Standing Poses

Fundamentals Practice: Supporting the Shoulders with the Sides (Upper Body)
|

Fundamentals Practice: Supporting the Shoulders with the Sides (Upper Body)

Disclaimer Fundamentals practices are appropriate for all levels. They are drawn from a relatively accessible syllabus of poses that covers all the important shapes and movements that will open, strengthen and balance the body. The instruction given is intended to be simple and broad, giving practical guidance for beginners and offering a starting point for…

Fundamentals Practice: Spiraling the Legs and Torso (Standing Poses)
|

Fundamentals Practice: Spiraling the Legs and Torso (Standing Poses)

Disclaimer Fundamentals practices are appropriate for all levels. They are drawn from a relatively accessible syllabus of poses that covers all the important shapes and movements that will open, strengthen and balance the body. The instruction given is intended to be simple and broad, giving practical guidance for beginners and offering a starting point for…

Intermediate Practice: Space and Spirals in the Legs and Pelvis (Forward Bends),
|

Intermediate Practice: Space and Spirals in the Legs and Pelvis (Forward Bends),

Disclaimer Intermediate practices are for those who have been attending classes regularly for two years or more, who have a consistent and regular home practice, and who have familiarity with the basic standing poses, floor poses and with supported shoulder stand. In these practices, the information becomes a little more technical as the poses become…

Intermediate/Advanced Practice: A Journey Round the Mountains
|

Intermediate/Advanced Practice: A Journey Round the Mountains

A mountain is a permanent fixture in a landscape and can be used by the traveler as a reference point to help them find their way. In this practice sequence, Tadasana (Mountain Pose) will become your guide. After a short restorative sequence to get you up out of the valley of daily life, with every…

Fundamentals Practice: Growing Your Mountain
|

Fundamentals Practice: Growing Your Mountain

Mountains grow over the span of generations, the result of massive geological forces as the tectonic plates that cover the earth smash into each other in imperceptibly slow motion. Your Mountain Pose, on the other hand, can grow after just a few easeful poses. About Fundamentals Practices: Fundamentals practices are appropriate for all levels. They…

Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
|

Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

There’s a wonderful visual harmony and energy to a room full of people doing Tadasana (Mountain Pose), the classic foundational standing pose of yoga, but then, the same can be said of a parade ground of soldiers standing at attention. Both project an image of power and vitality, of conformity amongst a group, but yoga…

|

Intermediate Practice: Space and Spirals in the Legs and Pelvis (Forward Bends)

This intermediate forward bend practice begins with standing poses to wake up the hips and legs and establish the relationship between the legs and the torso. Props are used to help define and open the front of the hip crease, creating separation between the legs and torso. Then come inversions, in which the legs are used to lift and support the torso, creating torso/leg separation in a different way. Single leg variations in Shoulder Stand are included to work with the relationship of the legs to the hips once again. Finally, simple seated forward bends are practiced, with and without props to explore the leg/hip relationship.