Day 5
Timer on…
So…the past 5 days, I’ve been taking down notes throughout the practice…none of those notes have really made it into these 15 minute reflections, but…today, I am going to focus on the Warrior Pose because it was the first thing I landed on when I googled “Yoga poses for mourning” three years ago.
The Warrior Series was mentioned on the first page I found that tried to say what some poses are good for, and I wrote it down first, so…everytime I practiced this series (for three years – before I changed it on Day 2 of this journey to reflect the “proper flow”, according to the Noa Belling book), I always started with the Warrior Poses.
Three years ago, I noticed right away that the Warrior Poses were more grounded than they had ever been for the 12 years I had been practicing yoga, up to that point. I had heard that yoga poses, generally, become more “grounded” after a woman has a baby, but since I can’t have a baby, I thought that I would never experience that “groundedness” that all my friends who practice yoga said they had after they had their first child, but…then the death…of my dad…literally “grounded” me. I fell to the ground…I pounded on it when my mother called to tell me “he was gone…” I threw the phone…I fell to the ground…I didn’t have the strength to stand…When I googled the yoga poses for mourning and I landed on the Warrior Series…I just tried them out, and they were more “grounded” than I can describe…
Yesterday, I got quite depressed after my day of “too much yoga” (the Iyengar in the morning and then my mourning series). I couldn’t get out of that depression yesterday, no matter what I did. I’m now thinking that I released a lot of blood and energy yesterday that needed to be released, and much of it was the depression that I’ve been denying. I feel better today, but I felt as though I needed to break the habit of doing the series right after breakfast, so…I watched one of my “Black History” episodes I checked out from the Jeffersonville Library (most of my students at SUNY Sullivan are African-America/Black, and I am hopelessly ignorant of most of their history, so…I need to do some work to be the best professor I can be to them). The first episode on the second disc (where I’m at right now in the series) was the African-American History of WWII. And…they focused on the warrior perspective: that one has to keep going on despite not getting recognition, by being segregated, when a brother dies and you have to get out of the battle by continuing to fight (not falling to the ground and not being to get up).
The African-American WWII History spoke to me today as I practiced the mourning series. The Warrior poses are no longer at the beginning, and I don’t notice their “groundedness” anymore; I just am “grounded,” but I do notice the picture I taped of my dad in front of me as I practice and the fact that he never asked for recognition, he never asked for “thank yous,” he never stopped fighting to give me and my siblings the best life he could despite being laid-off in the 1980s from Union Pacific after Ronald Reagan deregulated the railroad. He even reinvented his life in his mid-40s when he couldn’t get another position because human resources at other places he tried to find a job at kept telling him he was “too old” and “over-qualified,” so he went into business for himself. He didn’t give up when we lost our house and moved to several rentals before settling onto 3 acres with a double-wide trailer. He didn’t give up on my education when he was denied a Parent Loan (because of the bankruptcy caused by his being laid-off); he asked my grandparents to help…which, I’m sure, was no easy task for a proud man.
I discovered today, as I was practicing (a true kinesthetic learning) that the Warrior Poses are to remind us to keep grounded on the earth, but to keep striving towards the future by reaching out or up or forward (II, I, and III – respectively).
I fell, when I heard of my father’s death, because I was surprised by his death, and I didn’t get up for three years because I didn’t know how to…part of this 69-Day-Journey is to learn how to reach out, reach up, and reach forward. (I apologize for the sentimentality today, but it was inevitable…).
The Asanas/Poses
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 (or Balasana…more on this another time…)
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 (or…again…Balasana…my mystery, for now…).
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 –
That’s all for today…
Timer on…
So…the past 5 days, I’ve been taking down notes throughout the practice…none of those notes have really made it into these 15 minute reflections, but…today, I am going to focus on the Warrior Pose because it was the first thing I landed on when I googled “Yoga poses for mourning” three years ago.
The Warrior Series was mentioned on the first page I found that tried to say what some poses are good for, and I wrote it down first, so…everytime I practiced this series (for three years – before I changed it on Day 2 of this journey to reflect the “proper flow”, according to the Noa Belling book), I always started with the Warrior Poses.
Three years ago, I noticed right away that the Warrior Poses were more grounded than they had ever been for the 12 years I had been practicing yoga, up to that point. I had heard that yoga poses, generally, become more “grounded” after a woman has a baby, but since I can’t have a baby, I thought that I would never experience that “groundedness” that all my friends who practice yoga said they had after they had their first child, but…then the death…of my dad…literally “grounded” me. I fell to the ground…I pounded on it when my mother called to tell me “he was gone…” I threw the phone…I fell to the ground…I didn’t have the strength to stand…When I googled the yoga poses for mourning and I landed on the Warrior Series…I just tried them out, and they were more “grounded” than I can describe…
Yesterday, I got quite depressed after my day of “too much yoga” (the Iyengar in the morning and then my mourning series). I couldn’t get out of that depression yesterday, no matter what I did. I’m now thinking that I released a lot of blood and energy yesterday that needed to be released, and much of it was the depression that I’ve been denying. I feel better today, but I felt as though I needed to break the habit of doing the series right after breakfast, so…I watched one of my “Black History” episodes I checked out from the Jeffersonville Library (most of my students at SUNY Sullivan are African-America/Black, and I am hopelessly ignorant of most of their history, so…I need to do some work to be the best professor I can be to them). The first episode on the second disc (where I’m at right now in the series) was the African-American History of WWII. And…they focused on the warrior perspective: that one has to keep going on despite not getting recognition, by being segregated, when a brother dies and you have to get out of the battle by continuing to fight (not falling to the ground and not being to get up).
The African-American WWII History spoke to me today as I practiced the mourning series. The Warrior poses are no longer at the beginning, and I don’t notice their “groundedness” anymore; I just am “grounded,” but I do notice the picture I taped of my dad in front of me as I practice and the fact that he never asked for recognition, he never asked for “thank yous,” he never stopped fighting to give me and my siblings the best life he could despite being laid-off in the 1980s from Union Pacific after Ronald Reagan deregulated the railroad. He even reinvented his life in his mid-40s when he couldn’t get another position because human resources at other places he tried to find a job at kept telling him he was “too old” and “over-qualified,” so he went into business for himself. He didn’t give up when we lost our house and moved to several rentals before settling onto 3 acres with a double-wide trailer. He didn’t give up on my education when he was denied a Parent Loan (because of the bankruptcy caused by his being laid-off); he asked my grandparents to help…which, I’m sure, was no easy task for a proud man.
I discovered today, as I was practicing (a true kinesthetic learning) that the Warrior Poses are to remind us to keep grounded on the earth, but to keep striving towards the future by reaching out or up or forward (II, I, and III – respectively).
I fell, when I heard of my father’s death, because I was surprised by his death, and I didn’t get up for three years because I didn’t know how to…part of this 69-Day-Journey is to learn how to reach out, reach up, and reach forward. (I apologize for the sentimentality today, but it was inevitable…).
The Asanas/Poses
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 (or Balasana…more on this another time…)
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 (or…again…Balasana…my mystery, for now…).
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 –
That’s all for today…