June 2020 Pose of the Month: Vriksasana/Tree Pose

Vriksasana (Vriksa = tree; asana = pose) or Tree Pose

Because of the craziness of trying to navigate “stay-at-home” and businesses closing, we missed our April Pose of the Month which would have likely been Tree Pose to celebrate both Earth Day and Arbor Day; however, we couldn’t let it be passed up, and feel how appropriate it still is here in June. 

As you get outside, you will likely see so many of our beautiful trees and flowers in full bloom. And just like the trees that stand tall, rooted, and grounded through chaos and stormy weather, we too have been asked to stay strong and focused through our own chaos, turmoil, stresses and to weather our own storms–real and perceived. 

Tree pose also asks us to explore the physical act of balancing by focusing on one thing in the moment. We can take this lesson off the mat by discussing the need to have a work/life balance to maintain our physical, mental and emotional health. It can be very difficult to find balance among our work, family, rest, play and service to others. How often are you trying to do too much at once and then nothing really gets done well? How often do you find yourself on your phone while you are at a gathering with friends and family. Tree pose reminds us that when we are able to bring ourselves fully present in the moment on the ONE THING that is right in front of us and do it or be there completely and fully, we not only show up for ourselves, but for others in the best way possible.  And lastly, when balance doesn’t seem possible, we can always reach out for support (a wall, a chair, a friend).

As we move into June, the month of light, towards the Summer Solstice — the longest day of the year — let’s find balance in all the uncertainty, stand strong through all the changes, shine our light to not only help support ourselves but also to shine the way for others, and when we see our friends struggle, let’s reach out a helping hand.

How To

• Start in Tadasana/Mountain Pose 

• Find a drishti or focused gaze in front of your body for a focal point

• Shift your weight into your left foot, and lift your right heel off the mat

• Start to feel the shift in balance there, engaging your core

• Then turn your right knee out to the right

• Staying there with your toes supporting you and heel on the ankle is a fine place to be

• If you feel steady and at ease there, you can try bringing the sole of your right foot up to the side of your shin/calf

• Continue to engage the low belly

• You can stay there, or bring your foot to the top of your inner left thigh

• Go slowly and only bring the foot up as high up as you can maintain your balance

• Once in place, bring your hands together in anjali mudra or namaste or prayer mudra

• Keep your vision on the one point and engage the core

• Feel free to stay there or explore other arm variations

• Stay for several breaths

• To come out, lower the right leg and resume Mountain Pose. 

• Repeat on the second side.

Variations

• Foot placement can stay on mat, shin or on upper thigh

• Several different arm variations

• Back to the wall

• Hand on a wall

• Supported by hands on a chair

• Seated in chair with bent knee foot to ankle

• Seated tree or Janusirsasana

• Eyes closed to challenge balance

• Tree plank & side plank

Benefits

• Increases balance

• Improves focus & concentration

• Improves memory

• Increases confidence

• Strengthens ankle and foot of the standing leg

• It’s just plain fun!

Prep Poses: 

• Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Facing Dog Pose

• Anjaneyasana/Low Lunge Pose

• Ardha Uttanasana/Half Forward Fold

• Ashta Chandrasana/High Lunge Pose

• Baddha Konasana/Bound Angle

• Bidalasana/Cat Pose

• Malasana/Squat Pose

• Prasarita Padottanasana B & D/ Wide Legged Forward Fold w/hands on hips & grabbing big toes w/peace fingers

• Supta Padangusthasana/Reclined Big Toe Pose

• Tadasana/Mountain

• Utthita Trikonasana/Extended Triangle

• Virabhadrasana II/Warrior II

What this Pose Preps You for:

• More balancing poses

• Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana/Standing Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose

• Vasisthasana w/top leg in Vrksasana position/ Side Plank w/leg in Tree pose

Counter Poses: 

• Tadasana/Mountain

• Ardha Uttanasana/Half Forward Fold

• Uttanasana/Forward Fold

• Garudasana/Eagle Pose

• Balasana/Child’s Pose

Contraindications & Cautions

• Practice on a firm, level, and non-skid surface

• Dizziness

• Knee injury

Works consulted: 30 Essential Yoga Poses by Judith Lasater, Yoga Sequencing by Mark Stephens, and YogaBasics.com

May 2020 Pose of the Month: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana/Bridge Pose

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (setu = bridge; bandha = building or lock; sarva = all; anga = limbs; asana = pose) or Bridge Pose

