Session 2: Suryanamaskara A and B, sun salutation

[Sound] hi I'm Nita welcome to the session that I'm bringing you today  I bring you today in which we're going to be focusing on   mainly on the sun salutations  there we mask there we mask there we mask   time working in depth on each of the asanas  the asanas that make up the sun salutation

   especially chaturanga what is that triceps flexion that is  triceps flexion that is constantly repeated in the series of ashtanga and it's very important to have proper alignment as well as urbamuca upward dog and   adho mukha downward dog or inverted e v plus before we start we are going to explore tristana that   are three fundamental elements of the ashtanga practice  ashtanga practice and as pata villois the founder said   of maisor style ashtanga 99 is practice and 1% is theory so let's  theory so let's start by taking a position   comfortable if you can go for the half lotto go for it  but I'm going to explain how to get in so you don't get   pressure on your knee then bring your left leg as close  left leg as close as possible to your leg   right leg and what we're going to do is we're going to do an external hip  external hip rotation so that we don't pull on the knee

   if we do this with the foot not activated what we're going to do is we're going to  what we're going to do is we're going to push on the knee and if we do this with the foot   we have a lot of flexibility especially in our  body it's going to allow us to do it but in the long run this is going to   it's going to cause some injury so with the leg straight you do an external rotation you activate your foot

   in flex your right foot and pick up the right foot  with the left hand bringing it as high as possible

   possible to your chest made open then right hand grab the right  right hand grasp the right foot and push that knee up   outward brings it back toward the chest  keeping the flex and it's at that 90 degree angle

   to finally bring the ankle as close as possible to your navel  possible to your navel and the rest of the foot as close as possible to your navel

   a puzzle is going to be perfectly comfortable in the  left groin area if this is enough

   stay here and after a few breaths  switch and bring the left foot in the same way

   however if this is comfortable for you what you're going to do  comfortable what you are going to do is activate your foot

   left in flex elevate it as much as you can by bringing the left  the left heel to the side of the right heel

   and thus allowing your foot to rest in the right groin comfortably  groin comfortably and the feet there can   be slightly active or relaxed because being in the right  being in the right area you don't need to feel   no pressure on the knees with that being said  let's start with the first element of tristana and it's going to be the bands the bands are energetic locks  locks are on our body and there are   many, many ways to explain them but I'm just going to focus on one  just focus on one and I hope that   you can connect with it let's start with mula bandha mula bandha is this colo is placed o   you can place it in the pelvic area the pelvic floor so I invite you  pelvic floor then I invite you to close the   eyes and imagine an avocado seed in your perineum or even in the  your perineum or even in your vagina and while you are   you imagine that seed try to subtly squeeze it and then relax that area again go back to   stimulate that area and relax ideally in the ashtanga practice you  ashtanga practice you keep that area active

   and you can notice how the hamstrings, those little bones  that we have in our buttocks are also activated and   you're going to feel like a lightness in your body and how your  the spine also lifts up at the same time you're going to   bring the navel slightly inward and the ribs that come  ribs that come outwards are very much   elements and it may not all come out a priori, but with practice I promise you  but with practice I promise you that you will connect with them lastly we have yalanda bandara which is activated  which is automatically activated whenever   we bring the chin to the chest so in the apple pad or in the  apple pad or in the in the meditation positions   we normally bring the chin down to activate that band  activate that band and close our locks   energy letting the energy stay inside and flow and unblock our energy channels

that's the first element of tristana the bands  as we have said mula bandha uddiyana bandha and yalanda   bandara next we are going to work  with the breath the ujalli breath is   breathing I like the simile of imagine a  daver star wars that sound that plays   or if you like a more romantic approach think of the sound of the sea to start with  the sound of the sea to start with if you never heard it   you've done it before let's do it through the mouth  because it's easier to connect with it   put your hand in front of your mouth and go as if you want to  if you want to reproduce vao in a mirror or in a mirror

   a window then with the exhalation try to imitate  imitate that sound do that two or three times until you   you connect and you feel that air coming out and the throat has slightly contracted when you connect with that   close your lips and you're going to try to reproduce  the same thing through the nose inhaling and exhaling

