Savouring Sidebends

I love sidebends.  While out and about today I found some nice spots to practice a few.

These sidebends are spinal sidebends.  My spine curves to the side.

Key to this type of side bending is that I make an effort to lengthen one side without squashing the other side.  You can sort of just droop yourself and look like you are side bending but that just makes you feel squishy and sometimes squashy.

When I teach side bending I often say imagine the arc of water coming from a firefighter's hose as it tries to go up to a high window on a tall building.  It does not mean you have to be upright but rather you get an internal feeling that you are reaching up and over rather than just leaning out to the side.  As always, lift rather than sink.

The video below shows some standing sidebends, including some balancing variations.

These sidebends should feel active.  There are a few key elements to each of them that I will mention here.

• In general I am pushing my front of groins forwards.
• In particular I am pushing the front groin forward and up on the side that I sidebend to
• I press the same side armpit down to that same front groin
• On the lengthening side I am reaching up and over
• On the lengthening side I am pushing my armpit forward and up and over as though I am bringing my armpit towards my face/nose
• Once I have my sidebend I turn my navel, ribs, and chest towards the lengthening side
• Then I do a little backbend through my whole spine  

If you do not know what these things mean or feel like it is best to come to class.

In the first standing variation I start with a sidebend and balance on tip toe.  Then I deepen it by transferring the weight to that ball of foot (rather than being on tip toe).

In this posture I keep leaning more weight onto the ball of foot.

I am not leaning or sinking down into the leg with the lower arm.  Rather, I am actively pushing that armpit down.The arm remains straight and I do not dump the weight into it.  While it is on the knee I am using it to press and help me lift more.

In this posture I am side bending, then I do a twist, then I do a little backbend.  You can find your own comfortable position for your neck.

Do keep pressing front of groins forward in this posture so you do not end up with your butt hanging behind you.


In the second variation I take this to a more challenging balance with the leg raised.

I hug that knee to the chest and then go for a sidebend there.

In the third variation I straighten the bent knee and take my top hand over to the foot if possible.

I make sure to maintain sidebend, twist, and then a little backbend.

This third variation is obviously quite tricky.

Catching the foot means you need to be long in the legs and long in the side body and be able to maintain a turn.

Sometimes people try to grab the foot without regard to the rest of the posture and so they lose the twist and some of the sidebend.

This is because when you lean your body forward and turn your torso towards the ground it makes it 'easier' to get the foot.  Alas, you will have left half of the posture behind!

So, bear in mind the point of this position is to sidebend and turn. It is not to get the foot.  Do not sacrifice the posture for the foot.

In the video you can sort of see that my foot and hand come to meet one another without me losing the positions I had established beforehand.

The first two of these balance variations somewhat resemble parsvakonasana.  They are, indeed, a sort of balance version of that posture.

Parsvakonasana is a pose where you can sidebend, then twist, then do a little backbend.  It feels delicious.

Whether or not you reach the ground is irrelevant.  Most people will not be able to do that and it is ok.  If you make sure you maintain the key actions you should find that you are doing a lot of work in this posture without ever needing to reach for the ground.

I found this lovely arch to do parsvakonasana beneath.  It inspired me because the arch shape reminded me of the arch of my sidebend.

I found out that this gate was a gift to Canberra by the Hungarian government made by a Hungarian artist.  It is quite beautiful.



Happy and safe practicing.  Look forward to seeing you outdoors soon!

Much metta,
Samantha

Hornstand Variations

We had a mini-workshop on the weekend (unplanned) where our class ended up playing around with hornstand and ways to help ourselves in this posture.

Hornstand is a forearm balance--that means the head is not on the ground.  The head is as far away from the ground as you can manage.  If your head starts to unintentionally dip towards the ground while you are in this posture then come out.

You should feel light and lifting in this posture and all of its variations.  If you feel heavy and sinking then these practices are not for you just yet.

In the video below I have put some ways to practice hornstand with increasing difficulty.  I have skipped the more basic practices and this post assumes you can get yourself into a downward dog on forearms position while feeling freedom around the neck and shoulder area.  If you cannot then don't practice any of these variations.

Variation one is against the wall with your tummy facing the wall.  I get myself into a small little ball and then 'emerge' into forearm down-dog from this little ball.  I am not concerned with straightening my legs but more trying to let my spine unroll and feel as light as possible.  In class I sometimes say it is as though a crane has got your hips and is just lifting them straight up.

In this wall variation I am on tip toes.  The soles of my feet are against the wall.  Being able to be on the tip toes is important for the upcoming variations.


If it feels comfortable (and no sinking head) I can take one foot up, then the other.  My legs are not straight.  I am not trying to make an 'l' shape.  If possible I take one leg up and reach up through the ball of foot and hang out there.  This is actually 'easier' than having both feet on the wall.  It is a great way to start to feel your balance and lightness.  Don't try to take two feet off.  If you come crashing down it will be into the wall and will really hurt.

