Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana (Revolved Head Knee Pose)

Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana – Step by Step

1. Start off by sitting in Staff Pose (Dandasana). Bend the left knee and place the sole of the foot against the inner right thigh, keeping the right leg straight.

2. Twist the trunk to the left, turning and revolving the shoulders and bending forward from the hips.

3. Stretch the right arm along the side of the extended right leg, turning the forearm and wrist upward to the ceiling and extend until the hand grasps either the inner side of the foot, or the outerside. You can place the elbow to the inside of the knee, if your stretch allows.

4. Holding the foot with both hands, lengthen the torso and revolve the torso upward, so as to look to the ceiling.

5. Hold the pose for about 20 to 30 seconds, rotating the rib cage and deepening the side stretch, making sure your breathing is calm and even all the time.

6. Inhale as you release the hands and come back to the second position, revolving the torso and shoulders back straight over the outstretched leg, keeping the back “passive”.

7. Repeat the pose on the other side, trying to stay in the stretch for the same length of time.

Using an alternative strap to grasp around the foot and deepen the pose, is a lovely way for beginners to get started.

Camel Pose is a gentle backbend asana and is important as it prepares the body (and mind) for more difficult backbends. It is best to enter this pose from either Child pose or Hero pose. Camel Pose opens the chest, working deep into the Heart Chakra, stretches the shoulders and abdomen and provides increased flexibility to the lower back.

Camel Pose is further very stimulating for the nervous system. It improves flexibility of the neck and spine, relieves backache and helps degenerative spinal problems such as kyphoscoliotic deformities and cervical spondylosis. By stretching the abdominal organs, Camel Pose helps constipation, and it also stretches the throat and thyroid and parathyroid
glands.

Ustrasana – Step by Step

1. Come up onto your knees. Take padding under your knees if they are sensitive. Place your hands onto your hips and lift the torso from the base of the spine and pelvis so as to open the chest. Tuck your tailbone under and lengthen the thighs, lifting the collarbone higher and arch your back.

2. Reach your hands back one at a time to grasp your heels, slowly dropping back and reaching for the heels. Eventually, the palms can be placed on the soles of the feet. Roll the shoulders further back and lift the ribs, arching deep into the back while pressing the hips forward. Drop the head and neck back, without straining, and lift the chin. Stay in this pose anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute.

3. Tighten your knees and inhale deeply as you release the hands and bring the body gently back up to the knees, lifting the pelvis with the strength of the thigh and buttock muscles. Rest back down into either Child or Hero Pose.

Model Penny Anstey
Photograph Brett Rubin

Literally meaning “eight curves”, this pose was named after a sage born with deformed limbs because of his father’s curse, but which were later made straight after bathing in the Samanga River. This pose strengthens the wrists and arms and tones the abdominal muscles.

Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), with your feet wider than usual and exhale forward into Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend). With your knees slightly bent, push your right arm through your legs and place your hand flat onto the floor, on the outside of your right foot. Place your shoulder against the knee, working the arm right through. Place the left ankle in front of the right and cross them, leaning to the left and placing your weight on the left arm and begin to lift the feet slowly off the floor. Bend your elbows and lean your torso forward to the floor, straightening the legs further. Squeeze your arm between your thighs and twist the whole body to the left. Stay in this pose as long as possible before straightening the arms, placing the feet on the floor and coming to a standing pose again. Repeat pose to the left.

Model John Malherbe
Photography Brett Rubin

Arm balances not only strengthen the arms, but the entire body too and develop many wonderful yogic virtues such as patience, will, focus and surrender. Build up to this advanced arm balance and be inspired for continued practice…

This is an acrobatic pose that’s actually a twist, but one in which the legs go in separate ways, hence the name “Scissors Pose”. Requiring much balance and concentration, the main pressure points are your wrists, arms, and shoulders, but the thighs and abdomen also receive subsidiary pressure as well as a strong massage into the abdominal viscera.

