips still over your heels.

Maintain lightness in your upper body.

Exhale,

Lengthen up from the ground into a standing back bend and swinging your arms in a big circle around you,

Complete the sequence to stand in Tadasana with feet hip width apart and hands in prayer position.

Namaste.

Your shoulders and elbows are released down.

Inhale,

Breathely and consider how you feel.