First Winter Round 1--Preparing the Wings

MYOGA SEASONS for Subscribers

The only true voyage of discovery…

would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes. ~ Marcel Proust

I love this sideways critter rendition of Up-Plank, but I’m not so fond of my locked elbows. Keep an internal eye on yours! Photo by Micahel Hobbs of hippyparents.com

Welcome to First Winter Round 1--Preparing the Wings. We’re ready to prepare the body for flight. Which means physically holding yourself up off the ground and also energetically/emotionally/psychically learning to take yourself more lightly. Notice if you go all judgmental and mean-spirited if you don't fly on the first try! Trust the Longer Journey by being persistent, patient, and light-hearted with your progress.

But before we even attempt lift-off, we're going to spend extended time preparing the wings while sitting still, so do make yourself comfortable at the start for that focus. To develop in-sight in this session we look inwards, but we also use our eyes to externally check placement, alignment, and engagement. A mirror can further aid this referencing system.

At nearly 40 minutes, this practice is a bit longer than most non-wrap-up Rounds, so please set aside the time you need to get ready to fly. Be in touch if you have any concerns or questions. Also, feel very free to comment directly below this post, or on the YouTube page. Up, up and away!

Here's what Others have to say about this practice:

"OMG!!! I did crow! For the first time ever, I was finally strong enough, prepared enough and confident enough in my body to get my feet off the ground without toppling over :)."--Sara

"Yum! Feeling wonderful after that :)"--Nathalie

"Just what the Winter ordered! Amazing how weak the arms have become through lack of attention.... felt the ache at the beginning exercises! :)"--Viv

"Melissa, this practice is my first back following a series of illnesses in our family and the attendant lack of rhythm to our lives. Your carefully considered steps though brought me to a place where I could balance in crow, something I would never have thought I could do when I pressed play on the video. I suspect the Basics series has a lot to do with that! Thanks so much. These courses are fantastic and your choice of readings is always on point."--Caroline

Accessibility Level = Easy

All Round 1’s are the warm-up session, while Round 2’s are generally more intense and demanding, Round 3’s are the integration section, and Round 4’s are the Wrap-Up which is challenging for its fullness and length. So the more attentive you are all along the way, the more familiar and accessible the wrap-up becomes. Basics, Restores and Sounds are freely available for you to build your confidence in before taking on Seasons, which is only available to paid subscribers.

As usual, we begin with the breath. By spreading the teachings over a full year with 7 seven-week sessions, we have more time to explore in-depth. First Winter’s focus is in Ajna Chakra, the energy centre of focus itself, which we find by turning our gaze to the strong eye/3rd eye area between the brows. This gentle internal eye focus stimulates the pituitary gland, one of two master glands in the brain that governs overall endocrine balance. Ajna translates into “perception”. How we see is what we see.

At first you may need your outer sight to navigate this practice, but my aim for you is that, over time, you gain greater insight by closing your eyes and seeing from within. As well as being meditative, this helps to cultivate your proprioception, which is your ability to perceive your body in space with or without using your eyes.

Once the pattern of alternate nostril breathing (Nadhi Shodhana) is established, we change the lengths of the exhale and the inhale, and we add an Antara Kumbhaka, or suspension of the in-breath. With eyes closed, look inwards and upwards to Ajna Chakra and touch the forehead lightly between the brows with the first two fingertips, further focusing your attention on this command centre in the brain. If holding your arm up through the 20 counts of each suspension is taxing, you can always bring it to rest, however, keep in mind that we’re strengthening and preparing for flight by holding ourselves upright and lightly. So if you struggle to hold one arm up in the air for 20 beats, how are you going to hold your entire body weight on your two arms in Crow?!

Again, as you gain familiarity with the mudras and the overall sequence, keep your eyes closed as much as you can. Notice what you see from the inside. As we transition from Nadhi Shodhana into Adi Mantra with the thumbs now at Ajna Chakra, hands in Atmanjali Mudra, visualize that your Ujjayi Pranayam is flowing softly through this center. Connect to your sense of higher self, to lightness of being. And on a basic physical level, use the thumb connection to train your eyes inwards and upwards, as well as a point to move your head away from, drawing your skull towards the space behind you and upwards towards the heavens. You’ll feel a lift in your sternum and a lengthening of your vertebrae.

Next we’re sustaining the internal focus as we do just the arms portion of the Joint Freeing Series that I learned from Mukunda Stiles of Structural Yoga Therapy. For a full body Restores version, check out this video:

The longer your ocean-sounding breath, the more effective these simple moves will be, so don’t be in a rush. Use the visual, imaginative energy of Ajna Chakra to see your breath completely coordinated with the range of motion of each move. The more you can see the breath as the engine for the movements, the more impactful they will be, and the more coordinated and integrated You will be!

For those of you continuing on from Autumn, Up-Table will have gone a good ways to prepare you for Up-Plank. However, feel free to stick with Up-Table as you continue to build strength in the arms and buttocks, and flexibility in the spine, ankles, and front shoulders. Both versions of lifting oneself up are from Kundalini Yoga and utilize a dynamic nose-breath to power the movement. As you continue through the Seasons, you’ll see that we’re all-ways building from the last session and building for the next one.

Counter Stretch is one I made up. It looks awkward but when you find it you’ll feel a good stretch along the whole back body, from base of skull to big toes, as well as in the backs of the wrists.

Butterfly is also from Kundalini Yoga and is great for unifying the hemispheres of the brain. In one of my kids yoga classes this past week I shared it and was really delighted to see the impact it had on their focus and coordination, even after only a couple minutes. I did have to bribe them a bit by saying it would benefit their ability to get into the arm balance they’re so keen to master—Crow.

And it’s true. First Winter is the only Season without specific abdominal strengthening, because we take the whole-bodied approach that birds take. They wouldn’t be able to fly if they left any part of their bodies dragging behind. Engage your whole self. Apply your core in everything. Here in Butterfly the core is essential for keeping the low back long and lifted while the knees come up. And if you think of the arms extending from the side-core (the waist), then the shoulders are less likely to scrunch up around the neck. Although we’re bum down in Butterfly, we’re in the same position and training the same muscles that we’ll need in Crow—inner thighs hugging in as core engages.

The next few moves I learned from a yoga video (back in the analog day) for surfers. It’s a great way to assess and increase hip flexibility, stretch the upper back, and release the neck. As part of our whole-body awareness we’re paying attention to how things are connected. Notice how the movement of one hip tugs on the opposite knee and how the changes we make in the hand impact the sensations in the neck.

From this more open place we’re coming up onto our feet in Squat/Malasana, which benefits everything. If you struggle with squatting, do it more often, even outside of a specific yoga session. Try doing it while you watch or read something. Use props like a rolled mat or blocks under your heels. Take your feet wider. Have your back against a wall or open a door and hold onto the knobs so you can hang back through the heels and tail, but rise up through the chest. Child and Tuck poses are also helpful to practice. Getting your body all tucked up small is essential to lifting it up off the ground in Crow/Bakasana.

The approach I take to Crow comes from a partner who was highly skilled in parkour where they run through urban terrains, leaping over small buildings. He would practice the distance of a new jump on soft ground and then only jump between concrete structures up high when he could stand on one side and successfully see himself make the jump over and over and over. For Crow I’m only asking you to watch me once and then see yourself, in your powerful mind’s eye, doing it 3 times. And we’re on a soft mat. Even shifting weight out of your feet and lifting a toe or two is a victory. And the more you follow the specifics of what I’m saying about creating a ledge and simply tipping forward, the easier it will be. Notice your mind the whole time because it determines everything!