Postures | hybs

Pose Cues

Downward Facing Dog

Fingers Spread Wide, Push into the L of the hands Squeeze Forarms in and Lift. Maintain PUsh Squeeze and Lift and Boraden upper back, neck feels long Lift navel and ribs, widen sits bones and let the heels dissapear behind the toes. Lift all 10 Toes towards the knees Grow energetic rods from the heels to floor Activate the power in the center of the being Peel inner thighs back Roll the inner shoulders towards the outter shoudlers. Create an inverted V shape. Spread webbing on the hands feel the space between the head and the floor *

Backbends

“Feel the vertebrae of your spine moving away from each other.”

Bridge Pose

“Visualise your feet dropping anchors into the ground.”

Butterfly Pose

“Imagine a stack of bricks on top of each thigh. Feel the thighs sinking deep into your mat.”

Child Pose

“Imagine a sandbag is placed on your hips. Feel your hips sinking down.”

Cobra

Feel your lower half - hips to toes- as one unit stretching back and down. Now lift your upper body from that firm support.”

Mountain Pose

* Many of these “Mountain Pose” imagery phrases can be used with other standing poses.

“Feel your feet firmly planted to establish a connection with the floor.”

“Feel the exhalation flow down the centre of your spine and through the tailbone.”

“Imagine looking at the soles of your feet from the floor’s perspective.”

“Imagine your feet growing roots. Feel secure and strong.”

“Observe your legs becoming two heavy pillars. Feel secure and strong.”

“To lengthen the space between the ears and shoulders imagine a golden thread on your head pulling you up to the ceiling.”

Savasana

“Allow your whole body to melt like an ice cube on a sunny day into the floor.”

“Before relaxing your brain may feel like a blackboard having chalk screeched across it. As your mind starts to focus on your breath, feel the chalk crumbling into powder.”

“Imagine you’re lying on top of a massive magnet that is gently pulling you into the floor. Enjoy the feeling of surrender.”

“Slowly start to open your eyes, printing a gentle smile on your face and feel the beauty within.”

“When thoughts blow through your head, observe them as though are clouds. Notice them and let them float by. Then come back to your breath.”

Tree Pose

“Feel your foot sprouting roots deep into the ground and the rest of your body becoming light as air.”

“Imagine your leg becoming as strong and rooted as a tree trunk.”

Triangle Pose

“As you flow down into Triangle Pose, imagine a clamp on your back hip, holding it exactly in place.”

“Exhale through the heel of your rooted back foot to deepen the pose. Feel secure and strong.”

“Imagine being held between two large sheets of glass, like being supported inside a large double glazed window.”

TADASANA

Tadasana grounding action: feet hips’ width and parallel, broaden and lengthen your toes on the ground, soften your knees slightly.

Press down through mounds of big toes = so that you feel a muscular strengthening / heating up in your inner lower legs

Press down and isometrically widen through your inner heels = so that you feel a muscular strengthening in your inner thigh muscles

Press down through mounds of little toes = so that you feel a muscular strengthening in your outer lower legs

Press down and isometrically wide through your outer heels = so that you feel a muscular strengthening in your outer thighs

Instructions

Stand on a firm ground, with your legs and feet joined together.
Keep your hands at your sides and look in the front.
Now, balancing yourself on the heels, raise your toes and hold it for 5-10 seconds.
Bring the toes back on the ground and move forward your pubic bone, just a bit.
Lift your chest up and out, in moderation.
Next, you need to raise up your head.
Lift the base of your skull, towards the ceiling, lengthening your neck in the process.
Putting pressure on your toes, lift your legs up, first the calves and then your thighs.
Keeping your breath steady, remain in the position for 1-2 minutes.
As you inhale, feel the breath is coming up through the floor and going into your legs, followed by stomach and up to the head.
While exhaling, feel your breath going down, right from the head to the stomach and into your feet.

CAT COW

Flushes toxins and brings a sense of symmetry to the spine.

SUPTA BADDAH KONASANA

"In this stillness just observe your breath- you will probably notice your breath is uneven or maybe erratic. Just notice this without judgement.

Begin to shape your breath, lettting it become smooth, regular, guiding the breath from unevenness towards an even rythm. In the untutored body the front ribcage just below the breasst bone is the most mobile. and the rest of the lungs tend to be neglected.

As you continue to breathe begin to distribute your breath more evenly so the whole circumfrence of the lungs becomes equally elastic and receptive. Take your attention to the breath and to the dark corners of the lungs where the breath is reluctant to penetrate. Open your body further with breath.

Think of breath as the ocean- the collarbones are the shore and let the breath wash back and forth belly to chest. Keeping the belly soft and deep- resting back towards spine. Keep chest broad and bright. When we work consciously with the breath it increases volume.

