Iyengar-Style Sequencing, Part 2: Warming Up

by Nina

As I mentioned in my post "Iyengar-Style Sequencing, Part 1", Iyengar-style sequences typically begin with starting or warm-up poses. Today I’m going to write a little about how to choose the appropriate warm-up poses for a particular sequence. One useful way to choose your warm-up poses is to think anatomically about the main poses in your sequence. Don't let that term "anatomically" scare you, please! Just picture the shape of the pose, and notice which parts of your body are stretched the most while you are in the pose. This will help you figure out which parts of your body need to be warmed-up for you to do your main poses most comfortably.

Bulbs About to Blossom by Nina Zolotow

 In the seated forward bends, four main areas are to target are:

• hips
• backs of legs
• torso/back body
• shoulders (you reach for or clasp your feet with your arms overhead)

So poses you might choose to prepare for seated forward bends would focus on hip openers to make the seated positions more comfortable, reclined or standing leg stretches, shoulder openers, and poses, such as side stretches and Tree pose that lengthen your torso, and stretches that open your shoulders in an overhead position. The standing poses with straight legs and forward bending elements, such Downward-Facing Dog, Standing Forward Bend, Triangle Pose, Half Moon pose, and Parsvottanasana, also prepare you well for seated forward bends.

For backbends, four main areas to target are:

• fronts of the thighs
• chest openers
• torso/front body
• shoulders

So poses you might choose to prepare for backbends would focus on lunges or Reclined Hero pose to stretch the fronts of your thighs, passive backbends to open your chest, poses such as Downward-Facing Dog, side stretches and Tree pose that lengthen your torso, and stretches that open your shoulders in the same direction they will go in the backbend (overhead and or behind your back, depending on the type of backbend). Standing poses that include backbend elements, such as Warrior 1, Warrior 3, and Dancer’s pose, also prepare you well for backbends, as well as Sun Salutations.

For seated twists three main areas to target are:

• hips
• spinal length
• spinal flexibility

So poses you might choose to prepare for twists would focus on hip openers to make the seated positions more comfortable, poses such as Downward-Facing Dog and Tree pose that lengthen your spine, and poses that gently twist, bend forward or bend back, to create general flexibility in your spine. Standing poses that include twist elements, such as Revolved Triangle, Revolved Side Angle, and Revolved Half Moon poses, also prepare you well for seated twists, as well as Sun Salutations. If you bind in twists, you could also stretch your shoulders in the behind your back position.

For inversions, three areas you should target are:

• legs
• shoulders
• torso

So poses you might choose to prepare for inversions should focus on reclined or standing leg stretches to make getting into the upside down position easier (and your legs lighter while you are upside), shoulder openers that open your shoulders in the overhead position, and poses such as Downward-Facing Dog and Tree pose that lengthen your torso. Standing poses that partial inversions, such as Standing Forward Bend, Downward-Facing Dog, and Widespread Standing Forward Bend, also prepare you well for full inversions.

These are just very general guidelines. For, as we always say, sequencing is an art, not a science, and different body types respond differently to various poses. Eventually you’ll start to learn which types of warm-ups are most effective for you, For example, if you’re tight, you may wish to stretch more than someone who is very flexible, and may want to warm up for a pose like Downward-Facing Dog. While someone who is more flexible maybe able to use Downward-Facing Dog itself as a warm-up pose.