Day 14
Timer on…
Well, I’m six minutes away from being in Day 15, and I experimented with where the rest poses go today because I knew that I only had about 45 minutes to complete the series after getting home from rehearsal, taking the dogs out, and bathing before the water heater turns off…ah! the life of an adult artist in the Catskills…
I decided to put the rest poses only at the transitions today, and since this 69 Day Journey of Mourning Poses for Yoga is about trying to find a modern transition for an American woman, who doesn’t have mourning traditions in her pluralistic culture, and, thus, she has to steal them from another culture…in this case the Indians and their yoga practice…I guess it is certainly fitting that on these days that are very filled for me and I have to adjust the practice to fit it in, that I have to adjust the “transitions”. There’s some poetic justice there, I suppose…
So…I decided today during one of the rest poses that I would look during this time to see “statistically” what Chakras happen the most in this series…I have a feeling that it is Manipura (the solar plexus) but I haven’t counted, yet…here goes…
And, the winner is…as I expected, Manipura (the solar plexus) with 10 poses. Ajna (Third Eye) is in second place with six poses. Muladhara (Base Chakra) is third with three poses, fittingly. Svadhisthana (Navel Chakra) and Visuddha (Throat Chakra) tied for fourth with 2 poses each. Shasrara (Crown Chakra) and Anahata (Heart Chakra) tied for last place with 1 pose each. Now, Muladhara and Visuddha have more throughout the practice when I put a rest pose in between the other poses with child’s pose, wind-relieving pose and mountain pose, but…I’m not counting them. I’m also not counting the Padmasana (Lotus) that is used with the Crown Yoga Mudra and the Shakarma, in which I use Sukhasana in Nauli Kriya (the undulating of the abdomen) or the butterfly pose with Tratak (the staring pose).
Anyway, I suppose tomorrow, if I have time, I will look closer at the Manipura (Solar Plexus) Chakra because it is clearly the one that is used the most. It is also interesting that a lot of our voice comes from the diaphragm, which is also located there, and that you can almost force crying and laughing by focusing on that area…there’s a lot there that, I think, we don’t think about, and by stretching it, I may be letting out pain that has collected there…Again I have no idea about any of my hypothesis, but I’m following this ritual to try and discover something from intuition…
Well, here’s the poses, and it takes only about 40 minutes to do the series with rest poses only at the transitions.
Part 1 – Standing or lying
Neutral – Chakra 2 – Svadhisthana (Navel Chakra or Hara) – Orange
· Hero’s Pose – Virasana
· Butterfly – Baddha Konasana
Forward Bend – Chakra 5 – Visuddha (Throat Chakra) – Sky Blue
· Child’s Pose – Supta Vajrasana
Back Bend– Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar plexus - yellow
· Flying Cow – Januhastasana/Bidalasana/Gavasana
· Camel – Ustrasana
· Sphinx – Salamba Bhujangasana
· Cobra – Bhujangasana
· Upward Facing Dog – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
· Bow – Dhanurasana
· Supported Fish – Samarthita Matsyasana
Twist – Chakra 4 – Anahata – Heart Chakra - Green
· Spinal Twist – Jathara Parivritti (straight leg twist on the ground)
Part Two – Standing
Neutral – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra - Red
· Warrior 2 – Virabhadrasana II – Warrior 2
Forward Bend – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra – Red
· Standing Forward Bend – Uttanasana
Back Bend – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra – Red
· Warrior 1 – Virabhadrasana I
Part Three – Standing Balances
Neutral – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo
· Tree Pose – Vrksasana
· Standing Big Toe Pose – Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana
Forward Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo
· Eagle - Garudasana
· Warrior 3 – Virabhadrasana III
Back Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo
· Dancer - Natarajasana
Side Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo
· Half Moon – Ardha Chandrasana
Part 4 – Inverted
Neutral – Chakra 7 – Sahasrara – Crown Chakra - Lavender
· Headstand – Salamba Sirshasana
Back Bend– Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar Plexus - Yellow
· Supported Back Bend – Samarthita Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
· Wheel – Urdhva Dhanurasana
· Dolphin – Makurasana
Neutral – Chakra 7 – Sahasrara – Crown Chakra - Lavender
· Headstand – Salamba Sirshasana
Part 5 – Rest Pose
Forward Bend – Chakra 5 – Visuddha – Throat Chakra – Sky Blue
· Child’s Pose – Supta Vajrasana
Part 6 – Mudra (Gesture)
· Yoga Mudra – Crown of the Head with Padmasana – Lotus Pose.
Part 7 – Shatkarma (more on this name, later, because…if I were Scottish…the first part of this word is literal).
