by Oksana Aston
If you have a busy lifestyle and have only one hour a day for fitness and wellness then you need our “Lunchtime Yoga” Ashtanga yoga class! The half Primary Series is a fundamental part of the Ashtanga yoga practice which helps you to build up endurance and strength, create heat in the whole body, sweat and detoxify, reduce bloating and increase digestive fire before eating.
The logic of the sequence is that each posture prepares you for the next one. It gradually warms you up unwinding your stress as you develop steady breathing and deeper focus. As a teacher guided class, it reminds you to breath and to move with the rhythm of your breath. And as it is only half the Primary Series, it is a great opportunity to recall the sequencing, with modifications as needed, creating a healthy habit for your body.
Practice begins with Sun Salutations. These warm you up and connect you to your body, loosen your shoulders while opening the back of your legs, strengthen your arms and lengthen your spine and prepare you to move into standing postures. The challenges of the standing sequence are the balancing poses on one leg, which are very important in order to keep your brain healthy. Please see the American Heart Association news.
The Primary series is addressed as a yoga therapy, connecting movement and breathing, you move into the seated postures: forward folds, twists and the proprioceptive challenges of the sequence known as “jump backs” which link one pose to the next. The Primary series develops a strong foundation for your practice and your life.
If you read, “Yoga Mala,” the book by the father of Ashtanga Yoga, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, you find a description of the benefits which every particular asana provides. For example, twists in the seated sequence,
“The benefits of the four Marichyasanas are different, though all cure diseases in accordance with man’s physical nature. Aspirants should know this and practice them. They each cure the gaseous movements in the stomach and intestines, as well as movement of the rectum, such as diarrhea and restore digestive power. With that, flatulence, indigestion, and constipation are eliminated.”
It’s very important to practice consistently so that the practice may take root for you to see the real benefit. Taking Ashtanga class is like taking an everyday internal shower, you can’t take it once and keep clean for a lifetime. Whether your short on time during week days, or new to Ashtanga practice, we encourage you to take this amazing opportunity to spend quality time on yourself with the Ashtanga Yoga Room community on Mondays through Fridays at 12-1pm.
Looking forward to see you there! Namaste!
Comments are closed.