I thought the past YTT weekends were awesome… Well, they’re about to get “awesomer” (yes, I know that’s not a word…)!!!
The topic of the past weekend was Vinyasa Krama. Vinyasa Krama (not to be mistaken for “Vinyasa Flow”), is the intelligent sequencing of a practice with a specific intention or goal.
“Vi” = in a special way
“Nyasa” = to place
“Krama” = system, step, order, sequence, series, progressing step-by-step
Basically, in Vinyasa Krama, each asana (pose) is picked and placed in a specific order purposefully. There’s a rhyme and a reason for the way each asana is sequenced. There are three main reasons for this “intelligent sequencing, placed in a special way” are to:
1. Reduce the risk of possible injuries in a particular asana or yoga practice,
2. To adjust one asana from another, and
3. To create the energetic effects desired within the practice.
Anyone can put a bunch of asanas together and call it a “yoga class”; but to design a Vinyasa Krama class, one must plan and choose each asana with a purpose.
Our yoga practice on Saturday KICKED MY BUTT!!! We stayed in certain poses for up to 5 minutes! One of the asanas that we stayed in for 4 – 5 minutes was the active pigeon (think pigeon pose with the back leg off the floor and foot flexed while you fold forward). My back leg started to shake so much! Since Shanon advised that before coming out of a pose, ask ourselves why we wanted to come out of it, I had a nice dialogue within myself; my physical-self said, “Oh my goodness, your leg is shaking violently! You can’t hold it any longer,” but my mind said, “You’re okay. You’ll be fine.” “No, I can’t do this,” my physical-self whined… but my mind stayed calm and said, “Sure you can. You’re already doing it.” It took me back to the internal dialogue that I had within myself when I was in labor (over 8 years ago). After the practice, I felt so strong, accomplished… unbreakable!
We ended our Sunday session with Restorative Yoga which I was grateful for because I was still sore from the previous evening! My only experience with Restorative Yoga was a couple months ago at a yoga studio about 15-20 minutes away from my house. I recall not enjoying it AT ALL, so I figured I would have the same experience… boy, was I wrong! We stayed in each pose for quite some time, but when Shanon cued us to begin coming out of the pose, I was thinking, “Aw, man! That wasn’t long enough!” I didn’t want that practice to end… So after my new-found love for Restorative Yoga, I came to the conclusion that either the environment of my first Restorative Yoga class was not conducive to the practice, or I must be evolving… Or maybe a little bit of both.
The topic of Vinyasa Krama continues for the next two YTT weekend sessions… I’m so in love with this experience!
So until next time… May your days be bright and your heart be light!
Namaste.
Jheni Solis Wellness 