· Neti –
· Dhauti –
· Basti –
· Nauli Kriya –
· Kapalabhati –
· Tratak –
And, congratulations, to me, is in order…I guess…I’ve made it to two weeks…and lost 3 lbs. of my 20 lbs. of flesh that I’m looking to lose…there’s a scale at the senior center where I rehearse on Mondays, so I checked the past two weeks…
Timer on…
Well, I’m six minutes away from being in Day 15, and I experimented with where the rest poses go today because I knew that I only had about 45 minutes to complete the series after getting home from rehearsal, taking the dogs out, and bathing before the water heater turns off…ah! the life of an adult artist in the Catskills…
I decided to put the rest poses only at the transitions today, and since this 69 Day Journey of Mourning Poses for Yoga is about trying to find a modern transition for an American woman, who doesn’t have mourning traditions in her pluralistic culture, and, thus, she has to steal them from another culture…in this case the Indians and their yoga practice…I guess it is certainly fitting that on these days that are very filled for me and I have to adjust the practice to fit it in, that I have to adjust the “transitions”. There’s some poetic justice there, I suppose…
So…I decided today during one of the rest poses that I would look during this time to see “statistically” what Chakras happen the most in this series…I have a feeling that it is Manipura (the solar plexus) but I haven’t counted, yet…here goes…
And, the winner is…as I expected, Manipura (the solar plexus) with 10 poses. Ajna (Third Eye) is in second place with six poses. Muladhara (Base Chakra) is third with three poses, fittingly. Svadhisthana (Navel Chakra) and Visuddha (Throat Chakra) tied for fourth with 2 poses each. Shasrara (Crown Chakra) and Anahata (Heart Chakra) tied for last place with 1 pose each. Now, Muladhara and Visuddha have more throughout the practice when I put a rest pose in between the other poses with child’s pose, wind-relieving pose and mountain pose, but…I’m not counting them. I’m also not counting the Padmasana (Lotus) that is used with the Crown Yoga Mudra and the Shakarma, in which I use Sukhasana in Nauli Kriya (the undulating of the abdomen) or the butterfly pose with Tratak (the staring pose).
Anyway, I suppose tomorrow, if I have time, I will look closer at the Manipura (Solar Plexus) Chakra because it is clearly the one that is used the most. It is also interesting that a lot of our voice comes from the diaphragm, which is also located there, and that you can almost force crying and laughing by focusing on that area…there’s a lot there that, I think, we don’t think about, and by stretching it, I may be letting out pain that has collected there…Again I have no idea about any of my hypothesis, but I’m following this ritual to try and discover something from intuition…
Well, here’s the poses, and it takes only about 40 minutes to do the series with rest poses only at the transitions.
Part 1 – Standing or lying
Neutral – Chakra 2 – Svadhisthana (Navel Chakra or Hara) – Orange
· Hero’s Pose – Virasana
· Butterfly – Baddha Konasana
Forward Bend – Chakra 5 – Visuddha (Throat Chakra) – Sky Blue
· Child’s Pose – Supta Vajrasana
Back Bend– Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar plexus - yellow
· Flying Cow – Januhastasana/Bidalasana/Gavasana
· Camel – Ustrasana
· Sphinx – Salamba Bhujangasana
· Cobra – Bhujangasana
· Upward Facing Dog – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
· Bow – Dhanurasana
· Supported Fish – Samarthita Matsyasana
Twist – Chakra 4 – Anahata – Heart Chakra - Green
· Spinal Twist – Jathara Parivritti (straight leg twist on the ground)
Part Two – Standing
Neutral – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra - Red
· Warrior 2 – Virabhadrasana II – Warrior 2
Forward Bend – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra – Red
· Standing Forward Bend – Uttanasana
Back Bend – Chakra 1 – Muladhara – Base Chakra – Red
· Warrior 1 – Virabhadrasana I
Part Three – Standing Balances
Neutral – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo
· Tree Pose – Vrksasana
· Standing Big Toe Pose – Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana
Forward Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo
· Eagle - Garudasana
· Warrior 3 – Virabhadrasana III
Back Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo
· Dancer - Natarajasana
Side Bend – Chakra 6 – Ajna – Third Eye or Brow Chakra – Indigo
· Half Moon – Ardha Chandrasana
Part 4 – Inverted
Neutral – Chakra 7 – Sahasrara – Crown Chakra - Lavender
· Headstand – Salamba Sirshasana
Back Bend– Chakra 3 – Manipura – Solar Plexus - Yellow
· Supported Back Bend – Samarthita Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
· Wheel – Urdhva Dhanurasana
· Dolphin – Makurasana
Neutral – Chakra 7 – Sahasrara – Crown Chakra - Lavender
· Headstand – Salamba Sirshasana
Part 5 – Rest Pose
Forward Bend – Chakra 5 – Visuddha – Throat Chakra – Sky Blue
· Child’s Pose – Supta Vajrasana
Part 6 – Mudra (Gesture)
· Yoga Mudra – Crown of the Head with Padmasana – Lotus Pose.
Part 7 – Shatkarma (more on this name, later, because…if I were Scottish…the first part of this word is literal).
· Neti –
· Dhauti –
· Basti –
· Nauli Kriya –
· Kapalabhati –
· Tratak –
And, congratulations, to me, is in order…I guess…I’ve made it to two weeks…and lost 3 lbs. of my 20 lbs. of flesh that I’m looking to lose…there’s a scale at the senior center where I rehearse on Mondays, so I checked the past two weeks…