Posts Tagged ‘asana’

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Partnering in Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose)

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose) registers as 5* on Iyengar’s 60* scale of difficulty.

Iyengar notes, “In the initial stages the right shoulder will be lifted off the floor. To prevent this ask a friend to press it down, or catch hold of a heavy piece of furniture with the right hand.” This is the first time throughout Light on Yoga that Iyengar suggests partner exercises as a useful way of deepening the experience of an asana.

Many people loathe partner work in a yoga class. I used to be one of them. Whenever a teacher would ask us to partner up, a sense of trepidation and irritation would arise in my mind. “Why do I have to have a partner? I came to yoga to be alone and do my own thing. Can I even trust this person?”

With time and with the help of great teachers who offered truly enlightening partner exercises in class, I began to see the benefits of this aspect of practice. Working with a partner enhances our knowledge of body mechanics within an asana, invites us to expand our practice off our solitary mats, and fosters trust and receptivity. When we collaborate with thoughtful partners in yoga class, we tap into a sense of community and shared passion for a practice that too often seems characterized by isolation.

If you’re interested in the more playful side of partner work, check out this fun series of partner exercises on Yoga Journal.

For teachers, read this great article in Yoga Journal about ways in which to safely introduce partner exercises into your classes.

How do you feel about partner work? Love it? Loathe it? Share your thoughts.

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Posted in Asanas, Jathara Parivartanasana | 4 Comments »

Parsva Pindasana in Sarvangasana (Side Embryo in Shoulderstand) and the Point of So Many Shoulderstands

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

Parsva Pindasana in Sarvangasana (Side Embryo in Shoulderstand) registers as 8* on Iyengar’s 60* scale of difficulty. The pose bears similarities to Pindasana in Sarvangasana and Parsva Halasana in Sarvangasana.

Iyengar provides no explanation after each Shoulderstand in Light on Yoga about the benefits of each variation. His lack of commentary has puzzled me for weeks. After the final Shoulderstand variation, though, Iyengar provides an explanation of why the practitioner should consider all of the variations previously outlined: ”The spine is given the forward, lateral and backward movements in these variations of Sarvangasana… These movements tone the spine on all sides and keep it healthy.”

To fully illustrate the importance of maintaining a healthy spine, Iyengar relates the following story. In the first age of the universe, the Kriya Age, invincible giants and demons (Danavas) roamed the earth under the leadership of Vrtra and drove out the gods (the Devas). The gods knew they must destroy Vrtra in order to regain their power. Vishnu advised them to find the bones of a sage named Dadhicha from which they would fashion a fierce weapon. The gods pleaded with the sage to renounce his body for the benefit of the world and Dadhicha complied. A thunderbolt was created out of his spine. Indra hurled the thunderbolt at Vrtra, killing him and restoring peace to the land.

Iyengar explains the symbolism of the story beautifully. “The Danavas represent the tamasic qualities in men and diseases. The Devas represent health, harmony and peace. To destroy the tamasic qualities and the diseases due to them and to enjoy health and happiness, we have to make our spines strong as a thunderbolt like the spine of Dadhicha. Then we shall enjoy health, harmony and happiness in abundance.”

The next time you approach Shoulderstand with a sense of bored complacency, rekindle the memory of this story. Cultivate the strength of your spine to combat disease and welcome health in.

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Revisiting Pindasana in Sarvangasana (Embryo in Shoulderstand)

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Pindasana in Sarvangasana (Embryo in Shoulderstand) registers as 5* on Iyengar’s 60* scale of difficulty.

Pindasana in Sarvangasana shares many similarities to Pindasana in Sirsasana. Pindasana in Sirsasana requires a great deal more balance than Pindasana in Sarvangasana. If you struggle with balancing in Pindasana in Sirsasana, consider trying Pindasana in Sarvangasana first. You’ll still experience the softening in your hip crease and the downward movement of your knees, and the Shoulderstand variation will exercise your spine.

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Difficulty and Candor in Uttana Padma Mayurasana (Intense Stretched Lotus Peacock Pose)

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

Uttana Padma Mayurasana (Intense Stretched Lotus Peacock Pose) registers as 25* on the scale of difficulty. If this is 25*, I tremble to think of what a 40* pose looks like.

