Day 23 - Anjali Recuperative

I had a quiet day today, just making the most of my last few days here to practice on the sunny terrace and luxuriate in the space and time to reflect on life. When I get back to the UK I have to 'hit the ground running' - I leave Pune at 6am on Tuesday morning and get back home at 4.30am Pune time which'll be 11pm in the UK, starting work at 8.30am on Wednesday morning. Some might say this is bad planning on my part, but honestly I wanted to maximise my time here and sod being sensible and arriving home with a few days to recover. Who knows when I'll get the chance to come back?

When we arrived for Gulnaz's class this evening, she was away and Anjali was standing in. She taught a simple, but lovely restorative session which everybody appreciated, full sequence below.

Day 23 Anjali – Recuperative

• Keeping body active, but brain passive throughout

• AMVirasana – Forehead supported on edge of bolster. Skin of the forehead should not be scraped towards the hairline – draw the skin towards the bridge of the nose.

• Keeping forehead in contact with the bolster and smoothly transitioning into AMSvanasana with head supported on bolster, gripping outer edges of mat if hands were slipping. Heels down if possible. Dorsal spine into the body.

• Keeping crown of head in contact with bolster (if poss) Uttanasana elbows resting on the bolster (I folded my blanket on top).

• Chair + blanket or bolster - Uttanasana – arms folded on chair head supported, dorsal in.

• Chair Prasarita Paddottonasana.

• Sirsasana

• Virasana to observe demonstration of Eka Pada Sirsasana with chair.

• Come down and take a chair for Eka Pada Sirsasana – first foot hovering slightly above the chair and observing the state of the body, brain and breath and then extending the big toe to rest on the chair and observing the state of the body, brain and breath. It was immediately obvious how the contact with t