1. Lean Back on Elbows
Round your spine, sink your chest, roll buttocks under and relax.

2. Draw Knees into Chest
Lift one knee at a time in towards your chest continuing to round your spine moving your tail towards your crown.

3. Twist Knees to Right
Keeping knees together, roll onto right hip to bring both knees towards your right shoulder. How far you twist is your choice. This is a preparation for Jathara Parivartanasana. Bring your knees back to center.

4. Repeat Twist to Right
This time at the end of the twist extend your top leg. Bend both knees again and bring them back to center.

5. Repeat Twist to Right again
Now if you choose at the end of the third twist extend both legs toward your right shoulder. Bend both knees and return to center.

6. Extend Right Leg Up

7. Roll to Sit and Lower Legs
Left knee bent and foot flat on floor, right leg extended.

8. Twist
Wrap your right arm around your left knee to twist. Place left hand on floor behind you. Return to center.

9. Open Left Knee and Arms Out to Shoulder Height

10. Lift Arms Overhead
Interlace fingers and press palms towards sky.

11. Swan Dive
Place fingertips on floor behind you.

12. Forward Bend (Janu Sirsasana)
Bow forward.

13. Bend Right Leg for ½ Table Turn fingers to face forward on the floor and put your palms flat onto floor. Place right foot on floor next to your left foot, which is still turned on its side, and lift your hips leaving left shin down.

14. Full Table
Place left foot flat on floor parallel to right foot and lift both hips evenly. You may have to walk your feet further out.

15. Return to Elbow Lean

16. Repeat Sequence Twisting Left at #3.

1. Sukhasana: No blanket for this warm up.

2. Scrape the Bowl: Using the image of a rubber spatula scraping the bottom and edges of a mixing bowl, scoop around to the right, back, left and front of your pelvic bowl. 3X

3. Lifted Arch with Pillow Hands: Lift your spine up out of the pelvis with a slight arch. Place your hands at the back of your head with bent elbows opening your sternum.

4. Curl In: Round your spine, draw your elbows and knees in towards each other.

5. Dandasana (Staff Pose): Place your hands down by your sides and extend your legs straight forward with flexed feet.

6. Turn to Right: Turn your hips, chest and knees towards the long right edge of your mat. Separate your knees slightly, or more to ground your hips more easily.

7. Side Bend: Lift your right arm overhead, and bend side towards the front of your mat. Left hand or fingertips rest on the floor.

8. Twist to Back: Turn your chest to face towards the back of your mat. Keep your hips facing the right edge of the mat.

9. Sukhasana Facing Front: Come back to face the front of your mat and fold forward.

10. Repeat turning to left side.

1. Shoulder Shrug: Starting in Sukhasana (crossed legs), lift shoulders all the way up towards your ears.

2. Head Back in Ecstasy: Lay your head back onto your shoulder muscles, as if they were a pillow.

3. Middle Breath Support: Breathe into the middle of your body, between your hip bones and rib cage. Find a spacious sense of support. With that as a foundation, feel a support around your shoulder blades and around your neck too. Then lower your shoulders while your keep you head back.

4. Fold Forward: Bending from the hips, place your hands on the floor in front of you. Place your right hand on top of your left.

5. Sit Upright: Return to vertical, placing both hands in the same right on top of left position onto your right knee.

6. Peel Open: Slide your right hand up along your inner left arm to your left arm pit. Continue to move your right hand across your chest from your left armpit to your right armpit.

7. Twist: Open your right arm back at shoulder height.

8. Deeper Twist: Breathe again into the space inside and around your waist. Then exhale and twist a little further as you lower your back arm.

9. Face Forward: Come back to face forward with your right arm up alongside your right ear.

10. Side Bend: Placing your left hand on the floor beside you for support, bend to your left side keeping your right arm connected to your right ear.

11. Sit Upright: Sit vertically again interlacing both hands behind your back.

12. Thumbprints Down: Move your shoulders back, your sternum up and your thumbprints down onto the earth.

13. Start Over: Repeat with left hand on top of right on 4.

How do we know where these channels are in our body? How do we feel them? Here is a rough map for these energy rivers. The origin of these channels is said to be located in the pelvis, (or around the navel). The termination point of each of these channels is at the nostril on each side. The right channel ends at the right nostril and the left channel at the left nostril. To feel your right channel, focus your attention on your right nostril. Blocking the left nostril is one way to feel the right side more distinctly.

I started this class with a simple exploration of single nostril breathing so that each student could sense their right and left channels. Even if a clear sense of the channel does not come, we know that we are in the right neighborhood if our focus is on the nostril.

In the warm up below, the first three movements are all motivated by the fingertips of the right hand. So, the focus is on the right channel. Draw your breath through your inner map along your right side.

Begin seated in Sukhasana, crossed legs.

1. Bow Forward
With the right hand extending forward on the floor, palm up, bow forward.

2. Twist
Sit upright, sweep your right fingertips along the floor until they are behind you and twist to the right. Place your left hand on your right knee.

3. Side Bend
Leading with your right fingertips again, bring your right hand from the back up and over to the left, along your right ear, for a side bend.

4. Chest Opener
Return to the center and clasp both hands behind your back. Lift your sternum up.

5. More Opening
Bow forward bringing your hands up and over your head towards the floor in front of you. Keep your pelvis grounded.

6. Clasp Hands in Front
Maintain your forward fold, release your hand clasp from the back and clasp them in front of you at shoulder height.

