Align & Flow Sequence: Side Crane

I taught the following 75 minute Align & Flow class at Binghamton Yoga.  My goal was to create a class that used twists, balance, and core work to slowly build toward side crane.  I didn't want to doa lot of intense twists, because that's it's own thing.  This class was meant to help the yogis reach Side Crane.



One key cue that I gave during this class was to set people up in Side Twisting Egg to start Side Crane but then, WALK your feet slightly forward and around as you attempt to put your hip up on your elbow.  This extra little cue got several people in the air whom had never gone up before.

I intend to try teaching the same class with minor variations in my 60 minute Flow class on Monday.

Yin Opening

2-Block Chest Opener

Side Psoas Stretch Both Sides

Conventional Awakening

All-Fours Wrist Stretches

Wide-Leg Prasaritta Padottanasana Stance

Side-to-Side Movement à Slowly Narrowing Stance to Uttanasana

Roll to Stand

Morning Stretch

Head, Neck, Shoulder Movements

Row, Press, Biceps Curl, Triceps Curl

Oblique Twists

Hand & Foot Dynamic Stretch

Vinyasa 1

Arms Up à Goddess Arms à Float Over

Uttanasana

Right Leg Back to Anjanayasana à Hands to Thigh for Gentle Backbend

Down Dog à Plank à Ground

Lengthà Superman Same Sides then Both Sides with Goddess Arms

Puppy Dog à Down Dog

Right Leg Forward to Anjanayasana à Hands to Thigh for Gentle Backbend

Step Forward à Uttanasana

Utkatasana

Rise

Vinyasa 2

Arms Up à Crescent Right à Crescent Left à Back Right Crescent à Back Left Crescent à Goddess

Fold Over à Uttanasana

Egg à Twisted Egg Both Sides

Right Leg Back to Anjanayasana à Gentle Pavritta Parsvakonasana

Plank à Look Back à Lift Leg Hold à Lift Other Leg Hold à Floor

Lengthà Superman Opposite Sides then Both Sides with Goddess Arms

Puppy Dog à Down Dog

Right Leg Forward to Anjanayasana à Gentle Pavritta Parsvakonasana

Step Forward à Uttanasana

Utkatasana à Pavritta Utkatasana Both Sides

Rise

Balance Interlude

Tree à Toppling Tree à Hands Down à Pavritta Ardha Chandrasana à Tree

Vinyasa 3

Arms Up à Fold Over à Uttanasana

Egg à Twisted Egg Hold Both Sides

Down Dog à Plank

Ground à Salambasana à Opposite Bow

All-Fours à Thread Needle Twist with Bind to Open Shoulder Both Sides

Core

Roll on to Back & Elbow à Place Blanket Between Thighs à Flatten Lower Back & Squeeze à Rotations

Climax

Pavritta Bakhasana Both Sides

Yin Ending

Using Bolster OR Pile of Blankets à Lay Hips Across Pile and Find Ab Stretch with Rotation

Shoulder Stand à Happy Baby with Feet Together à Savasana

Yoga Axis

Modern American yoga comes in all sizes, shapes, and styles. 

Some styles are extremely conscious about alignment, while others are more focused on movement.  This dichotomy forms a continuum from very exacting alignment to consistent flow, with varying degrees of both along the way.

Similarly, yoga styles differ in intensities from relaxed holds to strong actions.  This dichotomy goes from hard to soft, with varying degrees of both along the way.

These two dichotomies can be drawn as continuous, orthogonal axises, with an X-axis ranging from Align to Flow and a Y-axis ranging from Hard to Soft.  It would look like this:

I teach at least two classes a week at Binghamton Yoga studio. 

The first class is Monday evening from 5:45-6:45pm.  It's a large class with lots of post-work yogis, who really want an exercise-oriented approach.  Therefore, I generally work this class more toward the Flow end of the X-axis and slightly north of the Y-axis.

The second class is Friday morning from 9:30-10:45am.  It's a smaller class with a more relaxed, slightly-older crowd and it's labelled "Align & Flow," so I tend to try to stay very close to the middle of both styles.

Placing my two classes on the Yoga Axis, they would look like this:

Based on my understanding of yoga-related Sanskrit and martial arts terminology, I think it would be appropriate to rename these axises as such:

• Align to Flow becomes Chit-Ananda
• Hard to Soft becomes Yang-Yin

And is drawn like this:

When I create a class, I often spend time thinking about where I want the focus of my class to be in this Chit-Ananada / Yang-Yin plane.  I also choose poses that move us through a range from dynamic movement to steady alignment and hard, intense climax to soft, slow ending.

I'd love to hear your comments about this plane.

Jason