Boundless Yoga - Guided Yoga Practices with Vanessa: Recent Episodes
Vanessa
Please accept these opportunities for you to release yourself from the grip of all the things you are "bound" by in life; commitments to family, friends and work, expectations of society about how we should look, behave, think and feel. Rediscover a sense of "boundlessness" - in your physical body, your heart and your mind. A mixture of - longer and shorter practices; more physically dynamic and gentler practices; movement practices, breathing practices and meditation practices - provide the variety that you need to find the practice that suits you best whenever and however you need it. Leave a review or email me your feedback at boundlessyoga@adam.com.au I love to hear feedback so I can make podcasts that are most enjoyable for you, the listener and my fellow yogi or yogini.
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Starting in standing we loosen and warm up the whole body. Then our standing poses focus on strengthening the feet, ankles, legs and hips. We practices some seated poses that improve flexibility in the hips and sides of the torso then finish with some moving bridge poses and relaxation.
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We start in lying down to ground our attention in the present through the practice of pranayama We gently warm up and loosen the body in supine and in on all fours and then in standing with some half Sun Salutations. You might like a chair for some reassurance as we practice some standing poses that challenge our balance and build strength in the feet, legs and hips. We wind down with some seated twists and a flowing bridge pose sequence before our final relaxation.
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This is a lovely gentle practice that we start in lying down. We take out time to bring attention to the present with a Viloma Breathing Practice followed by loosening and warming up the body here. We move to all fours to continue mobilising the spine, neck and shoulders then come to standing for some twisting poses to release muscles in the back and sides. We finish with some more relaxed rolling on the floor before our final Savasana.
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If you can excuse my fumbling over my lefts and rights today you'll enjoy this practice focussing on deepening our core awareness and moving through our practice with support from the core. Starting by loosening in seated and in all fours and lunge we practice some standing poses in a flowing sequence, some balance poses and finally seated poses before a guided relaxation.
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Another recording from our online guided practices we start by observing sounds around us to deepen our present moment awareness. After loosening and warming up in sitting and then on all fours you might like the support of a bolster or chair as we practice some lunges. We bring our attention to the alignment of our head as we work through standing and seated poses, strengthening our upper back muscles while also releasing tension from the neck. Finishing with a guided relaxation we again focus on sounds, deepening our present moment awareness and developing a sense of equanimity.
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Face-to-face classes have gone online again due to the Omicron Semi-Lockdown in Adelaide. The upside of this at least will be a couple of months of regular recordings of online practices - available anytime, here, as podcasts.
For today's practice we used a yoga bolster as a prop as we warmed up in Cat Pose and Thread the Needle Pose. Then we used it again as we tackled a sequence of standing poses. Our bolster was a useful support while practicing some seated poses and finally a Supported Bridge Pose before a Guided Relaxation that focussed on grounding our awareness in the present moment.
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Face-to-face classes have gone online again due to the Omicron Semi-Lockdown in Adelaide. The upside of this will be a couple of months at least of regular recordings of online practices.
Todays practice is a sequenced lead- in to practicing Paravritta Parsvokanasana (Revolved side Flank stretch), some gentle modified Surya Namaskars and some flowing standing poses to loosen and lubricate all the joints and warm up and mobilise the whole body. We close with a mindful Body Scan to deepen our experience of Savasana (relaxation).
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Variations with some extra back bending to help you open your heart and stand tall again.
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In this variation we use a chair as a prop to steady us as we flow from Mountain Pose through some Half Dog Poses, Warrior I Poses, Imaginary Chair Poses and Balances.
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In this variation of our Surya Namaskars we again use a chair as a prop to steady us as we add Warrior II, Reverse Warrior and Side Flank Stretch to our flow.
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A Sun Salutation is a moving meditation that connects body, breath and mind in the present moment and this one also highlights the strength in your arms and shoulders.
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In this episode we sequence some lunges, Crescent Moon Poses and Revolved Side Flank Stretches that build strength in the legs. A moving mediation that lengthens and deepens our breathing.
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In this episode we start exploring the Theme of Surya Namaskar with some "Half Sun Salutations". A short sequence that takes us with our breathing through standing forward bends, squats, balances and twists to warm up the spine, hips and shoulders and strengthen the legs.
