By Kimaya Singh
As a Yoga instructor, you should discover which asanas heat or cool the body. There are many, many Yoga poses from which to choose when you are sequencing the asanas for your next Yoga class. In fact, Dharma Mittra, a well-known and highly respected Yoga teacher, created a famous poster that illustrates 908 different Yoga asanas. When you are choosing which asanas to teach to your class, it is important to be mindful of the level of your students, the time of day you are teaching and the balance between heating and cooling Yoga poses.
Twisting, forward bending and supported inversions are very cooling to both the body and mind. Practicing these asanas during class will allow your students to turn inward and rest for some time in the spaciousness of their own inner beings. This “downtime” will be greatly appreciated by most students, even if it only lasts for five breaths. The essential luxury of being able to stop from continually focusing on external stimuli will help your students to balance their nervous systems and rest for some moments in the expansiveness of their own inner tranquility.
Supported Forward Fold
Forward Fold is a pose that is accessible to almost every student. If it is practiced in a supported fashion, the calming nature of the pose will be increased. If you plan on having your students practice Supported Forward Fold toward the end of your class, make sure you have enough bolsters or blankets for all of your students prior to the beginning of the class. After the practice of Sun Salutations, standing, balancing and back bending Yoga asanas, your students will be ready to practice Supported Forward Fold.
To practice this asana in a supported fashion, have your students sit on their mats and place a bolster or folded blankets on their thighs or shins, depending on each student’s level of flexibility. Gently guide them to take a few deep breaths and then with their next exhale, to bend forward over the bolster and rest their foreheads and arms on the bolster in a relaxed fashion. If time permits, you may wish to have them hold this pose for several minutes. To have them come out of the pose, guide them to an easy sitting position with their next inhale.
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Twisting, forward bending and supported inversions are very cooling to both the body and mind. Thanks for sharing this useful article.