Posts Tagged ‘One-Pose-At a-Time’

This Week’s Pose: Uttanasana

Emily on 3:31 pm September 22nd, 2009 / Be the first to comment! »

Uttanasana by Emily Sloat Shaw

I’ve always enjoyed coming into uttanasana. My body moves naturally into forward folds. Bringing my head forward and down helps quiet my mind and senses. Like child’s pose, uttanasana’s effects vary depending on the practitioner’s intention. Uttanasana can be a short break between strenuous poses, an intense hamstring stretch, or a preparation for handstand when the torso and arms are extended towards the wall. By focusing on extending the front of the spine and opening the chest across the collarbones and from sternum to pubis, the pose becomes expansive as well as calming.

One Pose: Tadasana

Emily on 6:21 pm September 14th, 2009 / Be the first to comment! »

I’m excited to be part of boundless’ One Pose at a Time program. I’ll be drawing, and blogging about, each asana in the series. I’d love to hear your feedback on how you experience these poses, and whether my drawings reflect your practice.

The first pose, Tadasana, was a surprisingly difficult pose to draw, just as it is unexpectedly challenging to perform. Tadasana seems straightforward enough; one stands on two feet, arms by the side. But this simplicity masks a great deal of complexity.

The pose is about stillness, which if you’re not careful, can easily become stiffness. My first efforts to draw Tadasana resulted in stolid statue-like figures. I could almost feel muscles and breath holding in these sketches. But the version of tadasana I have come to love in my practice is both grounding and expansive. In it I become aware of small fluctuations of breath, and shifting awareness in body and mind. In my sketch I’ve attempted to draw this through strong feet and legs that transition into a broad torso, soft shoulders, and expansive arms and hands.