Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘locust pose’

#AYogaPoseADay

Posted by terrepruitt on January 27, 2020

Last week I asked my Tuesday yoga class if anyone would be interested in trying a yoga pose a day. I clarified that the idea was for me to just text or e-mail a pose a day. There wouldn’t be any instructions or anything. I asked them to either text or e-mail me if they wanted to participate and that I would send the pose the way they requested. A few of them were interested. So the following day I sent out a pose. Then I realized that I had written a post on a few poses and I thought that I could include that in the text and e-mail just to get us started. I would send the link with the first few. I hadn’t looked up all of the posts that I had written regarding asana but I found a back bend post that had links to posts about back bends so I could include those links with the text/e-mail. I haven’t posted about a lot of poses, but tonight I did look through to see what I had done. We will have a few more poses that can have posts attached to them, but the idea was just to send out a quick idea, “Hey, today do xxxx.” I also extended the invitation to my Thursday yoga class.  It has been fun so far.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCD, Yin YogaWe haven’t even been doing it a week. I am e-mailing some people and texting some people. Some of us are communicating about it. I just thought it would be fun and it is turning out that way.

So far we have done:

01.22.20 – Bound Angle
01.23.20 – Upward Salute (Urdhva Hastasana)
01.24.20 – Locust Pose (Salabhasana)
01.25.20 – Sphinx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana)
01.26.20 – Cobra (Bhujangasana)
01.27.20 – Upward dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)
01.28.20 – Stork (oh, this is a spoiler 🙂 )

I had been tweeting it, but not all posts have a picture so my gravatar of me and Nessa was being posted so I stopped tweeting because I hadn’t noticed the way to keep that from posting. I was using #AYogaPoseADay. Tweeting could be something I keep up with now that I see I CAN keep the picture from posting by deleting the preview. I mean Nessa is a cutie, but I understand it gets annoying when every tweet has a picture of her and I. And, as I said, not every #AYogaPoseADay will have a post so that will be good.

I love finding simple ways outside of the class to connect with my students (or others, if you want to join us please do. You can follow me on twitter or asked to have the #AYogaPoseADay e-mailed to you).

The idea is just for me to suggest a pose a day . . . perhaps it is all you do or perhaps it gets adding into the practice you have. The instruction we decided upon was 30 seconds or four breaths. I actually suggested that the students time their breaths just to have an idea of how many breaths they do in 30 seconds or how long four breaths is for them. Then you can play with it from there.

Is there something that you do daily? A daily practice that you have?

Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Different Ways To Recycle

Posted by terrepruitt on October 23, 2017

I like it when I have an idea for a blog post and I don’t have to think about what to write. I wish that were always the case. I like to post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but I just don’t always have that many posts in me. I have been struggling lately with posting on Mondays when I have been at my dad’s all weekend. Going through stuff and getting rid of items is proving more difficult than one would think. So many people and entities say to recycle and donate, but that is harder said than done. While trying to think of something to post about I got to wondering what I posted about on this day (or close to it) in the years past. So . . . speaking of recycling. (See how I did that?)

In 2009 I posted about the free songs iTunes used to give away. Do they still do that? Back then they used to give out cards at Starbucks and they had a code to a free song. I was introduced to a lot of artists and songs that way that I still listen to. I also posted about Collage Video which is a website you can get exercise DVDs from. I had liked the way they described the videos with a break down of minutes of each cycles.

In 2010, October 23rd fell on a Saturday and I was posting on Saturdays back then. I posted about Nutrition Facts of Bell Peppers. I LOVE bell peppers.

In 2011, the 23rd fell on a Sunday, on October 22nd, a Saturday, I posted about being Ready To Receive. In my post I talked about when we first experience or hear about something sometimes we put up our barriers and we don’t want to accept it, so we really have to be ready and “open” to receive in order to actually receive and learn. I also mentioned Natural Time and how we are ready and open in our own natural time. While I wasn’t talking exactly about what was going on at the time, it was somewhat related to it. October 2011 is the year my mother-in-law was in a fatal automobile accident. She died October 23, 2011, six years ago today.

