boundlessyoga.com » One-Pose-At a-Time

Fold as naturally as the sun

kim — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 19:08:20 +0000

The thing with pachimottanasana, or seated forward fold, is that it takes almost as much stability as paripurna navasana, or boat pose. I wrote about boat pose last month. Take a minute to look at both poses in the links to Yoga Journal, especially the legs. We could accurately say that the stability in the legs is quite the same in both poses, but the (re)pose in the spine is different.

In the spine especially, we are looking for a non-doing-ness as much as we’re looking for doing. Seated forward fold shows this perhaps this best of all yoga poses other than savasana, or corpse pose. The concept in Taoism is called wu-wei, or the natural timing of any action. Inasmuch as we are lifting the breastbone and calming the breath down in boat pose, we are doing the same actions in seated forward fold. Except we do this as we elongate the torso over the legs rather than away from it into space.

Seated forward fold is about letting go, about letting your own psychology of action be revealed to you in the minute or two you hang out in this pose. Most people find seated forward fold challenging, because it’s a shape — like navasana — that we hardly ever do. Sitting in chairs, oops, is our main daily action that makes extending the legs out on the floor and folding over so hard!

I recommend spending the hotter moments in July cooling down with this ultimately nourishing, calming, and (yet) spinally challenging pose. When you hit a wall, i.e., when you feel like the only way you could go “further” in the pose is by forcing the body into more “length”, relax. Seriously, observe any tension in your shoulders (and therefore) your spine, and relax. R-E-L-A-X. Spell the word out to yourself and by the time you hit “X” notice that you’re in a different pose.

Let your body forward fold this month as naturally as the sun comes up to roast you every day.

One-Pose-at-a-Time Continues

Emily — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:48:09 +0000

Join us for the second session of the One-Pose-at-a-Time, now through February 14. Whether you’re seeking refinement of a difficult posture, or simply looking to get a new perspective on a familiar asana, this series can help you deepen your practice. It’s also a chance to take a class with some of boundless’ newest teachers

This Week’s Pose: Prasarita Padottanasana

Emily — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:36:08 +0000

As a new yogi, Prasarita Padottanasana, didn’t seem like much of a pose to me. It felt more like a gym class stretch, or a preparation for other asanas. Perhaps this was because the shape is reminiscent of calisthenics. Padottanasana reveals its secrets slowly, in finding the difference between bending forward and bending down, in learning to ground the feet in the outer and inner edges, and in bending from the hips rather than from the waist.

This Week’s Pose: Virabhadrasana II

Emily — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:23:08 +0000

Linked by it’s name to Virabhadrasana I, Warrior two is a similarly fierce pose. I often think of this pose as a fencer’s lunge. In Virabhadrasana II, the practitioner extends his or her reach as far forward as possible, while keeping the back foot strongly grounded. If this pose indeed has roots in martial arts you could see why– the pose allows for a quick jab of the extended arm, and the possibility of retreat or further advancement. Come join boundless this Sunday for an exploration of Virabadrasana II.

Virabhadrasana II by Emily Sloat Shaw

This Week’s Pose: Virabhadrasana I

Emily — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:29:50 +0000

Virabhdrasana I is no half-hearted posture. It is like a warrior stilled mid-stride. It is captured movement. The front leg lunges forward while the back leg reaches back and grounds the pose. Likewise, the hips both contain the movement of the thighs, and connect the solid legs to an expansive chest and arms.

Virabhadrasana I by Emily Sloat Shaw

This Week’s Pose: Trikonasana

Emily — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:18:41 +0000

This week’s One Pose is Trikonasana. It’s the first asymmetrical pose in the series where the sides of the body do not mirror each other. Yet there is something very natural about the star-like shape the body takes in Triangle Pose. The action of coming into the pose has often reminded me of Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawing of classical proportions, the Vitruvian Man. If you look closely at the Vitruvian Man you can see him standing with legs together as well as with legs apart, as if he is setting up for Trikonasana.

Trikonasana by Emily Sloat Shaw

This Week’s Pose: Bhujangasana

Emily — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:06:20 +0000

Think of a snake. They are almost all spine. The snake’s long spine would appear to be fragile, but it is wrapped and stabilized by a lattice of muscle. This combination of makes them capable of grace and power simultaneously.

The aptly named bhujangasana, or cobra pose, captures flexibility and strength of a snake. Bhujangasana takes the attitude of a cobra hooding up in a threat display. The spine extends, supported by a network of muscle, and the chest broadens and lengthens. The limbs are secondary in this pose.

Since we’re not snakes, bhujangasana can be a challenging and subtle pose. Learning to rely on the strength of the small muscles of the back is hard when you’re not used to it. Cobra pose can help build strength and flexibility for deeper backbends.

Join boundless this Sunday, October 25 for an exploration of bhujangasana.

Bhujangasana by Emily Sloat Shaw

One Pose at a Time: Salabasana

Emily — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:54:12 +0000

Salabasana, or locust pose, prepares the body for deeper backbends, increasing the strength and flexibility of the muscles on either side of the spine.

Many people don’t realize that these muscles of the back, like the abdominals, are part of the ‘core’ that protects the spinal column.

Practicing salabasana starts out as rather thankless work. It takes a while to build strength among the lattice of muscles along the vertebrae. Even for an experienced practitioner, salabasana is a subtle pose, a shallow backbend with more length than curve to it. It a good way to practice distributing the curve of a backbend evenly along the spine. Mastering locust translates into better backbends all around.

Join boundless this Sunday, October 18, to explore salabasana.

Salabasana by Emily Sloat Shaw

This Sunday: Chaturanga Dandasana with Kristen Krash

Emily — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:46:39 +0000

Chaturanga Dandasana by Emily Sloat Shaw

If you’re like me, Chaturanga is your nemesis.

It appears deceptively simple—body extended, arms tucked in at the sides, weight balanced between hands and feet. But finding the combination of strength and length to push your prone body off the ground is surprisingly difficult. When it’s done well, a body in chaturanga appears weightless, contained front to back and lengthened head to toes, simultaneously.

Join Kristen this Sunday October 11, for an exploration chaturanga dandasana, one of the most challenging asanas in the yoga canon.

This Week’s Pose: Adho Mukha Svanasana

Emily — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:07:38 +0000

Doris, a recent graduate of the boundless teacher training program, first taught this class over the summer. In fact, it was her teaching of adho mukha svanasana that inspired the One-Pose-At-a-Time series. Doris breaks down dog into its component actions in the legs, arms and torso in order to enhance student understanding of this complex pose. I highly recommend this class!

I’ve struggled with adho mukha svanasana since I first practiced yoga in 2000. I’d get so nervous in the pose that my palms and feet would sweat, and I’d find myself slipping and sliding all over my mat. More recently, I’ve been working on bringing weight out of my arms to distribute it more evenly through my body.

In my drawing I show down dog the way I like to experience it—with weight balanced between hands and feet, a long torso, and a relaxed neck—so that the practitioner experiences the calm energy of this pose.

Adho Mukha Svanasana by Emily Sloat Shaw