Class Notes 3/4/2025
I will usually send out some notes on points that come up in class.
1: Patañjali says:
“The physical postures should be steady and comfortable” 2:46
“They are mastered when all effort is relaxed and the mind is absorbed in the infinite” 2:47
(Alistair Shearer’s translation)
2: There are 26 bones in each foot
3: We looked at 2 outward rotating standing poses. trikoṇāsana trikoṇāsana and pārśvakoṇāsana – the muscles used to turn the hips outward are:
The piriformis is the largest and is very involved in the external rotation these two poses require.
4: Viloma – (sanskrit for “against the fur”) is the first prāṇāyāmatechnique I teach. The theory behind this is that at the start, beginners don’t have much awareness or control over the breath and by consciously pausing we can refine our control and increase awareness. The first step is to pause during the inhalation. I like to start with 3 steps inhaling with 2 pauses between them. Then add a 3rd pause when the lungs are full. All steps should be the same length. I like to count heartbeats so I’ll inhale for 3 beats, then hold for 3 beats and so on. Let the exhalation take care of itself. Step 2 is the opposite. Pause during the exhalation and let the inhalation take care of itself. Then step 3 is do both inhale and exhale with pauses. There are of course more advanced steps where we hold the breath in and also hold the breath out but we’ll look at them later. Mr Iyengar always encouraged us to take a lot of time with step one before progressing. I believe we benefit from looking at the more advanced steps and then over time, we can refine our techniques
5: Jālandhara bandha(Chin Lock) – is a technique that involves locking the chin to the chest. It is one of the three main bandhas (locks) in haṭha Yoga, along with Mūla bandha (root lock) and Uḍḍīyana bandha (abdominal lock). The secret here is that the sternum should be lifted up to the chin as much as the chin should be dropped to the chest!
Benefits: Stimulates the thyroid gland and regulates metabolism, Protects the neck and cervical spine, Improves digestion and reduces bloating, Calms the mind and induces relaxation, and enhances concentration and focus.
6: Shoulderstand
We briefly looked at a way to do passive shoulderstand but did not practice in class.
I am a huge fan of doing shoulderstand like this for 10 or 15 minutes.