Backbending

The actions of the feet in all backbends can be learnt from Chatushpadasana. I encourage you to explore with me here.

1. Press the ball of the big toe down and roll the tops of the thighs in.

2. Lift the little toe side of the foot up and lift the outer hips to the ceiling.

3. Dig the heels and lift the lowest crease of the buttocks upwards.

4. Ground the inner heel down and take the inner groins to the floor.

5. Lift the hips to the front body until you come to the very top of the shoulders.

These are the feet actions that can be transfered to any backbend, be it Urdvha Dhanurasana, Urdvha Mukha Svanasana, Dhanurasana for example. 

The bend in backbends should come not from throwing the abdomen forward and compressing the lower back. It should come from a bend deep in the lowest crease of the buttocks so that the abdomens remains soft but lenghtened and the lower back remains broad and supportive.

Thank you for sharing your time with me.

Asha.

Upward facing Dog - The Balancing Act

Upward facing Dog (Urdvha Mukha Svanasana) has proven challenging to me until I realize the different ways in which the pose is balanced.

The movement of the shoulder backwards is balanced by the press of the lower buttock crease forward and up.

The lift of the chest is balanced with the lift and press of the abdomen.

Finally, the lift of the ribs is balanced by the lift of the inner knees.

All this is maintained as the outer hips roll towards each other.

These are the refinements in the posture.  This post assume that you know how to get up in the pose, bring the hips forward and up and move the chest forward until the back of the armpit starts going beyond the upper arm.

It is my pleasure sharing yoga with you.  Enjoy practicing.

Namaste.

Femur Heads and Pelvis

Today was an awesome day for practice.  I learned to use the head of the femur to control the position of the pelvis.  I used the ball of the big toe to anchor, of course, but the relationship between femur head and pelvis was clarified. 

It helped Virabharasana I tremendously and was also useful in Uthitta Trikonasana and Uthitta Parsvakonasana as well.

It wasn't a complete instruction on its own as the extension in the limb and the extension in the trunk still had to be impressed, but it solved a big mystery in getting the femur head and pelvis to move properly in these poses.

Mantra - With the ball of the big toe grounded, use the head of the femurs to position the pelvis

Namaste,

Asha.

The Skin of the Torso

I have been told through the many stories that trickle down to satellite Iyengar studios, that Guruji first moves the skin in his postures.

Today I will focus on the movement of the skin in the four areas of the torso.  These areas are:

The Front Lower Torso or Abdomen - where the skin goes in and up

The Front Upper Torso of Chest - where the skin goes up and outwards

The Back Upper Torso - where the skin must go down

The Back Lower Torso - where the skin must go down and outward as well

Focusing on these instructions in all my postures, (especially Virabhadrasana I) caused an auto adjustment of all the limbs attached to the torso.

I call the torso, the Sewing Mannequin torso, to make it even easier to conceptualize in these poses.

It can only be recognized through Svadyaya, so I can only invite you to practice it and be invited to a whole new perspective of Tadasana.

Namaste

Asha.

Integrating the Standing Posture

I have two great instructions to balance a pose from all sides.  We will the example of Utthita Trikonasana for the purpose of this blog post.

To Balance the Pose Front and Back

1. Press the ball of the big tone down and take the front outer hip forward

2. Press the femur bone into the hamstring and extend strong through that back heel

To Balance the Pose Along the Diagonal

1. Move the chest towards the head

2. Extend Through the back leg

To Address Common Weakness

1. Use the stretch through the center back heel to pull the trapezium away from the neck

2. Make sure that hip flexor stretches as the chest turns upwards.