Standing postures I

Hello, my name is Silvia Jaén and I welcome you to my yoga class

It is going to take place in the wonderful crater of the volcano, in Lanzarote where it is just going to be ideal for the group of postures that we are going to work today, the standing postures

Standing poses are energetic are powerful, active they give great energy

Just the one we need and the one that this wonderful place we are in will bring us

To work the standing postures it is essential to create awareness in the soles of the feet, in the work of the feet, of the ankles in the work of the legs so that this produces a clear impact throughout the entire body, especially the spine, and produces a feeling of lightness that is what should be in all asanas, in all yoga postures

A yoga posture is never heavy, must never fall, must never be dense

It must always be light so that there is some internal space and so that the breath can move freely

So let's start these poses, the first ones of a whole group of poses where we can find: Push-ups, twists, extensions, inverted poses but as I told you before, their base are the standing postures, for the correct understanding of what we are going to do later in future asanas

In order to do what we are going to stand up, we are going to start with the basic Tadasana pose, which is generally executed with feet together, unless there is a lumbar pathology, in this case the feet would separate, but we are not going to stop doing it because of it

Today, more than anything, we want to find the sense in standing postures as by working with feet apart I can create and access more easily to the gesture of the sacrum

Which is this flat bone at the beginning of the column, which when I direct it to the ground there is a full rising gesture of column to the sky

In this way, as I mentioned before the posture is going to become light there will be a lot of space, a lot of openness and the breath will be able to function and move better

So let's start with my hands on my waist for now

We are going to be very clear about the work that the feet do in this position, so from now on we are going to divide it into 4 parts: The front part: which are the ones that comprise the toes The back part: which is the one that understands the heels Then the outer part: that goes from the little finger up to the outer heel

And the internal part: what is the one that is directed from the big toe up to the inside of the heel

These four points we are going to push at the same time on the ground

This means that practically, the foot is no longer the one that pushes but we involve the whole leg pushing towards the ground at the same time

Once I step equally, to do this, I have to separate my toes well, both, on the front, external, internal and rear there is already some action on the foot what is going to make me link with some action also on the legs

The legs are going to stay firm, the kneecaps will go up and with this gesture we are going to try that the sacrum, the lower part of the spine, descends in a very clear gesture

It means that at no time when I make that gesture I was talking about before, the sacrum is not going to escape like this, pronouncing more the lumbar curvature

This would generate a lot of tension in this area and therefore in a slightly higher area, and an exaggerated expansion from the front of the spine

So this way with feet apart, as we said, with firm legs and kneecaps up you bring the sacrum to the ground

Try to keep your buttocks soft do not activate them and in this way when the sacrum goes down there is a rise of the pubic bone towards the belly button

It is a gesture that doesn't come fast, that little by little, we are going to learn without haste but it is fundamental so that this space is produced in the front of the body and everything we do in Tadasana, we are going to take it to the following positions

If the sacrum, as I was telling you, escapes the space is very clear here but with tension

If the sacrum, however, is overly hidden, the result is a shortening in the front of the body, with which there is no room to breathe, with which we cannot feel, neither the light posture, nor the soft breathing

So we place the sacrum in a middle point, a middle ground, let it descend, in such a way that a space is produced in the front column, without losing the action in the feet and legs, take with a wide circle your shoulders back, that's it, and let the shoulder blades push forward little by little

The posture at first may seem a bit exaggerated but it is when a real space occurs, at the chest level, clavicles and sternum

Keep your shoulders down and back and the head in line with the spine

With the wide panoramic gaze forward let the breath move through that space that you have generated

There are many actions at the same time but try to maintain awareness in each of them while you breathe calmly

Okay, we get out of the pose and now we're going to try it with our feet together

So let's bring together the big toe, heels, the inside of the foot together, it is exactly the same, it may take a little more work, a little more awareness in the area of the feet, in the action of the legs to generate the descent of the sacrum but it can be done, so keep pushing with the four parts of your feet, frontal, external, internal and rear

