By Sanjeev Patel, CYT 500

We left off while practicing head stands at the end of the opening and now we are going into the middle of a fitness yoga class structured for athletes. Students with pre-existing medical conditions or who are pregnant are strongly encouraged to go to a different class.  To continue on with this point, prenatal Yoga classes, under the guidance of a certified teacher specialist and approved by one’s doctor, are the  safest place for pregnant students to practice. 

Ujjayi pranayama is recommended while going through this next portion of asana practice. We will do a separate pranayama session at the end before meditation. To continue on with inversions is the next step. After the head stands and alternative options have passed, we move to shoulder stand (Salamba Sarvangasana).

Students are advised not to look around in this asana. The compression from the cervical vertebrae to the mat is fine, if the vertebrae are free from disease, but moving the head is not recommended while holding Salamba Sarvangasana.

At this point, I demonstrate the next series of asanas. Then students begin to set up. The next postures are plough, bridge, wheel and fish. Explanations about spinal health, modifications, and this series can be made after I walk around the room, while making observations and adjustments.

Rest in knees to chest pose (Apanasana) for one minute. Roll to the right and transcend to cat pose (Bidalasana), downward dog, forward bend, reverse swan dive, and mountain. From mountain position, we will practice rooting first and progress into a dancing warrior series for four rounds.

The dancing warrior series is as follows: Mountain, extended mountain, swan dive into forward fold, step back lunge, warrior 1, warrior 2, reverse warrior, side angle, reverse warrior, half moon, reverse warrior, warrior 3, lunge, plank, crocodile, cobra, downward dog, extended dog, pigeon, extended dog, downward dog, extended dog, opposite pigeon, extended dog, lunge, warrior 1, warrior 2, reverse warrior, side angle, reverse warrior, half moon, reverse warrior, warrior 3, lunge, step forward into forward fold, reverse swan dive, extended mountain, and finally mountain.

Students are asked to sit for at least three minutes to recharge and relax, while I demonstrate the prone series, which contains cobra, king cobra, bow posture, half locust posture, and locust. After I demonstrate the prone series, students are told to lie on their stomachs for strengthening and stretching the back muscles. We are two thirds of the way through this class and we will cover how to close a class with fitness and Hatha Yoga in mind.

© Copyright 2010 – Sanjeev Patel / Aura Publications

Sanjeev Patel is a certified Yoga teacher and an exclusive author for Aura Wellness Center.

//www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

See our testimonials to find out what our graduates have to say about our selection of affordable hatha yoga instructor training programs.

If you are a teacher, yoga school manager, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste!

Share This Article