7. Cat
With your hands clasped, press your palms forward away from you and round your spine back.

8. Hands Up
Lift your hands up so that your palms face towards the ceiling. Unfolding and elongating the kinks along your right and left sides.

Repeat beginning with the left hand leading.

So, what is wrong with encouraging someone this way? After all, it is only a compliment and a way to reinforce positive actions of the child, right? What we are not realizing is that in our never ending use of “good job!” and other similar “good …..!” sentiments, we are making ourselves the external determiner of what is good and what is not good. Since we are so ingrained to think of good vs bad in our society, it doesn’t even occur to us that this is a lesson in being judgmental. Everyone, even children, has their own sense of what they like and don’t like, what works and what doesn’t work, and likewise, what is good and what is not good.

Perhaps even more importantly, praising with “good job!” is also a lesson that teaches our children to look for outside recognition and approval for what they do. Wouldn’t we rather our children do something for an inherent internal feeling than for some external need for praise or as a way to avoid blame?

When we allow our children to decide for themselves whether they’ve done a good job or not, we give them Independence and Autonomy. These are major human emotional needs. When we give our children feedback and encouragement, it is important for us to take responsibility for our own preferences and tell them what we like about what they’ve done or what we didn’t like. We don’t want to teach them to like something because it is “good.” We want to encourage our charges to sense what is good for them, what they like and help them to get their needs met in healthy ways.

Giving feedback is more of challenge than I ever thought. Our words and language are loaded and can be used in many conscious and unconscious ways. Becoming aware of how we communicate with our children is another interesting way to be insightful about our own development. I just keep learning.

For more information about communicating, I recommend Marshall B. Rosenberg’s writings, specifically “Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.” He is the founder of the Center for Nonviolent Communication. http://www.cnvc.org/ and Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, As, Praise, and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn.

This was originally posted for Hip Slope Mama, a Park Slope Blogazine. www.HipSlopeMama.blogspot.com.

The central channel of them all, the Sushumna, has been described to me many times and in many different ways. Visualizing this energy channel as a Golden Red Thread located within my spinal column makes the most sense to me. A few moments of sensing each part of your spine (tail, lumbar, thoracic, cervical and skull) may help to put you in touch with your Sushumna, if not its location.

I wanted to work on this subtle anatomical energy line because an awareness of the Sushumna may help to alignment the head. Feeling the point of termination at the crown of the head prepares us for headstand and keeps us from being led around by our eyes (which are sometimes bigger than our stomachs). Also since the crown chakra is associated with bliss, feeling the top of our heads might make us happier. The other termination point is said to be at the back of our head. Now we can understand what our teachers meant when they said that they have ‘eyes at the back of their heads’.

To initiate the movements of this warm up: follow the leader – the crown of your head. This warm up includes some challenges for the hips. Modify as necessary for yourself. Use props, go at your own pace and do what is best for your circumstances.

1. Sitting On Your Heels (Vajrasana): - If this position is difficult for your knees or ankles use padding to support yourself. Or your can choose another position.
Touch the very top, center of your head.

2. Forward Bend: Leading with this personal point at the crown of your head, bow forward keeping your buttocks grounded on your heels as much as possible.

3. Side Bend:
Making a ¼ circle from the front to the right, trace the crown of your head to your right side. Place your right hand on the floor to support and unfold your left arm overhead, for a side bend to the right.

4. Stand Up On Shins:
Push down on your right hand to lift up to stand on your shins. Right arm up, and left arm down along side your body.

5. Side Bend:
Leading with the crown side bend left, right arm overhead.

6. Stand On Shins, Hands On Waist:
Return to center, both hands on waist

7. Step Right Foot Forward:
Step right foot forward as you continue to shine through your Sushumna.

8. Deep Lunge, Circling Arms:
Bend your right knee more into a deep lunge while circling your arms front, up, back and down.

9. Simple Twist Right (Bharadvajasana): Come back onto your shins, using your arms as necessary. Place your hips on the floor to the right of your feet and twist towards the right.

10. Mini Boat:
Bring both shins together to the front with your knees bent. Lift your lower legs parallel to the floor if possible, pressing your hands into the floor for support. As you get more warmed up, you can straighten your legs and keep your hands off the floor.

11. Simple Twist Left (Bharadvajasana): Place your shins to the right so that your pelvis is on the floor to the left of your feet. Twist towards the left.

12. Return to Sit on Your Heels (Vajrasana): Repeat left side.

With a regular practice, you learn to honor your body and to enjoy living in your own skin. Old patterns of movements and thoughts may be reworked. A new and refreshing perspective can be manifested. It is even possible to feel eye-opening sensations of well-being.

Our bodies have great intelligence. With patient and consistent training you will uncover these natural smarts. Intelligent guidance with an artistic sense of detail will lead you toward what is good for you and teach you to avoid what doesn’t help you.

After you connect to yourself and your sensations, you will also be more aware of those around you. With practice you will develop compassion for yourself so that then you can help others.

There are many physical benefits to yoga and working out. Here is a short list:

• Keeps muscles strong
• Nourishes joints
• Gives suppleness to the spine
• Increases circulation
• Improves breathing
• Increase flexibility
• Gain strength
• Improve balance
• Can lower blood pressure
• May lower blood sugar

I invite you to begin your own bodymind journey to self-discovery and awareness. Feel free to share your own thoughts and insights.

Jennifer
Jennifer@JenniferBrilliant.com