That Yoga Guy

Time for some Spring cleaning!

15 years ago I attended my first ever yoga class, on the solstice.

Little did I know then how auspicious it was!

As I’ve always said, Winter bodies are made in the Summer!

Build your summer body this winter, join Ian That Yoga Guy at Soul Oasis every Thursday at 16:00. +27 62 018 2200 book now R100 a class.

Hello all!
Sometimes life just gets in the way, and I don’t get round to posting as often as I should. Nonetheless, here is today’s pose!

Extended Triangle or Utthita Trikonasana

A standing pose that targets the hips, inner thighs and the sides of the body.

It improves balance, posture and body awareness, while counteracting the effects of prolonged sitting.

To achieve this posture:

Step the feet as wide as comfortable.

Preventing locking of the knees by tightening the thighs and trying to draw the kneecaps upward.

Take the arms out like Warrior 2, and slowly hinge from the hips, sliding one hand down the thigh, while the opposite hand reaches towards the sky.

Slide the hand down until you feel the top shoulder begin to drop or the chest begin to sag forward. That is as far as you go today.

Imagine yourself sandwiched between two pieces of wood or panes of glass. Start by pressing against a wall in order to experience that sensation, if that helps.

Enjoy the multitude of stretching this pose offers!

Have fun!

Firstly, follow me on my newly created Instagram profile!
yoga.guy

Pose of the week…Shoulder Bridge, or simply, Bridge.

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

A mild back bend/heart opener.

Stretches chest, heart, shoulders, neck and hip flexors.

I approach this pose slightly differently.

Knees bent, comfortably apart, feet on the floor.

I start by pushing my feet away from me, not straight down into the floor.

You should feel the thighs immediately engage.

I then lift the tailbone/pelvis off the floor, and inhale as I peel the spine off the floor.

Exhale, reversing the process. Lay down the spine starting at the shoulders, keeping the pelvis off the floor as long as possible, finally releasing it, and relaxing the legs and feet.

Arms close to the sides, palms facing down, or hands interlaced under the back, as illustrated.

You can do this one dynamically, with your breath, or choose to hold it for a few breaths.

Whatever that open heart desires!

As promised, a change of scenery!

Mountain Pose, or Tadasana is definitely the right one for this week.

Feet: plant the soles as much as possible, maximizing the contact with the mat.

Knees: draw your awareness up the calves and make sure your knees aren’t locked.

Pelvis: slight forward thrust in the pelvis, tucking the tailbone and gently flattening the curve of the back.

Abdomen and chest: tighten the ab muscles and make sure the chest is not pushed forward and upwards.

Shoulders: very gentle rolling back of the shoulders and very gentle pull of the shoulder blades towards each other. This opens the chest and helps turn the palms forward.

Head: jaw relaxed and more or less parallel to the floor, crown of the head suspended from the ceiling by an imaginary cord of your own colour!

I really really like this pose and I feel it brings calmness, allowing the breathing and pulse to settle.

Take your time in this one!

Welcome to Dancer’s Pose!

As far as balancing postures go, this is a favourite among me and my students!

I find it important to keep the bent leg/knee reaching back in line with the body, and not swing the knee out to the side.

This gives a strong stretch down the front of the thigh, but doesn’t allow for a dramatic or glamorous image. That is the point!

Try and reach the straight arm as far forward as you can, kicking that back foot into the hamd holding it.

Drop the upper body as parallel as possible to the floor, obviously depending on your range of motion.

Keep lengthening, reaching and keep it elegant, like the name suggests.

And don’t be scared to fall over!

Have fun!

Oh! Keep an eye out for next week’s post which will involve a refreshing change of scenery!

All these long weekends and public holidays are seriously messing with my routines!

Anyway, this week, I present to you…Dolphin Pose!

A quite tricky one. This is usually seen as a great preparation for inversions if you aren’t ready to fly your legs up above your head!

I like to drop into this one out of Downward Dog, as I find that helps keep the back straight and the chest and head between the biceps.

Remember keep that tailbone lengthened away from the pelvis.

Helps get you used to bearing weight on your hands, arms and upper body.

Even though it is quite an uncomfortable pose, it can help calm the mind, ease mild depression, help relieve symptoms of menopause.

Also a good stretch in the calves, shoulders, hamstrings and arches.

Keep trying this one over and over, coming out as soon as you need to, take a breath or two and go at it again…and remember to breathe!

Have fun!

Ok, so this is a tricky one. Not physically, as much as not being able to find much about this posture…

I was told this is King Pigeon, or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, One-Legged King Pigeon, which seems to be related, but quite different.

Due to the lack of available literature and clarity, I can only discuss my own experience with this one.

I find it has all the glute stretching and hip opening advantages of my previously covered Pigeon Pose, however…

I find that not having the hands or arms to help stabilise the upper body, you are having to use much more core engagement!

It also helps to get really heavy and drop down into those hips and pelvis.

Lovely vertical stretch in the chest and side, when pulling those arms alongside the ears.

Play with this one and don’t be scared to fall over!