Start in Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and step your right leg forward and across to bring your right foot to the outside of your left hand. Bend the left elbow and place the outside of your right thigh as high as possible against the back of your left upper arm into a twisting lunge. Slowly lean forward, bringing the weight onto your hands and begin to slowly balance. You might want to rest your head onto the floor to start to take the weight off the hands and wrists. Once you have a stable balance, stretch the right leg to the left and the left leg back, lifting your head and gazing forward. The weight should be distributed equally on your hands. Stay for as long as you can hold before bending the knees and lowering the right leg outside the left elbow and undoing the twisted posture. Sit in Balasana (Child’s Pose) and then repeat on the other side.

Model Debbie Lutrin
Photography Brett Rubin

Partner yoga is a fantastic way to share yoga with friends and loved ones. The support of a partner and the structure of the poses provide a stable place from which to explore freedom and surrender. It’s also a fun-filled way of expressing your intuitive understanding of the poses.
While practising, bring your awareness to creating synchronicity and harmony in movement by breathing with your partner. Become as one unit moving through space. Relax and once you feel comfortable and free, bring in your knowledge of precision to the asanas.
Start with simple asanas and, once you are comfortable with these, move into those that are more challenging.

Backbend Balance

Backbend Balance
This pose requires harmony, balance and coordination. It delivers a strong massage into the lower back for partner one and increased strength and flexibility in the legs for partner two.
Technique
Partner two, lie on your back, align your body and raise your legs so that your feet are above your face. Your sacrum will lift and your legs can be slightly bent. Partner one stands with feet apart just above partner two’s head facing away. Place the arch of partner two’s feet over your thoracic curve. Lean back and find stillness. Partner two holds one’s ankles and rolls their sacrum to the ground and moves their feet above their hips while straightening their arms and lifting partner one’s feet above the ground. When you lower your partner back down, do it as slowly as possible as they could easily feel disorientated.
Practice Point
Use your intuition and begin again until you can lift your partner with ease by finding perfect balance. With practice comes ease of balance and confidence. This works well to develop partner trust.

Double Spinal Twist Step 1

Double Spinal Twist Step 2

Double Spinal Twist
The double spinal twist ensures that the spine stays vertical in the twist, keeping the chest marvellously open.
Technique
Sit facing each other legs crossed, knees touching. Both partners raise left hands up into the air and then bring the arm down the left side of your partner’s body. Your right hands should be in the lower back. Bring your right hand to hold your partner’s left hand. Hold the pose as long as you are both comfortable.
Practice Point
Synchronise your breathing and on an exhalation move into the twist using the structure of the pose to lever yourself into a deeper twist.

Forward Bend Fish

Forward Bend Fish
This pose really helps to move more deeply into a forward bend for partner one and is a light, comfy back bend for partner two.
Technique
Partner one sits in Dandasana (sitting with legs extended in front). Partner two begins in a squatting position making contact with the back. Synchronise your breathing and on an exhalation, partner one will move forward from the hips into a forward bend. Partner two maintains the contact in the back and follows partner one into the pose. Once partner one has reached their limit, partner two can extend their legs outwards.
Practice Point
If you are aware of where your partner’s forward bend needs correction, try to improve their posture with your backbend.

Double DownDog Step 1

Double DownDog Step 2

Double Downward Dog
This is a fun-filled rework of the traditional Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana. It develops arm and shoulder strength, body alignment as well as provides a great release to the lower back.
Technique
Both partners come onto the floor on your hands and knees. Partner one is a little way in front of partner two. Set your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Spread your palms out and push your knees back into the sitting bones, creating a straight line from wrists to sit bones. Straighten your legs and descend the heels down to the floor.
Practice Point
You can assist your partner into a more correct stretch by placing your feet wherever the pose needs correction. For example, with beginners shoulders often project forward so the feet can be placed there. The closer partner one is to partner two, the lighter the weight on partner one’s back. A lways remember to work both sides, to breathe deeply and slowly and to each have a turn in both positions.