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Look out for this new little series of episodes all featuring Variations on a Theme of Surya Namaskar. Surya Namaskar, or Sun Salutations, are a fairly ubiquitous part of most yoga traditions and classes. At their core they are a flowing sequence of asana (poses) which take the spine, hips and shoulders through their range of motion from flexion to extension, warming, loosening and strengthen the body. When practiced with the breath Surya Namaskars lengthen and deepen our breathing. In this series we will work from this core understanding of what makes a Surya Namaskar to explore variations on the theme that will keep our practice creative, responsive and alive.
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Another practice from the Zoom archive recorded during last November's lockdown in Adelaide. Use your awareness of sound to centre yourself in the present moment. Warm up in sitting, on all fours and in lunge. Practice some Surya Namaskar and standing poses before some seated twists. Wind down with some supine stretches and practice letting go and relaxing in a final savasana.
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From the archives of the November 2020 lockdown in Adelaide when the weather was fine enjoy the background of birdsong during this well balanced practice of asana, breath awareness and relaxation. Warm up in sitting, all fours and lunge. Then practice some Surya Namaskar, Standing Poses and Balances. Finish with seated poses and a centering relaxation.
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We use our awareness of the sounds around and the sound of our own breath to centre ourselves in the present moment. This is followed by a practice predominantly in kneeling - Cat Pose variations, lunges, Crescent Moon Pose and Gate Pose - which warms and loosens the hips, legs, shoulders and arms and lengthens the spine and the sides of the waist.
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"Gripping onto thought, feelings or anywhere in the body just causes discomfort and resistance. What we resist will persist. If we can soften around displeasure, discomfort and the occasional raw mistake, we can flow a bit more into the movement of life. Movement implies softness; nothing moves very far in constricted areas or very easily through tight places."
- unknown
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An entire practice from lying on your back in Savasana. We start by centre-ing through your connection to your breath, the ground and the sensations you can feel. We follow this with gradually loosening your arms and legs and finally your whole body, rolling and twisting it around on the floor to create an overall sensation of suppleness and mobility.
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“Yoga talks about cat-pose, dog-pose, camel-pose, monkey-pose, bird-pose etc. Why there are so many animal poses? Animals release their emotions and tensions by movements based on their body sensations. But our amygdala in the brain is carrying the “fight or flight response”; it has forgotten the art of releasing the tensions. As human beings, when we are aware about the sensations, we can release that by aware, slow movements. If you do not give movements to the body parts, energy will be stuck and blood circulation will be disturbed. Gradually, that creates chronic physical and mental health problems.”
Amit Ray (2010) "Yoga and Vipassana: An Integrated Life Style"
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Take some time to centre yourself in the present, in your body, with awareness of your breath. Experiment with variations on the traditional Cat Pose to warm, loosen and stretch out your spine.
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Centre yourself in the present moment with awareness of your breath and connecting your movement to your breathing. Then practice some rocking lunges and crescent moon pose to stretch out and release tension from legs, hips, shoulders and spine.
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Another from the Zoom archive, in this guided practice we warm up in sitting and in lunge. Standing poses provide the opportunity for a couple of little balance challenges and we round things off with some Sun Salutations and seated poses.
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Have you been stuck sitting at a desk working? Take the Opportunity to interrupt your sitting by using your desk as a prop to flow between Warrior 1 and 2 with your breath.
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Take 1 minute, 2 poses and 3 Breaths to fit a little more Yoga into your life. Be Opportunistic and practice this simple twisted seated perhaps on your dining room chair.
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Another guided practice from the Zoom archives. Notice the sounds around you, your breathing, your own thoughts and sensations in the physical body which help deepen your present moment awareness. We flow through warming up stretches, Sun Salutations, standing poses, and seated poses for a well balanced physical practice and finish in a rewarding relaxation where we learn about "the Santa Claus effect."
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TadasanaMountain
by Leeza Lowitz
This is the place
the journey begins.
Half rooted in the earth,
half floating in the endless sky.
What would it be like
to be the mountain?
The air is perhaps thinner,
though the sky is not always clear.
The view is sometimes shrouded in fog
sometimes in plain and glorious sight,
but the ascent or descent can kill.
The earth is stable
or sometimes not.
So it is
at base or summit,
yet the mountain never asks
why or for what purpose
it exists.