A bridge is a structure built over some sort of obstacle, be it a river, a railroad track, another road, etc. In essence, a bridge is a connector of two things that may originally seem impossible to connect. Spiritually, a bridge can be seen as a union, as our bodies are a union between earth and sky, and a bridge is a link between two different situations. Right now, as we are in the midst of a global pandemic and many of us are following “shelter-in-place” or “stay-at-home” orders, we are, in a sense, on a bridge between the “normal” that we once knew and a “new normal” that has yet to be seen. We have also figured out a way to bridge the gaps in being separated by bringing yoga online via Zoom, by having FaceTime happy hours, by using masks and gloves and other sanitation supplies to move about in the world. Some of us are using this time to open our hearts to see all of the beauty that we may have missed while moving along in a sort of haze that everyday life had once been. Some have been able to use this time to really consider all of the abundances that filled their lives but had been taken for granted, so in understanding that, some have been able to really let go of what once might have been thought of as a key necessity, but in reality was being held or gripped tightly fearing what might happen if we were to let go. So now, we are being asked to let go. 

In yoga, a bridge is one of the quintessential backbends that open our hearts to new and different ways of thinking and of living. We work into deeper backbends by taking it one step at a time, slowly opening our shoulders, deepening our breath, expanding our collarbones, strengthening our legs, lengthening our quads and hamstrings through systematic movement. According to Judith Hanson Lasasater’s 30 Essential Yoga Poses “Bridge Pose symbolizes the connection between the inner and the outer world, the mind and the body, and the individual and the Divine.”  

While we may not yet see what is on the other side of the bridge, we are taking this moment one step at a time and trusting that what is waiting for us is something beautiful that will take us further in our journey of expansion through the heart. Practice bridge with all the joy that awaits.

How To

• Place feet hip width distance apart with heels directly below knees

• Press elbows and shoulder heads down into the floor, lifting chest, and bringing shoulder blades toward one another. Keep your gaze straight up.

• Press into your feet and slowly send your knees forward; then lift your hips away from the floor. 

• Optional: hold outside edges of mat and pull arms apart to bring shoulderblades more underneath the back

• 2nd Option: interlace fingers under body, stretching knuckles to the front of the mat, continuing to open the chest

Variations

• Supported Bridge Pose (shown in image)

  • Bring block, folded blanket or bolster under the the hips/sacrum - triangular flat bone where hips and low back meet.

• Bridge Pose on a chair 

  • holding onto the back of the chair and lifting chest up and out

• Wheel Pose (shown in image)

• Wheel Pose over a bolster

  • Bring your spine - tailbone to shoulders - on bolster, feet on ground, arms overhead w/fingers toward shoulders

• Wheel Pose on a chair (shown in image)

  • sending feet through the opening in the back and bringing arms overhead w/fingers toward shoulders

• One-legged Wheel Pose

  • Step one foot toward middle of body

  • Bring opposite knee toward chest, then lift foot to sky

Benefits

• Strengthens the erector spinae muscles (vertical stabilizing muscles of the spine)

• Strengthens hamstrings, quadriceps, hip and gluteal muscles

• Opens and stretches the abdomen, chest, and shoulders

• Increases flexibility in upper back

• Stimulates thyroid and pituitary glands

• Helps to alter moods

• Give a sense of an expanding, open heart

• Calms the mind

• Energizes the body

Prep Poses: 

• Ardha Bhekasana/Half Frog Pose (also one-legged Bow Pose)

• Anjaneyasana/Low Lunge

• Ashta Chandrasana/Crescent Lunge or High Lunge Pose

• Bhujangasana/Cobra Pose

• Bidalasana/Cat and Cow Pose

• Dhanurasana/Bow Pose

• Garudasana arms/Eagle Arms

• Salabhasana A & C/locust pose arm apart & interlacing fingers

• Supta Virasana/Reclining Hero Pose

• Tadasana/Mountain Pose

• Urdhva Mukha Svanasana/Upward-facing Dog Pose

• Ustrasana/Camel Pose

• Virabhadrasana I/Warrior I

What this Pose Preps You for:

• Urdhva Dhanurasana/Wheel Pose

• Bhujangasana/Cobra Pose

• Eka Pada Rajakapotasana/ One-Legged King Pigeon Pose

• Salamba Sarvangasana/Supported ShoulderStand

Counter Poses: 

• Simple twists

• Apanasana/Knees to Chest Pose

• Supta Baddha Konasana/Reclining Bound Angle Pose

• Ananda Balasana/Happy Baby Pose

• Balasana/Child’s Pose

• Seated forward bends

• Savasana/Resting Pose

Contraindications & Cautions

• Hiatal hernia

• Neck injury

• High Blood Pressure

• Take precaution when pregnant

Reflections on a Year of Yoga

by Heidi Tobe

Heidi and her dog Ivy on Amelia Island ,Florida, September 2019.

