Learnt  about joining coccyx and the pubic bone via the “pc” (no connection with Bill Gates’ desktop.. ) pubococcygeus – muscle (pelvic floor muscle) (in orange).

Learnt about prana and apana which I still have to explore further.

Learnt about bringing my shoulders  further back.

Heard about Astanga being cheaper than Iyengar, because  using no props.

Heard about a lot of images helping you into the right posture right (hoodie on your head –  feel how to hold your head; kidney wings to  open with the breath).

Learnt about preparing for headstand, kneeling first and placing your hands crossed behind you head, extending the elbows towards the ceiling and away from the shoulders, making space between the ears and the shoulders and pushing the wrists up.

Richard Freeman is famous. You can follow his teaching on Youtube. Several times. He looks so “cool”.

He’s been practicing Yoga for the last forty years, studying various philosophy movements. His popularity makes him an all powered man  (we were fifty in the hall and Vishnu knows  how many on the waiting list?)

Richard Freeman was late. Started late, finished late. But the majority of us didn’t mind. In the meantime, students were giggling at his jokes. They were not all funny, but he tried hard to make us smile. Release the mouth, the jaw, the palate. It works. RF is aware of so many connections in his own body. he sadly hoped we can follow his pace of mind.

I felt slightly battered after two days. It went well but I still think  a guru has the right (duty?) to start and finish on time. Respect!

” How many of you pratice mulabandha in each posture?” Not often, I thought but cowardly didn’t tell. Since, I’ve practiced the dog pose (up and down) with legs tightly pressed against each other. It helps the mulabandha . Once you’ve got that muscular contraction, you can introduce uddiyana bandha, where you also contract the abdomen and try to hold the stomach in at the end of the inbreath. Have been trying every day for a week with raised arms before breakfast. Must be quite hard  on a full stomach.

I missed the third bandha(in the throat which was taught on Sunday). I also missed some of the navasana and ardha navasana practice ( the boat posture). Brian says he holds it for 60 breaths. Good for him. I can just hold it for 15. I’ll speak to you in a few weeks , see how I’m getting on.

We focused on Navasana (the boat). With a round back which was a very helpful alternative to bring the legs higher and work on the abdominals. Usually, when you start Yoga you stretch you back and take your chest out to lift yourself up. Here you try to absorb your navel back stretching your arms forward and lifting your legs with the strength of the abdomen.

We practiced balancing forward on the wrists, keeping the legs straight a few cm behind the hands, to prepare to lift the legs into handstand
or to jump back into chaturanga.

Richard also had a chat (slightly too long though very relevant) about the joy we should feel practicing, forgetting about the worries one usually has about not “performing” in one or the other posture.

Once again, Yoga is not a performance, it’s a life experience. It is enjoyable.

I knew Liz Lark from a book. One of my students once brought me Yoga for Kids in Dutch and I later bought it in English to read it. The book describes Yoga postures you can try with children.

It’s well illustrated and I used it a few times with my own children. It never really worked, not because of the book, but because some kids choose a different path from their parents to build their identity.

On Sunday (October 11th), I tried one of Liz Lark’s adult workshops in Oxford. I made the mistake of choosing one morning session on backbends, instead of the two-days workshop. It’s always a bad idea to buy a quarter or half a workshop.

I missed the Yoganidra session in the afternoon, and felt much too energised for the rest of the day.