This is the one difference
between the climber
and the climbed.
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Another in a little a series focused on developing a sense of 'grounding'. Practice the Ujjayi breath to connect deeply with your breathing then attune to the contact of your feet against the floor. Utilize this sense of grounding to flow through some Spinal Rolls and into some Half Sun Salutations.
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Steady your physical body, your mind and your heart through a deep connection with your breath and the ground underneath you. Flow through some Spinal Rolls and practice Downward Dog Pose and Tadasana.
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Take 1 Minute to practice 2 Poses - Warrior Two and Triangle. Connect your breath and movement between these poses for 3 Breaths and observe the way this brings your attention more fully into the present moment.
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Ground yourself very much in the present moment with a guided relaxation that draws your attention to sounds and sensations. Follow this with a rolling around on the floor kind of warm up, gentle half sun salutations and seated poses and finish with some more relaxation.
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Using the simple structure of taking 1 minute, to practice 2 poses and follow 3 breaths in each pose again, stretch out and deepen your breathing by practicing some Opportunistic Warrior Poses at your Kitchen Bench.
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Another practice from the Zoom archives recording during lockdown we start this practice with loosening in a supine position. Then gradually coming to standing we explore variations on Sun Salutations incorporating some Cobra and Crescent Moon Poses. Standing poses are followed by some seated poses and finally winding down into a guided, breath and present-moment-awareness focused relaxation.
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Getting some Yoga back into your life even when you are flat out busy and the opportunities to practice seem few and far between is as easy as 1,2,3..... Using the simple structure of taking 1 minute, to practice 2 poses and follow 3 breaths in each pose provides a strategy to fit in a yoga practice anywhere, anytime - even at the bathroom vanity after brushing your teeth before you head off into a busy day.
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This gentle Mini Practice focusses on Connecting with the Breath to bring your attention into the present. Then let the breath guide you through some variations of Cat Pose and Hunting Dog Pose and finish by relaxing in Child's Pose.
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A nice rolling and around on the floor kind of warm up leads into some half sun salutations and standing poses before a bit more rolling around on the floor to prepare for relaxation.
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Enjoy releasing your back, hips and shoulders with this relaxing sequence of Child's Pose and Twists.
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From the Zoom Practices recorded during lockdown, we begin this practice in Supine and continue warming up the spine, back and hips in Cat Pose and Pigeon Pose. We build strength in the back and shoulders with Downward Dog Pose and Cobra Pose then flow into some Half Sun Salutation and Standing Poses. Stretching and Strength building in some seated poses is rounded off in Supine with a Bridge Pose Sequence and then Savasana.
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A mini guided practice to lengthen your spine and torso so you can sit taller. We allow the breath to lead us through a flowing sequence of simple seated forward bends, twists and side bends.
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We begin this practice with a relaxing warm-up, in supine, loosening the legs, back, hips, arms and shoulders. Then build strength in the upper back by adding some cobra pose to our Sun Salutations, build strengthen in the legs and hips with sequenced standing poses and strength in the back hips and core in seated poses. We finish with a lovely relaxed cool-down in supine and, of course, an all important final Savasana.
Another Audio recording from the Lockdown Zoom Practice files.
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"The breath moves the body" - allow your breath to move you through your practice of Warrior 2.
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Yoga Nidra is a Mindful Body Scan which cultivates a sense of deep relaxation in the physical body and sense of calm alertness in the heart and mind.
"Anti-Gravity Yoga" (1991) Vanda Scaravelli, Awakening the Spine, Harper San Francisco.
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Spend time lying in Supine to center your attention on your breathing and then gently warm up your physical body. Strengthen your legs and posture in standing poses and balances.
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The audio recording of an Online Practice held on 8-5-2020.
Loosen and warm up. Practice some Half Sun Salutations to strengthen the back muscles and legs in preparation for Standing Poses. Release the back muscles and practice some Reclined Bridge Pose before enjoying Savasana.
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Practice some lunges with twists and then add them into your Sun Salutations. Develop strength in some standing poses and enjoy some relaxing seated and reclined stretches followed by Savasana.
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Enjoy this practice of simple lunges, half sun salutations and standing poses. A well-balanced practice to loosen, strengthen and mobilize the whole body and then enjoy the well-deserved savasana to conclude.
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