Class with Robert Boustany

The 3 hours class I attended at the Texas Yoga Retreat had a long title " Moving deeper into hips & legs, a technically deeper approach toward forward & back-bends." The teacher was Robert Boustany.

Boustany's 40 years of yoga practice has taken form in his own style called Pralaya Yoga. I will explore this concept further in the January issue of Yoga Sanga.

Robert has studied very closely not only the anatomy of the human body but how different muscles that apparently have nothing in common can be used to strengthen and release two different areas.

With a background in Physics, he gives special attention to alignment and lengthening of the spine, not for the sake of it but as a way to increase energy and strength. He told us "strength and flexibility come together, therefore working with the spine is a must"

Boustany asked us to explore having the arm lifted and inclining the head away from that arm to notice how the head and arm can work to release the neck.
He also showed us how to do an abdominal work and then feel how the quadriceps are connected with them . "Strengthening the abs lengthens the quadriceps" he added.

"What is a stretch? Proper relaxation and contraction of the muscles" Robert told us.

He recommends to be present not only when we practice yoga but at all times, living in the past or the future can make an impression in the way our bodies move.
"If we learn to align the spine, if the spine is long, a surge of vitality will be reflected in all our organs" Boustany commented

"Alignment is uniform pressure in the joints. Yoga gives temporary relief from the insanity of the mind." Robert recommends to be mindful of our bodies, "muscles doesn't know how old you are, but the mind can freak you out!" he mentioned.

Being mindful of your body will help to avoid injuries. "The pose is over when the muscle cannot support itself" he added at the end of the class.

When we finished that class we had a feeling of a deep stretch in the hips, abs and quadriceps plus very interesting reflections to think about.

Shanti,

Rocio