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Day 7 Children's Class

Tamara Hockey

Got up at the crack of dawn to go and video the kids but had got to bed before 1am so it was almost a lie in! The birdlife was vibrant as we walked through the park and I stopped and watched a group of what I think were juvenile lorikeets play in the sunshine high up in the treetops.

The kids classes were well attended and very fast moving and the teachers' maintained a strict discipline throughout the classes, which is culturally normal but quite different to how we relate to children these days in the UK. There was a relay team of 2 or 3 teachers in each class so that each one would teach a slot before the next would take over - a good way to ensure that their pace stayed ahead of the kids. This meant they worked incredibly hard all the way through the class - the only time they stopped was when the class had to split into 3 to take turns using the wall for adho mukha vrksasana and pinca mayurasana - and even then they were working on gomukhasana / paschima namaskarasana while they got their breath back. The best part was watching them do a rapid succession of viparita chakrasanas - they made it look like the most natural thing in the world, what could be easier than a reverse roly poly?

Headed home for practice and carried on working on the sirsasana sequence Abhi did yesterday. After many years of balancing in the centre of the room I had been given an upright post to align myself with in sirsasana as part of my medical sequence when I was in the medical classes with Stephanie and Guruji in 2014 (see tamarahockey2014.wordpress.com) and 'lost' my headstand - I'd got as far as being near a wall which I use - not for balance - but to bend one leg to the wall so that I can suck the ribs back and the buttocks upward, as well as adjusting more onto the back of the crown of the head. But as Guruji famously said 'Habit is a disease' and I have become completely reliant on this way of doing it - so this trip is my time and space to move on and get out of that nice secure rut.

After lunch I went over to the Marriott, the pool there is now heated so even though it's proving to be a cool January, it was still comfortably warm. I spent some time there catching up on some yoga books I've been dying to study but never found the time. Just the first 10 mins of the kid's sequence posted below.

Children's Class Sunday 7th January

NO MATS OR EQUIPMENT OF ANY KIND - for the seated poses / sarvangasana / halasana / chakrasana they had a single thick mat each and nothing under the shoulders.

  • "Tuck in t shirts"

  • Tadasana "Look straight at eye level"

  • "See that you recite prayers with correct pronounciation"

  • Start jumping on the spot On my count you are going to hit the roof "one JUMP! two JUMP! three JUMP! four JUMP!" (up to 10)

  • Urdhva Hastasana to Uttanasana x 10 (shouted Urdhva Hastasana!! Uttanasana!!)

  • Right hand up!! Left hand up!! X 3 each side

  • Extend arms out to side (in this way they were organising the class so that everyone found find their space for the standing poses)Turn palms Urdhva hastasana!! arms down extend arms sideways, turn palms Urdhva Namaskarasana!! hands clapping together in urd nam x 3

  • Utkat with hands in urd namask x 3 "Legs bent!! Arms straight!!'

  • UH palms forward / Utt / UH / AMS/ Utt /AMS/ tad / UH / Utt / UH / Utt / AMS / UH / AMS / UMS / AMS / UMS / AMS/ UH /UTT / AMS/ UMS /Chat / UMS / Chat / UMS / AMS / Malas / Utt / Malas / Utt / AMS / UMS / Chat / UMS / AMS/ UH / tad

  • Vrk hands in Urd Nam x 2 each side

  • UH Padasana to tadasana jumping x 4 "High Jump!!"

  • tad - UH Pad - Parsva UH Pad - tad

  • Pasch nam

  • tad - UH Pad - PUH Pad - Trikonasana x 3 right side "UP" repeat left side x 3

  • UH - tad - UH - Utt - AMS - UMS - AMS - UMS - Chat - UMS - AMS - Vastisthasana - AMS - UMS - Chat - UMS - AMS - Dandasana - Upavista Konasana - Bad Kon - dand - AMS - UH - tad

Here they split the group into two with the 12 years plus going to the upstairs studio. A later snippet here after they had taken the thick mats:

  • Virasana Baddangullyasana

  • UH Dand to Pasch up and down x 6

  • Halasana - Urd Hast - Halasana - Urd Hast - Halasana - malasana - Halasana - Malasana - Halasana - Malasana - Halasana - Urd Hast - Halasana - Malasana - Halasana - Malasana - Utt - AMS feet together - Utt - Malas - Utt - Halasana - Pasch - Halasana - right leg am swastikasana - halasana - left leg am swastikasana - r leg janu - halasana - l leg janu - halasana - r leg janu - halasana - l leg janu - halas - pasch - halas - pasch x6 FAST!! - karnapid - pasch - tired? yes? ok then chakrasana!! so they built the speed uo with 3 x halasana to pasch and then CHAKRASANA!! - dandasana - chakrasana. Stopped class for a demo and showed how you have to go straight from pasch to chakrasana with no pause or hesitation.

  • Pasch - chakrasana - malasana - chakrasana - pasch x 6

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