inhale exhale now close your eyes let's put these two elements  elements together, inhale and exhale with sound

and at the same time activate your  avocado seed mula bandha ischial muscles pressing slightly towards the  or uddiyana bandha belly inwards [Sound] don't worry if you don't get it all yet  it's a matter of practice so I promise you   that if you keep practicing there will come a day when you will  that you will click and it will come out and finally we are   talking about these three elements we have the distris distris is a bridge of focus and in every asana   you will be remembering which way to look and it's not something  randomly but when we look at a point, when we look at a point   we help the mind to focus but it's very important to do it with intention because I can   be looking at my middle finger but I'm thinking about the emails  I'm thinking about the emails that I have to receive   or about the dinner that I'm going to eat later so I have to look but I have to pay attention and intention   well these are the three elements  the bands the breathing with sound and   the distris which will come all together we will put it all together  all together during our practice   with that said let's get down on our  on our knees on the mat from here we are going to try to explore  chaturanga before we start with the   greetings to the sun then I am sure that  you know the cat and cow arching position   and rounding out what we want here is a  cat and as I say it an angry cat   exaggerated rounding of the back that  the scapulae are very far apart   fingertips are active as if you were  if you are holding on to the ground knuckles also pressing towards the ground elbows inward and  inward and keeping that curvature in the   back with the exhalation you're going to go down as low as you can and  you can and you're going to come back up to test a little bit more

   the strength that you're feeling at the moment

  tip activates inwardly what we call   uddiyana bandha and exhale again inhale inhale come up  exhaled if I can only get this far then   from here on I'm going to kind of slip away and let go  I'm gonna show you what we shouldn't do   imagine that I don't have the strength to attend to the open  already curving very much the lumbar area we do not want to   that's because after so many repetitions it will lead to injury and misalignment

   then better to do less and do it wrong so  so again we're going to try elbows in

   rotation of the shoulders the hands stay  as they are index fingers pointing   forward rounding the back exhaled and lowered as much as I can  lower as low as I can when I can no longer collapse   if I have any injury instead of doing uba muca or upward dog I'm going to stay in   this little cobra even with my legs  open if I have pressure in the area   lumbar on the other hand if I feel good and with strength  the hands are going to come a little bit lower than   shoulders inhaling my arms are stretched my insteps strong on the floor with rotation  my insteps strong on the floor with internal rotation   thighs belly inward knees off the ground shoulders open from the ground shoulders open away from the ears   and looked up to the sky if I don't have any kind of neck discomfort it's  neck discomfort it's super important that the   abdomen is very active so that it doesn't collapse in the lumbar  lumbar area and with the exhalation chin to chest   I go downward dog ideally if  I can roll both feet at the same time as we are waking up the body can  flex one knee at a time while connecting   with your breath and little by little you are going to walk  your feet towards the front of the mat until you are   your hands, bend your knees if you need to and relax your head completely  you need to relax your head completely and   with the inhalation rooting your feet on the ground  and rounding your back we are going to stand up before we continue I want to remind you that  doing this practice is a mask to   ive and it's a practice in itself if one day you have less time  you have less time you feel more tired or   more tired it's perfectly fine to get on your mat and do this so while you are   exploring you're starting you're starting you're  in the right place let's start with   samasthiti for this we are going to put our feet  together we're going to raise our little toes up   in order to help the quadriceps to be active

  internal rotation as if the knees want to do it   kissing or rubbing each other activating mula bandha subtly that area that pelvic floor the perineum   belly slightly inward shoulders backward and  back and down and chest open ideally here

   we'd start with the opening chant but we'll leave it for the other  but we'll leave it for the other sessions

   in front of the mat and we're going to start  construct a mask or a sun salutation with the   inhalation I'm going to raise my arms to the sky and I'll open  my arms like wings stretching out towards the sky

   the sky hands together and I look down at my fingers  exhaled bending or forward if I want to