Coming into Uttana Padma Mayurasana requires more lower back strength than I possess today. Like Parsva Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana, the asana also places a lot of weight and pressure on your wrists and hands. Furthermore, any backbending pose that includes Padmasana legs provides a very intense stretch in your hips. Iyengar provides no information on the difficulties of the pose or the ways in which to explore the pose with greater ease. But, you don’t need a words from advice from Iyengar to know that you must approach Uttana Padma Mayurasana with tremendous care and respect for the difficulty of the asana.

As I move into the second half of poses in Light on Yoga, I know I will encounter more and more asanas that prove inaccessible to me at this point in my practice. Thankfully, “accomplishing” every pose is not the point of this exercise. My intentions when I began this project were twofold: to enrich and expand my personal practice with new knowledge of familiar and more exotic poses, and to share with others a candid view of my yoga practice. My intentions remain unchanged.

So often yoga practitioners (and yoga teachers, perhaps even more so!) only share their physical triumphs on the mat and shy away from highlighting their psychological, emotional and physical struggles. But, I gain the most inspiration and insight from practitioners and teachers who reveal their practice more completely, candidly discussing not only their joys, but also the points in which they feel frustration, impatience, or defeat. Those practitioners remind me that we are all moving along our paths, one step at a time, and for each of us, unique challenges await. When we share all aspects of our journey with others, we truly evolve as practitioners. We develop greater faith in our sangha (community); we deepen our relationships to others; we live more authentically. The “achievement” of a 25* or 60* pose pales in comparison to the expression of that level of candor.

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Wrist Watch in Parsva Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana (Side Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand)

Monday, October 4th, 2010

Parsva Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana (Side Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand) registers as 7* on Iyengar’s 60* scale of difficulty.

Parsva Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana increases the stretch felt in Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana. Iyengar’s version of this pose appears far more dramatic than mine since he is able to draw his hips parallel to the floor and off to the side. When I attempt to draw my legs closer to the floor on my left side, extreme tension develops in my left wrist and I back off. This asana puts a great deal of pressure and weight in the wrist joint.

Many of the asanas – Chaturanga Dandasana, Bakasana (Crow), and Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) to name a few – tend to put weight and pressure into the wrists. In these poses, you can reduce pressure on your wrists by making your fingers more active, pressing each fingertip into the earth as if it were pressing on a tiny button with all its might. But, in Parsva Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana, your fingers are pressing into your lower back and therefore feel less grounded. Nevertheless, continue to press your fingertips into your lower back as much as you press your wrists into your back. This slight adjustment may relieve a bit of wrist pressure in the pose. And, of course, if it doesn’t, it’s time to back off from the asana. No matter how graceful someone else’s pose looks, listening to and honoring the cues of your body is the most powerful expression of grace on your mat.

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Halfway There: Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana (Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand)

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana (Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand) registers as 4* on the scale of difficulty.

I can’t think of a more appropriate pose to mark the halfway point in my project to attempt all poses in BKS Iyengar’s Light on Yoga. Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana not only combines the learnings of a great number of poses covered thus far in the project (Padmasana, Salamba Sarvangasana I, and Urdhva Padmasana in Sirsasana, to name a few); it also carries with it the symbolism of the lotus – so relevant to the midpoint in this journey.

As I mentioned in my post on Urdhva Padmasana in Sirsasana, our greatest experiences on our mats bloom from the mud of the challenges we face in our practice. Like a lotus rising from murky waters, we flourish when fed by experiences that put us to the test – mentally, physically, or emotionally.

The countless challenges of this project have tested and strengthened me as a teacher, a student, and a person. Poses I find difficult or near impossible help me learn to leave my ego off the mat. The daunting task of writing about 200 poses teaches me the value of diligence and patience. Examining asanas I once considered mundane sheds fresh, new light on familiar poses. Each day that I open up Light on Yoga and begin exploring the next pose, I learn something about myself and my practice.

The project is only halfway complete and some of the most physically challenging poses await. No doubt, I will find myself frustrated, unmotivated, irritated, and exhausted at various points along the way. But, the journey thus far has taught me that each of those moments of darkness, doubt and despair will bear fruit in the end. Sometimes, the sweetest moments in life are born from struggle.

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Posted in Asanas, Padmasana, Salamba Sarvangasana I, Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana | 3 Comments »

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: Eka Pada Setu Bandha Sarvangasana or Eka Pada Uttana Mayurasana (One Legged Bridge Pose or One Legged Stretched Peacock Pose)

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Eka Pada Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (One Legged Bride Pose) registers as 11* on the scale of difficulty.

