Prep for Astavakrasana

Preparing for Astavakrasana with Side Angle Pose

Why you should never do Side Angle Pose with your elbow on your knee.

I am not a fan of doing Side Angle Pose with your elbow on your knee. I prefer putting your hand on the floor or on a block. There are always exceptions and I understand that for some people that may be the best variation.

See how the lower shoulder is collapsed as I rest my weight into that elbow instead of lifting up off it?

However, the primary reason I don’t recommend the bent elbow version of this pose is because when students put their elbow on their knee in Side Angle, there is a tendency to collapse into that bottom shoulder.

They can be made aware of that and they can learn to press their elbow into their knee and open the chest and collar bone on that lower side, but that action is often not taught. It is much more natural to press down into the bottom hand when it is on the floor or on a block. But still, that action of opening the bottom chest needs to be demonstrated and taught.

If you are doing a gentle yoga class and you are just moving through some basic poses, then there might not be a reason to go any deeper into Side Angle Pose than elbow to knee. But if you are doing a more progressive form of yoga where poses build on each other, then it is important to see and use Side Angle Pose as a gateway to more complex asanas.

Let’s take Astavakrasana, for example. In order to be able to approach this arm balance, you will need to develop the flexibility to get your shoulder under your bent knee.  The entry into Astavakrasana comes from a pose called Eka Hasta Bhujasana which looks like this:

Eka Hasta Bhujasana, which means One Arm Leg Press Pose. You can see that I have to hook one of my legs over my shoulder.

This work begins in Side Angle pose where we work to get the bottom hand to the floor outside of the bent knee.

Notice the relationship of the knee and the shoulder. This is considered the full pose with the bottom hand on the floor.

When you take your hand to the floor, make sure that you do not allow your front thigh to drop below horizontal. Keep from doing this by pressing down on the outer edge of the back foot and lifting the inner back thigh away from the floor.

In the beginning, your hand may be on the tall side of a block, which is about the same height you would be in if you had your elbow on your knee.

Compare the height of the shoulder to the knee in this version of the pose with the picture of me with my elbow on my knee below. They appear to be practically at the same height. If the elbow rests on the knee, there is too big of a change to go from there to hand on the floor. But with your hand on the tall block, it is a gradual process of stretching to get the hand to the middle level of the block, to the lower level of the block and to finally getting the hand to the floor.

Performing this pose by placing the elbow on the knee prevents you from exploring your capacity to go deeper over time. This is a modification of Side Angle Pose. It is not the full pose.

But over time, you lower the block to its medium height and then to its lowest height until you can finally you put the hand on the floor.

The shoulder is getting lower as the flexibility in the hip increases.

If you look at the relationship of the shoulder and the knee full Side Angle Pose, you can see that they get very close together when you can get your hand to the floor.

The shoulder is getting even close to the knee.

No matter what stage you find yourself in Side Angle Pose remember to maintain the geometry of a straight line form back foot to top hand, front thigh parallel to the floor and front shin perpendicular to the floor.

If you are looking to improve your flexibility and range of motion then you can see why you would want to work towards the full version of Side Angle Pose. It is this flexibility that is necessary to do poses like Astavakrasana.

Astavakrasana, or Eight Crooked Places Pose.

Other postures that build on the flexibility of Side Angle Pose include: binding in Side Angle Pose, Bird of Paradise, Lizard Lunge, Revolved Side Angle Pose, Crow, Tortoise, Seated Wide Leg Forward Fold, Revolved Seated Tree and probably others that aren’t coming to mind right now.

Wide Legged Forward Fold to Tripod Headstand (Prasarita Padottanasana to Sirsasana II)

The transition from one pose to another requires the ability to do the two postures individually.  It is also important to understand how the actions of one pose are developed and then get carried on to the next.  There is a progression in learning yoga poses. 

