Hot Yoga Immersion Practice Card

8/6/2019 Hot Yoga Immersion Practice Card

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Half-Moon (Backbend)

How to do it:

First and most important:

LIFT UP through the chest toward the ceiling to support your lower back and sacrum,

make sure you dont crunch into your lower back.

Ground the eet in to the oor, squeeze your inner thighs together, contract the gluts (buttocks)

together.

Lit your chest, thoracic vertebra and heart up, relax your neck and let your head all back.

Keep your arms straight and reach back, go slowly at rst and then increase the intensity.

Give yoursel a tangible goal, each time you exhale - lit the rib cage up and reach back through the

arms one inch, repeat with each exhaling breath.

Inhale to come back to standing straight.


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Intermediate: Advanced:

Heres a GREAT KEY to back-bending: Strong legs, exible spine.

Heres another one: Work rom the eet up.

Ground the eet, engage the inner thighs, contract the gluts. You will eventually shit

your weight slightly towards the heels.

The strong eeling in the legs and hips is the oundation or this back bend.

Were liting up through theheart as we reach back.

Lear to see the back wall behind you, but instead o dropping back, continue liting up

the heart. Then straighten out the elbows and squeeze you palms together at.

I you like, hold the position a ew seconds longer then the rest o the class.

Strong legs, exible spine.

As you can already see the back wall, begin to relax your lower back. Drop the head

even urther back and begin to look or the oor behind you.

Once you see the oor behind you - look or the back edge o your yoga mat.

The next step is to see your heels, your arms will be pointing down towards the oorbehind you.

Have somebody take a picture! :)

I you have a sensitive neck, it is okay to keep your head between the arms (ears and

arms together). I you have a lower back issue/injury, place the palms o your hands in

your lower back and drop your head back only as ar as comortable on your neck/lower

back.

The way to do this posture is less at the beginning, more towards the end.

Dont be rustrated, i you cant go as ar back as the others. The back-bending is one o

the most advanced parts o Yoga posture practice.

Give yoursel plenty o time, theres no rush.

Beginners:


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Hands-to-feet Pose

How to do it:

To come down, bend orward rom the waist keeping your knees straight, thighs lited and back at.

Just hang orward and relax your whole body. Careul with your knees and squat down, relieving the

pressure rom your lower back.

Lit your hips up toward the ceiling and place the ngers under the heels so the little ngers touch

together - this allows the elbows to work around the back o the calves.

Touch your stomach to your thighs, your chests to your knees and ater 2 to 3 counts - press your

ace to your shins. Its more important to keep your upper body pressed to your legs, the ngers

under the heels and the elbows behind the legs than it is to straighten the legs!

Slowly lit your hips up to the ceiling as you press your ace into your shins in a combined motion

until you completely straighten your legs.


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Now that youre getting close to straightening your legs, press your ace into your shins,

as you lit your hips orward and up toward the ceiling and ront o the room. This com-

bined movement will allow you to use your body or leverage in order to better stretch

your hamstrings.

An important concept in understanding the dynamics o yoga is isolation: exibility

and strength, relaxation and intensity, sotening and hardening. Soten and relax the

area youre trying to stretch. In this pose, it is the hamstrings (back o the legs) and lower

back, both connected by the sciatic nerve.

Strengthen your arms pulling up on your heels and contract your quadriceps muscles

(ront o the thigh).

Pull on your heels with your ARMS, not the shoulders. The shoulders work BACK towards

your hips and AWAY rom the ears.

I your legs are straight and your upper body is at against your legs, dont place your

ngers under your heels. Instead, cup your heels rom the side so the thumb, oren-

ger and the webbing between your thumb and orenger touch the oor. I you place

the ngers under the heels, it shortens the hamstrings and inhibits your exibility. Its

going to eel weird at rst, but ater a ew times you should start experiencing a deeper

stretch. One ootnote: your hands will have a tendency to slide up, dont let it happen,

keep your hands down.

Were not done yet.! Halway into the pose, slowly begin to look down at the top o your

eet. Keep your chin on your shins, lit your shoulders up toward the ceiling, and pull

your head to your eet. Dont crunch your neck. Your neck vertebra should line up with

your back vertebra. Toward the end o the posture, lit your hips UP toward the ceiling

and then SCOOP your tailbone UNDER to stretch the muscles around the sit-bones.

The nal position is to touch your head to your eet.