Partner Handstand

Partner Handstand
This pose requires strength in the shoulders and arms. If initially you do not have the strength required, practice the Downward Dog frequently.
Technique
Stand about a metre apart from your partner. Partner one brings their hands onto the floor, shoulder width apart and fingers widely spread. Root the hands into the ground and kick up into a headstand. Partner two catches the legs as they swing up into the air and assists in getting them as vertical as possible.
Practice Point
As partner one becomes more practiced and so, more stable, partner two can slowly lighten the contact.

Text and Photographs by Barbara Abdinor
Models Susan Sloan and Brandon Abdinor

Shoulder Stand is a favourite asana for many people and may be included in one’s daily practice as a “reward” for all the hard work done earlier in the vinyasa…

In this asana, the body is inverted and supported by the shoulders and arms. All that is required is the rotation of the scapulae (shoulder blades) over the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) to allow the torso to move between the arms. That’s basically it. Yet, anyone who tries to do Sarvangasana knows that it just does not work that way. There are muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia that have shortened and tightened around the shoulder joints and in the rest of the body. There are also injuries, misalignments and emotional blocks that prevent this simple movement. We need to restore the harmony.

So, the challenge of asana is to work with these obstacles as they are presented, in order to express the body/mind essence of Sarvangasana. How one approaches the removal of the obstacles in order to gain freedom of movement, can demonstrate how an individual approaches challenges present in their daily living.

Shoulder Stand, for many, is also seen as an easy place “to hang out”, a place to relax and regard life in general, i.e. “what are the kids doing at home?”; “should I invest on the stock market?”; “what’s for dinner?” And, with this “monkey mind”, we may execute what looks like a decent pose, yet it will obviously not penetrate the blocks and what can and needs to change.

The lower abdomen is considered the “seat of sickness”. Above the lower abdomen lies agni (fire) which burns bodily, emotional and spiritual impurities. In our standing, upright position, the fire is above and the impurities below. When one is inverted, this is reversed and gravity automatically moves this “dirt” downwards towards the fire. Correct, mindful breathing is instrumental in this reversal process, because it can burn impurities and remove them from the body more effectively.

Because of the position of the neck and head, the gaze is directed towards the heart. Sarvangasana is referred to as the “mother of asanas”. As a mother nurtures, Sarvangasana nurtures by allowing one to look into the heart and encourages the heart centre to open. This opening reminds one to approach the challenges, the edges of pain and fear, to see one’s limitations with love and compassion, and to understand that by facing oneself, the edges soften and move, both physically and mentally.

The neck is the lowest part of the torso. Much of the time it acts as a filter for the abundant flow of energy between the mind and the body. This causes it to be extremely subject to tension and stiffness. (i.e.). “Pains in the neck” are self created and can arise through the lack of flexibility in seeing other points of view. The position of the head and neck in this posture is a symbol for the surrender of our will. As the physical pressure is released from this neck lock, the body comes back into balance. It is said that as the ego lets go of its weight that, in its self-importance, it has imagined, the burden is removed.

Sarvangasana is associated with the fifth chakra, Visuddha, the Throat Chakra and symbol of purification. The throat chakra is the centre of sound, vibration and self-expression. It is the realm of consciousness that controls, creates, transmits and receives communication, both within ourselves and between each other. It is here that the synthesising of old ideas into something new takes place.

As much pleasure as this asana brings, one cannot stand forever one one’s shoulders. As you come down from Salamba Sarvangasana, Swami Rhada suggests the focus should be “what burdens can I put down”; “what burdens are no longer mine?”, so that you may walk lighter on the path of self-knowledge and self development.

Step By Step:

• Fold up a blanket and place it towards the top of your mat.
• Lie on your back.Lift your legs up slowly towards the ceiling, bringing your hands to the base of your back to support the lower back and spine.
• Lift your pelvis and bring your feet behind down behind your head (Plow pose). Your legs should be as straight as possible and your torso should be perpendicular to the floor.
• With your hands pressing into your lower back lift your knees into the air.
• Lift your legs into the air.
• Gaze at your chest, being careful not to move your head from side to side.
• You can hold the pose for 2 minutes up to half an hour.

