
Beginning to get organised for home coming - gathering the lists of requests people have asked for from home - a chumbal here, a recording there, not to mention 6 bolsters - my suitcase is going to be full! (don't worry, not even I am going to try and fit 6 bolsters into a suitcase - Sudhir will sew them into a plane friendly package for me!).
Still no arm sensor - Dheeraj (my ever-patient landlord) has been working persistently to get Mumbai customs to release it. Today it was looking promising, but they required my receipt of purchase, which of course does not exist as we in the UK are lucky enough to have a health service that provides such items completely free of charge to diabetics. Try explaining the NHS to customs officials! Between Caron and I, we have kept poor Dheeraj busy with one problem or another. Caron is still very unwell so Dheeraj escorted her to his family physician yesterday and arrived this morning with supplies and freshly prepared Kitcheree to try and tempt her to eat. What an absolute star!
Rajalaxmi's class this evening was similar to last night and all was going fine until she decided to get out all the wooden props in the room for setubandha. There ensued 20 minutes or so of absolute chaos, but somehow it was done and we still managed to get a few minutes of quiet pranayama at the end of the class, sequence below.

Rajalaxmi – 25th February 2020 – Restorative and Pranayama
Swastikasana invocation – Fingers cup shaped, sacrum tailbone into you, widen the clavicles and make the upper arms long, lengthen them towards the elbows and once the palms are joined see that you are not pressuring there.
AMVirasana – Sacrum tailbone into you so that the groins draw towards the legs side and the ribcage extend to the fingertips and in between the two, the abdomen finds its length.
AMSvanasana – Pressurise the palms, pelvis away, rib cage to legs side, LIFT UP and move the shoulder bones deeper into you so upper arms lengthen. Inner heel and outer heel BACK, all the energy BACK. She game demo on stage to show how people were not getting the life and falling towards the palms side. Walk hands back to the feet for
Uttanasana – Descend yourself down and lift your sitting bones up – many times we have done at the wall, where we lift the sitting bones up in order for the trunk to release down, so there is a separation where the trunk meets the legs.
Baddha Konasana from Marichyasana – so like Sunita taught on Saturday – first the leg into marichyasana, thigh bone descends and then opening the calf and the thigh away from each other LENGTHEN the thigh away for Baddha Konasana, both legs. Pressurise the heels and move the femur heads into the hip sockets, press the hands to lift slightly up, so that you are sitting, but not sitting, so that you can fully move the femur heads into you and the sacrum LIFT UP. Dorsal spine going in strongly, sit on front thigh not on spine.
2 Groups 10 cycles of breath in each variation:
Centre of room, 3 bricks on 2nd height in one long line, for supta baddha konasana – using the bricks instead of a bolster for the spine, head on the bricks, sacrum on the floor.
Rope wall (middle rope) or rope looped around the grille around the back rib for seated baddha konasana. Hold the ends of the rope with your 2 hands and pull the rope towards you to create lift on the back ribs and coiling the upper back spine in look up to the ceiling.
CCB Dandasana – feet apart, draw the sitting bones back and spread the back thigh so that you can feel the thigh bone pressing the floor – lift the lower abdomen UP- doubled loop, holding close to the feet for strong concave back action, coiling the back spine in, lift the sternum chest and look up – move the armpits from back to front, front ribs ascending, lift inner edge of clavicle UP and widen there, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana action in the chest - 2 long holds maintaining the bottom back rib, deep inwards.
Rajalaxmi went around the group making a VERY strong adjustment, knee in the dorsal and fingers interlocked under student’s chin, simultaneously pushing the knee in and pulling the chin upward to give them the concave back action.
Sirsasana – Have that memory of the dorsal, move it deeper into you.
AMVirasana
Halasana – No belt – Fingers extending backwards – now adjust onto the tops of the shoulders and then press down the OUTER shoulder bone. Walk slightly to the right to free the left shoulder blade, walk slightly to the left to free the right shoulder blade. Be completely on the outer shoulder bones so that you feel that the shoulder blades are free and the arms are separated from the trunk exposing the armpits. Extend the forearms and bend the elbows so that the palms face the back chest, press the outer elbow down and keep it inside so that the elbows stay in their place.
Belt on for Sarvangasana – tailbone into you, palms active, skin of the back has to LIFT up. Press the edges of the skull bones into the floor so that the neck has to lengthen and mouth cavity quiet. Eyes look at the chest. Head quiet, fluid around the brain should not get disturbed. Come down vertebrae by vertebrae so that the head does not get jerked.
Setubandha using all of the available benches, viparita karani boxes etc
Virasana sitting on edge of bolster – pull the sitting bones back to lengthen the back of the thigh as you sit, so that you are sitting on the thigh bones itself. Keep all the impressions from the class and close eyes. Muscles around the spine broaden, sit broad and tall. Release lower jaw away from upper jaw, brain cells away from the skull, be with your breath. As you proceed, move your vision deeper inside. Complete exhalation, ascend yourself up and further exhale. Complete inhalation and further inhale – the inhalation is energy that will have an effect on the inner body that will show on your outer body. Ribs away from the abdomen, observe the armpits, how it fills. 6 cycles of ujayii.
Bolster savasana – Extend waist to lie down, extend sides of the neck, extend the legs and release them. The bolster supports the chest and exhale to release the abdomen – do not use the abdomen for breathing, but release there. We know about the strong releationship between the abdomen and the mind so when abdomen releases brain cells can release and become quiet. When you release the abdomen, do you really go deep? Lots of depth and space in the abdomen.