Florida: January 21 – 22 and 24 – 26, 2020

Workshop at Miami Beach Iyengar Yoga Center

Another workshop, another Pincha Mayurasana, this time with the outer edges of the wrists pressed down into the floor.

Workshop at Community Yoga, Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Adho Mukha Svanasana with a long yoga belt. Abhijata Iyengar in her online workshop in May 2020, extolled the importance of working with props especially during the pandemic we are living through..

Adho Mukha Svanasana. This set up helps the student understand where she is stuck: when she bends forward, her lower back tends to pop out.

Uttitha Trikonasana. Correcting knock knees. It takes seven years!

Uttitha Trikonasana. Do this with a partner, and observe how much the space opens up in the pelvis. This student couldn’t be persuaded to take her legs a little further apart.

Mulabandasana, one leg at a time.

And now for six smiley faces….

2)

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6) Use the slant board to press the heels away from the pubic bone. 

Raising the feet facilitates a greater extension through the inner thigh muscles, and therefore more mobility in the hip joints.

Chair supported Sirsasana.

This is important: Press the shins against the wall, and the toes toward the floor.

Roll the outer elbows in.

© 2020 Bobby Clennell

Beijing: November 21 – 24, 2019

Workshop at Iyengar Yogashala, Beijing, China.

Adho Mukha Svanasana. Work this way to roll the tops of the inner thighs back, draw the anterior lumbar spine back and up, and release the posterior lumbar spine down. This is extremely helpful for those with low back compression or pain.

Adho Mukha Baddha Konasana with Three Blocks. This is the biggest hip opener ever!

The wide leg poses access space in the pelvic region, facilitate mobility in the hip joints, and supports health for women’s reproductive systems.

Half Padmasana with a figure of eight belt holding it all together.

Nirlamba Sarvangasana is particularly helpful for women. It reduces hot flashes, helps relax a tense throat and stimulates the thyroid.

The Chinese Translation of Watch Me Do Yoga! The English text is retained along side of the Mandarin.

Ming’s nieces practicing their version of Padmasana.

Tadasana with attitude – practicing along with my book.

Kids the world over love Lion Pose!

Yoga for Breast Care – Chinese translation!.

The Chinese students are enthusiastic about selfies, and will stop at nothing to get their picture taken with the teacher.

This Chinese “mudra” means love, I think.

My favorite pic of all time. This young student took my entire workshop in that outfit.

 

© 2020 Bobby Clennell.

Bristol: April 26 – 28, 2019

Workshop at Yogawest

Adho Mukha Svanasana with blocks under the elbows to realign the carrying angle.

Prone Vriksasana. Here the student is placing the sole of her foot against her opposite thigh. At the last American convention in Dallas, Abhi had us raise the bent knee up. In order to mobilise tight hips,  we also placed our fist under the bent knee.

There’s nothing quite as decompressing as Halasana praticed over a Halasana bench! Here the spine is extended along it’s full length.

© 2019 Bobby Clennell.

London: May 7 – 8, 2019

Workshop at Oakside Yoga Studios

Adho Mukha Svanasana. The blocks under the elbows support and correct a carrying angle. The belt holds stubborn elbows in.

Here is Dave Dayes (who runs this studio from his home) with a belt below his elbows and just his head supported which quiets the brain. It also gives him another point of contact with the solid ground from which he can better sweep the sides of his hips up and back.

Adho Mukha Svanasana. The belts are organized in such a way as to strengthen the lower back spinal muscles.

Urdhva Dhanurasana from a Chair gives tremendous upper body expansion, and space through the shoulder joints.

Urdhva Dhanurasana from a chair and a half-round block. Push up from a chair (and develop your pushing power) if pushing up from the floor seems like it’s a long way off.

If pushing up from the floor with stiff or weak wrists is painfull then try pushing up into Urdhva Dhanurasana with a slant board under the heels of the hands. Next time this student practices this pose, if she first observes this picture, she she will see that she needs to move her shoulders forward to eventually align them above her wrists. The foam block gives us a reference point: do not turn the toes out! Touch the block with the entire inner edge of the feet.

Similarly, Urdhva Dhanurasana with a (widthwise) block between the feet, and a rolled blanket under the hands. Move the arms toward the wall. Push the heels and hands down, roll the outer knees to the inner knees and lift the tailbone and shoulders.

Urdhva Dhanurasana. To open up the space behind the knees, move the backs of the thighs toward the buttock crease. You are looking to get the forearm bones and shinbones parallel to each other. Another instruction for this super flexible student: ” Maintain good resistance in your joints: roll your upper arms in toward your head; fix your deltoids back onto your shoulder girdle”.