Counter Pose:
Matyasana (Fish Pose)

By Arleen Francois

Reversed Bound Side Angle Pose (Other names: Intense Extended Warrior)

A highly grounding and energising pose, Baddha Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, is excellent for assisting digestive function…

This is a revolving latural angle posture where the abdominal organs are contracted. The blood circulates well around the abdominal organs and the spinal column, and they are thus rejuvenated. Although suitable for all levels of practitioners, this is an advanced pose and there are various modifications one can employ in order to maximise the benefits of the asana and vary the challenge according to one’s ability.

Benefits: The asana wrings out the internal organs, assiting the removal waste matter from the colon without strain. It also stretches the mid-back, opens the shoulder joint and strengthens the legs.

Basic Alignment: Start this pose in a forward lunge with the back knee on the floor and the elbow crossing the knee. If you can reach your hand down towards the floor go ahead. If you are still feeling comfortable wrap one arm under the leg and one behind the back (a strap can be used here) and try to bind the arms. Once the arms are bound, straighten the back knee and roll the chest open.

Alternatives: Remove the bind, take less of a twist and instead bring the hand to the big toe side of the foot keeping the hips level.

Step by step:

1. Stand in Tadasana. With an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet wide apart. Rest your hands on your hips. Turn your right foot out to the right 90 degrees and turn your left foot in slightly to the right. Align the right heel with the left heel. Firm your thighs and turn your right thigh outward, so that the center of the kneecap is in line with the center of the right ankle.

2. Exhale and turn your torso to the right until you’re facing directly out over the right leg; as you do this, lift your left heel off the floor and spin on the ball of the foot until the inner left foot is parallel to the inner right foot. Then exhale again and bend your right knee. If possible, bring the right thigh parallel to the floor. Keep your left leg active by pressing the thigh up toward the ceiling and extending strongly through the left heel. At the same time, resist the lift of the left thigh by pressing the tailbone toward the pubis.

3. With another exhale turn further to the right and lean the torso down, placing the left hand on the floor inside the right foot. Dig your right thumb into the right hip crease and push the thighbone down toward the floor. Firm the shoulder blades into the back ribs and lean the torso back slightly, away from the inner thigh. Stay in this position for a few breaths.

4. If this position seems challenging enough, stay for the recommended time. If you want to go further, take the left arm through the legs around the back of the waist to open the shoulder and chest. Then take the right arm behind the back and, if possible, clasp the hands together. Do not bend forward. Go as far as your body will allow. If you are unable to clasp the hands then visualise them clasping and hold for a while, or use a strap to assist the bind.

Stay for 30 seconds to one minute. Inhale to come up, exhale to release the twist. Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the left. Then return to Tadasana.

By Hayley Alexander

Fo

A flexible mind and a flexible spine go hand in hand. When your mind is tied in a knot, so usually is your body. But we learn through yoga, that whatever is twisted can be untwisted, and the spinal twists are a great way to get started. Because twists primarily work on the Solar Plexus or Manipura chakra, the chakra responsible for overall maintenance of the body, the capacity for unlocking mental, physical and emotional blockages is profound.

Eliminating imbalances and disease, the Solar Plexus is directly connected to the digestive system and proper digestion and assimilation is the key to good health. Many yoga texts talk about the fire of the navel and much of the dormant potential of the body’s power lies in unblocking this energy centre.

Twists have a wonderful effect on the body too. The twist occurs in the spine and the trunk which helps to make the back supple and releases pain. They reduce excess fat around the abdomen while making joints stronger and more supple. The twists are excellent for pain in the hips and shoulder joints, for lumbago and backache.

Internally, the pancreas, liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach and ascending and descending colons are all contracted, making twists very beneficial to tone the internal organs and help specifically with sluggish livers and relief of constipation. Twists are also good for acidity and flatulence.

In twisting, the nerve roots around the spine are massaged and the vertebral column is adjusted and realigned. Twists improve the circulation and energy flow throughout the spine. The back muscles are pulled and stretched in a different direction than usual and this relieves them of tension.