Please be careul: i your back is sensitive or injured - BEND YOUR KNEES as you lower

your hands to the oor. You can even place your hands on your thighs to protect your

back urther.

Take your time in the rst set and soten, exhale, and relax. When its time to grab your

heels, students with limited exibility: do the best you can in keeping your hands and

arms behind by bending your knees more. I you are NOT able to place your hands

underneath the eet, grab a hold o your calves, or simply hold onto each elbow be-

hind your knees. Keep working to straighten the legs an inch at a time, using your arm

strength to pull up on your calves, ankles or heels.

Be careul coming out o the pose, ascend the same way you went down, keep your

knees bent and place your hands on your thighs, i needed.

Beginners:


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Triangle Pose

How to do it:

Bending the right leg, keep the upper body high and the hips low. That way, a triangular space

is ormed between upper thigh and under the arm. Keep the weight on the outside o the let or

extended legs oot.

Tuck the right buttock-cheek under as you push the right knee back out with your right elbow. At

the same time twist your upper body, shoulder, let side o chest and upper torso to the back wall.

Bring your let hip orward slightly, so that youre able to twist your upper body backward.

I you bring your hip too ar orward, you wont be able to isolate backward.

Your let arm and shoulder should be directly above the right arm and shoulder orming a vertical

line.

Drawing an imaginary line rom your right oot to the let oot orms a horizontal line. And rom the

let oot all the way up your leg, hip, upper torso, shoulder and extended let arm orms the diagonal

line, completing the triangle shape. The key: Hips down and chest up!


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Heres your mantra: hip down and chest up!

In order to properly position yoursel in this posture, youve got to lower the right hip

(assuming youre practicing the right side) by bending the right knee.

At the same time lit your chest toward the ceiling in one combined motion.

This will help exaggerate the triangular space between the right thigh and underneath

the arm. Make sure the ngertips only LIGHTLY touch the oor.

Do not let your hips sink down.

Lit the inside (medial) arch o the let oot to position your weight on the outside o the

let oot, this will ofer tremendous leverage and by pressing the outside o the let oot

into the oor you can better lower the right hip into position.

Lear to hold this posture without strain and efort.

You already have the leg and hip strength necessary or a strong oundation.

Assuming youre practicing on the right leg bending:

Feel the circulation o blood and prana ow down rom the let side o the body into the

right. The let side eels empty and the right side is ull.

Feel the connection with he oor through the eet.

In this posture, you should eel stable and strong, both physically and emotionally.

When you bend your right knee (assuming youre practicing the right side), make sure

the knee stays directly on top o your ankle, not on top o the heel, and especially not on

top o the toes. This supports the knee and helps prevent injury.

This is a Power pose... BREATHE!

Many beginners have trouble lowering the hips down. You may place your right orearm

on top o your right thigh. This will act as a brace to help lower the hips. Then, at the

very end o the pose, straighten your arm and touch the right big toe with your nger-

tips to start developing strength in your hips.

Beginners:


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Standing Seperate LegHead To Knee Pose

How to do it:

Step out to the right, 3 to 3 1/2 eet. Turn your body to the right, squaring your hips and shoulders to

the back wall. The let oot is turned out at a 45-degree angle, the right oot is at 90 degrees.

Tighten the sphincter muscles - mula bandha. Squeeze your buttocks, pull your abdominal muscles

in - udyana bandha. Tuck the chin into the chest - jalandhara bandha.

Curl down, rounding your spine (like the Rabbit pose). Touch your orehead to the knee.

The orehead should meet the knee. Separate your hands slightly on either side and toward the ront

o the oot. Push against the oor on the exhaling breath, eventually straightening your ront leg.

The internal benets o this pose: by stretching the muscles across the internal organs, we help the

kidneys, pancreas, liver and spleen thus strengthening the immune system.

Hold or twenty counts.


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I both legs are straight - bring the palms back together in a prayer position: Nam-

askar.

The ngertips one inch in ront o your toes, arms straight, round the spine more.

As you lit up through the belly button and lower abdominals, look at your chest, not

the belly. This will help you round your back even more.

Ground the ront oot into the oor, inside edge.

Ground the back oot into the oor, outside edge.

Soten the hips. Pick up the lower hip to square both hips to the oor. You can internally

rotate the thigh o the back leg INWARDS to help yoursel square out the hips.

I necessary, use the mirror to check the hip alignment. Breathe ujjayi at rst, and then

breathe as smoothly as possible.