Variation two relies on you being able to kick up to a wall.  That is a technique in itself (not described here).  If you can get to the wall then I practice trying to find my balance point by keeping one tip toe on the wall as lightly as possible.  Then, slowly remove the other leg and bring it more over your shoulders.  You will need to find the place where you feel like it is helping you lift and reach and balance.

Keeping the toe tip lightly on the wall you hang around there and start to pay around with putting weight through the horn and making slight weight shift variations until that toe tip starts to 'float' off the wall.  When you are in the right balance the toe will just come away from the wall so don't try to take it off.

Variation three is the full hornstand away from the wall. Look how far my kicking leg has to come behind me initially.  I spend some time in a sort of 'splits' with the legs and slowly bring the front leg up as I bring the back leg forward to bring them together.

Don't practice this without a teacher.  This post is mainly intended for regular class attendees who can get individual attention and adjustments so we can discuss whether this is appropriate for you.

Happy new year.  Happy and safe practicing.

www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
Canberra Outdoor Yoga

Best Ever Shoulder Stabilising and Positioning

Well, that is a pretty bold claim I know.  If it is not the best ever it is certainly one of the best I have found that you can practice within a yoga sequence.

This is a little sequence we are practicing in my Canberra outdoor yoga classes.  

It is something new that I inserted in the past few weeks and it has certainly vamped up some people's practice.  

The final pose is not new itself--we have always been practicing some version of pincha mayurasana or horn stand. 

What is new is the way we come into it. 

I am mindful of not always coming into postures the same way.  

This helps me feel things differently and also to keep me learning.  I like to think it helps prevent bad habits from keeping into my practice as well.

Inserting this into my classes has helped to shake up the practice of a lot of students, in a good way!  

It helps you understand a little bit more about the strength, mobility, and stability around the shoulder joint complex.

It is also another nice way to come into downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana) that keeps your spine light and free and I feel it is worth practicing just the transition from balasana to down dog just for that spinal freedom. 

As always, this post is intended for my students.  I believe it is best to learn from a physical teacher not a virtual one through the internet.   I will be teaching these little spinal freeing techniques and some foundational shoulder mobilising and stabilising techniques in my upcoming yoga retreat in Sri Lanka as well.  

Watch the video then check out the step by step sequencing.  Do not do anything that hurts.  Move slowly.  Stretch less, tense less, and see if you can breathe and think less as well.  Be comfortable and feel like you are doing something but without strain. 

Video sequence

The video shows the transition from balasana, then to downward dog. From there I bend my elbows simultaneously to come down onto my forearms.  Then I straighten them simultaneously to come back to downward dog, pull my knees into my chest, and lower my butt back to my heels.

That is a nice little sequence itself and we do it naturally in our practice at a few points and you could try it, for example, within a suriya namaskar if you want to insert it into your own home practice. 

If you are up to that level, you can see I start again but get to my forearms and come into the forearm balance, pincha mayurasana.  That is pretty tough and I do not practice with a wall.  

Below I deconstruct the sequence.

Balasana

I start in balasana on the balls of my feet.  

I reach my arms as far forward as they will go.  I creep my fingers forward on finger tips first like a spider scurrying away.  Then I put my hands down flat. 

I do not try to get my chest on my thighs.  

In fact, you can see I have a little space between my chest and thighs.  My whole spine feels like it is lengthening.  I am not trying to arch it or straighten it.  Just to reach my arms away and lengthen it as much as possible. 

Knees to chest

I push my hands down and forwards and then lift my knees into my chest as much as I can.

Your tummy will work.  I try not to have forward movement around the shoulder joint complex.

Down dog

I continue my journey to down dog by trying to push my heels down from the previous position.  If you watch the video you can see it is more like my legs unravel beneath my hips.

There is no levering around the shoulders or pressing of the spine at all.  It is what I call a 'secret movement'.  The legs do the moving without disturbing the spine or shoulders.

Lower to forearms

This is much harder than it looks!  Try to lower the elbows at the same time.

Perhaps try to bend the elbows slightly first.  Then try to hug the elbows together as you lower.  Allow your knees to bend if needed and the heels to lift if they lift.

Again, this is trying to be a secret movement so the spine is not disturbed.

Back up again

Aiyo! as my friends in Sri Lanka might say.  This is really tricky again.

Try to get back up to down dog by pushing down and forward through the hands.  Try to get the elbows up at the same time (not one at at time).

If it is too much then bring your knees down and come back up through balasana.

Back down for a rest

You can pull your knees back into your chest on your way back down to balasana. 

Back up if you want!
Head back up to down dog and then back onto forearms if you want.

From there you can walk the feet in a little.  Again, a secret movement so the spine and shoulders are not disturbed. I am looking towards my navel.  This helps keep tummy engaged.