This powerful yoga asana and its vitalising effects can be felt quickly. Remember though, whatever you do to the one side, you need to do to the other too.

Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana)
Sitting in Staff Pose (Dandasana) with your legs stretched out straight in front of you, bend your knees and put your feet on the floor. Slide your left foot under the right knee to the outside of the right hip. Then, cross your right leg over the left, stacking the right knee on top of the left. Bring the right foot to the outside of the left hip. Keep the heels equidistant from the hips and sit squarely and evenly on the sitting bones. It’s most beneficial to practise pranayama in this position, specifically the alternative nostril breath (anuloma viloma) to balance both sides of the brain. Alternatively, close the pose off with a mudra (energy seal), like Gyan mudra.

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose/ Half Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

Step 1
Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Bend your knees, put your feet on the floor, then slide your right foot under your left leg to the outside of your left hip and rest it on the floor. Step the left foot over the right leg and stand it on the floor outside your right hip. The left knee will point up to the ceiling.

Step 2
Raise the right arm and twist your body to the left, keeping the spine erect and lengthening through the body from the tailbone.

Step 3
Press the right elbow against the inside of the left knee and place your left hand onto the floor just behind your left buttock. You can use your hand as a further lever, holding and stretching through from the ankle. Pull your torso up and deepen the twist.

Step 4
Turn your head slowly first to the front and then ease towards the back. Release the right hand and bring it through the gap between the knees and thighs and, releasing the weight of the left hand on the floor, slowly come to find and interlock fingers into the Bound Half Spinal Twist. With every inhalation lift a little more through the sternum and twist a little deeper with each exhalation. Be sure to distribute the twist evenly throughout the entire length of the spine. Stay for 30 seconds to one minute, then release and return to the starting position. Repeat to the right for the same length of time.

Step 5
Come to sit in the crossed-legged Easy Pose (Sukasana), bringing the hands and arms alongside the body. On an inhalation, lift the arms and cross your hands over at the wrist. Extend the spine and head upwards, moving the hands backwards as you go to iron out any “creases” in the back.

Step 6
On an exhalation, lower the torso towards the floor and bring the forehead to rest gently onto the floor.

Precautions:
Women more than two or three months pregnant should avoid this practice. People suffering from peptic ulcers, hernias or hyperthyroidism should only practise this pose under guidance. People with sciatica or a slipped disc may benefit from this asana, but great care should be taken.

By Angela Wood

What is the core?

The core is a buzz word that is often used in physical therapy, fitness or Pilates training that is said to improve day to day posture, encourage pain-free posture, prevent injury and enhance physical fitness.

The key focus of developing the core is to develop a girdle of strength, (often referred to in Pilates as the “powerhouse”) between the ribs and the pelvis by co-contracting  the deep abdominal muscle called the Transversus Abdominus, the muscle of the Pelvic Floor, the diaphragm and the deep postural muscles of the spine to develop a strong trunk to hold us upright.

However the core goes beyond physical training, it is less efficient when worked in isolation and is much more efficient when integrating mind, body and spirit.  An efficiently working core is about a balance between flexibility and control in both mind and body.  When teaching movement I noticed that clients moved better the more self aware they were or the more self aware they became and that everyone’s level of awareness was different.  There seemed to be a strong relationship between the mind and body and the one influenced the other which meant that how we think, feel and behave influences our movement and changing the way we think can change the way we move or changing the way we move can change the way we think.

My Personal Journey to the Core
In my earlier days of teaching Pilates it was the Transversus Abdominis, the deepest abdominal muscle that was given a great deal of attention and it was this muscle that we began to focus on by using language like “zip and hollow”,  “engage the transversus”, “pull the navel to spine” and “close the ribs to the pelvis”, not realising that by focusing on the front of the body and using language associated with effort and strength I was actually tightening, shortening and weakening my spine. I was focusing on the outer rather than the inner being and began to feel tight and tense in my neck and shoulders by overworking and over cueing the core.

