A royal pain
Leslie on 4:13 pm April 21st, 2010 / 3 Comments »
I’m curious about the energetic differences between backbends and forward bends and how they relate to one’s affinity for and ability in headstand (the so-called king of all poses) vs. shoulderstand (the queen).
A very sweet and influential teacher whom I’ve studied with, Aadil Palkhivala, says that “energetically, backbends move you from the past into the present” and “open the three major energy centers in the body: the pelvis, the heart and the throat.”
Backbends and headstands are energizing and, let’s say, extroverted poses. Forward bends and shoulderstand are calming and, let’s say, introverted. So if I’m drawn more toward the latter set and they are easier, does that mean I’m stuck in the past? Am I overindulging a dosha? If backbends and headstands are much harder, am I resisting living in the moment? Am I afraid of something besides falling over and breaking my neck (a very real fear, by the way)? Am I constipated, heartless and choking on myself in every way? Or do I simply have physical limitations and sit at a desk too much?
This becomes a chicken and egg question. I do have some spinal issues that present very real problems in backbends. Did the physical issues come first, perhaps at birth, and manifest in my personality? Or has my personality, which tends toward the introverted and melancholic (but this was not always so!), had an effect on my body? For me, backbends feel like “undoing.”
If I judge myself based on the quality of my headstand, the message would be “I suck.” But I am not my headstand, or any other pose. Donna Fahri says, “When we realize that what we are advancing toward is not some physical form but an inward recognition of the truth of who we are, then we will not feel ourselves to be failing if we cannot attain difficult postures. ‘Advanced’ practice is any movement that brings us closer to this recognition of our true self.” I can live with that.
I have a Slinky on my desk at work, opened from one end to the other in a rainbow shape. I pick it up now and then and jiggle it from side to side and stretch it out straight. I’d like to feel like that in backbends and headstand, that loose but coiled energy.
What is your experience of energy in backbends (headstand) and forward bends (shoulderstand)? Is one set naturally harder than the other? How do you practice the harder set?
On April 21st, 2010 at 6:06 pm LeahM Said:
Wow, Leslie, you have posed some really chewy stuff here! (And I love the post title.) Truth be told, I’ve never really thought about my affinity for forward bends being introverted, or being stuck in the past, etc. And as I’ve gone through this yoga program, what I’m discovering day-by-day is that what I thought I loved in forward bends, the ease and comfort of them, is/was a somewhat false move for me. That is, I used to rely on my “flexy” body (Kelly’s word) to let me flop into them. With more awareness, forward bends are MUCH harder and even more painful for me now. On the other hand, backbends, which I used to quite dislike, and think I couldn’t really do because it torqued my lower back, are now becoming my friend. With care and awareness–and PATIENCE–I am digging out the gooey stuff between my shoulder blades to find some freedom and give back there, and to make things feel pretty good after coming out of the bend. So I don’t really know what to say about my experiences with these poses from an energetic standpoint, necessarily, but my overall feel about them. (Oh, and I find headstand difficult.)
The phrase, “cultivate the opposite” continues to float through my mind…
And I LOVE the Farhi quote. That’s lovely.
Random thoughts, by Leah.
On April 22nd, 2010 at 9:34 pm kelly Said:
leslie, your blog is beautiful! i love the image of a slinky. how about one with heels and ankles and a tailbone? how cute! leah, your reply is so delightful. i agree about awareness & new places to focus from, as well as cultivating the opposite. i LOVE the word cultivate; it’s so friendly.
with questions like these, i like to consider ‘forever.’ (oh dear, she’s brought up eternity.) for real, though. and this is why:
i like the concepts of backbends moving you from past to present, as well as forward bends being calming. only when i dwell on the meanings, i over-categorize kelly. (she’s too nostalgic, overly in love with comfort, etc).*these are true at times. when i look from a ‘forever’ place, it changes everything (and me!)
who is kelly ‘in the forever sense’ in a backbend? and in a shoulderstand? i can’t say i live in the past if i am only considering myself from an eternal perspective. with respect to infinite, i am only right here
the questions left for me in the pose become: where am i here? (hopefully everywhere
and breathing
i liked your insights. they’re so inspiring. and THANKS, you just brought me back to back bends!! i realized that i am loving and avoiding them! a nostalgic present-moment lover?
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