Yoga and a Rope Wall

Last week I invited Kate Graham, Owner of Hudson Yoga, Iyengar teacher and student, to show one of the tween classes how to “use the ropes” for yoga postures (asanas).

Kate has an extensive background and knowledge of the Iyengar Yoga style. Iyengar Yoga is a style that uses “props” such as blocks, blankets, rope walls and firm pillows called bolsters to help students connect deeply within themselves while practicing the asanas. Kate’s teacher, Mary Dunn, was instrumental in bringing B.K.S. Iyengar, the founder of Iyengar Yoga, to the United States in 1973.

Class was entirely centered around the use of the rope wall. This was beneficial for all of us, no matter what level yogi, since it offered a new way to experience each asana. Kate began the class with some warm-ups. The first was the classic downward dog. Wow, what a delicious way to feel this pose in the body—to be able to sense the extension of the spine throughout the back and down the hamstrings. Even more exhilarating is when we clasped our hands behind our heads—lifting our hands from the floor—and used our body weight to increase the yummy sensation of begin long as we hung forward in the pose. Mmmmm….

We also practiced a little “vinyasa,” a sychronization of breath with the movement. Kate demonstrated by holding onto a rope in each hand, and then placing her hands behind her back with her heels against the wall. She took a deep inhale, and gracefully bent into a forward fold. As she let out an exhale, she rolled her shoulder blades down her back, looked up and released her head and heart forward, keeping her feet still grounded against the wall and arms holding onto the ropes, placing her body at a 45 degree angle from the wall.

Eeeewwww!

The tweens—yep, all girls shrieked as they watched Kate’s back move with the vinyasa. We all laughed. Then, when the girls tried it, they didn’t want to stop. They couldn’t believe how good it felt to open their hearts and flow in a rhythm with the breath.

A few more rope wall asanas were demonstrated by Kate and performed by the girls. Then, the final and best one… hanging upside down. Squeals of excitement erupted as the girls watched as Kate wrapped a rope around her hips, walked up the wall, bent her knees and flipped upside down. To show how safe she was, Kate swung back and forth to demonstrate that the wall was not going to fall down.  Needless to say, this was the all-time favorite for the class. Thrilling, scary, being free and floating, all at once. Each of us had an opportunity to connect more deeply to each posture in a physical and mental manner. But we also got to connect to our inner child.

Namaste.