Vinyasa Yoga Class, lesson plan Class 10: Crow, I am light/divine

by | Jan 9, 2019 | Yoga, Yoga Nanaimo

“The body tells its story. The mind supports and questions and encourage. The mind has to agree to be the compassionate listener without judgement or expectation. We want to find a deeper meaning in the asanas, to take us to a higher level of consciousness, expect depth, reflection, clarity and support for the Light within.”

I’ve been teaching yoga since 2004. Over the year my teaching style has changed a lot. I used to plan and then just improvise, have an idea for a series or peak poses. Sometime I thought I had just taught an amazing class but did not write it down and then would not be able to repeat it. I’ve also spend lot of time, researching, reading, preparing and know how much can go into planing the “perfect” class. I’ve decided to share with you some of the classes program, class 3, I prepared for the Yoga teacher training. There are 18 lessons plans that build on each other. The first few classes are more gentle classes, until we move toward more advanced poses and sequencing. Where ever you are on your journey its important to remind yourself that it’s more important to have awareness than to do an asana perfectly. I hope you enjoy me sharing theses with you and would appreciate your feedback to keep improving them. I’ve used 2 books to help me build theses classes, they are the Golden Present book by Sri Swami Satchidananda and the Hidden Language of Hatha Yoga by Swami Sivananda Radha.

“In Hatha Yoga we confront our fears as well as our potentials by balancing attention between the body and the mind. Because human beings are so complex, various branches of yoga must be practised in proper combination to help people become harmonious being. Asanas are a discipline of the body, but they are not without an effect on the mind, and in turn the mind affects the body. We create an intuitive space for deepening our understanding about ourselves, uncovering our obstacles and potential. We are the masters of our own destiny.”

You can also have access to the recording of the classes and sequence with the Vinyasa Flow Yoga online classes bundle.

Class 10: Crow/ Bakāsana, I am divine light, Savitri breathing
To float requires strength, control, and practice. This class is filled with drills and progressions to help you develop the muscle memory, balance, and confidence to become weightless in your vinyasa practice. We will play with a variety of Crow shapes that don’t require lots of strength or balance. Remember: any part of the pose is still the pose. The yogic path begins with the realization that we often forget about our divine nature, our light, which causes us to suffer. This ignorance is happening to others. It causes us to mistakenly identify with our ever-changing body and mind. But after realizing our misunderstanding, we can take appropriate measures to alleviate it. We can start living a life based on the principles of yoga by reconnecting to our true self. The more we connect with our divine nature, the more we experience lasting peace and fulfillment. This is the promise of yoga, open for all of us to experience right here and now.

Constructive rest position: Breathe deeply. Follow each exercise with this position.
Lying Crow/Bakāsana, often used interchangeably with Kakāsana
– Lying down with head on block, focus attention on the core (working the shape)
– Hold 30 seconds focus flex wrist, point toes, focus core
– Lower belly tuck, touch knee and relax (small mtv)
– Crow tap with block behind head
– Flex one foot and touch below wrist, hold for 10 sec.
– Bring 1 knee in the centre and hold (lying lolasana)

From a 4-position wrist warm up
– Fingers pointing away from midline, rock side to side
– Back of hand on mat, bend & extend arm
– Fingers pointing toward body, rock forward & back, then cat & cow (protraction & retraction of shoulder blades, feeling shape of cat for crow pose)
– On all 4s, knee to shoulder, lower and then zip it up, hover the knee off the floor and hold
– Flow 3X between Plank and Downward Dog, then hold both

Yoga - Nanaimo - Vancouver island - Yoga Teacher Training - Flexibility - meditation - mindfulness - coaching - self help - relaxation - counselling - vinyasa yoga - flow yoga - yin yoga - mobility - self care -bootcamp - HIIT - high intensity interval training - workout - toning - strength - weight loss - personal training - personal trainer - zumba -coach - online -counsellor​Sun Salutation 3X
– low squat/ Malasana
– Crow with feet & head on block
– 1 leg Dog to 1 leg Plank to touch knee outside (Half Crow) repeat 3X
– Warrior 1
– Pyramid pose
– Low lunge, then front feet lift, knee to chest hold
Repeat from malasana with other leg

– From Chair pose, lower yourself all the way down into Crow
– Lolasana prep. (egg shape, lift knee to chest)
– Sitting Crow pose
– Boat pose with straight leg while holding the big toe.
– Try to flex your feet and do wrist tap, alternating feet.
– Lower into Hollow Body (Half Boat or Low Boat), try reaching arms above head.
– Cobra; Backbend comes from thoracic spine not lower back.
– Bow
– Lying down on belly, shoulder & pec stretch (straight arm and also cactus arm).
– Supported bridge
– Supine twist
– Savasana

Om Asatoma dy Deva Premal
Om Asatoma satgamaya – Tamasoma iyotir gamaya – Mrityorma amritam gamaya
Take us from the false to the truth – From darkness to light – And from poison to nectar

Rest at the top
Wherever you are, whatever you do, have discipline in your life. Discipline your mind, discipline your senses, discipline your body. How much discipline is needed to attain your goal? How many times will you slip, get up, start, slip, get up and start again? In the spiritual life, however, once you get to the top, you have reached Ever-rest. You do rest there, and you won’t have to come down. You can even pull others up as well. But there are no shortcuts. A great price must be paid to reach that great goal. What is that price? Lead a selfless life and help others to reach their goals. Set the example you want to see in this world.