AY320 Frog – continuation – (Toad)

Source

• AY Volume 7A
• Reel 22, Track 1, Lesson 4
• Duration of the recording: 32 minutes (The end of the lesson is missing.)

Synopsis

• Yoga pose Bhujapidasana (Shoulder-Pressing Pose)
• AY 320 PX (The Frog) develops the ability to balance on your hands with feet off the floor while your arms are threaded between your legs.
• Click to see a time-compressed version by Ute Müller (here)

Lesson Outline

• Section 1: In soles-together-sitting, thread one arm between the legs while holding the opposite foot, making circles with the foot while turning the body. This introduces the basic coordination of arm threading with leg movement.
• Sections 2-3: Lying supine, explore threading arms between legs while:
  • Sliding the hand on the floor in various directions
  • Coordinating head lifting with hand movements
  • Using the relationship between knee position and shoulder range
• Sections 4-6: Standing with feet spread and knees bent:
  • Thread both arms behind knees to explore floor space
  • Make large arm circles while coordinating pelvis height
  • Allow head to hang freely as hands move backward
  • Pelvis lifts when hands move back, lowers when hands move to sides
• Sections 7-8: Progress to more dynamic standing work:
  • Move one foot smoothly around the corresponding hand
  • Pass knee below elbow while lifting pelvis as needed
  • Maintain free breathing and head movement
  • Keep arms relaxed without excessive power
• Section 9: Final integration:
  • Sit on forearms with hands threaded between legs
  • Progress from sliding feet to lifting them off floor
  • Practice alternating between standing on feet and hands
  • Find the balance point between hand support and foot contact

Focus of the teaching

• The focus is on maintaining ease throughout increasingly challenging positions, with particular attention to keeping the head and chest soft while coordinating complex movements.
• This lesson uniquely prepares for the yoga pose Bhujapidasana (Shoulder-Pressing Pose) through a systematic exploration of arm threading and weight shifting. The progression is particularly clever in how it builds the necessary components: first establishing arm threading coordination in supported positions (sitting and supine), then developing the required balance and control in standing, before finally integrating these elements into the challenging balance. The lesson demonstrates how complex poses can be approached through careful organization of simpler components.

Related ATMs

• Theme Yoga Poses

 

Shoulder-Pressing Pose:

• Amherst 1 – Week 1 – 06/10/80 PM2 – Flexors and rolling/Flexing the Upper Body, Elbow to the Knee (Continued)
• Amherst 1 – Week 6 – 07/16/80 PM1 Moving elbow into the gap
• AY047 Lifting the lower leg with both hands
• AY048 And from here to the frog stand
• AY056 Bending the abdomen with leg swings (Catching flies)
• AY142 Frog
• E38 Toad—the “Impossible” Lesson (Stransky notes)
• E40 Doing-the-Impossible-Toad-Movement (recordings)
• New York Quest – DAY3 – AM2 – Rolling from sitting to lying on the back continued, including taking the legs over the shoulders
• Rotterdam 1976 – Tape 8 – Foot to head, roll to sit
• Rotterdam 1976 – Tape 9 – Foot to head, roll to sit continues
• SB5 Perfecting the self-image: Bringing the Foot to the Head and Rolling to Sitting
• SFEC Notes – 05. Foot to head (July 1)
• SFEC Public Workshop – Vol. 2 – 3. Easy rolling
• SFEC Public Workshop – Vol. 2 – 6. More flexible than a child
• Washington Quest – DAY3 – ATM #8 In Sitting: Mouth to leg, Holding the foot, rolling in a complete circle

 

 

Resources

• This is close to the Yoga posture Bhujapidasana: Shoulder-Pressing Pose

 

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