Posts Tagged ‘Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana II’

Chakra Bandhasana (Chakra Bond Pose)

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Chakra Bandhasana (Chakra Bond Pose) registers as 31* on BKS Iyengar’s 60* scale of difficulty in Light on Yoga.

As Iyengar explains, in Chakra Bandhasana all of the chakras are stimulated. You can see why! This pose is a major backbend requiring opening across the entire length of the spine – from Muladhara Chakra (Root Chakra) to Sahasrara Chakra (Crown Chakra).

As I journey toward the final twenty poses in Light on Yoga, the backbends grow increasingly challenging and, at this point in my practice, inaccessible! Given that I can’t yet reach my hands to my heels in Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana II, I’m not quite ready for Chakra Bandhasana either. But, I delight in exploring the pose from wherever I am – marveling at the power and grace of the human form as it expresses itself in my poses or in the drama of Iyengar’s. With just twenty poses out of 200 left, the goal is not to “do” the most advanced asanas. The goal is to celebrate the practice from exactly where we are on our mats, right now.

What will you celebrate in your practice today?


 

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Chakra Bandhasana | No Comments »

Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana II (One-Legged Inverted Staff Pose II)

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana II (One-Legged Inverted Staff Pose II) registers as 29* on BKS Iyengar’s 60* scale of difficulty in Light on Yoga.

Iyengar describes Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana II as a “more strenuous version” of Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana I. No doubt! Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana II is essentially the same as its predecessor, except for one important little detail: your hands grab the ankle of your grounded leg.

For may of us, this sounds nearly impossible. And for even the most advanced yogis, getting into this pose often requires lifting the heels off the ground to increase the backbend. Some of us just weren’t built quite like Iyengar!

If Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana I is in your practice, start walking your feet towards your hands. At some point, you may need to rise onto the balls of your feet to walk in further. Then, the next challenge is raising one leg up to the sky. Today, I feel too unstable with my heels lifted to start lifting one leg up. But, who knows? Maybe tomorrow will be different.

Any of you flexy yogis out there have tips to share on this advanced pose?

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana II, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »