ashtanga – Page 5 – marichulambino.com

Second class day after two and a half months, Yoga Teacher Isla Rosete taught me a 9^th new pose

this is my fifth or sixth class day with yoga teacher Isla Rosete, who teaches ashtanga yoga at the Yoga at the Dojo on P.Tuazon corner 10th Avenue, Cubao, QC, behind Shakeys and UCPB, and across SM, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, all at 8:30am-10am

[put your hands on the floor first and use your hands and arms to raise the bottom, then, if you’re already able, if your “core/ chakra” to use a metaphysical term (it refers to the middle, vertical, of your entire torso) is already stable, it’s what you should use so you won’t put too much pressure on your neck, when you’ve balanced your body on the edge of your heel and on your head, remove your hands from the floor (this makes it look “floating”); balance on the head and the edge of your heels, behind your ankles. warning: do not imitate without the assistance of an ashtanga yoga teacher)

(Full photo, with the hands on the chest, will be posted tomorrow, come back here to see, okay, i like you to come back)

(Not in proper attire, sorry, this was after the yoga class, wasn’t expecting how the day would turn out. This is a sun dress too short, on pants; hem knotted up so you could see the pose, capri pants rolled up or folded up)

xxx

Fresh from getting an internationally recognized ashtanga yoga teachers’ certificate from Greenpath Yoga, a member of the Yoga Alliance, yoga teacher Isla Rosete showed me how to execute the ninth (or tenth, don’t have the guide sheet right now, lost track of the count) new pose, i’ve never done before; then, said, see if you could execute and hold it for five breaths.

…. because this was a first attempt, didn’t hear what it was called so i googled it. It’s called “setu bandhasana” (unless i made a mistake with the name), Sanskrit for “full bridge bound” or “full bridge locked” or “full bridge using your core/chakra (something)” or “spine lift pose”. the legs should be straight, i know, the first attempt was not the full form, i could tell then. She seemed pleased with it though, when i heard her and placed my hands on the chest (absolutely don’t move your head or neck in this pose). i’m happy with it because i learned. Some won’t, with the form, it’s okay. the important thing is… to be able to photograph! your first ugly attempt! (to be continued, tomorrow: hands on chest)

If you got the fright of your life in the previous photo of the previous blog post, that was a distorted version using “pinch” in photoshop. This is what it really looks like (photo above) shot about two months ago, second day of ashtanga yoga class with yoga teacher Isla Rosete at the Yoga at the Dojo (in Cubao on 10^th avenue corner P.Tuazon St. across SM mall, behind Shakey’s. (This pose was shot in my office right after my second day of morning ashtanga yoga class).

This pose is called turtle pose or kurmasana (kurma is Sanskrit for turtle and asana for pose).

The next difficult pose after this is: Stay in this pose, join your hands (put your hands together) at your back, behind you on the floor (still flat on your mat, on the floor). Then join your feet (put your feet together) above your head (feet together above your head, still on the mat on the floor, got it?).

Then, the third difficult pose after that is: Stay in that pose, put your feet together behind your head or at the back of your head and therefore your legs would be resting behind your shoulders. Your feet, now joined together, would be behind your head and your legs behind your shoulders.

In this pose (the third difficult), you are in the shape of a suitcase, with your feet above your head as the handle of the suitcase. I think the idea is to make yourself so compact that you could fit in a luggage and could be smuggled in the baggage compartment of an airplane, or the trunk of a car if you’re crossing borders.

(i’m kidding. The turtle pose is good for my back and limbs. The secret, based on personal experience, i think is in the bending of your torso; mine isn’t flattened enough; it has to be flattened out, but don’t want anyone to push my back too hard on this because my arms might get the pressure instead…)

Don’t worry, won’t try the third difficult pose without the assistance of a competent ashtanga yoga teacher, neither should you: fair warning.

I’m posting a professional photographer’s photo here, photo below by André S on flickr at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dedsharp/

of a class in Yoga Manila. used here non-commercially and for academic discussion; and with apologies (i will remove it if there are complaints from the photographer); i chose it because of the good lighting. I need to post it for comparison so you can see if my execution is decent; i ran into a yoga teacher (i’ve had more than half a dozen since i went to nearby yoga studios, my only criterion is nearness and schedule) and showed the photo of this second attempt at execution, the latter said, “hindi mo naman nagawa.” (“you were not able to do it…”)

here are the photos so you can compare,

a.ym — Photo by Andre S, (same credits as above)

in case you want to say the same thing, you’re very much welcome, you can say: “weak practice” or “poor execution” because anyway i just used to practise only twice a week i’ve stopped since i started to run mornings, hey have to sign out don’t want to be late for my gig see you in a bit. My morning ashtanga yoga teacher Isla Rosete taught me seven or so new poses i’ve never done before, on the second day of ashtanga yoga class; she’s pursuing higher yoga studies for the next two months so there are no yoga classes at the Yoga at the Dojo until end of May, 2010. (text her na lang po for inquiries). The other poses she taught me have rocking and rolling movements embedded in them, so… the only way to show them is by video. Maybe later. i’m really late.