Mind Map from Elwanda Klucik

Science of Stretching Mind Map

March 2024 Class

Adjustments

If you understand the goals of a pose, and you understand the principles, and you work with your students to understand where they are, you can make adjustments on the fly. This makes your teaching Accessible. Remember EPA. Essential - we have too few poses to have filler. Is the pose doing something? Progressive - is it clear where it is going? are you meeting or exceeding your hold times (and using a timer?) Accessible - we reject structural limitation, if your student don’t choose to move, they choose to lose. Go from where your student is, and modify so they can participate.

Frog 1

Props:

• Pillows
• Slippery pads / towels - you want your knees rests to easily slide out

Setup

• Blocks in front (or stool) - stool may be too high, remember, it’s the feels
• Padding that can slide (a pillow with a towel under it)
• Place pads outside the mat, aligned with your knees
• Put left knee on left mat
• Put right knee
• Keep hips above knees
• Hands below shoulders
• Slide your legs out slowly
• As you stay in the pose, keep pushing your knees out
• Keep hips above
• Key is knees moving out, NOT chest to ground (you’ll likely loose it)

Options

• Arms locked out
• Forearms on ground

Frog 2 / Half Frog - asymmetrical

Props:

• Strap (if you can make a loop, convenient)

Setup:

• Strap (if you can, make a loop) on right side
• Put strap on side you are working (right to start)
• Lie prone (on your stomach)
• Swing strap around your right ankle
• Get into Sphinx, heart open
• Shift left hand to right hand for balance
• Use hands to pull strap, brining your foot towards your hips (flexing/bending)
• Grab strap with both hands, keep heart elevated

Options (when foot gets close to hip:

• Reach back with right hand, on inside of foot, grab ankle, pull
• Rotate hands to get palm on top of foot, fingers pointing forward, push

Pigeon (upright)

Props

• Pillows
• Stool/Bench/Couch/Blocks
• Strap

Setup

• Stack of pillows in middle of mat
• Stool in front of you / or blocks

Pose

• Knees on or just behind pillows
• Hands on mat (child crawling)
• Swing right leg to right hand
• Hands on stool
• Slide right foot to left side
• Make sure knee is pointing toward corner of mat, does not need to be parallel/aligned with front of mat
• Arms on stool

Fallen Pigeon - asymmetrical

Setup:

• Start in pigeon, upright.
• Lower your torso to the ground, arms forward, forward, forward

Moves stretch from back to front leg.

Twisted Pigeon - asymmetrical

From fallen pigeon, slide right arm across matt, open chest to left side, reach left arm to the sky.

To go deeper

• Go up to elbow/on blocks & rotate
• Point right arm up, right hand in a fist (yang), place left hand palm (ying) on right hand

Blaster - asymmetrical

Props:

• Pillows
• Stool / block

Setup:

• Pillow middle of mat (cushion for knee)
• Stool in front of pillows
• Get on all fours like a child crawling, knees in front of pillows, facing stool
• Curl toes under
• Up into a down dog
• Swing right food around to where your right hand is
• Push foot forward until it is under or in front of knee
• Turn foot out up to 45 degrees
• Slide back leg towards back of ma,
• Point toes
• Set back knee on pillow
• Arms on stool, chest upright
• Settle your torso into your groin
• Melt your groin towards the mat

Options:

• Use blocks instead, keeping torso upright
• Arms on knee and wrist

Blaster Twist - asymmetrical

A variation on Blaster. Twist towards the forward arm. Your torso is not upright, it’s up to 45 degrees forward (approximately), much further, and you are in fallen blaster. The more you twist, the more likely your front leg will flop out, hold the leg (at keen/foot) to keep that from happening.

Options:

• Right hand on right knee Left arm on blocks/stool, rotation to the right
• Right hand behind you on your back, left forearm on blocks (might add block since your forearm is longer than a block, you’ll be going a bit lower)
• If you go much lower, you’re getting into fallen blaster

Fallen Blaster - asymmetrical

A variation on blaster twist. Torso lower, back hips on padding. Tends to shift pose from back leg/quads (in extension), to front leg/hamstrings (in flexion). When you rotate in this version your back hip will be all the way on your pillows.

Notes on poses from the 2022 SoS Teacher Training

Half Frog - asymmetrical

Props:

• Strap

Setup:

• Line prone (on your stomach)
• Grab a looped strap with your right arm
• Adjust up into Sphinx
• Adjust the grip
  • Your right had grip is right at your shoulder when your leg is bent forward, you’ll likely start loose then sneak the hand closer
  • lie down on your right, bent arm to have a firm pull on your foot without too much effort from your arm
  • place your left arm on the group, palm down, elbow directly under shoulder
  • This position allows most of the pressure to be held in your shoulder
• Twist the strap around your wrist to help hold it (requires less grip strength)
• Bend your right leg (flex) so that your foot approaches your quads
• Put the strap over your right shoulder
• Bend your right arm under to help pulling your foot towards your head
• Your arms should make an 11 shake

Options:

• Use a strap as described
• Grab your foot
  • If foot near hip, reach your right hand back, thumb up like a hitchhiker
  • Grab your right root from the inside, thumb up
  • Slide your hand around to the top of your foot (which is pointing to the ceiling)
  • Get the palm of your right hand pushing down on the top of your left foot

Pigeon with Adjustments

Losing the pose:

• Keep right knee out to the side
• Keep weight over hips
• Don’t drop your right hip

Props:

• Blocks
• Pillows
• Stool

Options:

• Upright pigeon, hands on knee/foot
  • This could be hard/easy for someone
• Sleeping/resting Pigeon
  • This could be hard/easy for someone
• Rotating Pigeon
  • Right leg forward
  • Slide right hand across the left side of your mat
  • Axial rotation (twist your spine) anti/counterclockwise
  • Chest facing left
  • Looking to the sky
  • Right elbow on ground in a fist (yang)
  • Left hand covers right hand (yin)
  • Use a stool, right arm on stool, left arm behind back
  • Use a block, twist

Mix it up

• Do it for 5 minutes, 2 minutes upright, 2 minutes resting, 1 minute rotation

Blaster

Variations

• Blaster
• Fallen Blaster
• Twisted