January 2016

YOGA

NOTES

May your
coming year be
filled with magic,
dreams & good
madness. I hope
you read some
fine books, kiss
someone who
thinks youre
wonderful, dont
forget to make
some art - write,
draw, build, sing
or live as only
you can. And I
hope, somewhere in the
next year, you
surprise
yourself.
- Neil Gaiman

Lets challenge this year

.. turn yourself upside down
If it doesnt challenge you, it doesnt change you.

I have challenged myself by changing around some of the

days for our sessions together. So, as a reminder, we are now
in Wellington Mondays and Wednesdays 6-7pm and in Paarl
Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-7pm. We have been talking about
an early morning session in Wellington too. This is still
under investigation, so please bear with me and I will let
you know as soon as I have been able to make a plan. Even
if you abstain from trying the headstand, I do hope I will see
each and every one of you during the new year 2016. I
believe that everything we think we can do, and become,
we can also project onto our family and friends, community,
society and eventually the world. Its worth an effort, don't
you think?

Maybe you do not need a change per se, but the world we

are living in definitely needs to change.

I will not dwell on last years events, or things we cant
change as they already happened. One thing is for sure, we
can apply change from this very moment. It is a beautiful
thing actually, that every single moment of our lives we are
able to change, but it is a challenge. I am not a competitive
person, as many of you know, but to a certain extent I like,
and actually need, challenges.It does not need to be in a big
or dangerous way. Sometimes it is a challenge just to
manage the day ahead. Some people find it challenging to
get out of bed in the morning and others need to walk the
tightrope over a canyon to be challenged. Theres no right or
wrong. Only you know, intuitively, what you need to be
challenged and taken out of your comfort zone. So without
encouraging you to evoke a fighting spirit or push yourself
beyond your limits, simply find some things you would like
to do. Things that you hitherto have been ignoring because
your mind tells you you cant! Make it a kind mission to find
out if you are actually able to do it. May it be a headstand,
singing out loud, hike Table Mountain, go a day without
eating sugar, look somebody in their eyes and tell them you
love them. Or save money to go to that place youve never
been, save an animal or friend in need, or simply be daring
and take a break to do nothing but being in your own
beautiful presence! Promise me that you will surprise
yourself this year!
I can affect change by transforming the only thing that I
ever had control over in the first place and that is myself.
~Deepak Chopra

In this hot weather I choose to share with you a recipe for a

healthy (non alcoholic) cool drink:

3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

big bunch mint
2 lime, quartered, plus slices to garnish
1l pomegranate juice
500ml lemonade

A day ahead, divide the pomegranate seeds between the

holes in an ice cube tray, top up with water and freeze.
Reserve half the mint for serving, and tear the rest into a
large jug with the lime quarters. Using a rolling pin, bash
the mint and lime to release the flavours. Add the
pomegranate juice and lemonade. Put ice cubes in each
glass, then strain over the pomegranate mix through a small
sieve. Garnish with lime slices and more mint.

Stay cool - Namaste

www.yogamarie.com | twitter @meyogamarie |

YOGA NOTES January 2016

Salamba Sirsasana
supported headstand

1. Use a folded blanket or sticky mat to pad your head

and forearms. Kneel on the floor. Lace your fingers
together and set the forearms on the floor, elbows at
shoulder width. Roll the upper arms slightly outward, but
press the inner wrists firmly into the floor. Set the crown
of your head on the floor. If you are just beginning to
practice this pose, press the bases of your palms together
and snuggle the back of your head against the clasped
hands. More experienced students can open their hands
and place the back of the head into the open palms.

2. Inhale and lift your knees off the floor. Carefully walk
your feet closer to your elbows, heels elevated. Actively
lift through the top thighs, forming an
inverted V. Firm the shoulder blades
against your back and lift them toward the
tailbone so the front torso stays as long as
possible. This should help prevent the
weight of the shoulders collapsing onto
your neck and head.

3. Exhale and lift your feet away from the

floor. Take both feet up at the same time,
even if it means bending your knees and
hopping lightly off the floor. As the legs (or
thighs, if your knees are bent) rise to
perpendicular to the floor, firm the tailbone
against the back of the pelvis. Turn the
upper thighs in slightly, and actively press
the heels toward the ceiling (straightening
the knees if you bent them to come up).
The center of the arches should align over
the center of the pelvis, which in turn
should align over the crown of the head.

Contraindications and Cautions

Back injury | Headache | Heart condition | High blood
pressure | Menstruation | Neck injury | Low blood
pressure: Don't start practice with this pose | Pregnancy:
If you are experienced with this pose, you can continue
to practice it late into pregnancy. However, don't take up
the practice of Sirsasana after you become pregnant.

Sirsasana is considered to be an intermediate to advanced pose.

Do not perform this pose without sufficient prior experience or
unless you have the supervision of an experienced teacher. Some
schools of yoga recommend doing Sirsasana before
Sarvangasana, others vice versa. The instruction here assumes
the former order.

Modifications and Props

Balance in this pose is difficult at first. Perform
Sirsasana against a wall. Bring the knuckles of the
clasped hands to the wall. If possible, do the pose
in the corner of a room, so that the right-angled
walls touch your shoulders, hips, and outer heels.

Deepen the Pose

Check the position of the inner wrists in the pose.
They tend to fall outward, shifting the weight onto
the outer forearms. Turn the pinkies away from the
back of your head, and bring the inner wrists
perpendicular to the floor. As you firm the outer
upper arms inward, press the wrists actively into
the floor.

Preparatory Poses
Adho Mukha Svanasana |Salamba Sarvangasana
Uttanasana | Virasana

4. Firm the outer arms inward, and soften

the fingers. Continue to press the shoulder
blades against the back, widen them, and
draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the
weight evenly balanced on the two
forearms. Its also essential that your
tailbone continues to lift upward toward the
heels. Once the backs of the legs are fully
lengthened through the heels, maintain that
length and press up through the balls of the
big toes so the inner legs are slightly longer
than the outer.

5. As a beginning practitioner stay for 10

seconds. Gradually add 5 to 10 seconds
onto your stay every day or so until you can
comfortably hold the pose for 3 minutes.
Then continue for 3 minutes each day for a week or two,
until you feel relatively comfortable in the pose. Again
gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day
or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 5
minutes. Come down with an exhalation, without losing
the lift of the shoulder blades, with both feet touching the
floor at the same time.

Follow-up Poses
Adho Mukha Svanasana | Balasana

Beginner's Tip
Beginners tend to take too much weight onto the
neck and head when coming into and exiting this
pose, a potentially harmful situation. Prepare to do
this pose as described above against a wall. To
come up, set your arms in place and lift your head
slightly off the floor. Move into the wall-supported
position with the head off the floor, then lower it
lightly onto the floor. Support 90 to 95 percent of
your weight on your shoulders and arms, even if it
means staying for only a few seconds. Gradually,
over time, take more and more weight onto your
head, but proceed slowly. Similarly, when you exit
this pose, first lift your head off the floor, then
bring your feet down. Eventually you will be able
to keep your head on the floor when going up and
coming down.

Benefits
Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild
depression | Stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands |
Strengthens the arms, legs, and spine | Strengthens the
lungs | Tones the abdominal organs | Improves digestion |
Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause | Therapeutic
for asthma, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis

www.yogamarie.com | twitter @meyogamarie |