Explore Salamba Sarvangasana - Suppoerted Shoulderstand

 

How are you making out with this 2 week mini challenge of 3 poses per day?

Have you explored doing the poses in the morning some days and some in the evening ?  Maybe an afternoon practice ?

Most of mine have been in the morning, but I do find when practiced in the evening puts my mind at rest to sleep.

Here is another prashnayantra statement you can explore in your shoulderstand:

The statement for today is:

As you do Sarvangasana Variations, Focus on Limb-muscles and work on total evacuation by breath action. As you evacuate further and further, observe what seeps in after evacuation. Identify that pure essence (buddhisattva) to guide you in the yogic plane.

Viparita Karani - Legs up the Wall

 I always love when “coincidences” happen.  Almost minutes after I posted the newsletter and updated my blog last night with my mini challenge I received the latest Prashnayantra Problem Statement.  I have posted a few of these before.  The are auto-generated statements that have been put together by the grandson of B.K.S. Iyengar and nephew of Geeta and Prashant Iyengar.

The statements is:

As you do Vipareeta Karani, Investigate retention duration. Repeat Retention after Exhalation, increasing the duration each time. Find out at which point this starts leading to negative effects rather than a positive effect. Stop at this point and recover.

One of the three poses is Viparita Karani and the statement is referring to the retention of the breath. Become stable and settled in the pose before investigating the retention of the breath.  Do not overdo, especially if you are new to the practice.

I did day 1 as part of my morning practice.  How did your 3 poses practice go?

Pam 🙏 

March onto Your Mat - 3 poses for daily for 2 weeks - Let’s Go!

March onto your Mat As a way to welcome March and before the online session starts, I thought I’d put out a goal of three poses to incorporate into your day for the next two-weeks. Best to do in the morning before your day gets busy, or evening prior to bed.  Depending on your experience and practice you can stay anywhere from a minute or two in each pose or 15.  Maybe you’ll notice your length of stay and ease in each asana changes over the two weeks.  Only practice what you feel comfortable and have experience with. Pose 1: Salamba Sirsasana- headstand or Prasarita padottanasana - wide leg forward bend Pose 2: Salamba Sarvangasana- shoulder stand or Setu Bandha Sarvangasana - supported bridge pose Pose 3: Viparita Karani - Legs up the wall pose Feel free to message with any questions or let me know how your daily practice is going. See photos examples below or check out my blog for more information.

Pam’s Blog

Please also join me for online or in-person classes: In-person classes at the Anderson Centre in Christopher Lake continue on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-7:45 p.m. These classes use a punch-card that can be purchased from me or CPL Rec.  CPL Rec offers other great classes that your punch-card can also be used for.  In-person classes in Prince Albert start next week - March 3rd at the Margo Fourier Centre (formerly Prince Albert Arts Centre). I will be teaching a class from 10:45-11:45 a.m. and a noon hour class.  You can register online through the city of P.A. or stop at the Centre on Central during the day and register in person.   Online classes will be live and recorded on Monday mornings from 7:15-8:30 a.m.and even days in April I will have a Wednesday evening Restorative class from 7:15-8:15 p.m. The 4 audio classes will be sent throughout this session. You will have access these classes, plus the many classes in my playlist from the past 4 years until the end of June.  That is 14 weeks of access to classes - a great way to build your home practice.  Please see poster for more details and email me to register. 🙏  Pam

Email Pam

Spring Fling - Bringing Intention to our Body, Breath and MInd

 

Spring Fling Spring 2025 Classes with PLN Yoga Hello and congratulations for making it through that cold spell! The warmer weather and increased daylight were a reminder for me to get rolling on my spring online classes and also let you know about upcoming in-person classes. I’ve put the theme of the spring classes at Spring Fling, as we tend to really get energized and fling ourselves into many projects.  We may be feeling a bit bored after the cold of winter, so my idea for this session is to create some fun movements not just for the body, but inspire some creativity for the mind. That is why I am also including some audio recordings.  The aim is to bring motion to the body and the mind in an intentional way.  So as we fling ourselves into spring we will do so with intention:). In-person classes at the Anderson Centre in Christopher Lake continue on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-7:45 p.m. These classes use a punch-card that can be purchased from me or CPL Rec.  CPL Rec offers other great classes that your punch-card can also be used for. In-person classes in Prince Albert start next week - March 3rd at the Margo Fourier Centre (formerly Prince Albert Arts Centre). I will be teaching a class from 10:45-11:45 a.m. and a noon hour class.  You can register online through the city of P.A. or stop at the Centre on Central during the day and register in person.   Online classes will be live and recorded on Monday mornings from 7:15-8:30 a.m. and even days in April I will have a Wednesday evening Restorative class from 7:15-8:15 p.m. The 4 audio classes will be sent throughout this session. Please see above poster for more details. Please contact me if you are interested in joining the spring 2025 session. OM Shanti, Pam

Winter 2025 Online and In-person Classes

 

Winter 2025 Online and In-person Classes

Please check out my class offerings for January to March.

I will have a Monday evening weekly class online, a Tuesday evening weekly class in person in Christopher Lake and a Restorative

/Meditation class every second Wednesday online.

I am also bringing back my monthly free Sunday evening Peace Practice.  

Please contact me to register for the upcoming session.

plnyogastudio@gmail.com 

- Peace to you -

Pam 

The Quest for Art in Yoga

 

The first part of the book, The Art of Yoga, Mr. Iyengar titled it Yoga - My Art. He always brings it back to his understanding and experience through his dedicated years of practice.  Everything he writes is from his experiences and personal exploration.  This book, he writes, highlights the artistic presentation of the asanas.  To do this one must focus their attention on the details of the action of the muscles, the holding of the joints, the spacing of the limbs, the movement of the skin and the way these all integrate and transmit expressions of delicate balance, comfort, grace and poise, beauty and charm.  Patanjali describes this in Yoga Sutra II.46 - Sthira sukham asanam - asana is perfect firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence and benevolence of spirit.  

Mr. Iyengar writes how he was quite a sickly child and had not been born into a household of artist.  Therefore the practice of yoga was taken up first to improve his health.  He had to train to become the artist he did in yoga.  He went to temples and caves to study carvings, He studied by watching the world around him, he became more and more sensitive within to notice slight changes in body, breath and mind to become the master he was.  He writes, “Thus I laboured hard to synchronize the movements of limbs, carefully feeling the extension, expansion and creation of space for the intelligence to pervade the entire body and allow the energy to flow freely and rhythmically.  Through my own thinking, assiduous practice and self-control, I analyzed every movement and adjusted every fibre and muscle of my body.  I developed flexibility and achieved integration.  With religious fervour in my practice, a spirit of introspection and surrender to God, which Patanjali considers necessary for yoga, and a liberal and non-fanatical mind, my hard-won and carefully cultivated talent took the form of an inborn gift.”

B.K.S. Iyengar’s practice elevated his thoughts and purified his mind.  So beyond physical health, I hope your practice also transforms your breath and mind to one of beauty and grace and a radiant light of yogic knowledge.  

Namaste,

Pam 

The Lion’s Roar 

This pose is not only said to help with sore throats, but also flexibility in hips and strength to arms and shoulders.  It also gives a nice toning to the internal organs.  I have been exploring this pose this past week.  A good roar every morning is a great way to start the day.