Wide Legged Forward Fold is typically learned beforeinversions because it gets the head lower than the heart preparing the body forinverting.  The placement of the head andhands in Prasarita Padottanasana sets the foundation for Headstand II.  A couple of important points in this standingpose are the straightness of the legs due to the engagement of the quadricepsand the ability to hinge at the hips and elongate the trunk to get the top ofthe head towards the floor. 

The Straightness of the Legs.

This is often a point of confusion for students who havebeen taught to soften their knees in standing poses.  This may be a good cue for gentle yogaclasses where the aim is to breathe and move and where the poses are notbuilding upon each other but are done for their own sake.  But, if you are interested in a progressivepractice that teaches you to do more complex poses, then the basics need to belearned.  In straight leg poses the legsare meant to be straight, which is not locked out and hyper-extended – that isa different problem!  In order tostraighten the legs, the quadriceps muscles need to be engaged which in turndraws the knee caps up into the thigh. You can tell if your quads are engaged if, when you grab your knee capwith your fingers, you cannot wiggle it from side to side.

If you look at my legs in Prasarita Padottanasana,

Wide-Legged Forward Fold

in the Wide Legged transition between the Forward Fold and Headstand,

and then in Sirsasana II itself,

there is never a point where my legs are bent, or my knees are “soft”.  This engagement of the legs does two things: it allows me to bend and hinge only at the hip joint and not at the knees and low back, and it keeps my awareness focused on balancing my body parts by knowing where they are and what they are doing in space.  And it allows me to balance!

Try this:  Find abroomstick or a yardstick, dowel or even a baseball bat and place it on yourpalm or the finger tip of one hand and, without gripping it with your fingers,see if you can balance it.  Chances arethat you will be able to, at least for a little while.  Now, imagine that the thing you are balancinghad a joint in the middle that was soft and wiggly.  Would you still be able to balance thestick?  The answer is no, because the toppart would fall in the direction of the bend and you would have no control overit.  Engaging your muscles is exertingcontrol over your body. 

Check out this handstand video clip.  Notice how straight her arms and legs arefrom the forward fold into the handstand. There is only a slight bend in the leg she uses to hop up: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/119908408816084757/

So the first skill we will work on this month is tostraighten and strengthen the legs.  Wewill work on this in Triangle, Pyramid Pose, Warrior III, Half Moon Pose andStanding Hand to Big Toe Pose.

Next week we will work on Tripod Headstand.  Then, before you learn to lift from Wide Legged Forward Fold into Tripod Headstand, you will learn to come down from Tripod Headstand into Wide Legged Forward Fold. First we will do this one leg at a time, without falling out and then with both legs at the same time.  After that, you will be ready to learn to lift up from Prasarita Padottanasana into Sirsasana II. 

A Sequence for Back Bending Over a Chair

I learned how to do wheel by bending backwards over achair.  The first time I tried it, Ithought it was some sort of Medieval torture. But I soon discovered that working with the chair became more and morecomfortable and my Urdhva Dhanurasana, or Wheel, became better and better. 

My feet should be against a wall so that I learn to press through my legs. (I didn't use a wall in order to frame a nicer picture for you.)

Yoga axiom #1  Props are not remedial tools, they are teachers.

Yoga axiom #2 Support equals release.  This is true in yoga postures and in life.  By learning how to prop myself in good alignment, my body learned how to be in the shape of Urdhva Dhanurasana and I got closer and closer to being able to do the pose without the props. 

Yoga axiom #3  Practice doesn’t make you perfect, it only makes you a practitioner; perfect practice makes perfect.

If you habitually push yourself up into Wheel with your elbowswider than your wrists and your knees, ankles and hips externally rotating, notonly do you risk injuring yourself, but then you have to unlearn these badhabits.

Here is a sequence to help you practice back bending over achair to open your upper back and prepare your body for Urdhva Dhanurasana.

Warm Ups:  Cat/Cow Do a couple of these warm up stretches being mindful of how your breath moves, your back arches and flexes and how the hips and shoulders move.

