A vigorous vinyasa practice that moves from the back of the mat, this class explores what B.K.S. Iyengar called the King and Queen of yoga poses with Sirsasana A & B (headstand) and Sarvāṅgāsana (shoulder stand). You’ll move through several waves as you build to the peak poses with leg balancing, twists, and core strengthening.
This class is themed for Purusha, the essential aspect of the Self that does not change, and the seventh chakra, Sahasrara. Peace, consciousness, and intuition are explored with a longer meditation to open and close your practice.
The practice teaches us what we are not. We are not this thought. We are not this sensation. As we know, our thoughts and feelings change. May we use the practice to connect to the aspect of ourselves that does not change, the Purusha.
Benefits of this class:
Style: Vinyasa
Duration: 120-minutes
Level: intermediate/advanced
Props: 2 blocks
Focus: backbends
Location: Viva La Familia, Vancouver, BC
Music: Purusha Spotify Playlist
Opening Meditation
Come to a seat on your mat and close your eyes.
With each inhale, arrive more fully in your body.
With each exhale, let something go.
Purusha is connected to all things and is found in all things though it is not bound, connected, or affected by anything.
Generally translated as consciousness or spirit, Purusha is how we connect to our higher self, the total consciousness.
May we connect to the eye of the storm, the Purusha/our spirit, as we navigate the waters of life and the chaos that can be with more ease and grace.
Explore the king and queen of the asana as described by B.K.S. Iyengar, shoulder stand and headstand. They are supposed to be very meditative postures.
Ujjayi breath – constricting the back of the throat and opening to each inhale and exhale. Build the Agni, the digestive fires that reside at the solar plexus. We burn anything we do not need and offer it to the fire. Allow the fire to assist us in transcending the ego and we think we are.
Song of the Soul by Shankaracharya
I am neither ego nor reason,
I am neither mind nor thought,
I cannot be heard nor cast into words, nor by smell nor sight ever caught:
In light and wind I am not found,
nor yet in earth and sky – Consciousness and joy incarnate,
Bliss of the Blissful am I.
I have no name, I have no life, I breathe no vital air,
No elements have molded me, no bodily sheath is my lair:
I have no speech, no hands and feet, nor means of evolution –
Consciousness and joy am I, and
Bliss in dissolution.
I cast aside hatred and passion, I conquered delusion and greed;
No touch of pride caressed me, so envy never did breed:
Beyond all faiths, past reach of wealth, past freedom, past desire
Consciousness and joy am I, and
Bliss is my attire.
Virtue and vice, or pleasure and pain are not my heritage,
Nor sacred texts, nor offerings, nor prayer, nor pilgrimage
I am neither food nor eating, nor yet the eater am I – Consciousness and joy incarnate,
Bliss of the Blissful am I.
I have no misgivings of death, no chasms of race divide me,
No parent ever called me child, no bond of birth ever tied me:
I am neither disciple nor master, I have no kin, no friend –
Consciousness and joy am I, and merging in Bliss is my end.
Neither knowable, knowledge, nor knower am I, formless is my form,
I dwell within the senses but they are not my home:
Ever serenely balanced, I am neither free nor bound –
Consciousness and joy am I, and
Bliss is where I am found.
Mantra
Aum = primordial sound, the sound that all in the universe vibrates to.
Shanti = cultivation of peace and contentment.
Movement
Balasana (child’s pose)
10-15 breath to move as you like, options:
Come to Uttanasana (forward fold) at the back of your mat for five breaths.
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Sun Salutations – variation 1
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation with the back knee on the ground
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation with the back knee on the ground
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Uttanasana (forward fold) at the back of your mat
Roll up to stand
Urdvha Hastasana (hands to sky)
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Sun Salutations – variation 2
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward facing dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Anjaneyasana (lunge)
Phalakasana (plank pose) OR skip the half-vinyasa and take Balasana (child’s pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward facing dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Anjaneyasana (lunge)
Phalakasana (plank pose) OR skip the half-vinyasa and take Balasana (child’s pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward facing dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Sasangasana (rabbit pose)
** If you have a neck/head injury, stay seated and round your upper spine. Connect your hands with your heels or shins and take your chin to your chest.
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Uttanasana (forward fold) at the back of your mat
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Wave 1
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Uttanasana (forward fold) with hands clasped at your back
Uttanasana (forward fold) release the palms to the ground
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Phalakasana (plank pose) variation
** you can always lower your knees to the ground and hold the same posture.
Catur Svanasana (dolphin pose) with the block between your thighs
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog) remove the block between your thighs
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) with the back knee on the ground
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation
Phalakasana (plank pose) OR skip the half-vinyasa and take Balasana (child’s pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward facing dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) with the back knee on the ground
Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose) variation
Phalakasana (plank pose) OR skip the half-vinyasa and take Balasana (child’s pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward facing dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Sirsasana B (tripod headstand)
** If you’re dealing with neck, head, or shoulder injury, stay in down dog or dolphin pose.
Balasana (child’s pose)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Uttanasana (forward fold) at the back of your mat
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Wave 2
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Utkatasana (chair pose) variation
Tadasana Pavanmuktasana tādāsana (standing knee to chest pose) variation
Vrikshasana (tree pose)variation
Tadasana Pavanmuktasana tādāsana (standing knee to chest pose) variation
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Repeat the same sequence on the other leg.
Wave 3
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Sirsasana B (tripod headstand)
Balasana (child’s pose)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Eka pada adho mukha svanasana (3-legged downward dog)
Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2) variation
Trikonasana (triangle pose)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation with fingertips on the ground
Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (standing splits) variation
Marichyasana (seated spinal twist)
Navasana (boat pose)
Viparita Karani (legs up to the sky) OR Halasana (plow pose)
Phalakasana (plank pose) OR skip the half-vinyasa and take Balasana (child’s pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward facing dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2) variation on the OTHER LEG
Trikonasana (triangle pose)
Anjaneyasana (lunge) variation with fingertips on the ground
Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (standing splits) variation
Marichyasana (seated spinal twist)
Navasana (boat pose)
Viparita Karani (legs up to the sky) OR Halasana (plow pose)
Phalakasana (plank pose) OR skip the half-vinyasa and take Balasana (child’s pose)
Chaturanga
Bhujangasana (cobra pose) OR Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (upward facing dog)
Adho mukha svanasana (down dog)
Uttanasana (forward fold) at the back of your mat
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Standing Series
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Garudasana (eagle pose)
Vrikshasana (tree pose) variation
Repeat the same postures on the other leg.
Peak Pose
Tadasana (mountain pose)
Utkatasana (chair pose)
Uttanasana (forward fold)
Ardha Uttanasana (half lift)
Phalakasana (plank pose)
Sirsasana A (headstand from forearms) variation
Balasana (child’s pose)
Sarvāṅgāsana (shoulder stand) OR Vipartita Karani (legs up)
Halasana (plow pose)
Ananda Balasana (happy baby)
Backbends
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose) with or without a block
Urdhva Dhanurasana (wheel pose)
Lunar Sequence
Kapotasana (pigeon pose) OR a hip opener of choice.
Janu sirsasana (seated head to knee pose)
Baddha Konasana (seated bound angle pose)
Seated meditation or savasana to close.