Published: Oct 13, 2017 by Lucy Tennyson
Those of you who come to my class regularly will know that there are many different kinds of yogas – that’s one of the great things about it – and that I like to borrow from various traditions.
Last week, it was the four part breath of nature from Tai Chi, and this week, we practised a similarly powerful four part breath sequence taken from Dru yoga.
Dru is a modern (about 30 years old) school which has its roots in hatha yoga and includes classical yoga postures (asanas), pranayama (breath work), mudras (gestures) – as well as a range of positive affirmations, energy activations and visualisations. These are put together into flowing, dynamic sequences.
The Earth Salutation is based around the inhale and exhale. Start in mountain pose, pressing the feet firmly into the ground, feeling the spine lengthen up. Interlock the fingers at the navel, and feel you are drawing the energy up as you lift the hands up, drawing up on the core muscles. Push down to the floor as you exhale, and then inhale the hands up, and then down.
One of its aims is to help you focus the mind (get your head out of the clouds), and become present in the given moment. It can be calming on one of those days where your mind races. You can find a demonstration by a Dru yoga teacher on You Tube
A reminder of some of the other postures I included this week:
