Notes from the Glenn Ceresoli workshop where I digress from my Ashtanga practice for one week only.
Day 3 : Wednesday 13th January 2005 – morning session
Gayatri Mantra
We started this morning’s session by chanting three Oms, followed by three repetitions of the Gayatri Mantra, then one Om and three Shantis.
Chanting the first three Oms is like tuning an instrument. The final Om is always very different, longer, deeper, more sonorous. I can usually draw energy up through the chakras with this one, bringing the mmm vibration to rest high up in the chakra pecking order. The first Om of the morning is usually pretty weak and out of tune, but with each successive one I get better, aligning my tone to the vibrational pitch of the universal frequency. When you get it, you know it…every cell vibrates with a higher energy, as if your entire body is singing along with pure light consciousness.
Glenn talked a little about the significance of the Gayatri Mantra, how not only the words have great spiritual meaning but also how the formation and sounds of the words also affect our being on a subtle level. Something I learned from Glenn today: the Sanskrit language was invented to communicate spiritual and universal truths so Sanskrit words were formed with sacred sounds. I’d like to find out more about this. I know that sound and vibration have elemental connections, but I’ve never looked into the power of sound and mantra work.
“Sanskrit is the original language of the Vedas. They were transmitted directly from the spiritual world at the dawn of creation. Therefore, their language bears the power to connect the reciter and the receptors of mantras and slokas with the eternal spiritual reality—especially if the mantras contain one of the numerous names of God. Consequently, Sanskrit produces a transcendental sound vibration which is able to liberate the living entity from the material existence called samsara, the circle of repeated births and deaths.”
Supta Baddha Konasana over bolster
Dandasana
Swastikasana (actually Sukhasana)
Dandasana
Supta Virasana
Yesterday Glenn instructed us to bring attention to the soles of the feet in this passive pose and to consciously move the skin from the ball of the big toe out towards the ball of the little toe. I discovered that I have very little mind connection to the soles of my feet, especially not at this subtle level. But I persisted, knowing that the process of directing attention could revive the neural pathway to this area. “Where the mind goes, the energy flows”. The vague feeling of moving skin (which is more correctly the intention of moving energy) started to happen on and off, very weak at first and as it did, Glenn was prompting us to notice how other parts of the body responded. He didn’t give us even a hint at what we should feel. But I found that as I focused on the skin of my soles moving outward, my inner groins responded by descending and there was a broadening beneath the skin of my pubic abdomen. Very subtle energetics happening here, no movement occurring on the outer body. It’s very satisfying to work at this level.
Adho Mukha Svanasana
We had quite an extended exploration of Dog Pose today with Glenn demonstrating the subtle shifts that can occur when your mind consciously applies itself within the process.
First we had to bring the sacral area alive, an area in me that has always been quite dull. I’m still not sure about how this is done. When he demonstrated, I could see the skin on his lumbar moving and the small muscles adjusting, but I wasn’t sure which way to direct the energy to facilitate this, so I just worked at bringing it this area to life by focusing all my attention and energy there.
Glenn then demonstrated the effect of moving the base of the sternum towards the navel. This is an obvious movement, easily seen and done, and it has the effect of scooping all the internal organs back and up, containing the energy within the organ system. I also felt it stimulating the base of my spine.
So in Dog Pose, first we establish balance of left and right yb sensitively adjusting the body so the weight is borne evenly beneath hands and feet. Then bring the sacral area alive by moving the sacrum into the body, roll pubis back, navel follows, pull sternum towards the navel, scooping the organs and pelvic contents back and up. This also really challenges the front armpits to open. Simultaneously we take the collarbones towards the toes. When Glenn demonstrated, his head was barely off the floor.
There were so many other subtle points he articulated and I followed them all as directed in the moment. Then I came out of the pose and forgot them all.
Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand)
The major points from Dog Pose we transferred to Handstand but I could only focus on moving the sternum strongly towards the pubis – this focus alone took up all my mindpower.