October 2012 I was making smoothies. In September of that year I had gotten my super blender for my birthday and I was making and drinking smoothies. I found that during that period I did believe the science behind the need to rotate the vegetables according to the family, but I never quite got it right. I wrote about it in my The Greens Go Round And Round post, but for me it was easier said than done.

October 23, 2013 fell on a Wednesday and I wasn’t posting on Wednesday back then, I was posting on Tuesdays and Thursday. On Tuesday the 22nd I posted about a yoga pose. I posted Icky Name, Great Pose which is about the locust pose (Salabhasana) where you lift your legs and chest up off the ground creating a back bend. On Wednesday I posted about how Messing Up Is Fun. It is about Nia and what a student felt about it.

I was actually thinking about my post from October 23, 2014 just the other day! But I didn’t know that. I was thinking about the “tea” that I had heard about that one blogger drinks when she is sick. She calls it Sick People Tea. I wrote a little bit about it and the oregano that is part of the recipe.

October 23, 2015 was a Friday. I wasn’t posting on Fridays back then. But we had our cats and on the 22nd I posted about them. The post includes some of the best pictures I have ever taken of them. They are pretty darn beautiful. On the 24th I posted about the difference between what are labeled Leisure Classes with the City of San Jose and what are Group Ex classes. Although the City of San Jose no longer has the “Group Ex” program we have SJCITY Fit, which is similar. You might want to check it out as their annual membership is a GREAT deal!

In 2016 I was posting on my current schedule of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The 23rd of October fell on a Sunday so the closest post to the 23rd is the 24th and I posted about Sunburns And Ants.

I do hope you will have a moment to click over and check out one or two of the posts from Octobers past.   Which one  has you wanting to click over and read it?  Perhaps you can click over and like it and leave a comment.

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Working On My Favorite Yoga Poses

Posted by terrepruitt on March 4, 2014

There are a lot of yoga poses.  Especially since a lot of them I know are the modification of the actual pose.  Some of these modifications seemed to have morphed into their own pose with their own name.  In addition to teaching Nia in San Jose, I am now teaching Gentle Yoga.  And I was thinking.  I wanted to make a list of my favorite poses.  I was thinking I could have a list and do them every day.  But it turns out that I like a lot more than I was thinking.  And some I don’t like at all.  And some I look at the picture and guffaw, saying, “Yeah, right?”  Anyway I came up with about 38 poses that I really like, ones that I would call my favorite.  I have a feeling that I am forgetting a couple too so I bet my list could really be in the 40’s.  I could do over 40 poses a day, but I would rather do less and repeat a handful of poses then just work my way through all of my favorites.  So then I circled ones that I would like to do every day and I ended up with 16.  I was thinking I could do those 16 every day.  But then I realized that while I will probably do that every once in a while I would be better off just picking some from the list everyday.  Whatever strikes my fancy.  I feel that if I pick a group every day I will end up getting the exact practice I need for that day.  It could end up being my favorite 16 of the favorites.

I do feel that my “favorites” for the day will end up being exactly what I need.  I plan to post about some of my favorites.  Working my way through the list.  I have already posted a few of them.  One of my favorites that I have posted about is the Gate Pose.  This is a balance pose but it is done on a knee and an extended leg.  Not all balance poses are done standing.  This is a pose that helps with stabilization, strength and flexibility.

Another favorite with a post is the Locust Pose.  I REALLY like this pose.  This is one that I do extremely modified.  I mean I’ve seen the locust pose where most of the yogi’s body is off the ground and they are resting on just their sternum, upper shoulders, and their chin.  That doesn’t even look comfortable to me.  I prefer the belly-on-the-earth-with-the-head, chest, arms, and legs-lifted-off-the-ground version.  This is a whole body pose.  Not only on my favorite list but on the favorite 16!