Heidi was the big winner of our 2019 January Challenge. Here she shares her story of growth and transformation on and off the mat.

Almost instantaneously after winning Blue Sky’s 2019 January Challenge (and free year of unlimited yoga), I found myself unintentionally setting goals in my head: perfect crow; learn to do a headstand; go to X number of classes; lose X number of pounds. The list goes on. In that moment, I caught myself making yoga a means to a number of ends of tangible, physical accomplishments. I took a pause and spent some time in reflection on what the purpose of yoga is in my life and what I wanted this amazing gift of yoga to be about. While goals of achieving certain poses are certainly not bad, I quickly realized this wasn’t the focus I really wanted for the year. I decided I did want: to make yoga a regular practice — attending at 2-4 times per week on average, choosing flexibility over rigidity — and to focus on the mental benefits of yoga, knowing that physical benefits would inherently follow. This kept my all too competitive side from kicking into gear and let me keep yoga as the thing that made me fall in love with it in the first place: a sacred space for myself with no expectation other than to show up exactly as I am.

So how have the last 12+ months of yoga been? Where have I grown? What have I learned?

Honestly, I’m not sure I know the answers to all of those things yet, but here are a few reflections from the past year:

The Practice

Yoga has become a regular part of my life. I’ve averaged 3 classes/week and it’s been a constant that I look forward to. It truly has become a part of my ‘self-care’ routine, both physically and mentally. For the most part, this means maintaining a standard practice regardless of what is happening in my life and around me. Sometimes it means taking an extra class, knowing it is what I need that day despite my brain telling me that I’ve already “done enough” that week. Other times, it means hitting my alarm clock and making the conscious decision to sleep an extra hour instead, knowing that’s what my body needs. Where formerly rigid patterns of thinking would have tried to shame me into going, yoga has taught me to truly check in with my mind and body to identify what I need that day.

The Growth

Spoiler alert: I haven’t perfected crow, and I’m nowhere near being able to get into headstand. I intentionally shy away from the more ‘power yoga’ type classes. While those nagging voices of pride try to tell me what I “should” be doing and where I “should” be at in my yoga practice, I find it much easier to squash those voices now and to let affirming, life-giving truth prevail than I did a year ago. While achieving more challenging poses is something I hope to work to at some point, it doesn’t have to be today or even this year. And while there may be a time I eagerly show up to Blue Sky’s faster paced classes, for now it’s not where I look to get in my daily workout, but where I come to get out of my mind and into my body, no expectations. 

My visible progress has been subtle — going an inch or two further in chaturanga before dropping my knees; using my core to protect the lower back; twisting just a little deeper in a pose. Perhaps most importantly, though, the greater progress has been being more deeply in tune with my limits. There are more moments both when I push myself a little further as well as moments when I choose to scale back regardless of what my mat mates are doing beside me. Just last night, I was finishing a second yoga class and chose to drop into child’s pose on a few occasions. A year ago shame would have caused me to either push through when it wasn’t what my body needed or to feel embarrassed at the choice I made to go to child’s pose; today that isn’t the case. I know the decisions I make on my mat now are decisions made of one who knows herself more fully. Yoga truly is so much more about the process than the product. While my pride would like to tell me otherwise, my lived experience recognizes the truth in that statement.

The Benefit

2019 started off challenging and carried hardships and heartaches throughout the year. I’m not sure whether it was yoga, regular cardio outside the studio, personal growth, or sheer luck, but these challenges didn’t tear me down in the way I imagine they would have in previous years. Don’t get me wrong, there were some excruciating, trying moments. But where I would have let these get the best of me in the past, I let myself feel the feelings these trials brought with them and continue living in the moment and moving forward. I do think yoga played an integral part in my response to various instances throughout 2019. In yoga, we are taught — and physically practice — that nothing is permanent. Discomfort and pain pass. While we may not be able to control events that happen to us, we can choose how to respond. We can breathe through the discomfort and come out the other end just a little bit stronger for the next time a challenge arises. A year ago, I could understand these words on an intellectual level. Today, I know them on a more intimate and experiential level (though there’s always so much more room for growth).

Thank you to Blue Sky, to Annie and Erin and all of the other teachers who create this sacred space. Thank you for the tangible — 175 classes with 15 different teachers — and even more so for the intangible. Thank you to my mat mates, some who have become dear friends. This year of yoga has been one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given. I’m excited for what 2020 has in store for each of us on and off the mat.