Sun Salutes:  Do 3 Surya Namaskar A.  Pause for a few breaths in each Bhujangasana (Cobra) in order to feel the evenness of your back as it arches.  Can you keep the inner thighs lifting as you press down into the tops of the feet and keep the quadriceps engaged?  Can you pull backwards with your hands as you expand your collar bones and lift your chest?  From the roof of your mouth press the back of the head back and look up!

Standing Pose:  Virabhadrasana I with your back heel against the wall.  Hold for a few breaths as you contemplate your form.  Can you keep the back leg straight and the back quadriceps lifted as you bend the front knee deeply?  Keep drawing the front thigh backward as you wrap the outer hip of the back leg forward.  Is your waist long ? Maintain the awareness of pressing your back heel into the wall to lift your chest.  Can you draw the energy of the legs up into the arms, hands and even fingertips?

I don't have a picture of me with my back heel against the wall, but notice how straight my back leg is.

Arm work:  Gomukhasana arms.  You can do this standing or seated.  Focus on turning the top bicep in and keeping the upper arm in close to your head. Use a belt if your hands don't connect.

Thigh Stretch:  Do EkaPada Raja Kapotasana II (Screaming Pigeon) at the wall.  Make sure your standing thigh is verticalwith the foot moving towards the outer heel as it would in VIrasana (HeroPose).  Observe that the knee of yourback leg is in line with, or behind its own hip.  It should not be forward of the hip.  The front knee has a tendency to cave in towardsthe midline, just as it does in Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II).  Pay attention to that alignment.  If your quadriceps are tight, it can causethe front leg hip to “hike” up.  Thiswill shorten the waist on that side. Learn to observe the length on both sides of your waist.  They should be even with your hipslevel.  If you can maintain all of thisin your lower body, interlace your fingers, turn your hands inside out with thepalms facing foraward and raise your arms up alongside of your head in UrdhvaBaddhangulyasana, Upward interlaced fingers.

Grab your chair.  (Itshould not be on a mat, as it will need to slide when you start to straightenyour legs.)  Turn your chair to face thewall about 2 feet from the wall.  Eventually,when you stretch your legs out straight, your feet should be touching thewall.  (I didn’t do that in this picture,simply because I didn’t have a “nice wall” to put my feet up against for thephoto.)  Get two blocks and place them infront of your chair.  These are for youto sit on as you lie your head and shoulders backwards over onto the chairseat.  With your knees bent, lift yourhips and shimmy backwards through the chair until you can slide your arms out throughthe back of the chair.

The arms: 

1. Stretch your arms overhead into the air behindyou (as if you are doing Warrior I arms). This might be all you can do. Youcan press a block between your hands to work your arms.

2. Then, press your hands on the chair back, beginto arch your shoulders and upper back over the back of the chair. Your back should coil over the chair and notextend straight out. If it doesn’t coil,stay there and breathe for about 30 seconds and come out.

3. Once your chest begins to coil over the chairback, see if you can stretch your arms overhead and rest the back of your handson the floor. (Your head should not beon the floor.) Stay for a few breaths and come out.

4. If you can go further, bend your elbows andplace your hands on the floor as if you are about to press up into Urdhva Dhanurasana.Make sure that your wrists are wider than your elbows and not the other wayaround!

5. If you can get your hands to the floor, begin towalk your fingers back towards the chair legs and grab them. Roll your upper biceps and elbows in, the wayyou do in Gomukhasana arms.

6. Then slowly begin to extend your legs. Keep the legs parallel and the upper, innerthighs moving down towards the floor. Yourtoes and kneecaps should be facing the ceiling and you should be able to pressout through the inner edges of your feet into the wall. You may need to elevate your heels on blocksif you cannot keep them down on the floor with straight legs. (You may need ahelper for this.)

Now try Urdhva Dhanurasana and see how it feels.  It would be interesting to do this every dayfor at least a month.  Take a picture onthe first day and then after 30 days and see if there is any noticeableimprovement. 

Urdhva Dhanurasana

Rest in Savasana with your calves supported on the chair seat to release your lower back. 

