Geeta told a story of how Abhijata's daughter reaches for her mom, that is her pure intelligence. We need to work this way in Yoga. What is your intelligence telling you? How are your back muscles working? Are they even? It is up to you to find out. Teachers are guides, but you need to do. Ultimately we use our individual intelligence to find out how the asana is best done for our own needs. How can we find joy in the asana? How can we find quietness? How can we approach death with calmness?
For example in Supta Padangusthasana, put the belt on the upper heel. Do you feel the femur bone plug into the hip socket? Now, move the belt higher up the foot and compare. Put the belt on the foot exactly where you feel the femur bone plug in, each person may be different.
We also worked on twists in an interesting way. We did Parivrtta Upavistha Konasana and Marichyasana, after twisting, we bent forward towards the floor. This action helps keep the deltoid soft, especially as you bring it close to the bent knee in Marichyasana.
For Pranayama, Geeta showed us many ways to do Jalandhara Bandha by taking the head down with the fingers in the ears, holding the jaw, holding the head, etc. We did comparisons to see what positions work best for our individual selves. This is the point of yoga.
Through the past few days of pranayama work, I feel my chest spreading forward, back, and to the sides. From pranayama, my asanas have been much better. I can feel more flexibility in the intercostal muscles, more space in my shoulders, and the dorsal is opening. This is a motivator for all of you out there to start pranayama!!!!
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