That activity in the legs, that produces the rise of the kneecap upwards

Lower the sacrum once you lower it you will notice that from the pubis up to the belly button more space is generated, there is more height from the belly button to the sternum, there is also more distance from the sternum to the chin, it also occurs, a clear space, once I have this, don't stop taking your shoulders down and back

and keep your gaze calmly ahead

Breathe, once this is understood, this we are going to go to the next posture, a basic posture also called Utthita Trikonasana

In the standing postures, we always start from the Tadasana posture, it's like the neutral posture, the posture that repositiones, that settles, that makes us have the awareness of her, and then take her to the other postures that come later

So let's start from Tadasana, we quickly review all that gesture of pushing feet, action in the legs, descent of the sacrum and how all this generates an elevation of the column and the edges of the trunk towards the sky

Carrying your shoulders far back, feel the space in your collarbones and breathe in calm

So from Tadasana, we separate arms and legs, we try to keep the feet parallel to each other

It means that we can't keep our feet a little bit out, they must stay at all time, parallel to each other, very important so that the rest of the pose goes well

So taking into account the above points in which I maintain the thrust of the four sides of the foot, the firmness of the legs, the kneecaps go up, the descent of the sacrum, that makes us generate more space and more height, from the edges of the trunk and front column

The gesture of the shoulders back as we did in Tadasana, and the firmness of the arms, we carry our heads slightly, in line with the column

Once here, keep those actions while you breathe calmly

We begin to pose without loosing anything that we buit, we turn the left foot inwards and the right foot completely outwards

We are going to keep the legs very firm as up to now

Keep the sacrum down, as you've done all this time, in such a way that the trunk rises and does not fall

We've agreed that the yoga posture is not heavy, it does not sink it rises all the time to the sky

Keep the neck very long, the chest very open and when you breathe out, you lengthen the right side and enter the position holding your leg where you can reach it: ankle or calf

Keep your legs firm and from here, for now we are going to put our hands on our hips, we are going to try not to make this gesture with the trunk of our body

Don't do a lateral hump

The two edges of the body trunk must elongate equally

So we are going put this side in more and more, and from the right hip, try to make the right side longer, go to the armpit, at no time does the posture fall or collapse, nor does it weigh on the right leg

The left arm helps make the posture lighter and lighter

Once here, your gaze can go forward, if it bothers the neck you keep it here, if it does not bother you, you can look towards the upper hand, at no time do you stop lengthening the two edges of the trunk, keep your legs firm, keep your arms apart, and all that Tadasana gesture, apply it now in Utthita Trikonasana

Breathe, until you feel the air equally on one side and in another

Let your gaze be wide, panoramic, as in Tadasana, feel like the breath can move over and over again and above all, separate the trunk of the body from the structure of the pelvis

With firm legs return to the center inspiring, you maintain the firmness in them, you keep your arms firm and we just change the turn of the feet

Well, this time it will be the right that goes a little inwards and the left the one that turns all the way out

Keep your legs steady those push points of the feet, at the same time on the ground, fingers, internal, external and rear

Keep the sacrum down and the rise of the trunk towards the sky, and taking advantage of an expiration you lengthen to the left side, and you enter the position as you did before, holding the leg, wherever you can reach, keeping the firmness of them, and trying not to wrinkle neither the lower side nor tension builds up on the upper side

Lengthen the two edges of the trunk equally well, and try not to drop the posture, on the left leg, that does not weigh, all the time if you keep the firmness in the legs the trunk of your body will remain light and away from the pelvis

With the upper arm open the pose and breathe calmly

Inspiring, you return to the center, you leave your feet parallel to each other, Little by little bring both feet together until they meet in the center and we do Tadasana

Taking up all those gestures that we did at the beginning, from the feet to the highest part of your head

Breathe

What happens when it bothers a little the lumbar, when we have sore lumbar, the sacrum, when there can be any type of ailment

At this point, very common and most very common to people who usually attend their first yoga class, the first thing they usually complain about is the lower back

They already come with it and their purpose is to stretch this area

For this purpose we can use certain supports in yoga to facilitate work in each of the postures

In this case in Utthita Trikonasana the posture that we just made it, we can make it easier, we can smooth it with a brick