Working your way up

Make sure you build your stability in the preceding poses before trying this next one.  The most common mistake I see in class is people trying to bring their knee to chest while collapsing into one of their shoulders.  

Move slowly if you are going to try this and sense that you are not twisting your spine or dropping into one shoulder more than the other.  If you are doing this then you are not ready to bring knee to chest and you need to keep practicing the preceding poses.

Again, bringing knee to chest is a secret movement that does not disturb your spine or shoulders.  Remember also that this pose, the way I practice, should be spine releasing and neck releasing.  

If your neck and top of shoulders are feeling tense then you are in some other pose and I recommend you get out and go back to basics!

Pincha

If all is going well you might try to tap or kick up into pincha mayurasana.  It is pretty tricky.  I keep saying that don't I? 

I am trying to practice pincha in a true neck releasing style by looking more towards my navel when I am up rather than looking forward.  I press strongly down and forwards through elbows and wrists to help generate lift.  I push up through the balls of my feet.  I feel light and my spine is lengthening not squashing.  I sort of feel a bit like when I was a kid and my uncles used to pick my up by my feet and hang me upside down (playfully as a game!).  

As always, happy and safe practicing.  There should not be strain or tension.  The shoulders and neck should feel great.  If they don't you are in some other pose and make sure you seek advice from your teacher.

We will take a look at these movements in more detail in my classes in Canberra and Sri Lanka and workshop them at the retreat in Sri Lanka in October.

Much metta,
Samantha

www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com

Fun Balance From Trikonasana

Trikonasana is one of the basic standing postures in yoga.

Cultivating good activation in the muscles around the hip of the front thigh will help you move gracefully into some other fun poses that have their foundations in the triangle posture.

In this post I show a fun transition out of trikonasana that will help develop some balance and focus skills.

Watch the video then take a look at the individual positions in the photographs below.

Lifting not sinking
It is hard to tell from watching (which is why I do a lot of demonstration and adjustment in class) but I work strongly in these transitions to cultivate a 'lifting' not sinking feeling out of the standing (front) hip/leg.

There is a strong action of external rotation of the thigh in the front leg.

External rotation of the front thigh in trikonasana is when you sense the inner thigh rolling up towards the sky/ceiling so the kneecap looks more like it is pointing more straight up or even slightly more towards the outer front foot (rather than dropping in over the inner foot).

You should feel a corresponding activation around your side/outer hip/butt area.

This can be easier to sense for many people if you bend the knee slightly, generate the action, then slowly start to straighten the knee.

If you can make sure you cultivate this external rotation in trikonasana then the transition to the balance will be easier.

If you move slowly you will notice there is a slight tendency for the standing leg thigh to want to roll in and the side of your hip move out slightly.  This leads to a feeling of 'dip' in the hip.

As you transition, counter this by bringing your awareness to the outer/side hip and try to either:

• roll the front thigh out
• move the front hip more to the centreline of the body
• push down strongly through the heel of the standing foot (while lengthening and gripping the toes)

The back thigh, throughout, is rolling in.

Trikonasana

Start in trikonasana.

Ardha Badha Trikonasana
Go for an arm bind if comfortable.  Mine easily wraps around my back to catch my thigh but yours might just be behind your back.  Don't worry where it goes, it is more important there is no discomfort.

Niralamba Ardha Chandrasana (with arm bind)
Niralamba means unsupported.  In this case it means you do not have hands on ground.

I try to maintain the external rotation in the standing hip as I lean forward.  I press strongly through my heel.  I keep leaning forward until my toes naturally start to grip--a good sign that the balance is coming!  My back leg comes up easily due to the shift of balance.  To get it higher I have to use active movement.

Raise elbow
I bring fingertips to shoulder.  Stay steady!

Raise body
Ok, starting to get tough here!  Raise the body!  This is the trickiest transition in my opinion.  You have to keep absolutely stable in that standing hip.

Release bind and straighten arm
Once you are here it is now relatively easy just to release the arm from the bind and extend it out.

You did it!
As Dora (the explorer) would say: You did it!

Of course, you can always keep that back toe tip down as lightly as possible and do the spinal/arm actions with toe tip just touching.  You still need to maintain that lift out of the hip though.

Have fun practicing.  Try your best but without an attachment to the outcome.  Without strain.  Without stress.

Oh, probably you will feel something deep in your butt after this sequence.  Yeah!  It's working.

I don't recommend learning from the internet.  Come to class if you can!

This is a mini-sequence we will be working with in our current 9 week sequence.  It is such a good training tool I will likely be teaching it in our retreat in Sri Lanka and in Bali as well (www.artofliferetreats.com).

This sequence is part of a Yoga Synergy style sequence taught by Simon Borg Olivier and Bianca Machliss.

Much metta,
Samantha

www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com
www.artofliferetreats.com