My Yoga Journal 10.5.06

In this two-month lesson set, we are practicing the Five Tibetan Rites in the Buddhist tradition. While our overall practice is Kripalu Yoga in an Indian tradition, the 'Tibetans' are a good natural progression from our last session when we concentrated on cultivating awareness of the seven chakras. The rites are designed to help in aligning the chakras so this is an interesting mix of the two traditions.

Sometimes the Tibetans can be used as warm-ups but last night we went through them at the end of the class. Instead, we started with some basic stretching and sun salutations with other poses mixed in. We did a few of my favorites — Pigeon, Tree, and Warrior I — that always remind me of my practice when I started in Laguna Beach, CA oh so many years ago. We didn't hold any of the poses for very long. Our substitute teacher Geoff opted to have us generate heat rather than working on strength/power.