So, we would do exactly the same

We would begin from Tadasana we separate arms and legs

Now we do it a little bit lighter

I take into account all those gestures, all those actions what have you done before, what we had in mind, and turn the left foot a little and then the right foot out

We will place the brick just outside of the right heel

This way what I'm going to do is soften the posture by lowering less, leaning on the brick and thus improving with a good action on the legs, on the feet and a good gesture of the sacrum towards the left side and forward a greater space in the lumbar spine

We keep here a few moments, same requirements on the edges of the body trunk, very long

Calm breathing, opening the chest wide and breathe

Inspiring, you go back to the center and we do the same on the other side

We take the brick, we put it this time on the outside of the left foot you turn a little right inwards and the left one completely out

Legs, feet firm active arms and exhaling we enter the posture

Hand resting on the brick but make sure the posture don't rest on it

It's the same as when we held the leg don't fall on it, don't fall on brick

Push it away from it keep all those gestures you've done so far, lengthens the edges of the trunk well

Not this gesture but there and breathe calmly

And then reaching out the upper arm to the sky separate the body trunk far from the pelvis, you look up to the sky if it does not bother the neck and breathe calmly

Breathing in, you return to the center

Always accompany the movement of your breath with the movement of the body

So put your feet together and again Tadasana

Breathe, bbserve that each time you are generating that wanted space

That the breath moves freely

Good, now we go with the next position

Taking into account all the action, all the gestures that we have to take as essential in the standing postures that will then lead us to the following, we continue with Virabhadrasana 2

So from Tadasana again, we separate arms and legs, this time a little more than in the previous position

The feet are again parallel to each other

The legs are kept firm, the body trunk is kept very high and away from the pelvis

don't let it fall, always up

Keep your arms parallel to the ground and from here you turn a little the left foot inward and the right foot completely out

Once we've done this, we will bend the leg, but we try that the knee does not go to the diagonal

What I want to say is that with this gesture we don't lose the straight line

You stay in line with the foot and ankle at all time

So once there we start bending the leg, as a reference we can use that the knee is just the same line as the second third toe

In this way the thigh turns out and I keep the same gesture what in Tadasana

Firm legs, very raised trunk edges, arms parallel to the ground and head in line with the spine

Finally, I look at the right hand

There is always someone who can be bothered by their shoulder, by putting tension on the trapeziums in this case we would put our hands on our hips

If not, if that is not the problem we continue with them parallel to the ground

Breathe easy, chest wide open, and keep your shoulders down and back

You go back to the center change, turn the feet, and from here keeping the same action in arms and legs, we bend the leg

Always checking that the knee stays in line with the second, third toe

That the rear thigh is kept parallel to the ground and from here all as in Tadasana

Posture going up shoulders down and back, head in line with spine and breathe

You return to the center inspiring you turn your feet and to the center, Tadasana

Now in Tadasana you keep breathing calmly

See how as you feel those actions, those gestures you are creating more awareness all over the body and therefore in the breathing

Feel how it moves freely

That the chest, the clavicles, the sternum have more and more space

Feel every part of the body doing the action it has to do now in Tadasana

And feel as a result a deep trunk lift, the firmness and inner calm

Well let's continue with the next posture called Utthita Parsvakonasana

So, from Tadasana, as we have agreed that we are going to do, between the standing postures let's separate arms and legs again

Same separation as before, as in Virabhadrasana 2 pose

For now, feet parallel to each other here when you spread your feet when the arms are parallel to the ground, stop for a moment, and feel how the posture is acquiring that gesture of Tadasana, that gesture of not weigh, of being light

As intense as it is but try to keep that lightness and that space so that the breath can move

Once here we turn our feet again, and as we did in Virabhadrasana 2 in the previous position, we rotate the thigh, bend the leg and check always, knee, second, third toe in line

Leg from behind very firm and exhaling, you lengthen your side, as if it were Utthita Trikonasana

Once there, as we said before, we can rest our hand on the ground, in case there is no problem or we can rest our hand on a brick if the lower back is bothering us, or if it may be difficult to touch the ground with your fingers