Now that both legs are straight, bring your palms together only a ew inches in ront

o your extended oot so as you straighten your arms youre able to round your spine

completely. The elbows straighten out and the arms go behind your ears.

A rule o thumb to remember as you advance in your practice: no extra movement

other than necessary and economy o motion. In other words, stop ooling around

and eliminate any unneeded idiosyncrasies. This is a good posture to practice discipline:tapas.

Heres a Yogic concept to reect upon: throw away whats unneeded and keep only

whats useul.

It is okay to bend your ront leg up at the knee as much as you need to, so that the ore-

head makes contact with the knee the entire time.

I the heel o the back oot lits of the oor, shorten your step slightly.

Separate your hands only a ew inches apart just in ront o your extended oot and

push against the oor to eventually straighten the leg. Use the breath to your advan-

tage. The breath takes up room in your body, exhaling allows or greater exibility.

Push against the oor at the very end o the exhale when you are breathless.

Beginners:


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Awkward Pose,Second Part

How to do it:

Keep your eet and arms in place, come onto your toes as high as possible. Inhale (ujjayi, youre

gonna need it!) and lower down, until your hips are two inches above your knees. Your thighs are not

parallel to the oor, but slightly above parallel. You should be able to see two inches o your thighs in

the ront mirror.

Keep your spine as straight as possible. Your hips are in a neutral position, allowing you to use the

lower back and hips as well as the thighs to hold you up. Make sure your arms, wrists, and hands are

in a straight line.

Do not bend your wrists or cup your hands, think o your wrists and hands as an extension o your

arms. Keep the abdominal muscles in, arms strong with the biceps and triceps engaged, and extend

rom your shoulders.

The more you come onto your toes and bring your knees up, the more you access the quadriceps.

Hold or twenty-ve seconds at least. Come up on the inhale.


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Every now and then, take a peek in the side mirror and make sure your spine is straight.

Its hard to tell i your spine is straight when youre looking orward. But dont look too

long, a ew seconds at most. While youre looking, check that youre NOT arching your

back.

The hips should be in a neutral position, scoop the tailbone under and align it with your

lower back - a straight line.

This posture is easier or men. Usually women have the genetic advantage in yoga

posture practice, not the case here! So dont be too hard on yoursel i youre a woman:

having trouble achieving the nal preect position may take some extra time.

Remember, we benet by efort and improvement, not by perormance.

Get up on those toes as high as possible!! At your level, this should be easy, because

your ankles are stronger.

Concentrate on one point and ocus your eye-gaze: dristi.

Hold it a little longer then the Teacher asks. Dont be disrespectul, just stay a ew sec-

onds extra, to build better stamina and control. Then come up slow.

Many advanced students go TOO LOW!

I you drop too low, youre not engaging the quads as much as needed. Its much harder

(and efective) to keep the hips properly positioned: one or two inches HIGHER than the

knees.

Make sure your upper body is eeling strong: tighten your chest, arms (triceps), and

abdominal muscles beore you come down bending your legs.

The higher you come up on your toes (on the balls o the eet), the more you are engag-ing the upper thigh (quadriceps) muscles. Think Heels and knees up!

Keep your knees in the same line as your ankles. I you let the knees turn in or out, you

put too much pressure on the ligaments o the knees, which will deeat the purpose

o the Second Part Awkward, which is to strengthen the knees by strengthening the

quads.

Beginners:


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Standing Head to Knee

How to do it:

Lit up your right oot interlacing your ngers at the ball o the oot, thumbs behind the ball o the

oot. Keep your upper knee a little above waist level. Straighten your standing leg, keeping the

weight orward toward the big toe, and tighten the standing leg thigh muscle to protect the knee.

Slowly extend your right oot out as ar as you can, eventually extend all the way until the upper leg

is parallel to the oor. Think o pulling the oot o the kicking leg in toward your upper body, which

will help support your lower back. Drop your shoulders.

Keep your wrists straight and relaxed and extend you arms, which will allow a greater range o mo-

tion in the kick ing leg to stretch to your ull potential. Your heel should be arther in ront than your

toes. Once your upper leg is straight, tighten the quadriceps o the upper thigh, keeping a rm grip

with your ngers. Relax your wrists, elbows and shoulders. Then drop your elbows below the upper

cal pressing the orearms into your leg. Round and curl your upper body, keeping your stomach of

your thigh, bring the chin to the chest (Jalandhara Bandha), and lower your orehead to your knee.

