Guest guest Posted November 5, 2000 Report Share Posted November 5, 2000 Okay, so in a week and a half I'm doing a program in my dorm on yoga (ashtanga). Any suggestions on what I should do? I was thinking of doing about 5-10 minutes of history, what it is, blah blah blah...and then do like a 45 minute mini class. Include like 3 rounds of each suryanamaskar, trikonasana, some forward bends, maybe shoulderstnad, and then savasana. Any input is greatly appreciated!<br><br>Thanks in advance!<br><br>Lauren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2000 Report Share Posted November 5, 2000 Get a flexible friend into kapotasana, stand on her hips, and deliver your lecture from there. <br><br>Seriously, the format you suggested sounds pretty good to me. I'd throw in a bit more, maybe, esp if it's a young crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2000 Report Share Posted November 6, 2000 It's a great idea! It's good to include maybe one pose to represent each major group: standing, forward bend, twist, balance, backbend, inversion - not necessarily in that order, and there's probably some I forgot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2000 Report Share Posted November 6, 2000 I've done this sort of thing a couple of times, and I've learned that you should not plan on cramming in very much. If you actually discuss the breathing and bandhas and get them to try `em, then you proabably won't get past the Surya Mamaskara A in the time allotted.<br><br>If you are proficient at some of the more advanced primary series postures it may be worthwhile to put together a five minute demo so the kids can see the what the vinyasa flow looks like. It all depends on what you can do safely without extensive warm-up.<br><br>Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2000 Report Share Posted November 6, 2000 It shouldn't take too long to explain the basics of the breath and the bandha before beginning the sun salutations. Maybe after several A's and B's to get everyone warmed up and used to the vinyasas, why not just progress through the primary series as far as you can, depending on the students and the time, and then head on over to the finishing poses starting with forward bend? I learned it sort of like this. Chopping up the series may not give the full effect of ashtanga. Make sure you give everyone a cheat sheet if you can get one printed out, too. Then they can get an idea of what the whole series looks like. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2000 Report Share Posted November 6, 2000 david swenson has a 'short series' vieo that gives abbreviated practices for 15 minutes, 30 minutes and 45 minutes, if i remember correctly. i think he lists the short series postures in his book. i'm at work so i can't check on them for you but if you want the names, e-mail me and i'll send you his list. <br>are you giving a demo yourself, or leading the dorm thru a short practice? if they are doing it as well, i would go with a fairly short series and give it extra time. you'll likely need to spend a bit of time coaxing them into the right positions if they don't have much background. one idea might be to give a short 5-10 minute demo of the salutations and a posture or two to show the vinyasas,, then get them up and going while you move among them. as the senor and guy and others have stressed, make sure they know that what they will be doing is for demo only and try to get them into a class with certified instruction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2000 Report Share Posted November 6, 2000 you could also print out the articles by anne cushman and tim miller<br><a href=http://www.natural-connection.com/resource/yoga_journal/power_yoga.html target=new>http://www.natural-connection.com/resource/yoga_journal/power_yoga.ht\ ml</a><br><br>you could print out the new yorker article too.<br><a href=http://files.hammock.com/Jois-article/ target=new>http://files.hammock.com/Jois-article/</a><br> <br>then get some copies made up and let them read it over--maybe before the demo, or give them out after the demo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2000 Report Share Posted November 17, 2000 I think your outline sounds good. I agree with the suggestion to use one of David Swenson's Short Forms instead of the whole Primary Series. You want to challenge your audience, not intimidate them. I also think that the demonstration is a good idea. Do a few "money" asanas to keep your audience interested. Show them what they are working toward.<br><br>Its amazing how quickly you can build up strength, endurance, and flexibility in Ashtanga yoga. The routine that leaves your dorm gasping for breath today will seem like a cinch a month from now. I don't agree with okrgr1's suggestion that you send your whole dorm to a "certified instructor". Aren't there only like about 10 of them in the world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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