Like Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, Eka Pada Bandha Sarvangasana helps the practitioner to develop a healthy and supple spine. As Iyengar states, “A healthy and flexible spine indicates a healthy nervous system. If the nerves are healthy, a man is sound in mind and body.” A healthy body creates a healthy nervous system; a healthy nervous system creates a healthy body.

Every yoga pose works toward both of these aims. In every single asana, specific parts of the body receive essential strength conditioning, stretching and relaxation and specific parts of the nervous system are engaged or disengaged for therapeutic effect. When we perform the yoga postures associated with a full class, we experience the most complete array of mind/body benefits.

When I arise from my yoga mat after a deep, long practice, I feel both completely depleted and completely replenished. I used to associate this feeling with just the physical exertion of an asana practice, but now I know that this feeling goes deeper to include the exertion and release of all the subtler aspects of my body: the nervous system, the chakras, the vayus (directions of prana within the body). I cherish this sense of wholeness and bliss almost like a sacred secret. While to the outside observer, my yoga practice may just look like a good workout, I know that it’s benefits carry through to a deeper, enigmatic space within. That knowledge is just one of the countless reasons I roll out my mat every day.

How do the deeper effects of your yoga practice inspire you to roll out your mat?

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A Force of Habit in Setu Bandha Sarvangasana or Uttana Mayurasana (Bridge Pose or Stretched Peacock Pose)

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) registers as 10* on the scale of difficulty.

My version of Setu Bandha Sarvangasana looks somewhat different than what Iyengar describes as the pose. In my Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, my feet are hip distance apart, my knees are directly over my ankles, and the entire back of my arms press into the ground to help lift my hips higher. In Iyengar’s Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, your feet touch, your legs are straight, and your hands press into your lumbar spine to help lift your hips higher. Even the way we come into the pose is different: I approach Setu Bandha Sarvangasana from a supine position, with the soles of my feet on the earth; Iyengar approaches the asana from Salamba Sarvangasana I.

Given the number of differences between Iyengar’s version and my version, I wasn’t surprised to see that, when I try Iyengar’s version, I end up somewhere between my typical practice and his instructions. My feet remain slightly apart and my knees remain slightly bent. These deviations from Iyengar’s instructions weren’t so much a conscious choice as they were a force of habit. We often become so accustomed to how we approach an asana that approaching it from another angle becomes difficult. Even when we make an earnest attempt to try something new, sometimes our habits remain written on our bodies.

Yoga unravels many of the habits of our bodies – our tendencies to slump through our shoulders, to crank our necks into wacky positions, to stick out our bellies. But, we create habits in our yoga practice as well. Ritual and consistency always have their place on the mat, but remain aware of tendencies to fall into rote expressions of the poses. By challenging yourself with new adjustments to familiar asanas the poses remain alive, vibrant and genuine. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

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Always Enough in Parsva Sarvangasana (Side Shoulderstand)

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Parsva Sarvangasana (Side Shoulderstand) registers as 9* on the scale of difficulty.

Iyengar’s version of Parsva Sarvangasana is much more dramatic than mine. Lowering your legs as low to one side as Iyengar does requires great strength in your arms, your wrists, your abs and your back. Today, I don’t have the strength to lower my legs as far to the ground as Iyengar’s. That’s okay. When I find myself faced with poses I’m simply not strong enough to take on fully, I thank myself for what I hope will be many years of yoga practice ahead of me and I remind myself that the practice is not a competition – not even with myself. It’s always enough to just be present, curious, and lighthearted.

How is your yoga practice always enough, just as it is?

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Paying Attention in Parsvaika Pada Sarvangasana (Side One-Legged Shoulderstand)

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Parsvaika Pada Sarvangasana (Side One-Legged Shoulderstand) registers as 6* on Iyengar’s 60* scale of difficulty.

As with Eka Pada Sarvangasana, in Parsvaika Pada Sarvangasana you must pay careful attention to both legs. Often, we get so caught up in the desire to reach our right foot down to the ground that we forget about the left leg. Then, the left leg sways over to the right in an attempt to assist the right leg closer to the floor. As a result, the right side body crunches, limiting the openness of the pose.

When you practice Parsvaika Pada Sarvangasana, actively press up through the ball of your left foot and internally rotate your left leg. As you lower the right leg down to the ground, remain watchful of the left leg’s position. If it starts to sway over to the right, back out of the fold in the right leg a bit to allow your left leg to remain straight and strong.


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