A strong and slow flow class progresses towards Eka Pada Koundinyasana B (one-legged sage B variation).
Hip opening and core and back strengthening prepare your body for the peak pose. Backbends, twists, wrist stretches, and kapalbhati pranayama create heat and a sense of spaciousness in the body, so you’ll be ready for savasana on your belly to complete practice. This class opens with a poem by Rilke on the importance of seeking and asking questions.
*Not suitable for those with wrist sensitivity. Join us for class but be mindful of how much pressure you’re putting on your hands & wrists.
Style: Slow Flow
Duration: 60-minutes
Level: intermediate
Props: 1 block
Focus: hip opening with Eka Pada Koundinyasana B (one-legged sage B variation) as the peak
Location: Lila Familia Production Studio, Vancouver, BC
Spotify Playlist: I Beg You To Have Patience (PWC)
Opening Mantra
Come to a seat on your mat or come to recline on your back.
This class opens with a poem by Ranier Maria Rilke:
“I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”
Sit in the unknown. Be comfortable with not knowing the outcome. When we’re focused on the outcome, we are not present in the process. Do what needs to be done, and don’t think about what’s to come.
As you bring your hands to your heart, bow your head to your chest.
Three calls to Aum to join our voices and open to the sound that fills the room.
Opening Flow
10-15 breaths to move as you like, options:
2x Sun Salutations following the cues
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Anjaneyasana (low lunge) variation
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog) variation
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Phalakasana (plank pose) with alternating hand to shoulder taps
Balasana (child’s pose)
Breath of Joy from the shins at the back of your mat
Ardha Shalabhasana (half locust pose) variation
Bharmanasana (tabletop pose)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Parivrtta Anjaneyasana (revolved lunge) variation with wide arms
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Peak Pose Prep
Take a step to the middle of your mat and bring your big toes to touch.
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Bakasana (crow pose)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Wave 1
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Come to sit on your shins for kapalbhati pranayama for 45-seconds
Utthan Pristhasana (lizard pose) variations
X2 lizard pose variation
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog) variation with hips stacked.
Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2)
Trikonasana (triangle pose)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog) variation with hips stacked.
Phalakasana (plank pose) with a knee to armpit taps
Balasana (child’s pose)
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Peak Pose Prep
Take a step to the middle of your mat and bring your big toes to touch.
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Bakasana (crow pose) variation hugging one knee into the chest at a time
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Wave 2
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) variation on fingertips
Balasana (child’s pose)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Utthan Pristhasana (lizard pose) variation on fingertips
X2 lizard pose variation tucking the shoulder behind the front leg
Bharmanasana (tabletop) variation with the back leg extended and hips stacked
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
5-breaths to do as you please:
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Peak Pose Flow
Come to sit on your shins for Eka Pada Koundinyasana B (one-legged sage B variation).
*If you have wrist sensitivity, feel free to take a forearm stand instead.
** If you don’t want to come into the full variation of the pose, feel free to take the shorter variation from tabletop or lizard pose.
There are two ways to get into Eka Pada Koundinyasana B (one-legged sage B variation).
Tips to get into the peak pose from the ground:
From a 3-legged downward dog and come forward to plank pose and hook the extended knee to the upper arm as you lower into chaturanga.
Option to take parsva vasisthasana (modified side plank) to release between sides.
Cooling Flow
Come to sit on your shins on your mat and breathe.
Salabhasana (locust pose) or, transition into Dhanurasana (bow pose)
Supta Matsyendrasana (supine twist) from the belly
Savasana (corpse pose) from the belly or turn over onto your back