(If you are interested in playing with this sequence, I will be teaching it and using the chair in my classes at the Solebury Club and at Dig. I do not have access to chairs at Cornerstone. You may attend classes on a drop in basis.)

Monsters

Last week I was talking about “monsters”.  Those tricks of the mind that fool us into thinking our thoughts are real and that we are better off staying safe and not venturing out into the scary unknown. But when we face our monsters and take them on, then true transformation can happen. 

I had been sharing from Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth and wondering aloud what would be the next book I would read.   One of my students recommended Tea and Cake with Demons by Adreanna Limbach.  It fits so nicely in with the theme of monsters.  In the introduction Ms. Limbach shares the classic story of the Buddha and the demon Mara: 

There is a widely circulated Buddhist story about the time that a demon came to town and everyone lost their minds. This wasn’t any garden-variety demon, mind you, and yes, there are garden-variety demons. A touch of awkwardness, restlessness, longing—anything that nibbles at our peace of mind can be considered a demon; albeit some are harmless and benign. These are the basic sorts of demons that we meet any old Monday afternoon when we’re pinged with the impulse to be somewhere else or somebody else or to just go grab a snack out of boredom. This particular demon story, however, is about Mara, who in Buddhist cosmology is the most malignant demon of all. You might recognize Mara if you saw him, but if he’s a pervasive force in your life, then in the same way that we can develop an acclimated blindness to what is overly familiar, you might not see him at all. Mara is the specter of delusion whom we chauffeur through our life; the interior voice that robs us of our faith, trust, and confidence, of our belief that we are fundamentally whole. In Buddhist mythology, Mara is self-doubt personified; a force that’s depicted as convincing, relentless, and strategic, and in this story he’s coming for the Buddha.

Buddha’s attendants caught wind that Mara had materialized, and they went running to alert Buddha that his nemesis was near. In my own paraphrased version, I imagine a cohort of visibly shaken monks clad in saffron robes banging on the Buddha’s door. “Buddha! Buddha! Mara is here! Mara is here!” When the Buddha opened the door to his distressed attendants, they understandably launched into strategy. “What should we do? Should we run? Let’s pack up our begging bowls and get out of town. We have enough advance warning that we can probably outrun him!” Another monk chimed in, “We’ll never be able to run fast enough. Let’s hide! I know of a place that is secure and hidden. Mara will never find us there. Quick!” Yet another chimed in, “Maybe we should plan an ambush! Let’s arm ourselves with shields and spears and face Mara on the offensive!”

This part of the story I relate to deeply. It’s as though these monks are diplomats of my own mind. More than a decade of meditation practice has afforded me many hours of watching my relationship to discomfort. The moment I feel it, I’m on the express track to strategizing my way out of it. This reaction applies to even the most mundane experiences. The absence of air-conditioning in August. An awkward conversation. A mosquito in my vicinity. Never mind how I might react if Mara, the Lord of Delusion, rolled into town with my name in his mouth. Just like the monks, without skipping a beat, my mind launches into How do I fix this right now? I don’t want to spend time with my discomfort. I certainly don’t want to feel it. I just want it to be different. Better . . . with the least amount of effort, if possible.

There is something universal being spoken to in this story of Mara, which is, of course, the enduring beauty of mythology. Each of these monks represents our habitual ways of reacting when we come into contact with our demons. We want to run from them, or hide, or fight. What the Buddha does instead is so counterintuitive that it offers us a wholly alternative plan of action for when we encounter our demons. In the presence of his attendants trying to strategize the problem of Mara away, he holds his seat and gives simple instructions: “Go fetch Mara and escort him to my door. Set the table with my finest china. And invite him in for tea, not as my enemy, but as my esteemed guest.”

Emotions on the Mat

I was listening to this radio program about how some people get emotional at the gym during a workout.  While it was interesting, it didn’t have any real answers except to say that it happens.  I’ve not had much experience with emotions at the gym, but I have experienced and seen a lot of emotions on the yoga mat.

