While looking for an image for this blog post, I stumbled upon this excellent yoga blog with great sequences and cute drawings! I already blog about yoga sequences, practice, and philosophy in my Iyengar Yoga Blog, but want to try out this space. I'm using the wonderful and best Iyengar Yoga website I know of: Brad's Iyengar Yoga Notebook for notes on sequencing. As of recently, I no longer attend weekly yoga classes. I have been practicing and studying yoga for around 14 years all while taking weekly classes with the best certified high level Iyengar yoga teachers in Chicago, completing a one-year advanced studies program and another one-year teacher training program, attending full-day to weekend workshops both in and out-of-state. I used to practice 90 minutes after work almost every weekday, these days, I'm practicing around 30 minutes every morning with a couple of meditation practice. I thought this morning, I haven't been writing and forgetting many poses and some other aspects of sequencing. Here are the some sequencing principals from Brad's Iyengar Yoga Notebook: Sequences, it's a great refresher for the overabundant information on Iyengar Yoga.
- Standing poses good preparation for:
- forward
- back bends
- Adho Mukha Svansasana
- good preparation for all poses
- good warm down after forward and back bends
- Don't alternate back and forth between forward and back bends
- Don't sequence active poses after cooling poses
- gently move body into preparation for Savasana after active session
- Active Poses
- standing inversions
- inversions (unless supported)
- arm balances
- backbends (unless supported)
- active twists
- Cooling Poses
- forward bends (especially seated)
- Supta Padangusthasana (esp. after back bends)
- Supta Baddha Konasana
- twists (gentle)
- Jalandhara-Bandha-type chin lock (almost all)
- Sarvangasana
- Halasana
- Setu Bandha
- Viparita Karani
- Twists after forward bends
- Warm down skillfully from active back bend session
- warm down with Adho Mukha Svanasana (hands + feet wider)
- then Adho Mukha Virasana (bolster under torso)
- supported Upavistha Konasana or Janu Sirsasana
- gentle Uttanasana
- no deep twisting held long
- Supta Padangusthasana
- Ardha Halasana (w/support on chair)
- Savasana with calves on a chair or prone