Once you can push up from the floor in Urdhva Dhanurasana, you are ready to drop back to the wall and then walk down. Coil your front body around your back body as much as you can (not forgetting to raise you back ribs) before taking the arms over.

Here’s Dave, flipping up and over from the chair support to the floor.

Dropping back from Tadasana to Urdhva Dhanurasana. Just before your hands touch the floor, move them back toward your feet.

I’m not sure that the belt around his hands was such a good idea…

We helped this student lift her shoulders and chest so she could straighten her arms.

Recovery.

©2019 Bobby Clennell.

Notes from Pune: Yogadandasana. February 2019

Yogadandasana. Drawings made from a class taught by Rajlaxmi at RIMYI, Pune.

Adho Mukha Sukhasana. Some students reached forward to the grill.

Sit in Upavista Konasana: extend your ankles toward your heels. Sit on a narrow fold blanket. Fold your legs into Baddha Konasana. Place a narrow brick between the feet.

If necessary, go to the wall and hold the ropes. Turn the brick, first onto its flat side, and then turn it to horizontal. Descend the knees.

Place your feet on top of the brick. Now place a folded mat under the brick.

Now sit on the brick. Remaining on the brick, extend your right leg out to the side. Press the Baddha Konasana knee down and turn that heel up.

Change legs. (If the brick is hard, sit on a vertical bolster). Extend both legs out and return to Upavistha Konasana.

Bend your left leg to Marichyasana position. Turn left toes back. Press arm against bent leg. Change sides. Now move back to Baddha Konasana. Now bend your left leg to Baddha Konasana, right leg to Upavista Konasana. Lift your pelvis, raise your heel and push it forward so you sit on the inner side of the big toe.

Change sides. The students are now on a four-fold sticky mat or vertical bolster or a block. Wedge a brick between heel and pubic bone.

You can come into the pose by sliding down the ropes. To bring your weight to the inner edges of the folded leg big toe, roll forward…

…and now roll forward on both legs. Rajlaxmi came right to the edge of the platform to roll forward even more. 

Place the feet on a flat block. Then turn the block onto its tall end. Press the knees down.

Paschimottanasana: if you are stiff separate your legs.

“Yogadandasana means the staff of a Yogin. In this pose, the yogi sits using one leg as a crutch under the armpit, hence the name” BKS Iyengar: Light On Yoga. Bend your right leg back into Virasana. Push your left foot back (see more complete instructions in Light on Yoga).

The pillar was used to support the lifted leg, while the students turned toward the Virasana leg.

The knee of the Baddha Konasana leg has to turn.

Change sides. Forward bends: Janu Sirsasana; Ardha Baddha Paschimottanasana;

Triang Mukha Aika Pada Paschimottanasana; Marichyasana 1.

Paschimottanasana; Malasana; Uttanasana; Adho Mukha Svanasana; Parsvottanasana; Setu Banda Sarvangasana with a Brick and Tadasana legs. Some students used bolsters for Setu Banda. Move the shoulder blades deeper inside the back. Push the shins toward the shoulders, but at the same time, walk out with your legs.

Savasana.

© 2019 Bobby Clennell

Cornwall: May 5 – 6, 2019

Workshop at South West Iyengar Yoga Institute

Abhijata Iyengar says we should widen the difference between hands and feet in this pose. Here the length from Hip to hands is much longer than from hip to feet.

Walk the feet back, and now the the length in either direction from the hips is the same.

But how to get those shoulders in?

Supta Padangustasana.

A forward extension.

The wonderful charm of Cornwall and especially the little town where this Iyengar Yoga Association is located blew me away!

© 2019 Bobby Clennell.

Singapore: September 21 – 23, 2018

Workshop at Cocoon Studio Pte Ltd

Adho Mukha Svanasana. Practicing with the forearms on blocks provides better access to armpits, and breast and lung tissue.

Adho Mukha Svanasana with Baddangullyasana, arms behind.

Rope Bhujangasana. Here the feet are one ft. apart. Then learn to practice with the feet together. Rotate the inner thighs back, and move the tailbone forward and up. Raise the ribcage and the entire torso up. Curve up and back.

Rope Purvottasana. In this variation, the ropes are doubled over. To curve further back, open them to their full length. See page 89 of Yoga In Action. Intermediate Course -1, for the best instructions for this, and Rope Bhujangasana.

Uttitha Trikonasana on the Ropes

Virasana with upper body curved back over a chair.