Just staying in the pose long enough and strong enough to do any self adjusting was a challenge. But I managed to find a small window of opportunity after establishing the initial actions to focus briefly on moving the sternum to the pubis. It helped to pivot the head, chin into throat, and look towards the toes to actually see the movement of the ribcage. Glen went on and on with finer and more subtle instruction to refine the alignment and awareness, but I missed a lot of it. Like most of the others, I had to come down, rest, then go back up again. By the time I re-established the focus to work on a more subtle level, there was only a short time before fatigue crept in and my focus turned to maintaining composure and lightness to counteract the mental heaviness of increasing despair.
Urdhva Hastasana
This pose is usually done before a Handstand, but I think we did it after – can’t quite remember.
Dog Pose
Virabhadrasana I
The killer pose today.
We did it with the back heel to the wall. Hands on hips to start and main focus to the back leg, back foot (stretch back knee crease towards heel), and the intricacies of weight bearing and skin movement. I tried to stay completely connected to pressing the inner back heel to the wall while bending the front knee excruciatingly slowly (again). The instructions that followed went straight over my head.
Before attempting it with the arms overhead, Glenn demonstrated how to actively bring the base of the neck forward towards the center notch of the throat, another dull spot for me, but I got the gist of it. He gave a lot more information to work with in this pose, but by this time I was deteriorating into a vague blur. Too much information and I start to tune out. I was trying so hard to bring myself back, to listen and absorb, but my receptors were shutting down from overload.
Parsvottanasana
Back heel to wall, same emphasis on back foot as in Virabhadrasana I. Plug front foot into the earth like pushing a plus into a socket and draw the energy up. The plug in the socket is a useful visualization, you push it in, it connects, and the flow of electricity is activated.
We started this pose with both arms overhead and had to use the strength of the legs and the hinging of the pelvis to reach forward and down. The added weight of raised arms and a slow descent made me very aware of how to work my front leg. Coming back up the same way was enormously stressful on my legs.
Uttanasana
Facing the wall with the feet about one foot away from the wall, fold over into Uttanasana and lean the back into the wall, head close to the floor, working the base of the big toe into the floor.
Savasana
***********************************************************************************
DAY 3 : Wednesday 13th January – evening session
Went out for a coffee straight after the evening session and chatted a bit, so didn’t get a chance to write notes. But I managed to jot down the pose sequence:
Supta Baddha Konasana (bolster and strap)
Dandasana
Swastikasana
Supta Virasana
Ado Mukha Virasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Half Dog pose with hands to the wall
Gomukhasana (with Garudasana arms crossed in front)
Glenn gave me a slight adjustment here – he used one hand to lift my elbows a little higher, while pressing a finger into a point on the top of my shoulder (marma point maybe?)
Virasana
Seated in Virasana we interlocked our hands in front then placed them just above the head with palms facing up, then stretched triceps into elbows which created an unmistakable widening across the lower lungs.
Virasana with Gomukasana Arms (hands gripped behind the back)
Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand)
Release the length of the tailbone so the lower back arches and use this to draw the sternum towards the pubis. Keep position of the sternum while lengthening the tailbone to the heels.
Pincha Mayurasana
Uttanasana
We did this with the sitting bones pressed into the wall and hands interlocked over the head like Prasaritte Padottanasana C.
Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand)
Shoulderstand with Baddha Konasana legs
Eka Pada Sarvangasana (one leg vertical and one leg lowered over head parallel to floor)
Eka Pada Sarvangasana (one leg vertical and one leg lowered towards the wall and pressing into the wall)
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
Hands into the back ribs and both feet pressing into the wall with legs straight. This was a great variation. Pressing the feet into the wall makes for a really deep arch in the thoracic spine.
Halasana
Karna Pindasana
Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana
To finish we laid onto a blanket which had been folded longways into three, but we laid crosswise over it with the blanket under the diaphragm, arms extended out at shoulder height.
With the inhalation, we raised the lower ribs and spread the diaphragm, and with the exhalation we maintained this height and allowed the abdomen alone to recede. We then imagined the presence of three layers like three pieces of string:
1) at the front of the diaphragm (close to the front of the body)
2) at the back of the diaphragm (close to the back of the body)
3) in the center of these two
Then with the inhalation, we had to imagine stretching the center layer (piece of string) out towards the side ribs.