The turning point for me happened through my training with Polestar Pilates UK in 2005 who encouraged the practice of Somatic movement principles like Feldenkrais and the Trager Method.  Somatic meaning the whole person – mind body and spirit.  Moshe Feldenkrais one of the Somatic movement masters developed his Awareness Through Movement method based on his experience and practice of Jujitsu and it seems that most other Somatic movement pioneers based their principles around similar eastern martial arts practices.

Yoga refers to, Chakras and Bhandhas, unblocking to allow energy to flow in the mind and body. In other Eastern philosophies it’s about balancing yin and yang, or learning to harness and direct Chi; it’s about quietening the mind and being present in the moment. It’s about being and becoming rather than doing and achieving.  All these principles are based on awareness and a higher consciousness.  The awareness is heightened when the mind, body and spirit are interconnected.

So although eastern practitioners of movement may not refer to the “core” the way we know it, they were masters at identifying where and how it worked.

How do we experience it?
Body Sensing BQ is a method of experiencing the core with “effortless effort” by tapping into the body’s own intelligence or BQ using Tom Myers Anatomy Train’s effective communication techniques and movement inspired by yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais and the Franklin Method.  Tom Myers is a soft tissue expert who developed an ingenious and very clever way of looking at anatomy by looking at how “everything connects to everything”. Similar to the Chinese meridian lines but describing instead the myofacial lines (muscle and fascia), the “glue” that holds us together.

He explains how the elasticity of the muscle and tissue or facia creates a structure that suspends our skeleton and when in balance this structure moves easily and efficiently.  The best way to describe it is like sheets of muscle layered on top of each going from the outermost to the innermost layer. It’s Tom Myers’ use of yoga postures to describe the meridian lines and his interpretation of the “core” that completely transformed the way I looked at the body: Instead of an isolated group of muscles of the trunk, the core becomes a 3 dimensional structure occupying space within the deepest layer of the body, from the arches of the feet to the tongue and from the “heart centre” to the fingers. What was even more significant is how little muscle strength is required for core control.  The effort is in the awareness of aligning and organising the body so that it moves with ease and efficiency.  It becomes “core control” versus “core strength”.  It becomes a body that is flexible and strong versus tight and weak.

It’s about aligning the body so that the top half seamlessly connects to the bottom half, connecting the rib cage to the pelvis.  The thorocolumbar junction, (the heart centre where the rib cage ends and the lower spine continues) is where the diaphragm, the solar plexus, adrenal gland, psoas (muscle that joins the spine to the thigh bone) blend and connect. It’s where breathing meets walking, emotion, feeling, sensing and digestion.  It’s where we often block the spine and channel of communication.  The “core” lies at the heart of this junction influencing the state of our mind, our emotions, our physical and spiritual being through the condition of our “breath” or “prana” or “chi”.

So what about the core and yoga?
Yoga is about integrating mind, body and spirit, to develop awareness and greater consciousness and is a great example of the core in training.  Meditation, breath awareness, centering, grounding, emotional awareness, energetic sensation,  awareness of our relationship with the earth and gravity are all vital for core health. Often people who end up with an injury whilst “doing” yoga are not aware of their intelligent body and their core connection, they lose the spinal alignment that connects the top half to the bottom half or like people who “do” Pilates often tense up and forget to “let go”. The more you let go both physically and mentally the better control you have.

“Natural Whole Body Breathing” allows the diaphragm to move through its full range massaging the internal organs and facilitating movement with rhythm and flow. In natural breath, the whole body expands in its entirety -  front back and sides from deep down in the abdominals. There is freedom of movement with no holding in.  The trunk in natural breath contracts automatically when the diaphragm deflates upwards allowing the abdominals to sink back. We see this in breath patterns in yoga. A backbend is facilitated with an inhalation that expands the entire spine and ribs opening up the vulnerable front line creating space in the joints of the hip, lengthening the abdominals and opening up the heart centre and throat whilst maintaining length through the back line or spine.  The forward bend works well on an exhale. On a releasing breath to decompress and open the veterbrae of the spine.