Upper Body Back Bend over a chair.

Urdhva Dhanurasana. Press down through the hands, raise the heels, press the tailbone up, and extend and open the top/front groin skin.

Continue pressing the tailbone up, and maintain the extension of the front groin skin while slowly bringing the heels down (outer knees to inner knees).

© 2019 Bobby Clennell

Jakarta: September 14 – 16, 2018

Workshop at C Studio Jakarta

We began the class with Parvritta Swastikasana.

Uttanasana with Head on Block.

Adho Mukha Svanasana.  Stand facing the wall with the rope slipped around your waist. Step over both sides of the rope with one leg, and then turn around to face away from the wall. Slide the knot down onto your sacrum. Bend your knees and fold forward into Adho Mukha Svanasana. Keep your heels at the wall and as close to the floor as you can. Reach your hands forward. The rope extends the lumbar spine toward the wall, while the hands draw the spine forward. These opposing movements extend the lumbar, decrease compression of the disc on the nerves and reduce low back pain. Turn toes in.

Working with a block between her hyper extended elbows helped reduce the pain in her arms that occured whenever she did this pose.

Salabhasana on the ropes.

Uttitha Hasta Padangustasana 1, with Back to The Wall and Pully Ropes.

Uttitha Hasta Padangustasana 2, with Back to The Wall and Pully Ropes.

Standing Twist to Wall with Pully Ropes.

My host, Rany Fetrix made t-shirts from my drawing.

© 2019 Bobby Clennell

Yoga, Kids and Play

For kids, yoga-time and play-time are sometimes indistinguishable.

Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward Facing Dog Pose. Hey, who put this floor down here? Sonalli Kurlekar sent this photo in of her daughter.

This is Martine from Bogota, Colombia. How much fun it is push into Upward Facing Dog Pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) on a soft, furry rug.

Dandasana – Staff Pose. I see ten toes!

This is one of the original pencil sketches from Watch Me Do Yoga.

Now this is what I call a real Tree Pose (Adho Mukha Vriksasana)!

Madeline Cook is only two-years-old, but she has yoga in her blood: both of her grandmothers are yoga teachers.

Here is Madeline’s older sister, five-year-old Amelia. Amelia loves looking at books about yoga, and likes to learn (and pronounce) the Sanskrit names of the poses she copies from the illustrations. Recently, her grandmother Leah Bray Nichols (Evergreen Yoga, Memphis) found her “reading yoga books to Madeline. Looks like teaching yoga runs in the family!”

Neither of the girls has been to a kids class. Just reading, playing and doing. Leah says that when she cleans her studio,” I take them with me and they play on the ropes and make-up poses and make forts with the props.”

Here is Francesca, daughter of Lara Warren who teaches at the Iyengar Yoga Institutes, of New York, and Brooklyn. The exuberance of this pose says it all! The rope wall was installed by Lee Christie-Irvine.

Vicky Ewell’s five-year-old granddaughter Marley lifts her chest high and moves her dorsal spine in as she pushes up into a a backbend (Urdhva Dhanurasana) in front of her pink princess tent. Vicky’s studio, the Yoga Loft, is in Sheffield  Village, Ohio.

Fern likes to create her own poses. This one was sent in by Suzie Dodd, “I call it Fernasana!”

These knees are sure to please. Halasana – Plow Pose.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by my book, Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve forgotten your child’s name, or the parent or grandparent who sent in the photo, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

©2017 Bobby Clennell.

Granada: April 8–10

Workshop at Yoga Estudio Granada in Spain.

Parivritta Sukasana at the wall. Before you rotate, first lift your front spine to the maximum.

This modification of Adho Mukha Svanasana with feet on blocks teaches us how to fold at the hips without rounding the back. Don’t be in a hurry to teach your body the language of Iyengar Yoga. It takes patience and persistent practice. Workshops give us an opportunity to work with partners.

Uttanasana with the head up, arms in Paschima Baddhanguliyasana, and chin supported. The helpers are not forcing the arms, just supporting.

Supported Janu Sirsasana with wall and bolster support. Align the center, mid line of the torso with the mid line of the head.

Sarvangasana with Chair Support. Pick up your shoulders and roll them back one-at-a-time and press your shoulder-blades into your back so that the breast bone comes to an upright position.

Granada is without a doubt, one of the prettiest places I have ever visited.

The local gypsies had traditionally lived in caves in the mountains surrounding Granada.

This spirited performance….

….was performed in a restaurant/theatre that was a renovated cave, dug deep into the rock.

© 2016 Bobby Clennell.