Spiral from Lying to Sitting - With Grace

Yoga classmates know I shudder when I see people strain themselves out of shivasana. But I have also realized that, even for accomplished yoga students, a graceful transition from lying to sitting is a very complex sequence.  

"Spiral from Lying to Sitting" is a 2-part series that breaks this lyrical movement into a series of easy-to-follow steps.  Follow the sequence and  you can't help but roll to siting or out of bed with total grace. Think of it as analyzing a haiku: exploring how each well-chosen gesture combines to make poetry.

This Saturday, November 16, 10:30-12:00 PM, at Iyengar Yoga North Studio, the emphasis is on the hips:  how to use three basic movements and the weight of the hips to roll effortlessly from lying.

The next lesson, Saturday November 23, same time and place, the focus is on how and why you want to keep the head low.  Step-by-step instructions will eliminate the mystery of keeping the head close to the floor until the last moment, when, viola, you are sitting.  

If you already intuitively roll to sitting, take this opportunity to attend, consciously, to how you do it.  What connections do you notice and where does the movement flow easily?  How does the lesson guide you to glide through habits and blocks?  Awareness Through Movement lessons always offer both diagnostics and solutions.

f you have 15 seconds (say at a stop light or right now), try this mini-lesson:  You can do this sitting or lying down, though lying down will give you more information. Slide your right knee to the right a few times. Continue to slide your knee to the right and back, and add moving your jaw to the right, in concert with your knee.  This may be difficult to do so take it slowly.  Notice the relationship between the knee and jaw, jaw and pelvis.  Can be mind-blowing.