I Experienced the Walk Out...

Taught Saturday and had 12 people in the class. Was a sequence I had come up with the week before and involved a lot of twisting to squeeze out the stagnant energies from winter. We started in balasana and stretched left and right before moving into a flowy version of cat cow where we exhale from cat through balasana and then inhale pulling up with an open heart through cow. After some organic rounds of that we pushed back into a bent knee downdog and walked our dogs and came up to tip toes and then sunk our heels back toward the floor before slowly walking feet to hands and relaxing in a slumpy uttanasana with knees touching thighs and head hanging heavy. Finally, we rolled slowly up to tadasana to move into our sun salutations.

Sun A/Surya Namaskar: Urdhva Hastasana, uttanasana, step left foot back into lunge, inhale right arm to sky, exhale hand back to mat, inhale left arm to sky, exhale hand to mat, inhale step back into plank, exhale through chatturanga, urdhva muka savasana, exhale to adho muka savasana. Step or jump feet to hands and inhale half lift, exhale uttanasana, inhale to urdhva hastasana. Repeat other leg and then one more round.

Sun B/Surya Namaskar: Ukatasana, swan dive to uttanasana, chatturanga, urdhva muka, adho muka, inhale right leg to sky, exhale sweep through to right lunge & plant back heel to inhale to Vira I/Warrior 1. Exhale humble warrior with airplane arms, inhale warrior 1, exhale reverse warrior, inhale Vira 2, exhale through vinyasa and then repeat opposite side. Repeat 2 more times.

Standing sequence was parsva ukatasana to right, step left foot back, twisting parsvokonasana and optional bind with step forward and take twisted bird of paradise. Well nobody in class bound so we skipped the balancing posture.

Vinyasa to Warrior 2, Trikonasana with core challenge, Revolved triangle, Parsvottanasana, then standing splits prep and eventually revolved half moon with option of taking that to chaporasana (aka candy cane). Release padangustasana A. And Repeat other side.


Next sequence was moonrise to hip opener or as called in jivamukti- turtle stretch and then moved into flying pigeon/crow.

Moving to the floor we started with back stregtheners and stretches. Salabasana/locust A then B. Bekhesana/ frog with Right leg, left leg and then both. Dhanurasana. Vinyasa to Ustrasana--and I offered variations of either lago or kapotasana. I helped one gils with a really open back into lagu for her first time and she said it felt fabulous.

Time was passing so I took us into seated twists. Mareychasana A, C and then Ardha Matseyendrasana. This is where I lost my student. I was helping and adjusting people and when we were in ardha matseyendrasana I could see that the girl could easily access the full posture to hold her knee and put the other hand reach back to crook of the hip. Well All I did was ask her whether or not she wanted to do the bind and wasn't sure what she said. I asked quitely once more and she didn't want help moving into it. Next time I looked over to that corner she was gone. Lost one. I didn't dwell on it at the time but did feel bad and sad and wondered whether she doesn't like any of my class or whether she just doesn't like to be touched or if she felt I told her that she was doing something wrong. I am not going to be too bent up about it because it would be wrong for me not to try to offer adjustments because one person left. I had noticed that she didn't take verbal corrections even when they were made to the entire class, so perhaps she doesn't come to class for the instruction, but more for the energy and the flow. Just hope I didn't turn her off from all yoga classes.

After this was closing sequence poses. Plow, shoulderstand, karnipidasana, supta hasta padangustansana A, B, across the body, supine twisting, supta badha konasana & savasana.