“You’re in a terrible spot. It’s too late for you to retreat but too soon to act. All you can do is witness. You’re in the miserable position of an infant who cannot return to the mother’s womb, but neither can he run around and act. All an infant can do is witness and listen to the stupendous tales of action being told to him. You are at that precise point now. You cannot go back to the womb of your old world, but you cannot act with power either. For you there is only witnessing acts of power and listening to tales of power.”
Carlos Castaneda

Tales of Power

Yoga Practice – Winter 2018/19

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I am again nearing a review with my teacher and so decided to take note of where I am in practice.

Current Practice

My current practice routine fills my morning and is about 120-150 minutes:

Part 1: Entering Practice (~ 5 minutes)

  1. Samasthithi – hands on my heart space, allowing the mind to settle and come to body and breath + transition to Ujjayi breathing.
  2. Short chant (currently: ma aham)
  3. Kapalabhati 3×40 breaths

Part 2: Asana (~75 minutes / ~ 140 breaths)

the asana sequence is still very close to what it has been (<- link includes stick figures diagram of very similar practice) for some time now, with the addition of shoulder-stand and a continuous evolution of breath within the practice.

(the sequence below does not include counter-postures and rests).

Standing TOTAL: 34 breaths
tadasana R4 10.2.0.2 4 breaths
uttanasana R2+S2 10.4.12.4 6 breaths
parsva uttanasana R2+S2 / – 12.4.12.6 12 breaths
trikonasana (uddhita + parivrti) ALT4 + [ALT4 + S1] 8.2.10.2 12 breaths
utkatasana R6 8.2.10.2 6 breaths
Kneeling TOTAL: 6 breaths
adhomukha svanasana S6 8.0.10.0 6 breaths
Lying TOTAL: 18 breaths
raised leg variations 10.2.10.2 8 breaths
dvipada pitham R4 – S0/1/2/3 10.2.12.2 10 breaths
Inverted TOTAL: 10 breaths
sarvangasana S10 8.0.8.0 10 breaths
Backbending TOTAL: 20 breaths
bhujangasana R4 8.0.8.0 4 breaths
bhujangasana + bent knees R4 8.0.8.0 4 breaths
ardha salabhasana R4 + S1 8.0.8.0 8 breaths
salabhasana (incremental) R4 8.0.8.0 4 breaths
Seated TOTAL: 52 breaths
dandasana R2+S2 10.2.12.2 4 breaths
janusirsasana R2+S2 (midrange + micro) 10.4.12.4 12 breaths
matsyendrasana R6 8.0.10.0 12 breaths
mahamudra R12 / – 4×12.2.12.2

4×12.2.12.4

4×12.4.12.4

24 breaths

Part 3: Sitting (~30-60 minutes)

  1. Resting: a couple of minutes
  2. Pranayama – 36 breaths: ~ 15 minutes. I am comfortable with all the variations I’ve been exploring (for over two years now?), recently I’ve worked with variation 3 and before that 1.
  3. Sitting:
    1. Bringing my attention to the space between each thumb and index finger … if that works
    2. Seeing which hands calls for attention first
    3. Very slowly (butoh style) bringing the thumb and index finger together until they touch (cit mudra) on that hand
    4. Very slowly bringing the thumb and index finger together until they touch on the other hand
    5. Placing my attention on the two points of contact
    6. Staying …
    7. Gently disconnecting the two contact points – first one hand then the other
  4. Closing ritual
  5. Counterpostures

Part4: Chanting (~10 minutes)

  1. Yoga Sutra verses 1-11 incremental

Questions for my teacher

  1. In what direction to evolve pranayama? I have had quite some days where I felt my channels open enough to support nadi-sodhana (quite a milestone after years of practice) … but I am not sure that there is enough stability for such a transition.
  2. How to continue my chanting practice and exploration? I like the YS chanting because it has body … depth enough for me to experience immersion … I don’t get that feeling from short chants.
  3. Overall balance of practice.
  4. Psychedelics

 

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2 Trackbacks

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