After my father died, I couldn’t lie down for Savasana without crying.  I wasn’t aware that I had even been thinking of him at the time, but suddenly I would be flooded with tears.  It didn’t happen if I did Savasana lying on my belly or if I just sat in meditation while everyone else was lyingd own.

The article talks about how your brain receives information through your senses and it has to figure out what those sensations were caused by. 

“We all have these four most basic types of sensations. They’re called affect, Barrett said. “Things like feeling worked up, feeling calm, feeling pleasant, feeling unpleasant,” she said.

Affect is basically always there while you’re conscious.

“Emotions are the brain’s attempt to make sense of what the bodily sensations mean in a particular circumstance, in a particular situation, based on past experience, based on memory,”Barrett said.”

I underlined the part about how your brain processes what bodily sensations to mean based on past experiences.  While the article doesn’t state this, (you can read the whole article here.) what that means is that our “issues are in our tissues”  (I like to quote this, but I didn’t make it up, it comes from Candace Pert, a molecular biologist who wrote a book called the Molecules of Emotion.)

Another way to say this is that if something happened to you that caused your body to react in a certain way, then every time your body feels a similar experience, it will cause your brain to respond in the sam way it did to the first occurrence. In yoga we call this a samskara.

I’ve noticed that this can happen a lot in yoga.  Because we stretch and contract our bodies every which way on our mats, it’s inevitable that we will stretch a particular part of the body that may have previously contracted in response to a certain situation. 

For example, we call back bending postures “heart openers”.  For a lot of people, emotional pain causes them want to protect their hearts from future occurrences. The typical response is to contract the muscles on the front body by rounding the shoulders forward and drawing more into themselves in to not be hurt by the outside world, again.  Performing postures that challenge that physical pattern can recall the original emotion associated with the response.  Sometimes you can feel this emotion coming u and you can stop it. Especially if you feel self-conscious getting emotional in a public setting.  But sometimes the emotion is surprising and strong and you can’t help it. 

I think what was happening for me was that I was closest to my dad.  He was the one that always made me feel safe and held.  When I would lie down in Savasana, I felt like my safety net was missing.  He was no longer there to catch me when I fell.  This went on for about a year, until I finally felt strong enough without him.  And then my crying jags on the mat stopped. 

There is always a box of tissues in a yoga studio.  My training as a yoga teacher has been to allow people their emotional space if I notice someone crying quietly on their mat.  Reaching out to them during the episode can bring it to a halt and processing their emotions can be very therapeutic.  However, I do like to reach out to that student afterwards, to check in and see if they are ok.  You always have to exercise your own judgment.  Maybe that student needs your help right then.  I try to let their behavior dictate how I respond.  Some people will quickly exit the room, sending a clear signal that they want to keep their emotions private.  But some people have lingered on their mat as everyone else is leaving.  I have read that as an invitation for me to check in and offer a hug or a shoulder to cry on. 

In my example, I didn't really want anyone to interfere with my emotions at that time. There was something sad and delicious about those moments, almost as if I could feel his presence. That would immediately evaporate as soon as someone asked me what was wrong. I wanted those few extra moments alone with him, even if they were sad.

Processing our emotions as we open our physical bodies and challenge our patterns and habits is part of the transformative process of yoga. 

Have you ever had an emotional experience on your yoga mat?  What is your take on it? I'd be curious to know. If it happened during one of my classes, would you want me to comfort you? Or, to leave you alone?

Poses that you need to know how to do in order to do Wheel

The first pose that indicates a readiness for Wheel isCaturanga Dandasana, or low push up. This pose requires arms strength and it activates the muscles in theback which have to contract to lift your body up into Wheel. It is important totone the muscles that lift the body into Wheel, otherwise the flexibility willinvite weakness and pain for which beginners “have to pay heavily”, accordingto Geeta Iyengar. 

