Receiving Quietness and Support From the Wall: Abdominal Engagement
These set of sessions facing the wall have a calming effect on the nervous system. They are also preparation and orientation for the classical prone positions that are greatly beneficial for respiratory health. While not a menstrual practice, this session is supported, and relaxing. It is, therefore, also suitable to be done during normal menstruation.
This can be practiced as a stand-alone session, but we recommend that you do it as part of the Short Course Receiving Quietness and Support from the Wall.
Level: Experienced Beginners, Gentle
Duration: 60 mins.
Props needed: a few blankets, one yoga strap, access to a wall
Tag words: 60mins adho mukha virasana calm parsva adho mukha virasana prone prone savasana props respiratory health Stress therapy trikonasana urdhva prasarita padasana virabhadrasana II wall
In the Iyengar tradition, we often make use of the wall. Mr. Iyengar referred to the wall as a teacher. And there is indeed a lot we can learn from the wall. Not only does it provide unconditional support and stability, it also provides an objective frame of reference which gives us valuable feedback. In this (and the related set of sessions), we turn to face the blank expanse of the wall for its calming effect on the nervous system. These set of sessions facing the wall are also meant as preparation and orientation for the classical prone positions that are greatly beneficial for respiratory health, along with their calming effect on the nervous system.
But these asanas should not be interpreted as just ‘flopping’ on the wall. In this session, we focus on the abdominal engagement that contributes to the efficacy of the asanas done in this manner.