Blog

Posted on

AASY Covid Cooperation

We will be ready! When the virus data signals to our Governor to move forward and allow indoor exercise facilities to re-open we are set. It is not considered safe quite yet, and it’s illegal to be open. We made a little video to show you how it will go when we are back in.

The building has been meticulously scrubbed. All the props have been washed or laundered. The carpets were cleaned. The air system has been serviced with clean new filters installed. We can run the system fans without AC for more air circulation. We are lucky to have so many big windows to open. New protocols will be in place when we are allowed to welcome you back. Our new protocols are based on the feedback received from the AASY student survey sent in May, as well as Workplace Guidelines for Fitness & Recreation Centers provided from the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity. That document is below. We meet all the State’s safety recommendations.

Workplace Guidelines Factsheet for Fitness Centers

We will have a limited maximum capacity of 14 students per class. The class schedule will be slightly changed to allow more time between classes so fewer folks will be in the building at one time and each day. We have carefully measured and marked the practice hall to ensure every student will be 7 feet or more apart from others. Spots are marked with blue tape. Thanks to Charlie Michaels for working out exactly where mat spots should be to maintain proper distancing.

We will be using new online registration software that will keep track of all class registrations and stop accepting in person registrations once 14 is reached. Also class lists will be generated and attendance taken so we will know exactly who was in every class if contact tracing becomes necessary. Everyone must be pre-registered to reserve a spot in any class. No one should come to the school without pre-registering. The classes will be available as live zoom classes and recorded so they can be available to view when convenient to you. If we are not allowed to open by Aug. we will proceed with some zoom classes. More on that soon. I hope you are are well, and finding some time for your practice. I look forward to seeing you in some dimension soon. – Laurie

Posted on

When it seems too hot to practice.

Practicing quietly, without increasing heat in the body can be done.  We can use supports, and breath patterns to help.  Even if you have AC and/or fans it can still feel too hot to practice our yoga postures.  But, it’s a great time to investigate the 3 Patanjali Yoga Sutras that directly discuss asana.  The translations below are from BKS Iyengar.

PYS 2.46 Asana is perfect firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence and benevolence of spirit

(Ok, so perfect may not be an option, but striving in that direction can be.  It’s hard to be firm when you’re wilting, super difficult to have steady intelligence in the middle of the pandemic, and national reckoning of centuries of inequities, and well…. Benevolence of spirit we might just find when practicing humbly and with our breath patterns in mind.)

PYS 2.47 Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perfom it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.

(So, the practice tip here is to learn how to dial down the effort while maintaining the firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence and not get too dull while adjusting towards a benevolent spirit.)

PYS 2.48 From then on, the sādhaka is undisturbed by dualities.

(Well, wouldn’t that be great!  Sādhaka by the way means the practitioner of yoga. And trying to sort out how not to be disturbed by all the conflicts in life is no small task)

Continue reading “When it seems too hot to practice.”
Posted on

Hot Weather Pranayama Session

Often just 20 minutes spent in supine poses monitoring the breath can significantly cool the body, settle the mind, and set right our overall mood. A very simple practice is laid out below.  Think of it as 3 poses, 3 arm positions resulting in 3 breath geometric breath designs, and 3 locations for “mental confinement”

Props needed:

  • Bolster of stack of blankets
  • Belt
  • Eye bag or eye cloth

Three poses:

  1. Supta Baddha Konasana
  2. Supta Virasana
  3. Supta Swastikasana or Matsyasana

Three arm positions :

  1. Arms down near the side chest – center chest lift, broad pelvis
  2. Arms wide sideways – horizontal chest spread
  3. Elbows overhead – linear breath pattern on side chest

Three Locations for the mind. This means you settle your mental focus in one of the three places, and your breath originates and mostly stays settled in that one of the three places.

  1. Abdominal Region – should stay soft and receding, more so during exhalation. This region is considered connected to our passion, drive and creativity
  2. Frontal Chest region – don’t force the filling or lift, but it will increase with quiet practice. This region is considered to be connected to our emotional and “heartfelt” actions.
  3. Throat, face, including temples nose, mouth, ears, etc.  This region is considered connected to our ethereal mind.  The vastness of it, and its depth.
Three by Three Pranayama-SessionDownload