Here are a few guidelines to work the core efficiently in yoga:

1. Pay attention to the breath and work with its intelligence.  Feel how the body “wants” to breathe when you go backward, forward and sideways.
2. Maintain length through the entire length of the spine with every posture from the back of the head to the tailbone – become more aware of feeling and sensing this from the back of the body rather than the front
3. Become aware of the core of the shoulder girdle and pelvis using the natural bone rhythms in the body. When the arm bone spirals outward the collar bone widens and the shoulder blade slides down and wraps around the rib cage.  Try this in downward facing dog. The rhythm of the thigh bones work similarly for widening and opening up the hips in standing postures.
4. Set your bodies intention – how would you like it to move before you move
5. Be aware and present to the sensations in your body, if a movement feels uncomfortable or awkward acknowledge and change it to feel better.

By Yasmin Lambat

For more information on Body Sensing, contact Yasmin Lambat on 076 848 3778, email yasmin@purezest.com or visit www.bodysensing.co.za

Utthita Hasta Padangustasana

Utthita Hasta Padangustasana

‘Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe posture’

This asymmetrical standing posture plays with the subtle intertwining of strength, flexibility and balance. It also reaches deep into the pelvic floor to tug at our very core. Ability in this posture is the result of building the strength to support the body’s extension, the flexibility to extend where strength cannot reach, and balance to allow both to happen within the same space. Here we deconstruct this posture so you can build it into your practice.

Benefits: This asana builds strength from the toes to the finger tips, but especially in the legs, pelvic floor and lower back; it increases flexibility in the leg and promotes balance and equanimity.

Contraindications: There are no contraindications for this posture, however, tight hamstrings will limit full realization of the posture and any shoulder injury may prevent full extension.

How to do this posture:

Before attempting this posture it is best to warm up with a few simple, standing asanas. Trikonasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana, Prasarita Padottanasana and Parsvottanasana will help lengthen the hamstrings and warm the body for this asana.

Due to the complex and complete involvement of the abdominal muscles in supporting this asana as well as the bracing action of the arm, breathing capacity while learning this posture can be limited. Keep the breath calm and even to fuel this posture and remain light.

1. Stand in Tadasana. Feel gravity’s pull on the spine through the soles of your feet. As you ground through your feet lift mula bandha, then uddiyana bandha, reversing the natural flow of apana vayu. This lifting will assist you throughout the posture.

2. Place the left hand on the left hip and, taking the body’s weight into the left leg, bend the right knee and bring the right big toe into the first two fingers of the right hand. Ground strongly through the left leg, imagining the leg imbedded in concrete up to the thigh. Are your hips level? Are your hips square? If not, bring your hips into alignment.

Advanced practitioners: When lifting the right leg, bring the big toe to the fingers without bending the right leg at the knee.

3. Once hips are level to the floor and square, inhale and straighten the right leg. Be aware of the lower back and do not straighten the leg beyond the point at which the natural position of the spine is compromised. The left leg and torso should feel as though they are still in Tadasana. As the hips should still be level and square, explore the shoulder girdle and bring it into alignment as with the hips; shoulders should be level to the ground and square front to back. Now reach through the soles of both feet, imagining the left leg extending below the level of the floor and the right foot reaching out in front of you. Resist the pull on the first two fingers of the right hand by pressing the right big toe forward and up. Maintain the posture for five or more breaths.

Alternatives: beginners with tight hamstrings may hold the knee in this posture while maintaining an upright posture, this focuses on balance and core strength. The practitioner may also choose to hold the right heel with both hands if flexibility is available in the hamstrings, but strength is lacking.

Advanced practitioners: Once hips and shoulders are square, bring the chin or nose to the shin or knee keeping the torso in line with the lifted leg. Ensure that both legs remain straight, shoulders stay relaxed, and hips are level as the chin reaches for the toes. This advanced position requires a strong awareness of mula and uddiyana bandhas and a clever equilibrium between strength, flexibility, and balance.