   I need push-ups knees I place my hands on the sides of my feet  my feet and I relax my head completely

   the neck is relaxed there is no tension whatsoever

  tension with the inhalation I'm going to go away if my   body doesn't allow me to lengthen I'm going to place myself  on the fingertips and if that also allows me to   I'm going to bring my hands towards my shins looking for that  my shins looking for that long action and that   opening with the next exhale we're going to put our hands on the mat and we're going to go to a table

   in a daily ashtanga practice we wouldn't stay in this healthy  we wouldn't stay in this healthy one but like today   we are exploring we are going to take advantage and from  from this position we are going to scan our whole body   we want the men to be in line with the  wrists or even a little bit more forward

   we remember that the yolks like when we were in the pejia box we want them to be gripping the   the floor so that the wrists don't suffer and the weight is distributed  distributed we round off the upper part of the   back moving away the scapulae and bring the weight towards the toes  towards the toes very active legs

   and very active belly we don't look forward we don't want tension we look down  we don't want tension but we look down   and slightly forward and with the exhalation we're going to do the  knees on the floor we're going to do our first   chaturanga elbows in and remember as far as it goes  as far as you can go without arching your back active tummy

   go down feel the strength in your arms  as far as you can go and well you will cobra o   the dog up with the instep fully on the ground or shoulders  on the floor or shoulders away from the ears miro   to the sky exhaled adho mukha this time we are going  to stay five breaths if I need it   knee bends extending to my back as far as I can and little  as long as I can and little by little progressively   I'm going to stretch my legs without sacrificing back elongation  elongation of the back the distance that   I want from my feet is like from one hand to the palm of my  palm a hand as if it fits in this space

inhaled and exhaled through the nose i will move  my head sideways and forward   and back to make sure that my  neck doesn't hold any tension I look down at my knees or if I can even look down at my navel  towards my belly button I inhale and exhale through my nose playing the ujalli sound and with the next inhalation I look forward  and I'm going to bring my right foot to continue with the   left once I come in inhale and lengthen my back I can put the  back I can put on the little gemstones of the   fingers or even bring my hands to my shins  but never press the knees we don't want to   tension in the joints and with the exhalation  I go back to flexing like a clamp if I need to   I bend my knees and with the next inhalation  my feet are rooted to the ground my belly will be   and my wings open to grow towards the sky I look up to my hands and exhale  I look down at my hands exhaled the samatisti ji and let's do a few more  we continue to inhale arms to the   sky I look down at the big toes of my hands  exhale flexed forward chin chest   flex or knee if needed inhale  lengthen back remember you can bring   the hands even the shins exhaled I exhale me  I'm going to plank now the left foot and then   the right this time we're going to stay again  again on this plank for five breaths   scan your body there are your legs active your  your belly slightly sucked in your navel towards the right

   the lower back the upper back the upper back  rounded look slightly forward exhaled knees on the floor chaturanga with  control unhurried inhale but upward   or you stay in cobra look up to the sky and if you can look up to the  if you can look towards the nose that would be your distris exhaled chin to chest and go adho mukha downward dog 5 breaths again here inhale exhales breath with sound 2 try to keep your back as straight as possible as possible bend your knees if you need to if you   your legs are stretched out push your heels towards the  towards the ground and the hips towards the sky men away from the ears   and remember to look down at your knees or  to your navel one more breath [Sound] with the next inhalation bring the left foot  left foot forward along with the   gaze and the right foot follows  inhaling and lengthening the back   exhaling and flexing flexing knees if you need to without  you need it without tension in the lower back   inhaled and grow towards the sky I look towards my hands  towards my hands exhaled samatisti ji let's continue I'm going to give other variations  but if you think that's too much stay with the   that we've already explored inhaled arms to the sky  exhaled bending forward always bending hip flexion without tension in the lower back relaxes  head flexed knee flexed if needed inhale   long back distris would be your nose exhale  on my way to go directly to chaturanga with   knees on the ground as we've already done or  whole chaturanga without knees with very much   control try to make sure that the hips don't stay on top of the  the hips don't stay on the top i