The brick will always be a little support for us

We can leave it low or we can leave it high if you prefer it

Once this is done as we mentioned before, do not let the weight of your body fall on the brick or on your fingertips

Keep the light posture, opening up, and with very firm legs, especially the one behind

That, the edges of the trunk like those of Utthita Trikonasana the second posture that we performed in today's session

Very long, no lateral humps, but have the same space the upper side and the lower side, far from the pelvis, separating all you can in the pelvis

The arm above, grows towards the sky, lightening the posture and the head is in line with the spine

Opening your chest wide, breathe

To return back, strong with your legs you return inspiring, arms parallel to the ground, we change

We move the brick again if we need it if the lumbar area bothers us

If not, we put it aside, to rest the fingertips on the ground

Very firm legs that's it, arms parallel to the ground if nor shoulders nor trapezoids bother us

If they do, we had already agreed that we put hands were on our hips

Done this, we bend the leg, make sure that foot thrusts are the same than those of Tadasana

That the firmness of the legs is the same as Tadasana, and that the knee is in line with the second, third toe of the foot

The edges of the trunk very high

Head in line with the spine and shoulders at all times well away from the ears

We lengthen the left side and keep the edges of the trunk very far from the pelvis

From there, open the chest, breathe

Inspiring you return to the center leave your feet parallel, together, Tadasana, and breathe calmly

Feel how the feet, the legs, maintaining that intelligence that makes you enter the posture, that makes you feel posture

Feel the firmness that goes from the soles of the feet to the highest part of your head and not for that tension, firmness, strength, energy, and calm

Good, we have seen four of the most basic postures within standing ones

In this session let's finish with one, whose name is Prasarita Padottanasana

So we have to separate the feet, at least like the last two postures, Virabhadrasana 2, Utthita Parsvakonasana, more or less the same separation between the feet or a little more

Having understood all the work that feet do, what legs have to do and how that turns out on a very long body trunk with space, open, and calm, I bring the attention to the hips

The hips have already awakened some intelligence in the two previous positions

I keep my spine very straight, chest wide open by the descent of the sacrum that we talked about in Tadasana

Front column very long, open, you breathe in and look up at the sky, and when you breathe out, you stretch forward, without losing none of the points with which you pushed the soles of your feet on the ground

Without losing the work that we saw in the previous positions in the legs

The kneecaps very high and once done the work of the feet, of the legs, I quickly access the sacrum, which is not directed towards the ceiling, because this would cause a sag in the lower back, which is what we did not want in any case when we started the session, when we watched Tadasana

The sacrum was escaping, the lumbar area was shortened

Well, we have to do the same here the sacrum in this case, looks for the coccyx as before in such a way that the lower back stretches and generates lots of space and action on the bibs

The column is concave, the sensation of the spine has to be forward and upward and far from it with the shoulders invading the neck

always down and back long nape, breathe calmly and observe the front column space at all times

If we didn't have space we would be shrunken

If we do everything from the base of the feet, until we reach it, the front column expands, opens and then the breath moves freely

Once here, bring your feet together a couple of steps

They stay parallel to each other

With your hands on the waist you stretch your spine forward, well moving from the hips until you stand up

Put your feet together and Tadasana

Breath calmly

Feel a little more of each pose integrated in Tadasana

Each part of your body has more awareness

Your breathing is moving, is deep, and the look is wide, panoramic

Okay, let's go sit down

We're staying cross-legged as we started the session

With our hands on our knees and with everything already seen, it will surely come out much easier that stretching of the spine, that firmness and that intelligence in the body, in which far from it becomes a heavy posture but high, wide

When someone has that attitude of depression or decay their overall posture tends to drop, to stoop, to sink the chest the gaze even lowered, the head poised forward

What we do with yoga, among many other things, is to overcome that inertia, that tendency

So if the edges of the trunk, if the armpits are high, if the front of your spine like what we have seen throughout the entire session

If your head stays in line with column and a wide panoramic look is generated that does not precisely focus on a specific point but it is as if it came from your temples encompassing all the space you have on the sides another attitude is produced in the brain and as I said before among many other things, in yoga we work this, trying to overcome that tendency to fall, to depress the physical parts of the body and on the contrary, then to generate space and lightness, harmony and deep softness

