Hello all,
I am putting the call out there:
What shall we practice for our upcoming Asana Gathering?
We briefly discussed going over some of the subjects covered in the first 1+ hour of the DVD - Open to Grace / Set a Strong Foundation. And, then taking this foundation work into specific poses and really working it.
Do we need a discussion of more specifics for the study? Shall we show up with our ideas and see what accumulates?
*** From our study session, I have been working on an even grounding of all four corners of the feet and then an even lifting of all the arches (the outer arch of the foot specifically since this is sometimes lacking for me). I have been feeling a strong "river-banking" of my outer shin from this work. Very noticeable as I have been sore a bit from the work.
Good hunting!
Brittany
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There are a few options we might consider for coming together for asana practice which we could easily coordinate with what we are watching on the videos. Maybe after we watch the segment one week we could think about and discuss what we found to be the most emphasized point. As brittany mentioned, last weeks was probably softening/opening the heart, then setting a firm foundation. From there, we could pick a pose or so from each category (Standing, sitting, forward bends, hip openers, sitting twists, inversions, backbends, and hand balancers)and play around with them together and see what we cultivate. Taking the action of our discoveries live in a space of intention that we create might activate a new awareness or two for each of us.I believe we can take the energy from the collective experience and extract a bit more depth for our personal and individuated experiences. Having a group engaged not only in pRaCtIcInG the asana, but eXpLoRiNg it,sharing and verbalizing the various expereinces in the particular formations of our bodies may serve to expand into more of the "essence" of each posture we concentrate on.
ReplyDeleteWe could set an intention from the video after we watch it, play around during our time apart, discuss if we wish on the blog, and then come together and really intensify our work by experiencing the collectivity of it. Perhaps drawing a pose(which could be color coordinated according to category) from a hat/singing bowl, then working it out from there as a group by applying our intention/theme/principle from the video would be an appropriate way to facilitate this, and also keep a balance between spontaneity and structure so that we are capturing the deeper dynamics of the practice too :)
Another option we might prefer would be to each come with a particular pose and work around the group from that aproach.
One more option I can think of is to pick an apex pose amongst us, and explore various poses in realtion to that pose in order to come to a deeper understanding of the principles that thread the body into its ability to move in all poses,as well as draw out from that which our asana practice would be concerned with.
Any other ideas guys? If we like the first option let me know and I will make a set of color coordinated poses for us to play go-fish with before we meet!
Having a fabulous week I hope! Sending light to you all and I very much look forward to our practice on sunday! :)
All amazing ideas Shyla! I like the idea of picking an apex pose ahead of time... taking suggestions and choosing something that perhaps poses certain challenges for one or all, warming up individually (surya namaskar, etc.) and then using the round robin format to prepare for that apex pose. We can explore all of the variations of the apex pose as well, if there are any. I think it would be awesome to have lots of discussion before/during/after the practice with the week's video theme in mind. For instance, if we picked an apex pose of, say, Vasistasana, we could build up to it and then discuss how Open to Grace and foundation building are essential to the pose in very specific ways. I'm going to suggest that we use these practices to really explore and expand our self-limiting boundaries which should help us in choosing what to focus on. In this way, we can hopefully address some poses, sequences and approaches that are new and allow for growth. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI love this idea as well! I think that using the video as a springboard for practice is a fantastic idea and it will help tie things together. Tamara and Shyla I absolutely agree that these practices are an opportunity to really dig deep and explore boundaries and work our edge in a creative and exciting way. Thanks so much for the ideas- can't wait to see you all Sunday!
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