e

we don't want this   nor do we want this to collapse we need  almost perfect alignment to protect   our body exhaled I bring the weight as we have said  we have said the little toes and underneath   with control look slightly forward  inhaled upward dog urba mukha I look upwards   my nose exhaled chin chest adho mukha inhale and exhale through my nose  exhale through nose try to reproduce that sound slightly contracting your throat try to make your inhalation and exhalation  your inhalation and exhalation to be the same length [Sound] scan your whole body as we  we have done previously making sure that everything is active  but without excessive tension one more breath [Sound] with the next inhalation well I'm going to walk  my feet one behind the other or if you're up for it   you can do a little jump for that lift your heels off the floor bring your  heels off the floor bring buttocks backwards   look where you are going to go inhale and jump it doesn't have to be a very big  not have to be a very big or elaborate jump but   you feel as light as possible once you've reached the front to point  you've reached the front to point by lengthening the   back flex knees if you need to  exhale bending forward relaxing your back and   head inhale root feet strong legs belly strong look towards your hands  strong look towards your hands exhale samatisti ji we continue let's make it a little more fluid  inhale raise arms to the sky grow grow exhale bend   or forward hands to the sides of the feet  inhaled lengthened back exhaled this time may   try to jump if I want to if I don't walk feet  exhaled chaturanga inhaled upward dog   shoulders away from ears instep strong instep  active legs knees off the ground   exhaled chin chin chest first and then entered into  adho mukha or downward dog inhaled attempted   bring with the inhalation the air to the sides  not inhale only frontal or towards the back but   also to the sides as if it were a ball  exhaled belly inward towards the lumbar area 2 3 4 and 5 I inhale I look forward and well  I walk one foot and then the other or I'm going to   jump with much earlier inhale and try to bring  more weight in your hands lengthen your back   once you get there if you need an extra  inhale and exhale always take it exhale inhale arms to the sky exhale a little clarification that maybe you've seen in some practitioners is that they can open up   the arms or they may even open their arms in front or with namaste  or with namaste towards the sky all the way to the sky

   the modifications or lessons are valid choose  the one that suits you best let's do one more   this time I am going to count in sanskrit and I am not going to give so many  I am not going to give so many guidelines so that you yourself or   yourself can develop more awareness  of your body inhale elevate arms exhaled due  flexed forward relaxed head trini 3  inhaled lengthened back chatuari 4 chaturanga pancha 5 inhaled urba mukha upward dog chad   6 exhaled adho mukha dog downward 5 breaths if you see that your feet are too far apart  walk them slightly forward but   the same if you see that they are too close together  you can separate them a little bit backwards   to feel a greater extension of the spine  continue inhaling and exhaling 2 3 4 5 i look down at my hands inhaled and walk  jumped stretched back exhaled flexed   forward inhaled raised arms to the sky  looked towards my hands exhaled samatisti ji let's continue sir mascara ve or sun salutation ve it's very similar since we have the bases   it's not going to be that difficult for you but we're going to  add a few elements to start with   we're going to start with ubtaca sana or the chair position  of the saddle which is also called for that you're going to   bend your knees down as far as you can, arms to the sides if you can  arms to the sides if you can even touch the   floor if your heels are lifted up then  stay a little bit higher we inhale hands   hands together hands to the sky is also an opening  of the shoulders the legs come together and press one leg together   knee against the other active inner thighs  exhaled flexed forward relaxed head loosened it   same if needed bend knees  inhaled lengthen back if needed   hands on my shins exhaled I walk or jump  to go to chaturanga with control always with   awareness with exhalation no movement  no breath inhaled upward dog exhaled downward dog and now a new element the left ankle is  left ankle is placed on the left ankle   ground to bring the right foot with a very large step  very big step forward if it doesn't reach me   I can always catch myself and help me very strong and very stable legs  very strong and very stable legs and I inhale and grow towards   the sky hands together hands together exhaled hands on the mat  mat right foot backwards chaturanga inhaled but upward exhaled but downward let's do the other side  place the right foot at a 45 degree angle   to the mat and bring the left leg  with a very large step forward as far as it will go

   you can left leg positioned at 90 degrees ideally the knee in line with your ankle I inhale

