I have to admit I’ve been a bit frustrated lately. Class after class, I’ve shown up early to fit in a bit of meditation before teaching, yet each time, and I do mean each time lately, there’s been a huge snag with the room. It’s been occupied, it’s been double-booked, the previous class runs long…

Tonight was different. How? Oh, my friend, do read on.

There are four rooms in which to have a yoga class. One is a fitness room that is a constant 64 degrees, brrr, and the other three are community rooms. Yoga is booked, weekly, in a community room. It seems that we yogis have been forgotten. Tonight, as I arrived my standard 30 minutes early, I notice a martial arts event happening in one community room, an scheduled fitness class in the fitness room, and the remaining two community rooms had been transformed into one, giant, table filled room. There was nothing ready for us, and there was no time to break down the tables and chairs to make room for our class.

So, we went outside. With Carlos Nakai playing the flute on a gentle, warm breeze; infrequent raindrops plopping now and again on yoga mats; and blades of new, green grass poking up through our hands and feet; we practiced yoga together. We chanted, we saluted the setting sun, and we found new ways to balance while touching the cool Earth. We dodged sprinklers, listened to birds, nodded to both the oil rig and the library, and felt the warmth of a budding summer night on our skin.

We laughed together. Our kula attitude was bursting from our hearts. And we practiced non-attachment. Thankfulness. Felt the cool, green love of the Earth. Breathed with a new breath, pulsed with a new heartbeat, and connected.

Funny how much a slender, shoot of green grass can teach me to let go, but at the same time hang on breathlessly for what happens next…

Related posts:

1. Love For Elephants and Video.
2. My Longest Yoga Practice. EVER.

Another point of discovery: through clean windows I see this beautiful garden that my husband and I started last year. It spans the width of our back fence and is filled with purple, red, orange, and yellow flowers just beginning to peek out of their buds. The aspen trees are full and our new maple tree is just starting to push out some new leaves.

Along with all of the post-winter excitement and spring green taking over the bareness of last season, our bodies feel that same need to stretch, break open, and start fresh from a new place. Twists are a very nurturing and natural way to detox our bodies just as we detox our homes and nature detoxes our surroundings. We move from a state of sluggishness in the hips, pelvic girdle, middle back, heart, and shoulders into a luscious state of freedom when we open up in a twisting practice.

This week, we’ll be exploring various twists. It’s important to keep your intention in a strong root system, just like all of those plants and trees in the backyard: they’ve been dormant through the winter yet still focused on reaching through the soil and expanding their roots. Find that foundation through strong legs and feet, and feel your body open and grow from the sturdiness you discover in your pelvis and back body. Finding your alignment is like floating.

Scrub away. Twist and shout. Pose and repose. And hang on, because the seasons just keep getting sweeter!

Namaste.

Related posts:

1. No fear.
2. Powerful Panties, Part Deux.

Class sequence:

Sukhasana (easy pose/cross-legged sitting pose)
Down Dog (focus on shoulder work)
Lunge, then straighten front leg (each side)
Vinyasa (Plank, Chaturanga, Cobra)

Lunge, then take the ear to the front ankle by bowing
Triangle, bound
Other side
Vinyasa

Dolphin in Down Dog, then move to
Dolphin in Chaturanga, then move back to
Dolphin in Down Dog
Rest: Child’s pose, arms extended

Move mat to wall to work on Pincha Mayurasana with Headstand forearms. Practice kicking up while keeping the shoulders on the back and melting the heart.
Rest: Child’s pose, arms extended

Work with block between hands in Pincha Mayurasana, still at the wall. Again, practice kicking up while keeping the shoulders on the back and melting the heart.
Rest: Child’s pose, arms extended

Lie on back for leg work:
With legs extended, Lift heart & lower back, flex feet, plug right leg into pelvis, then lift. Do the same with left leg.
Lower right leg two inches, lift, switch.
Lower right leg halfway, lift, switch.
Bend knees, feet to floor.

Come back to wall for final Pincha Mayurasana work. Forearms down, palms at wall (thumbs up, pinkies at floor). Practice kicking up while keeping the shoulders on the back and melting the heart.
Rest: Child’s pose, arms extended

Down Dog to Pigeon prep extended, then with twist; both sides.
Baddha Konasana, with twist, both sides.
Intense Eastern Stretch x2
Hug knees in

Savasana

Visit Hillary Rubins’ Website, Podcast # 53, for an extended version of this class. So uplifting!

Related posts:

1. Intermediate Class. April 14th.
2. Power Yoga. April 17th.
3. Power Yoga. April 24th.

Sukhasana
Table
Down Dog
Straight Leg Lunge with twist
Vinyasa (Plank, Chatarunga, Cobra)
Crescent with right foot forward, press clasped hands to ceiling with palms facing up
Vinyasa
Crescent with left foot forward, hands clasped behind the back
One legged Down Dog
Forward Bend
L-Pose at the wall
Uttanasana
L-Pose at the wall, lift one leg at a time
Uttanasana
Down Dog
Tree w/ cactus arms, left leg standing
Warrior III, right foot back, press into wall
Vinyasa
Warrior III, right foot forward
Tree w/ cactus arms, right leg standing
Handstand at the wall, butt to wall, scoop tailbone
Handstand with tree legs, each side
Child’s pose
Bharadvajasana (seated twist), each side
Supported Bridge
Knees to chest
Savasana

Peace to you!

Related posts:

1. Intermediate Class: Pincha Mayurasana. April 22nd.
2. Power Yoga. April 17th.
3. Power Yoga. April 24th.