So just sit for a moment on the buttocks, with your legs crossed and with calm hands on knees

Feel all of this at the same time without judging anything, just observing it

Let your tongue not press on the palate that rests on the floor of your mouth

Let your jaw drop

Let your breathing move

Just a few moments, contemplating all this

Ok to finish we're going to lie on our back we are going to use a blanket to place the head

A folded blanket with a round edge that will then come into contact with the shoulders

Basically so that the neck is not in the air, that all the vertebrae are well placed and inside of the blanket and can rest comfortably

So we lay down on the ground Before the final relaxation, first I place the blanket as I said, always in contact with the shoulders is a reference more than anything for, for that so that the vertebrae rest comfortably, all inside the blanket and once I have done this we will bring the knees towards the abdomen

It is very important, whenever you have done your yoga session have a beginning and an ending

I cannot go directly to Savasana, but I have to go lowering the pace little by little, letting little by little also the brain, head, whole body in general be situating and set itsself up for what is going to be our final relaxation

Once this is done we are going to let the neck lengthen in such a way that the chin goes gently towards the chest, lengthening well the back neck

This goes, carries, to lower the gaze as well, thus seeking a descent of the brain and a calm in the mind

If on the contrary I is shrink the nape with which the chin goes back the effect of the brain and from the look it also goes up and back

So it produces a gesture of tension

At no time will I be able to access deep relaxation because I'm alert

So you can help yourself with your hands, lengthen well the back neck, to let the gaze remain low and once this is done you can either keep your gaze down or your eyes closed holding the knees well

Spread elbows sideways and let the trunk lengthen deeply backward

Make sure that the jaw, the face is calm

Once the sides lengthen, the belly sinks goes to the lower back and once i have this I dedicate a little more attention to breathing

It expands to the sides

Rock your body gently to one side and the other giving a little massage to your back

Let movement and breath be one and so you can loosen and soften more from the inside

Stop in the center and once here stretch your legs towards the ceiling and extending the heel well as if you wanted to touch everything that you have there in front of you, you lengthen the back leg in order to create a lot of space in all that area

We do the same with the other leg

It is the same to start with one that with another, it doesn't matter

You also lengthen it as if you wanted to reach with the heel towards what is in front of you

What I get this way is a bigger space between the base from the buttock to the heels

Very important than shoulders don't look up for the ears but they already have all the intelligence of what is practiced

Move away from them, pulling your upper arm out a little

So the tendency of the hand support is like towards the index finger not to the pinky because if not, we would get that the shoulders close, let the posture sink and we don't want that

So, you spin a little arm out, you let it rest rather towards the index finger and see the space that you now feel generated in your chest, between the shoulders

Once I have done that gesture, there is a little action very soft, very soft, at the height of the dorsal

It means that i don't let myself sink into ground

That would mean I have lost the intelligence of the shoulders and arms

Upper arm out, and a little bit of smooth, very smooth action on the dorsal, towards the sternum

Make sure that the skin of the face descends all the time towards the jaw, and that is falling gently towards your temples, towards the ears

Check that each eyeball rests in its corresponding socket, it sits on it

The eyes are a projection of the brain, so the more relaxed you are, the more relaxed your brain is

Widen your throat the sides of your throat relax

Leave the belly towards the lumbar area, relax your hips, leave your thighs, your legs, your feet

Drop arms and hands deep to the ground

Bring your attention to the palms of your hands for a moment and feel weight on them

With next deep breath, you completely abandon yourself in relaxation

Start taking three breaths deep

Feel like little by little wake up the body and begins to gently move your hands, the feet, arms and legs

Make any gesture you need, any move you feel like

Wake up, feel again every part of the body, already relaxed and little by little we're going to turn on the right side

With the help of our hands we sit down

Try not to open your eyes

Try the movements be slow, calm and unhurried

Allow yourself a minute, of your time to settle all that you have practiced to feel the benefits of all practice

Make you aware

Feel your whole body and your mind calm

Namaste

Open your eyes a little bit, little by little

From the bottom to the center

Thanks a lot!