   arms to the sky I look down to my hands I exhale hands on mat again left foot   backwards and guess what chaturanga with  control elbows inward belly in   breathe all the way down inhale open chest open chest  well to the air lungs ribs watch   towards the sky exhaled adho mukha and now  we stay again five breaths one 2 with each exhalation bring the navel towards the lower back  the lumbar zone look towards your knees navel 3 4 5 inhale look straight ahead walk or jump  lengthening your back once you get to the   front exhale forward bend bending forward bending knees if you need to  knees if needed inhaled double knees   feet together belly tight arms to the sky  as much as possible look toward thumbs exhale   samatisti ji we continue inhaled again  lower as far as we can hands together retro pelvis version keep in mind that here  we use a lot of our curvature which is   perfect but what we want to protect the lumbar  lumbar region is to look for neutrality in the back

   so press the belly in, inhale, inhale

  again here exhaled again exhaled flexed forward   inhaled lengthened back exhaled high ways  and belly in chaturanga i advise you to go   first to plank or tabla so you don't have so much impact on the shoulders exhale inhale urba mukha remember shoulders away strong body gut  inside insteps tightening I look towards my nose   and my head is towards the sky as much as I can  can exhaled chin chest adho mukha right foot forward left ankle  on the ground as you see you can start from both of them   either by placing your left foot first and then  forward or by stepping forward and placing the left ankle on the ground

   ankle whichever is more comfortable for you inhaled with a very  a very long inhalation I raise my arms and with a very long   very long exhale chaturanga if I need to take in extra air I do it but if I can avoid it all the better   inhaled urba mukha exhaled adho mukha again left foot now forward right ankle   on the ground inhaled creco holding 90 degrees  on my left knee long exhale all   the chaturanga path inhale upward dog exhale downward dog five deep breaths one 2 3 4 cynical inhaled look forward walk or jump  taking an inhalation when arrived exhaled exhaled flexiono forward inhaled inhaled this time I go healthy uctuca is healthy to leave the sun health flexed   knees I look towards my hands exhaled samatisti ji  continued inhaled flexed knees entered into the   healthy uctaca or chair position remember  retro pelvis light version of pelvis exhaled flexed forward relax head inhale long  back exhaled I go to plank to enter into   chaturanga inhaled dog upward exhaled dog down inhale right foot forward   virabhadrasana warrior one warrior one exhaled  chaturanga again inhaled downward facing dog   up exhaled downward dog inhaled left foot forward  left foot forward the rhythm is increasing   i know but stay here with me continue  breathing exhaling exhales chaturanga gut inside   inhale urba mukha exhale adho mukha   breathe deeply through the nose controlling the breath controlling your mind [Sound] two more breaths [Sound] with the next inhalation I look forward  the way the jump inhaling all the way exhaling bringing chest and forehead to knees  inhaled bending knees hands to the sky gaze   toward thumbs exhaled samatisti ji  continued inhaled again under everything   hands together pelvic retroversion keep in mind that we use a lot of our  note that here we use our curvature a lot   which is perfect but what we want to do to  to protect the lower back is to look for neutrality   in the back so press the belly in