BOW

Shoulders move back/Shoulderblades move forward

triangle

right hip firms press through ball of foot, use those two action for right leg

reach left leg into floor lengthen right side waste and turn chest with that length

reach arms wide

Heels draw towards each other a little lifting inner thighs

PLANK

Tailbone to Heels Melt the space between the shoulderblades Draw the Shoulderblades down the back Pull heels of hands energetically to the toes and the toes to the heels of the hands Activating your middle. Outter arms hug in * Press into toe mounds and lift thur inner legs *firm buttocks to heels draw navel in and pull heart forward. DO not lock elbows, micro bend.

SIDE PLANK

Left wrist aligns with top of shoulder. re create plank psoition, inner thighs back, buttocks to heels, chest lifts.

ANJANEASANA

Draw navel in to lengthen the tailbone down. Lift back ribs and firm front ribs Hugh thighs in and reach shoulders back *Open hip flexors, psoas, and quads

SHOULDERSTAND

Queen of all postures.

The effects of gravity alone revitalize the organs. Freshen the blood and bring nutrients to the upper organs.

ARDHA HANUMANASANA

Flatten back on inhale roll inner thighs to center find width between sitting bones and draw navel in and shoulderblades down Heart melts *Isometrically drag front heel back

KURMASANA

Shorter Stance Wide Legs Arms inside Legs use hands to get knees on shoulders Extend hands out and walk heels forward and out Stretch legs straight Stretch arms straight Heels off Floor Squeeze legs into shoulders

WARRIOR I

Back inner thigh rolls back Take tailbone down and look for a deeper stretch in L hip and psoas. Shoulders down Inner shoulders roll to outter shoulders Pinky fingers together Get stronger in the back leg *The Complexity of the pose lies in the twist at the back middle ribs, the ascent of the low belly and back ribs, the descent of the tailbone and shoulderblades. The extension of the arms, sword like and the gaze, lifted as if making a triumphant offering.

SPHINX

Leg Muscles Strong* All Ten Toes Down* Elbows in beneath the shouldersLengthen side body, melt the heartHelps prepare muscles/spine for backbending

UTKATASANA

Lean back into heels, like you are going to fall back *Tailbone down front ribs in inner thighs roll down relax shoulders

TWIST

BKS Iyengar " Squeeze and Soak Theory". In Twists we rinse the internal organs to the same degree a sponge expels dirty water when squeezed and when re-expanding takes in the cleansed nutrient rich oxygentated blook that surrounds.

COBRA

Pool the breath in the low back. Gradually coming into back bend. memory of Abdominals working pinky toes down/tighten legs/ kneecaps lfit/ inner thighs skin of low abdoment off mat, hug elbows in w out tensing neck/ Middle body awake/ Lift shoulder tips lift heart, Back of head up

BRIDGE POSE

Spiral the thighs in, tailbone ot the knees. breath in to the chest. Move thigh bones and knees forward away from hips and roll chest to chin.

CAMEL POSE

lift gaze up, stay there or reach hands to heels, unburden your heart here, what do u want to set free, have a heart that is more open

release anything burdensome

Dolphine Pose: Lift shoulderblades to the waist. Inner forearms spiral down. move the heart to the thighs. inner thighs spiral back.

Sukhasana: Sit tall, relax shoulders & face, broaden collar bones and notice your breath. This is your time for inner stillness. Take a long slow breath in thru the nose and empty out.

Savasana Start:

Find the right breath for you- the right amount of air.

Don’t worry about it, just say I’m open to finding what the right breath is for me right here right now

Bring left hand to chest, resting elbow to floor, and right hand to belly

Breath into bottom hand and then top hand- using the hands as movement sensors. Just noticing.

Switch direction of breath- not that one is right or wrong, but which feels best to your body?

Begin to deepen the breath now shaping it gently- explore which is longer inhale and exhale! Close the back of the throat make a gentle sound- helps you to control the breath more- if you need to otherwise regular breath is fine.

Notice the breath in the side ribs, top ribs, back ribs, and down into the pelvis.

Know that at some times inhale is longer, sometimes exhale is longer.

Let this breath ground you more and more. the mind releases.

Now play with letting yourself surrender to the expansion and compression of the lungs- imagine a bubble, delicate and light- expanding and contracting just as your lungs do, and let that happen fluidly.

As the diaphragm contracts, with no effort from you, air - our atmosphere- is naturally drawn into the lungs, and in this sense you can start to let yourself be ‘breathed’ by the universe. Surrender to this concept.

IN SAVASANA: Remember this is Productive Time.

Balasana/ Childs Pose

exaggerate the relaxation in the head and neck. breath into congestion.

DETOX

The ways we can detox:

Breath: the movement of the diaphram agains the internal organs & residual toxins that leave our body on exhalation

Sweat: our body will let toxins out any way it can- through the largest organ in the body- the skin

Postures: extension, compression, and twists

*Hips; known as a place where we can release emotional toxicity.

Detox needs Surrender. Some willingness to give up control. Let the breath take over and do the cleaning out here.

In DFD: let your breath extend and listen to the sound of your breath. exhaling toxins that you are ready to release, inhaling to your center a special focus on your heart space. Mantra "I am love and I let go of whatever is not love within me"