The Leela of Side Stretches, the Tao of Twists: Teaching Yoga on the Grassy Knoll: September 1, 2021

Twists are practical. So are all the teachings of yoga. Hassle free and hustle free was our play today. Photo from a million years ago in Ojai, California.

To help combat the collective heaviness in the air, and pandemic fatigue, we exerted mental effort in the opposite direction. This is the alignment of sutra 2.33 - “When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite (positive) ones should be cultivated”

This is a nice way to say it. To me if feels more like I’m being downright harassed by negative thoughts, at times. We did our best to move and breath and mudra though our practice, allowing it to be “hassle free”. We all slowed down our yoga hustle. We let ourselves play and enjoy the cloudless blue sky and green grass.

Saints and sages say profound truths, to be sure. And sometimes they say the most practical and obvious. Sutra 2.33 is simple and sweet, and we tried our best to make them completely practical today.

Here’s our sequence:

Sit

Head rest back bend
Seated twist

Tabletop
Cat and dow
Easy side plank
Birddog
Birddog twist

Downdog with figure 4

wrist stretches in virasana

Crescent
Warrior II
Twisted lunge
Pigeon

Locust play

Warrior I
Warrior II
Extended trikonasana
Trikonasana
Warrior II
Side plank

Cobra

Supine Shoulder opener
Reverse windshield wiper

Cat cow
Downdog

Tadasana

Dancers
Temple dancer
Temple dancer twist option

Malasana

Savasana
(ran out of time for balanana and easy twist)

Hand-heart-belly breathing
Blue Sky meditation

Sit
Namaste

Health, Love and rock and roll