Savasana
Day 3 : Wednesday 13th January 2005 – morning session
Gayatri Mantra
We started this morning’s session by chanting three Oms, followed by three repetitions of the Gayatri Mantra, then one Om and three Shantis.
Chanting the first three Oms is like tuning an instrument. The final Om is always very different, longer, deeper, more sonorous. I can usually draw energy up through the chakras with this one, bringing the mmm vibration to rest high up in the chakra pecking order. The first Om of the morning is usually pretty weak and out of tune, but with each successive one I get better, aligning my tone to the vibrational pitch of the universal frequency. When you get it, you know it…every cell vibrates with a higher energy, as if your entire body is singing along with pure light consciousness.
Glenn talked a little about the significance of the Gayatri Mantra, how not only the words have great spiritual meaning but also how the formation and sounds of the words also affect our being on a subtle level. Something I learned from Glenn today: the Sanskrit language was invented to communicate spiritual and universal truths so Sanskrit words were formed with sacred sounds. I’d like to find out more about this. I know that sound and vibration have elemental connections, but I’ve never looked into the power of sound and mantra work.
“Sanskrit is the original language of the Vedas. They were transmitted directly from the spiritual world at the dawn of creation. Therefore, their language bears the power to connect the reciter and the receptors of mantras and slokas with the eternal spiritual reality—especially if the mantras contain one of the numerous names of God. Consequently, Sanskrit produces a transcendental sound vibration which is able to liberate the living entity from the material existence called samsara, the circle of repeated births and deaths.”
Supta Baddha Konasana over bolster
Dandasana
Swastikasana (actually Sukhasana)
Dandasana
Supta Virasana
Yesterday Glenn instructed us to bring attention to the soles of the feet in this passive pose and to consciously move the skin from the ball of the big toe out towards the ball of the little toe. I discovered that I have very little mind connection to the soles of my feet, especially not at this subtle level. But I persisted, knowing that the process of directing attention could revive the neural pathway to this area. “Where the mind goes, the energy flows”. The vague feeling of moving skin (which is more correctly the intention of moving energy) started to happen on and off, very weak at first and as it did, Glenn was prompting us to notice how other parts of the body responded. He didn’t give us even a hint at what we should feel. But I found that as I focused on the skin of my soles moving outward, my inner groins responded by descending and there was a broadening beneath the skin of my pubic abdomen. Very subtle energetics happening here, no movement occurring on the outer body. It’s very satisfying to work at this level.
Adho Mukha Svanasana
We had quite an extended exploration of Dog Pose today with Glenn demonstrating the subtle shifts that can occur when your mind consciously applies itself within the process.
First we had to bring the sacral area alive, an area in me that has always been quite dull. I’m still not sure about how this is done. When he demonstrated, I could see the skin on his lumbar moving and the small muscles adjusting, but I wasn’t sure which way to direct the energy to facilitate this, so I just worked at bringing it this area to life by focusing all my attention and energy there.
Glenn then demonstrated the effect of moving the base of the sternum towards the navel. This is an obvious movement, easily seen and done, and it has the effect of scooping all the internal organs back and up, containing the energy within the organ system. I also felt it stimulating the base of my spine.
So in Dog Pose, first we establish balance of left and right yb sensitively adjusting the body so the weight is borne evenly beneath hands and feet. Then bring the sacral area alive by moving the sacrum into the body, roll pubis back, navel follows, pull sternum towards the navel, scooping the organs and pelvic contents back and up. This also really challenges the front armpits to open. Simultaneously we take the collarbones towards the toes. When Glenn demonstrated, his head was barely off the floor.
There were so many other subtle points he articulated and I followed them all as directed in the moment. Then I came out of the pose and forgot them all.
Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand)
The major points from Dog Pose we transferred to Handstand but I could only focus on moving the sternum strongly towards the pubis – this focus alone took up all my mindpower.
