How Its Done:
You begin crossing one leg flat (left) out in front of you. The next step is bend the opposite leg (right) at the knee and cross over the flat leg. The bent knee should reach toward your opposite hip. The arms will then support and tighten your form. Now the right knee is bent and you rest your left elbow on the outer side of the knee at a 90 degree angle. The right hand goes on the floor, on your right side and behind your body. You turn your torso and head toward the right also. It resembles what I like to call a "reclined Cleopatra."
What I Learned:
Sometimes when I do twists, I feel my body caving in to get more of a twist. This is the exact opposite of what you are supposed to do to make a twist work! The key to making this pose work is to keep youe body open. Your shoulders need to be open (think shoulder blades touching). In order to keep the form and strong stomach, I realized I need to keep my flutes (butt cheeks) flat against the floor. This will establish a stronger base and help you twist much further.
What I Learned:
I am good at many poses, but I squat like a hippo. I will never be successful at "getting low" as the greatFlo Ridawould say. I can get into a hovering position, but my body can't commit fully because I have tight hips. I tragically have come to terms that I will never be a sumo wrestler. The pose reminds me of a sumo pose because you stand with legs squatted to each side and arms turned up like balancing the scales of justice.
Self-Reflection: In all seriousness, I'm now going to talk about what I learned in doing the pose. I've learned a lot about myself. One of the tenants of yoga is not to compare what you're doing to what anyone else is doing. I firmly believe that. I also know that my hips are extremely tight and a little observation (of my fellow yogis) helps me greatly. I am a visual learner and adapt well to and something about modeling my movement after someone else's is very helpful. This comes from my background in theater. Any actor worth their movement class has learned from sitting on a bench and watched others.
In the Pose: What have I learned from squatting? I learned first that my calves are pretty strong. For someone with 5 feet of total length, my calves take up decent real estate on my body. They also get easily knotted up. My solution for this has become to foam roll my entire legs after class. The foam roller helps to break up little cranky muscles. In essence, the more I squat, the more my muscles will build strength.
What I Learned:
Triangle pose is a great stretch for the back, legs and when done properly, the arms. With legs wide open, you bend from the waist to one side (the right, then left). Your right arm reaches for your ankle and your left arm extends into the air. I always thought my lower arm supported my body. A recent adjustment by my instructor changed my view of this pose.
The teacher told me to release my ankle-grabbing hand to see if I was still in the form. I began to cave slightly. She tapped on my abdominal muscle, indicating that should be used to keep the form. This is really a core workout! For the last few weeks, I go into triangle and immediately dangle my lower arm to make sure my stomach is supporting my weight.
Hello and Happy New Year! I'm kicking off 2018 with posts about yoga poses. It's time for a new focus in my practice. Please note, these are not just my favorite poses, but they are definitely ones that have taught me a lot.
On November 29th, Hanson’s ‘Finally It’s Christmas’ tour stopped at the PlayStation
Theater in New York. This show was the second of two nights at the theater,
which was lit with festive white Christmas lights. Audience members showed up
their holiday best, in a sea of red and green with the jingle of bells. The
brothers played original and standard songs, opening with their new song,
‘Finally, It’s Christmas.’ The song was a retro-inspired throwback; Isaac and
Zac supplemented their guitar and drums with a vocal bass line while Taylor
played piano and sang lead vocals. The song is off their new Christmas album of
the same name, released in October. Hanson released their music video for the
new song earlier on the same day as the concert. The band, now celebrating
their 25-year anniversary, expressed gratitude to the fans and promised the
show would include songs from their now 20-year old Christmas album, ‘Snowed
In.’
The pop group added
their own take to a number of classics and pop Christmas standards as they
welcomed the intimate crowd to their family Christmas party. The Tulsa,
Oklahoma-based trio was backed by 3 additional musicians, filling out the rock
and roll portion of the show with a saxophone, bass guitar and synthesizer. Each
member of the band took turns singing leads and verses of the songs. Hanson’sversions of Stevie Wonder’s ‘What Christmas Means to
Me’ and Chuck Berry’s ‘Run Rudolph
Run’ paid homage to their original singers, full of rocking guitar riffs, do
whop harmonies, and dance-worthy drum solos. The band’s own rockabilly song,
‘Til New Year’s Night’ kept the party going when Taylor took a piano solo that
reminded many in the audience of Jerry
Lee Lewis. Eldest brother Isaac
introduced The Beach Boys’ ‘Little
Saint Nick,’ offering his thanks and gratitude to the Wilson brothers for
inspiring their family band. Hanson’s version of the surf rock song was brassy
and rhythm-filled, reminiscent of a James Bond movie theme.
With Mark Hudson. (C) PipPepPop
The center of the show encompassed holiday ballads and
tender vocal arrangements. Another
original song ‘At Christmas’ has not been played live since the band’s ‘Snowed
In’ television special 20 years ago. The brothers crowded around a microphone
for a Capella arrangements of ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Joy on the Mountain,’ a
combination of ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain’. Each brother seamlessly switched off
conducting duties and clapping a rhythm for the songs, each guiding the beginnings
and endings of phrases in his own style. The multi-instrument playing siblings traded
their main ones for several songs, with Taylor switching to drums and Zac to
the piano. The group almost began playing another song instead of The Eagles’ ‘Please Come Home for
Christmas.’ Isaac offered an apology for
almost ruining the mood before re-tuning his guitar. He confessed they almost
began Darlene Love’s booming ‘Christmas
(Baby Please Come Home)’ during their melancholic section due to the similar
song titles.
A Capella (c) PipPepPop
As promised, their cover of Love’s song came later in the show as they took the mood to a
euphoric level. The band went into a break as Taylor led the crowd in repeating
“Christmas.” His brothers harmonized “…Baby
please come home,” as Taylor challenged to bring the song out into the
streets. Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want
for Christmas is You’, included on the new album, got the Hansontreatment and a loud echo of the chorus from the
crowd. A surprise moment of the show
came when the band’s longtime collaborator Mark
Hudson joined them onstage (with jingle bells) for a blues-inspired version
of The Beatles’ ‘Wonderful
Christmastime.’ By the end of the set, the rocking organ solo on ‘Here Comes
the Claus’ almost brought down the house.
The band’s encore echoed the feeling of the party wrapping up for the
night. They played two songs, Elvis
Priestley’s ‘Blue Christmas’ and one of the most covered Christmas songs,
‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.’ Hanson’s ‘Finally
It’s Christmas’ is out via S-Curve Records.
See more concert videos on my Youtube Channel, TheLiveMusicGirl.
