"Rotational extension of the spine in fact, gradually brings the spine to a neutral position from forward as well as backward extensions." --BKS Iyengar & Geeta S. Iyengar BGFTY
Kquvien DeWeese opening class to her January Weekend Workshop instilled a fire in our bellies beginning with Jāṭharaparivṛttāsana coupled with Parvrtta Supta Pādāṅguṣṭhāsana. We learned techniques to experience twists or Parvrtta poses as backbends and forward bends. We felt these sensations through the work of three main body parts: our tailbone, our abdomen, and our shoulder blades.
Supine on the floor, we gained sensations that we brought to our upright poses. At the same time, the upright poses challenged us to maintain the actions in these three main areas with ever greater difficulty.That's the beauty of the Iyengar Method of teaching yoga. Systematically, awareness and discernment deepen; and with that depth, our poses go places we never thought they could go.
"Don't be greedy!" Kquvien, who we lovingly call KQ, interjected as we began to recognize how much further we could twist under her tutaledge. Aparigraha is the fifth Yama. The Yama's are the "Universal Moral Commandments." It is the second limb of the Astanga or 8-limbed path of the Yoga of Patañjali. Aparigraha is a Sanskrit word that means non-coveting. While there is the greed from an economic standpoint that we have had the pleasure of experiencing in ourself and in our nation, there is also a deeper personal greed where we covet faster enlightenment or a better pose even when our body (include the trinity here) is not ready for it.
Sticking to the Yama's (universal vows) and the Niyama's (self-purification laws) is a basic precept of yoga and arguably its most difficult. KQ helps us understand that if we want to twist in life without a shout, it's worth applying them. Thank you, KQ. Namaste.
To learn more about Kquvien DeWeese visit her website at kquvien Yoga .
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