Anusara Yoga Visit at Capitol Hill Yoga

My visit to an Anusara Yoga

With Kelly - http://www.wildfloweryoga.com/index.html at Capitol Hill Yoga  - http://www.capitolhillyoga.com/

4/8/11

This morning I woke up early as I was frustrated with trying to sleep, I am fighting a cold. However, I have been postponing attending the Capitol Hill Yoga for a few days now, not because I didn’t want to, but because sleeping in was calling my name more than going to an early yoga class was. Today, however, was my last opportunity to attend this week. So, I made it to the open flow anusara class from 9am to 10:30, with a hall cough drop in my mouth (and a few extra in my bag). I was expecting this to be a ‘bad’ class.

I was greeted by a lovely woman (Kelly, the teacher), who I warned that I was sick and may be coming into child’s pose a few times. To my surprise, she told me that she was switching up the class a bit today, the first half would be more heated/standing poses and the 2^nd half would be restorative!!! WOW, I felt such a relief and felt myself looking forward to the restorative portion of class (and therefore very willing to endure the standing portion of class).  

During the standing portion of class, several of the distinct alignment cues that I believe Anusara yoga is known for were used, for example:  hugging forearms together in down dog, hugging muscles around bones, inner thigh rotation both internally and externally and the term ‘blossoming butt’. I believe anusara is also known for discussing the ‘spirals’ in class; however this teacher did not mention them in class today. I do find the cues related to hugging forearms together in down dog useful, and I could see how they could be especially useful to a newbie yoga student. I also enjoyed the slower pace of the class today as I describe a bit below under the 3^rd bullet point. However, I do think that is because I am fighting a cold, today’s class was perfect for my body today. If I had been in the mood for a very heated, intensive class this would not have been ideal.

Anusara characteristics:

·         Distinct Alignment cues

·         Focus on universal love

·         Hatha yoga poses, slightly similar to vinyasa in that the movement is linked to breath, however there was not a significant amount of flowing quickly from one pose to the next. Transitions were more distinct, come to standing and move into the next pose. Usually doing the right and then the left right after each other vs. the idea of a sequence of many poses on one side and then repeating many poses on the other side.

·         Soft Music

During the restorative portion of class we did three poses, supported bound angle (which is probably my favorite restorative pose), supported wide leg forward fold (which is actually my least favorite) – kind of ironic favorite and least favorite back to back and finally legs up the wall before transitioning into a more normal savasana. For each of the three poses she asked us to think about one word, and she invited us to look into our past to identify when we felt these words, when we received them or gave them, a concrete example.  It was actually very difficult for me to identify a moment when I truly felt at peace, I think the closest I get to feeling at peace is when I’m outside in nature walking (assuming there are no bugs J). I must admit thinking of concrete examples was difficult in those few moments, and still is. It is something to continue to grow and foster in my life.

Peace (during supported bound angle)

Compassion (during supported wide leg forward fold)

Love (during legs up the wall)

During Savasana she read a poem about seeds, planting, growing, etc. with a comparison to life and one’s will. Unfortunately I could not find it on the internet to share, however I did email her to ask her for the name of it, so when she shares it, I will post on my blog. As I thought the theme of her class in the springtime  of planting seeds, nourishing and cultivating them was perfect timing. She did an excellent job of referencing this cultivation in various poses and tying together the preparation of the mind and body for the seeds (or pose) for the next pose (or phase of a seeds life).