  inhaled again here exhaled flexed forward   inhale lengthen back exhaled high and well paths  bring chaturanga I advise you to go first   to plank or plank so as not to have so much impact on the shoulders  impact on the shoulders exhales inhlo urba mukha remember shoulders away strong body  belly in instep tightening glance to me   nose and my head is toward the sky as much as I can exhaled chin  as much as I can exhaled chin chest adho mukha right foot forward left ankle  on the ground as you see you can start from the   two ways either by placing your left foot first and  then stepping forward or stepping forward and placing   the ankle whichever is more comfortable for you inhaled  with a very long ratio I raise my arms and with a very long ratio I raise my arms and with a   very long exhale chaturanga if I need to take extra air I do it but if I can avoid it all the better   inhaled urba mukha exhaled adho mukha again left foot now forward right ankle on   the floor inhaled crezco holding 90 degrees on my left knee long exhale all the way down   chaturanga inhale upward dog exhaled  downward dog five deep breaths one 2 3 4 5 i inhale i look forward i walk or jump  taking an inhalation when it came exhaled   flex forward inhaled this time I go to uctaca  this time I go to healthy uctaca to exit   from the sun salutation i bend my knees  look down at my hands exhaled samatisti ji continued inhaled flexed knees entered the position of healthy  uctaca sana position or chair remember   retro light version of pelvis exhaled forward flexion  forward relax head inhla long back   exhaled I'm going to plank to enter chaturanga  inhaled upward dog exhaled downward dog   inhaled right foot forward virabhadrasana  one warrior one exhaled chaturanga again   inhaled upward dog exhaled downward dog  inhaled left foot forward rhythm goes   increasing I know but stay here with me  continued breathing exhaled chaturanga belly in   inhale urba mukha exhale adho mukha breathe deeply through the nose controlling the breath controlling your mind [Sound] two more breaths [Sound] with the next inhalation I look ahead of me  I walk or jump inhaling all the way and   exhaling bringing chest and forehead to the knees  inhale flexing knees hands to the sky exhale  samatisti ji well then for today we have  finished with the part of the healthy ones but always   I recommend to finish with a little bit of breathing  and in healthier peace so let's do a greeting   to the sun to go sit and finish together  inhale raise arms to the sky and exhale flex   forward being gentle continue with the breath with sound  breathing with sound continues to connect   with your bands exhale walk or jump chaturanga inhale open chest urba mukha exhale adho mukha and bring one foot then the other one sit down take the comfortable position  comfortable position either cross-legged or pad   remember as we said before the foot is active so that there is no  active so that there is no pressure on the knee and you're going to hold your elbows well from behind that's like this or if you're in lotus like me your left hand is going  left hand is going to get as close as possible to that   left foot and the right hand to the right foot  but don't worry if you don't get there it doesn't happen

   absolutely nothing through practice  you will see how it progresses with what you have chosen   exhales and forward flexions we're going  we're going to stay here just five breaths inhales and exhale one forehead on the floor if you reach and  not keeping your back straight head relaxed   but the chest open belly still active  follow the active bands and inhale and exhale   one breath with sound 2 3 4 5 inhale incorporate we are going to place the hands in Jnana Mudra for that the thumb and the index finger the fingertips are going to   and the other fingers are going to point towards the floor  are going to point the arms towards the ground   as straight as possible chin slightly downward activating yalanda  downward activating yalanda bhandara the one that   we were talking about at the beginning of this session mula bandha is active it suctions the ischial area slightly   pressing down on the floor belly in, close your eyes and let's stay  eyes and let's stay here for ten breaths

exhale first inhale exhale 1 2 make sure that and your body is relaxed  but the thorn is elongated 3 continue breathing feeling how the ribs also  widen sideways 4 with the exhalation bring the navel  navel towards the lumbar region 5 6 7 8 9 10 and to close we are going to close with the last  asana of the ashtanga series if we have one

   lotus it's going to be a little bit easier for us  because the body is compact you're going to place   your hands on the sides of your body a little bit more forward  forward than your hips you're going to bow   slightly forward bend your elbows and  lift but if this is not yet accessible   so either do it with one leg and lift yourself up or  legs crossed you put the weight slightly on   the feet and lift yourself up but try almost everything  the weight is in your grades on your belly whatever it is

   whichever variation you have chosen let's do it together  do it together just 10 breaths inhale   lift yourself up that's knees to the sky  1 belly in 2 don't look up to the sky   but rather forward 3 gaze or  distris does the nose 4 smile 5 only 5 + 6 7 8 9 one more 10 exhale relax   and finally we're going to go to a well-deserved  shavasana so lie down on the floor let your legs be more open than   hips arms wider than the shoulders leaving the  shoulders leaving the palms of your   hands look skyward toward the universe  universe feet dropping to the sides and close your eyes allowing yourself to feel  your whole body relaxed forget the bands   breathing with sound now your breathing is natural  is natural and your distris is totally inner [Sound] I advise you to stay in shavasana for at least 3 minutes but if you want to stay longer then do it since   the benefits of the practice will be felt in this area leaving the parasympathetic system  this area leaving the parasympathetic system to work

   and let your body absorb all the new knowledge that you are teaching it  knowledge that you are teaching it [Sound] when you're ready ready to lay down to the right side of the body push yourself   with the left hand in the seated position  seated with eyes closed hands in the palm of your head take a few seconds to remind yourself  why you practice because you practice námaste thank you