4. To take the posture further, return to the posture described in #3 with hips and shoulders square and soles of the feet extending. Inhale. On the exhale, bring the extended leg and arm out to the right side as the head turns to the left. Hips and shoulders remain level and square. Soles of the feet continue to extend either into the floor below or the air above. Hold the posture for five or more breaths, and then inhale the leg back to centre.

Alternatives: beginners may continue to hold the knee while bringing the leg to the side. This will encourage flexibility in the hip joint while building strength in the core, hip flexors and upper body.

5. To really challenge yourself, release the big toe and bring the right hand to the right hip. Check that the lower back has not rounded. With hands on hips, let the right leg float in front of you as if buoyed by the breath. With every inhale float the leg higher, with every exhale ground through the sole of the left foot. This position goes deep within the core, activating hip flexors, psoas and pelvic floor, building the strength and equanimity to carry you through any other standing posture. Hold this posture for five or more breaths and then exhale the leg down to resume Tadasana.

In many cases the practitioner will find that this posture is easier to perform on one side as opposed to the other. Or that it may be more challenging to perform the posture with the leg in front, but easier with the same leg to the side. Increased awareness of these natural imbalances within the body is one of the many benefits of this posture, while also providing a means for correcting any imbalance by bringing both sides back into harmony with one another.

The greatest advance in this posture will come when strength and flexibility harmonise. This can be felt when the leg rises to the chest rather than the chest dropping to meet the leg in position #3. Once the hamstring is long enough for the leg to be raised with less involvement from the upper body, balance and breathing become easier as the leg and arm are held more closely to the body’s centre of gravity.

Self Adjustment

When self adjusting, the practitioner must identify the key source of their trouble in this posture: is it strength, flexibility, or balance? The practitioner can than remove the greatest source of strain within the posture in the following ways:

Lack of strength, usually in the hip flexors, psoas, and pelvic floor: use a prop, such as a chair, table or the back of a couch to rest the leg on as you lift on each inhale. Strength in the arm to assist in lifting the leg will come with time.

Lack of flexibility, usually due to short hamstrings or injury in the hamstrings, can also be the result of tight hips: use a strap to increase the distance between the foot and the hand, this can allow the hips and shoulders to level until the hamstrings gain length.

Lack of balance: when doing the posture with the right leg lifted turn the left side to a wall and stand in Tadasana with the left palm flat against the wall and the arm straight. Take the posture with the palm against the wall for support.

Adjustment

Remember that adjustments should only be performed by an experienced practitioner:

1. The adjuster takes position in front, and to the practitioner’s left. Once the practitioner has lifted the right leg into position described in #3 the adjuster can take the heel (not the Achilles tendon) in the left hand, and either place the right hand on the shoulder or the waist of the practitioner, depending on the practitioner’s height relative to the adjuster.
2. The adjuster should let the practitioner lift the leg higher while encouraging the foot upward with the left hand. The right hand can either ensure the natural curve of the lower back is maintained, or can encourage the practitioner’s left leg to remain straight by pressing down gently on the left shoulder. This shoulder press only works if the practitioner has a good range of motion in the hamstrings and is lifting the leg up rather than bending forward to place the torso on the right leg.
3. For the side posture, allow the practitioner to take the weight of the leg and move the leg to the side themselves. Once the leg is in position hold the heel as with #2 with the left hand and place the right hand close to the crease between the leg and the hip. Press down gently with the left hand and encourage inward spiralling of the leg. Range of motion is usually better in this position and the leg can be lifted higher as long as the practitioner maintains integrity of the hips and shoulders.
4. Allow the practitioner to bring the leg back to centre, if they are willing the leg can be held still while the practitioner brings the chin to the shin.

By Sarah Yates

Sarah Yates opened Ekam Yoga Studio in March 2010. Ekam Yoga offers traditional led and Mysore-style/self-practice Ashtanga Vinyasa classes taught in the method established by the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India. Find out more at www.ekamyoga.co.za