Just staying in the pose long enough and strong enough to do any self adjusting was a challenge. But I managed to find a small window of opportunity after establishing the initial actions to focus briefly on moving the sternum to the pubis. It helped to pivot the head, chin into throat, and look towards the toes to actually see the movement of the ribcage. Glen went on and on with finer and more subtle instruction to refine the alignment and awareness, but I missed a lot of it. Like most of the others, I had to come down, rest, then go back up again. By the time I re-established the focus to work on a more subtle level, there was only a short time before fatigue crept in and my focus turned to maintaining composure and lightness to counteract the mental heaviness of increasing despair.
Urdhva Hastasana
This pose is usually done before a Handstand, but I think we did it after – can’t quite remember.
Dog Pose
Virabhadrasana I
The killer pose today.
We did it with the back heel to the wall. Hands on hips to start and main focus to the back leg, back foot (stretch back knee crease towards heel), and the intricacies of weight bearing and skin movement. I tried to stay completely connected to pressing the inner back heel to the wall while bending the front knee excruciatingly slowly (again). The instructions that followed went straight over my head.
Before attempting it with the arms overhead, Glenn demonstrated how to actively bring the base of the neck forward towards the center notch of the throat, another dull spot for me, but I got the gist of it. He gave a lot more information to work with in this pose, but by this time I was deteriorating into a vague blur. Too much information and I start to tune out. I was trying so hard to bring myself back, to listen and absorb, but my receptors were shutting down from overload.
Parsvottanasana
Back heel to wall, same emphasis on back foot as in Virabhadrasana I. Plug front foot into the earth like pushing a plus into a socket and draw the energy up. The plug in the socket is a useful visualization, you push it in, it connects, and the flow of electricity is activated.
We started this pose with both arms overhead and had to use the strength of the legs and the hinging of the pelvis to reach forward and down. The added weight of raised arms and a slow descent made me very aware of how to work my front leg. Coming back up the same way was enormously stressful on my legs.
Uttanasana
Facing the wall with the feet about one foot away from the wall, fold over into Uttanasana and lean the back into the wall, head close to the floor, working the base of the big toe into the floor.
Savasana
***********************************************************************************
DAY 3 : Wednesday 13th January – evening session
Went out for a coffee straight after the evening session and chatted a bit, so didn’t get a chance to write notes. But I managed to jot down the pose sequence:
Supta Baddha Konasana (bolster and strap)
Dandasana
Swastikasana
Supta Virasana
Ado Mukha Virasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Half Dog pose with hands to the wall
Gomukhasana (with Garudasana arms crossed in front)
Glenn gave me a slight adjustment here – he used one hand to lift my elbows a little higher, while pressing a finger into a point on the top of my shoulder (marma point maybe?)
Virasana
Seated in Virasana we interlocked our hands in front then placed them just above the head with palms facing up, then stretched triceps into elbows which created an unmistakable widening across the lower lungs.
Virasana with Gomukasana Arms (hands gripped behind the back)
Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand)
Release the length of the tailbone so the lower back arches and use this to draw the sternum towards the pubis. Keep position of the sternum while lengthening the tailbone to the heels.
Pincha Mayurasana
Uttanasana
We did this with the sitting bones pressed into the wall and hands interlocked over the head like Prasaritte Padottanasana C.
Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand)
Shoulderstand with Baddha Konasana legs
Eka Pada Sarvangasana (one leg vertical and one leg lowered over head parallel to floor)
Eka Pada Sarvangasana (one leg vertical and one leg lowered towards the wall and pressing into the wall)
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
Hands into the back ribs and both feet pressing into the wall with legs straight. This was a great variation. Pressing the feet into the wall makes for a really deep arch in the thoracic spine.
Halasana
Karna Pindasana
Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana
To finish we laid onto a blanket which had been folded longways into three, but we laid crosswise over it with the blanket under the diaphragm, arms extended out at shoulder height.
With the inhalation, we raised the lower ribs and spread the diaphragm, and with the exhalation we maintained this height and allowed the abdomen alone to recede. We then imagined the presence of three layers like three pieces of string:
1) at the front of the diaphragm (close to the front of the body)
2) at the back of the diaphragm (close to the back of the body)
3) in the center of these two
Then with the inhalation, we had to imagine stretching the center layer (piece of string) out towards the side ribs.
Savasana
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