Vinyasa Yoga Class, lesson plan Class 6: Sun Salutation A, move like a snake, I am healthy

by | Dec 4, 2018 | 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 6: Sun salutation A, Dancing Warrior, I am strong, Alternate Nostril Breathing/Nadi Shodhana
Focus: Strength is not forcing yourself in the posture, it’s about alignment!

Four Limbed Staff pose/ Chaturanga Dandasana (Yoga Anatomy P.182)
Sun Salutation is used as a warm up. Downward Dog becomes a resting pose. Difference between Cobra and Upward Dog.
– Lie on your belly, find the shape/form of Chaturanga: corner of the shoulder points up and forward not down, chest and pecs. Muscles support your body, ribs & belly off the floor, body has to stay tight, press though heels, tighten the thighs, toes curled under, bounce back and forward bouncing from the ab muscles.
– Find the form and take your Chaturanga off the ground hold for 5 breaths
– From Plank to high Plank, back to Plank to Chaturanga, all the way down to the floor (working eccentrically), repeat 3 X. Make sure go forward, not down.

Sun Salutation A/ Surya Namaskar A
– First round of Sun Salutations: Chaturanga all the way to belly into Cobra
– Second round: Chaturanga to upward Dog
– Third round: Bend legs, Dog to Plank 3 X before trying to jump forward

Dancing Warrior: Warrior poses represent power and ferocity. A great lesson to learn is that we always have the opportunity to step forward and do our best to make things right, to stop fighting against a reactive mind. Warrior poses are a reminder that ferocity exists not only to destroy but also to allow us sufficient strength to achieve integrity, compassion as a loving state of mind. We also want to cultivate the mind of the warrior, who must go into battle unattached to the fruits of his actions, it teaches us to go into the field of life and stay in the center of our being. Imagine yourself as a fearless warrior sent on a divine mission, you just might find renewed strength and vigor in the poses as well as the courage and determination to face life’s challenging moments.

First round 3-5 breaths each poses, then 3 more rounds of 1 breath in each pose:
– Warrior 1/ Virabhadrasana I,
– Warrior 2/ Virabhadrasana I,
– Reverse Warrior/ Viparita Virabhadrasana,
– Side Angle pose/ Utthita Parsvakonasana,

– Sphinx pose/ Salamba Bhujangasana
– Child pose/ Balasana with side bend
– Two knees spinal twist/ Supta Matsyendrasana
– Supported backbend with blocks

Mantra: Jai Ma from Planet Yoga
Amrita mayi Ananda mayi – Amrita Ananda mayi ma – Jai Ma Durga

It’s a lovely and simple phrase that calls to mind the creative forces in the universe – and more specifically, our acknowledgement and gratitude to them. Even more interesting, it calls to mind the feminine forces, which not only give birth to new things, but can also effect change in the old ones. Jai ma’ could be translated as ‘great gratitude to the divine Mother. May her power be victorious over all obstacles.

The real spiritual experience + Taking care of the little things
Often people think that spirituality only means big things, like chanting beautifully or be able to stand on your head or even sit in meditation daily. These things are wonderful, but they are not useful if you don’t take care of the little things. Spirituality needs to permeate every action of your day. Living and working together as one living family with total love is the real spiritual experience. To see spirit in others and to love everyone, to rise above little differences of the lower nature and bring harmony wherever you are. Real spiritual experience brings harmony.