In the nal position, the elbows are below the cal and the kicking leg is parallel to the oor.


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Once your kicking leg is ully extended., relax your wrists, and drop your shoulders

down. The wrists should be straight and the shoulders down, your upper back rounded.

I both legs are straight, slowly look down towards the oor and get the orehead to the

knee.

Were no longer using the arms, it is a sign o a beginner the use what we call a death

grip on the oot, where the arms are working hard to keep the leg up.

Use the strength o the thighs and hips, as well as the core or support.

Once the orehead is on the knee, engage and use the quads (ront thigh muscles) even

more to support this position. Integrate the core-strength into the pose. No longer use

the arms, press the orehead into the knee and round your back even more.

Drop your elbows and shoulders even urther down. Eventually, the elbows can touch

together below the extended knee.

Just or un, in the second set, extend one o the arms orward to the mirror, holdingyour kicking oot only with one hand. Then extend the other arm orward: look, ma, no

hands!

Be patient, this is one o the most advanced postures in the Hot Yoga series. It takes

strength, ocus, hamstring exibility, and stamina - these take time to develop.

I youve got a sensitive lower back, be careul and hold over your knee in ront o you,in a light, interlaced grip. Build strength in the standing leg, protect your lower back.

I youre down to your oot, or i youre trying to kick out, make sure the ront leg doesnt

pull you down. Keep your knee slightly higher than the hip o the ex tending leg.

Beginners:


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Standing Bow Pose

How to do it:

Turn your right hand, palm acing out, thumb toward the back wall and elbow touching the side o

your body (palm out, thumb back, elbow in). Pick up your right oot by the ankle, raise your let arm

up to the ceiling, ngers together, and palm acing the ront.

Stand tall with your shoulders and hips square to the mirror. Beginners, extend your right shoulder

and arm away rom your side. Find a sot part o your oot or leg, squeeze your grip. Lower the body

down and reach your arm orward toward the ront mirror. Kick back as you let your right shoulder

go back. Keep your right knee behind your body.

Your right hip turns slightly back (the hips are not parallel to the oor) and your oot should eventu-

ally grow out o the top o your head, as you look into the ront mirror.

Lower your upper body down ar enough, so the stomach is parallel to the oor. But keep your chest

higher than your stomach, and your let arm higher than your chest, completing the back bend.

Use the rst set to ocus on balance and alignment, use the second set as a kicking set.


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Intermediate/Advanced: Ultra Advanced:

This pose is 40% back bending, 40% standing leg stretching and 20% shoulder and hip-

joint release. The key to the pose is judging how high to kick initially. I your standing

leg is not exible, you cant kick too high, because o the tension in the hamstring. So

kick back just enough to lower the stomach down to parallel.

The more exibility in the standing leg, the higher you kick initially.

At the advanced level you must start by kicking high in order to release the back hip. Try

to nd your starting point within the rst ve to ten seconds o the posture, leaving you

enough strength to kick your leg up.

You need to kick up high right away, in order to initially release the back hip.

At your level, you should have the hamstring exibility to lower down to where your

stomach is parallel to the oor, your chest is a little higher than your stomach and your

arm and shoulder are a little higher than your chest. This completes the back bend.

Get down right away, dont waste too much energy getting to your starting position,

get down and start kicking. Hold onto a sot part o your leg, (your grip should be right

below your ankle), like an archer squeezing the arrow rom the bow. Look in the ront

mirror and see that the bottom o your upper oot is in a vertical position, ush to the

mirror. I your upper oot is turning in and out , its an indication that your hip is not in

the right position. Your knee should be directly below your oot. I youre still not able to

straighten the upper leg, at the end o the pose (be careul), take a peek at the side mir-

ror; this will give you a better visual perspective. Youre probably closer than you think!

Then just lock out the kickin leg, baby!

Make sure youre holding your oot properly; palm out, thumb back, elbow in.

Dont kick back too much, or you wont be able to lower down. Unreeze the shoulder

and let it go back. This way, the leg can k ick up behind you, away rom the hip. Assum-ing youre holding your right oot, you need to turn your right shoulder back behind

your head, and your right knee behind your body so you wont be able to see either one

in the ront mirror. Keep your let arm strong and ully extended toward the ront mirror,

wrist straight and palm at. Balance and breath. I you loose your balance, begin once

again.

Beginners:


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Hot Yoga Immersion Practice Card