Then the back bends, in order of learning:

Prone Position:

Back arches are introduced in the prone position first:  Up Dog, Bow and Locust.  These poses are done from the more externalspinal muscles.  If the back hurts inthese positions, it indicates a defect in either the spine or spinal musclesand it is necessary to correct these problems before moving on, or the problemscan cause pain especially as the poses progress.

Upward Facing Dog

There are two ways to position the feet in both Caturangaand Up Dog.  One is to be on the balls ofthe toes and one is to be on the tops of the feet. The first way tones the legmuscles and the second way tones the spinal muscles.  This is important because back bends are donefrom leg strength.  If the leg musclesare not strong enough to hold, that translates into pain in the spine,particularly the lower back.    Therefore, one should tone the legs and thenlearn to adjust the spine by making the leg muscles strong.

Bow

In this pose, the body rests only on the abdominal area.  Keep a firm grip on the ankles and useresistance between the legs and arms to raise the legs and chest further.  Try to raise the knees and shoulders the sameamount.  Often it is easier to raise oneor the other more.

Locust

In Locust, learn to work on the thighs and chestsimultaneously to keep them above ground and, as in bow,  give them an equal amount of lift.

Locust and Bow act to strengthen the back and exteriorspinal muscles.

Camel

This is the first pose where you are lowering yourselftowards the floor rather than lifting up away from it.  In the beginning the knees and feet are hipwidth apart.  As you progress in thisposture, it is harder and more advanced to have the knees and feettogether. 

Up Dog and Camel are preparatory poses for the more advancedback bends such as Wheel.  IN performingthese postures, the student is asked to reflect on the curvature of the spineand the evenness of the spinal muscles. Does the spine bend more easily in one area than another?  The work here is to create an evenness in thespine and muscles.  

Often, while doing backward extensions, students experiencebreathlessness, hyperventilation, nausea, and headache in addition tobackache.  They feel nausea and dizzinessas if they are having an attack of vertigo. It is mainly because of the stiffness of the spinal muscles andsluggishness of the liver.  These twoasanas prepare the student, not only at the physical level but also at themental level, for removing such obstacles.  

Wheel

Once you are proficient in Up Dog, Bow, Locust and Camel then Wheel will come easily.

Stretches to open your upper back for Wheel

Here are two great stretches to open up your upper back toprepare to do Wheel:

For this first one you can start in Hero, Crossed Leg Pose or simply stretch your legs straight.  Using 2 blocks, make sure one block is under your upper back, between your shoulder blades.  The other block is under your head. You can start with both blocks on the high side, if possible.  Hold for 1 minute with the arms overhead holding opposite elbows. If you place the block under your head strategically, you will be able to rest your forearms on the block.

Then lower the head block to the medium height.  Switch the way you are holding your arms and, if your legs are crossed, change the cross of your legs.  You only need a small portion of the block for your head to rest on. Let your forearms rest on the block, too. Hold for 1 minute.

Then change the block to its lowest side, if you can.  Again change the arm cross and the leg cross.  If the head does not touch the block, then either put something on the block to make up the difference or stay at the height of the block where the head is still supported.  Hold for 1 minute.

Finally, I went to no block and head on the floor.  Go only as low as you can keep the headsupported on something.  Hold for 1minute.  When finished, come out slowlyand come onto all fours and do a couple of cat and cow stretches. 

For the second one, place two blocks in front of a chair so that you can sit on the blocks and lay your upper back over the chair. Make sure that your head and shoulders are resting on the chair.  Lift your buttocks up so that you are in a straight line from your knees to your head.  Thread your hands through the back of the chair and either hold your arms straight and squeeze a block between your hands or bend your elbows and grab the back rung of the chair.  Keeping your shoulders and head on the chair, begin to lower your buttocks toward the blocks without tilting your chin up. You end up using the front edge of the chair seat to leverage your upper back open.   Hold for about 10 seconds and try to find 2 other spots on your back to leverage over the front edge of the chair.  When finished, release your hands, slide your buttocks carefully down to the blocks and sit up.