The Asana Project

I've been doing a lot of research lately, for my second blog, My Pig, My Cornfield. Goodness, the food blog world is huge: chefs, activisits, farmers, mom/pastry chefs, organ-eaters, art directors, etc etc. I thought the yoga bloggers were prolific, but I had no idea. Sifting through many of these, has given me some ideas for GTTSB...here's one of them:

I tried something like this a few years ago, but was waaay too ambitious (a pose/post per day--I lasted about four days), so I've scaled it back. I'm going to focus on a pose every week to ten days. Do it for a few days, report on my impressions and then do several modifications and report on those. I teach with an Iynegar-influence, so I'm big on finding a version of a pose--often using props--that everyone can do. But, I've never really tested my versions beyond just the demonstration: do they really offer the same benefits? do they open something else in addition? Are there better modifications that I'm not considering?

Obviously, the food crowd isn't doing poses, but they're sharing recipes--"Let's all bake this together and then compare notes." So I'm thinking, maybe we can make this a group project. We can all handle 3 poses (one pose, two modifications) a week for about 5-10 min.s (if doing 2 sides) right? I want to hear what you think of the initial pose (whether you teach it, or practice it); how you change it for yourself or students; if my modifications work or not; suggestions for other poses to try.

I'm writing way more about yoga thoughts than practice, lately, and I thought this might be a fun way to get back onto the mat.

SO, first pose for the Asana Project: Utittha Trikonasa (Triangle Pose). Do it, 5 min.s (or so) each side, for the next three days, see what you notice, and report back! Here is a thorough discussion of the pose from Namaste From Duluth.

Here are some older posts, for sequencing ideas:
-Yoga is a Language
-Hip to be Triangular
-Our Friend the Spine