I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions, but this year I decided to choose one asana per week for focus and incorporate it into my daily practice. Since I practice every morning, I have a long list of variations in the asanas that I work on to keep things from getting stagnant. A weekly focus pose helps keeps things balanced while also giving me a chance to concentrate on refining certain poses. Here's my list so far:
Week 1: Adho Mukha Svanasana (Down Dog) - Another day, another down dog, as my yoga teacher always says. No better way to start than practicing this; like tadasana, it's essential for so many other poses. In this pose, I try particularly hard to work on my arm and elbow strength
Week 2: Virabhadrasana II (Warrior 2) - A good one to work on in preparation for triangle pose. Good for stretching the inner leg.
Week 3: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) - in the interest of building my shoulder strength and opening the upper back for Sunday morning shoulderstands (which I only do in class), this is a good pose to work on. I have some ongoing issues with my left knee that I have to watch, but otherwise it's okay. It is somehow calming and stimulating at the same time. See here for an even more in-depth article.
Week 4: Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle) - this one gets me every time. I feel like I've been practicing it forever, and yet still can't quite get my legs straight.
Week 5: Viparita Kirani (legs-up-the-wall): "Does this pose even have a name?" I asked myself. Yes, yes it does. And since my back's been cranky with me the past few days, it's high time I gave it some attention. This pose helps my legs and the inversion helps my clear my head (short of going fully upside down, which I only do in class). I'm also moving back to 2x daily practice this week in the hopes of getting this sorted out sooner rather than later.
Week 6: Vrksasana (Tree Pose): A favorite pose, I incorporate it into my practice nearly every day. This week I will concentrate on it a little more than usual and attempt not to slack. It's definitely a really good balancing pose, and it's my goal to work more on balancing on my right (bad) leg.
Weeks 7 & 8: I completely failed to choose a pose for these two weeks - too caught up in other work. But, I kept up my daily practice. This past week's Sunday morning class was especially fun and challenging, although I'm still having issues with my ears.
Week 9: How is it Week 9 already? I'm working on Uttanasana I this week with a goal to keep it easy. It's usually easier for me to practice this up against a wall to keep my back okay, but lately I've been okay with bending forward as long as I have blocks in front of me.
Week 10 and beyond: I fell behind in choosing a new pose each week as I was scrambling to finish my dissertation, but starting in May I plan to pick up the ball again. Where should I begin?
Week 1: Adho Mukha Svanasana (Down Dog) - Another day, another down dog, as my yoga teacher always says. No better way to start than practicing this; like tadasana, it's essential for so many other poses. In this pose, I try particularly hard to work on my arm and elbow strength
Week 2: Virabhadrasana II (Warrior 2) - A good one to work on in preparation for triangle pose. Good for stretching the inner leg.
Week 3: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) - in the interest of building my shoulder strength and opening the upper back for Sunday morning shoulderstands (which I only do in class), this is a good pose to work on. I have some ongoing issues with my left knee that I have to watch, but otherwise it's okay. It is somehow calming and stimulating at the same time. See here for an even more in-depth article.
Week 4: Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle) - this one gets me every time. I feel like I've been practicing it forever, and yet still can't quite get my legs straight.
Week 5: Viparita Kirani (legs-up-the-wall): "Does this pose even have a name?" I asked myself. Yes, yes it does. And since my back's been cranky with me the past few days, it's high time I gave it some attention. This pose helps my legs and the inversion helps my clear my head (short of going fully upside down, which I only do in class). I'm also moving back to 2x daily practice this week in the hopes of getting this sorted out sooner rather than later.
Week 6: Vrksasana (Tree Pose): A favorite pose, I incorporate it into my practice nearly every day. This week I will concentrate on it a little more than usual and attempt not to slack. It's definitely a really good balancing pose, and it's my goal to work more on balancing on my right (bad) leg.
Weeks 7 & 8: I completely failed to choose a pose for these two weeks - too caught up in other work. But, I kept up my daily practice. This past week's Sunday morning class was especially fun and challenging, although I'm still having issues with my ears.
Week 9: How is it Week 9 already? I'm working on Uttanasana I this week with a goal to keep it easy. It's usually easier for me to practice this up against a wall to keep my back okay, but lately I've been okay with bending forward as long as I have blocks in front of me.
Week 10 and beyond: I fell behind in choosing a new pose each week as I was scrambling to finish my dissertation, but starting in May I plan to pick up the ball again. Where should I begin?
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