Sequence One, The Essential Six:

During the yoga conference last week, I was sitting in a two-hour lecture when the instructor suddenly said, “OK, let’s do the Essential Six.”  It was early morning and my legs felt stiff from sitting in a cross-legged position for so long.  I was happy for the suggestion to do yoga, but had no idea what the Essential Six poses were.  In fairly quick succession, we did the following:

Downward Facing Dog

Forward Bend

Squat

Seated Twist

Half Spinal Twist

Table Top

I was surprised at how good I felt with having done just these six poses!  In just 8 minutes, I felt alive, awakened, alert!  As the lecture started up again, the wheels in my mind started spinning.

Wait!  Was that sequence complete?  What made each posture “essential”?  How can I flesh out this sequence and render it into a full class, adding to it for intensity and modifying it for the gentle classes?

To the sequence above, I added Side Bending Poses and Triangles and Extended Triangles, Tree and Half Moon, and the Shoulder-Stand Cycle, which includes plow, tranquility pose, and fish pose.  For my more advanced classes, I added back-bends and head- or hand-stands. At the very end, I added Shavasana for the sweetest of sweet endings.   I practiced and taught variations on the above sequence all week and at a two-day workshop I taught this weekend  and got wonderful feedback!  I hope you will try the Essential Six and add my suggested variations listed above.

Another exquisite winter scene from my weekend at Tumble Creek, Washington

Tumble Creek, Washington

Sequence Two, The Daily Dozen:

Recently, the New York Times published an article on Yoga for Stronger Bones (see  LINK)

Once again, I was surprised by the relative simplicity of the poses selected for a Bone Strengthening yoga practice.  If the following list is unclear to you, you can refer to the link above for details on the yoga postures for this practice:

  • Tree
  • Triangle
  • Warrior II
  • Side Angle Pose
  • Revolved Triangle
  • Locust
  • Bridge
  • Supine Hand to Foot Pose I
  • Supine Hand to Foot Pose II
  • Straight legged twist
  • Bent knee twist
  • Shavasana
Tumble Creek, Washington

Tumble Creek, Washington

Sequence Three, Strong Abdominal Muscles:

I came up with the following sequence for overall strength and special focus on the abdominal muscles.  The sequence can be modified or intensified according to your yoga practice.  When I teach the following poses, I suggest several variations on each pose and I like to see what different individuals choose to do.  Mostly I enjoy watching everyone grow strong.  At the end of this practice, you can try your most challenging balance pose, an arm balance, or an inverted pose such as headstand and hand-stand and see how you excel!

  1. Tiger
  2. Plank on hands
  3. Side Plank (can be done on the elbow for more challenge)
  4. Plank on elbows
  5. Chair Pose with a twist
  6. Warrior I
  7. Half Moon (with hands at heart center and not touching the mat)
  8. Triangle (with hands extended over head and not touching the mat)
  9. Boat —Canoe
  10. Plank with feet raised on a block, then lift one foot at a time. This can also be done with a partner.  Your yoga partner will lift your legs while you are in plank.  He/She will lift you so that your body is parallel to the floor.  (I call this “Elevator Plank”.)

A note on “Elevator Plank”:  I made up this name for an adorable young boy named Angus!  When his mom came home from her yoga session, he asked her if she had learned something new!  She told him about and showed him plank with the legs up in the air, as done with a partner.  She told me later that, as she described it for him, she was not quite sure what to call it.  Since it is not quite a “wheelbarrow”, I came up with the name “Elevator Plank”.  Angus liked that!

Lastly I leave you with a poem by Leza Lowitz from the book titled Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By:

Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)

Mind, mind

how much you want to say

am I doing it right?

can I stay here long enough

or even a second longer

can I eat an ice cream sandwich

after class,

oh, but will class ever end?

Mind, will you ever shut up?

will my legs stop shaking?

will my head reach lower?

Will I

can I

should I

could I

let go of my mind

listen to my breath

listen through my breath

let it move through this body

reach out to this moment,

this world,

this life,

& let it go?