I also like the Sphinx.  This is another backbend, but with this one we rest on the forearms and elbows.  Another pose that made my list is another back bend, the Cobra.  This one to me is more of a lift using the back.  And another backbend – the Updog – made the list.  Updog and Cobra sometimes look the same in demonstration – depending on who is demonstrating.  Be sure to check out my posts to see the difference.  I use Patrick Reynolds’ video to explain the difference.   I think of Up Dog more like a hanging backbend.  The only backbend that made my top 16 was the Locust Pose.

The Garland Pose made my list of favorites and the top 16.  This is a position I try to find myself in every day.  Even if I am not doing yoga or any type of practice, I will put myself in this posture to pick up something.  I think that this pose is a great way to help keeps hips bones healthy and juicy.  Also pushing up from this squat is good for the legs.

So I have already posted about a few of my favorite poses.  So I will continue to explore and share with you.

What is your favorite yoga pose?  Why is it your favorite?

Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Icky Name, Great Pose

Posted by terrepruitt on October 22, 2013

I really like the locust pose itself, I don’t care for the name.  I think this pose is really nice because it is so easily modified so it fits well into the Gentle Yoga class I am teaching.  Everyone can do it because there are so many versions of it.  Since every body is so different and in different states of health and flexibility most yoga poses can be modified to accommodate.  Some poses require props; straps, bolsters, blocks, etc.  This one is really nice because of its simplicity.  It is a prone posture, where you lie on your stomach, and it is considered a back bend.  Locust pose or Salabhasana is the pose in which you lift your legs and chest up off the ground.

To do the Locust pose you lie on your stomach.  Your arms are at your side, hands near your hips with the palms facing the ceiling.  Forehead is on the floor allowing the back of your neck to lengthen.  Your legs are hip joint width apart.  Reach with your toes toward the opposite wall.  Firm your thighs.  Exhale as you lift your thighs off of the ground using your hamstrings and glutes.  Your legs remain straight.  There is no bend at the knees.  Your pelvis and lower ribs are pressing into the earth.

At the same time you lift your legs you lift your head and chest off of the ground.  Either looking down or up, with your chin parallel to the ground.  Wherever it is comfortable for your gaze to rest be sure to keep the neck lengthened so as not to crush the back of the neck.  Lift your arms off of the ground, keeping your palms toward the ceiling.  Throughout the lift of your upper body and while you are lifted, you are keeping your shoulders back with your shoulder blades down – toward your hips.  There is space between your shoulders and your ears.

While up in this back bend you can turn your big toes toward each other, this will rotate the front of your thighs inward.  The back of your legs are firm, muscles squeezing but not clenched, so that the back of the body is active but not cramping.

(11/08/21: Click Gate, Locust – Pictures May Help for a picture.)

Breathing into the active muscles will help keep them active yet relaxed.  As you breathe imagine the oxygen traveling to the tense areas.

This pose is meant to be held.  So hold the pose for as long as is comfortable.  Then repeat as your routine allows.

There are many ways to modify this.  You could just lift one leg at a time, keeping your forehead and arms on the ground.  Or you could lift both of your legs, with your arms and forehead down.  Or you could lift your chest, and let your arms and legs stay on the ground.  Or you could lift just your arms.  Or you could lift one arm and one leg, or you could, lift your legs and your chest and keep your arms on the ground.  You probably see all the different ways it can be modified.  The key is to find the area of your body that is the most difficult to lift and focus on learning to lift that area.  Then once you master the difficult area you will be able to add it to the easiest one and progress from there into the back bend.

Another way to modify this which can be in addition to the aforementioned modifications is to place a folded towel or blanket under your pelvis and/or ribs.

Remember whether you do the full pose (as described here) or any modification of it, your spine is lengthening and you are keeping your shoulders back and down towards your hips throughout the entire pose.  To help with keeping your shoulders back and down, imagine opening your chest as you lift it off of the earth.

This pose helps strengthen the muscles along the backside of the body including the triceps, lats, glutes, and hamstrings.

Do you like this pose?  Do you include this pose in your practice?

Some Benefits Of Doing Back Bends

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