Which pose helps us to grow old gracefully?

A Pose to Help You Age Gracefully

"We sit and walk as we think.  Watch any man as he walks down the avenue, and you can determine his status in life.  With practice, a finer discernment will have him placed socially and economically, and with a fair idea of his outlook on life.  We judge our fellow man more by the arrangement and movement of his skeletal parts than is evident at once."  – Mabel Todd, The Thinking Body.

The asanas in general help us to grow old gracefully, but Mr. Iyengar says that it is primarily the action of the spine that shows our age.  To help maintain the gracefulness of our spines we need to stretch and strengthen all of the muscles connecting to the spine.  In Light on Yoga, he says that Paripurna Navasana, or Full Boat Pose, and Ardha Navasana, or Half Boat Pose, bring life and vigor to the back and allows us to grow old gracefully and comfortably.

Let’s look at how to come into the pose:

To come into Full Boat Pose: Start in Dandasana, or Staff Pose.  Place the palms on the floor next to the hips and slightly behind them with the fingers pointing forward.  The back is erect and the chest is lifting.

On an exhale, Lean back so as to raise both legs simultaneously from the floor.  Keep the legs together, straight and with the knees tight.  Balance is maintained on the sitting bones without any part of the spine touching the floor.  In the full pose the legs are raised at an angle of about 60 to 65 degrees which should be higher than the head.

If you can, lift the hands from the floor and bring the arms parallel to the floor, close to the thighs.  The hands are level with the shoulders and the palms face each other.

Stay in the pose for half a minute with normal breathing.  Gradually increase the time to one minute.  However, you will begin to feel the effects of the exercise after only 20 seconds!

To come into Half Boat Pose:  You start, again, in Dandasana.  But this time, you interlace your fingers behind the back of your head, above the neck.

On an exhale, recline the trunk backwards and simultaneously raise the legs from the floor, keeping the knees tight and the toes pointed.  As in Full Boat, the weight of the body rests on the buttocks and no part of the spine should be allowed to touch the floor.  You will feel the muscles in the abdomen and low back engage.

The legs are maintained at a lower angle of about 30 to 35 degrees and are in line with the head, not above it.

This pose can be held for 20 to 30 seconds.  A stay for one minute indicates strong abdominal muscles.

Make sure you do not hold your breath in either of the Boat Pose variations.  If the breath is held, the effects will be only on the stomach muscles. If the breath is too deep, you will lose the engagement of the abdominal muscles.  The technique is to inhale, exhale and hold briefly breathing only into the upper chest.  Breathing in this way not only tones the abdominal muscles, but it will tone the organs as well.

The effects on the organs of Paripurna Navasana and Ardha Navasana differ due to the position of the legs.  In Full Boat the effect is on the intestines, in Half Boat the liver, gall bladder and spleen are affected.

In the beginning, if the back is too weak to bear the strain of the pose, modifciatons can be used to build strength.  These include keeping the hands on the floor, bending the knees, only raising one leg at a time, or using a belt to hold onto the feet.  When the power to stay in the pose comes, it indicates that the back is gaining strength.  A weak back is a handicap in many ways.  These two variations of Boat Pose coupled with twisting poses will help strengthen the back.

In the section on the effects of Boat and Half Boat, Mr. Iyengar concludes with this observation:  “The importance of having a healthy lower back can be realized if we watch old people when they sit down, get up and walk, for consciously or unconsciously they support their back with their hands.  This indicates that the back is weak and cannot withstand the strain.  As long as it is strong, it needs no support, one feels young though advanced in age.  These two asanas bring life and vigour to the back  and enable us to grow old gracefully and comfortably.”

P.S. As I am currently struggling with low back pain, I can testify to feeling old and not so graceful.  This Pose has become too difficult to do.  But rather than skip it, which is the natural tendency, I can work on modifications to help me work towards strengthening my low back and my core.  Often it is the poses we avoid that are the ones that can bring the most balance to our bodies.  The trick is to find a modification that makes it accessible.  Here’s a variation I found that helps with Navasana that can be done sitting in a chair:

Sit on the front edge of a seat with your knees at right angles. Grab onto the sides of the seat with your hands and lean slightly forward. Firm your arms and lift your buttocks slightly off the seat, then raise your heels slightly off the floor (but not the balls of your feet). Let the heads of your thigh bones sink into the pull of gravity and push the top of your sternum forward and up.

Pose of the Month - Head Stand

It is important to be somewhat proficient in some basic yoga poses before attempting to learn Head Stand. These poses should include:

• Triangle
• Side Angle
• Warrior I, II & III
• Down Dog
• Wide Leg Forward Bend
• Pyramid
• Half Moon
• Tree
• Boat
• Cow Face
• Bridge
• Shoulder Stand

In addition, there is a fair amount of core strength. Can you hold Boat Pose, Plank, Side Plank and Reverse Plank for 30 seconds to a minute in each one? Being able to do these poses is no guarantee that you can do Head Stand, but they will help you find and keep your core engaged while you are upside down. It is important to hold the body firmly and to be able to maintain vertical extension even while standing on your head.

Preparation

Before you think about doing Head Stand, you should prepare your body for an inversion by doing poses that get your head lower than your heart. This is to make sure that there is not a sudden and dramatic change in your blood pressure. Here is a simple sequence to do this: Child’s Pose, Down Dog, Standing Forward Bend and then Head Stand, unless you need some shoulder stretches in addition. Cow Face Pose is a great pose to open the shoulders in preparation for Head Stand, even if you only do the arms.

Space

Make sure you have a wall that you can kick up against. And if you are newer and feeling a little precarious, a corner in a room is a very secure way for new students to experience this pose.

Mat

It’s nice to have a cushion for your head when you do headstand. I usually take a thin mat and fold it in half and then in half again. This is about the right size for your arms and head in this pose. If your mat is too thick, you can use it flat or maybe just in half. You want padding, but you do not want your surface to be too squishy as this makes it harder to balance. Also, if you have long sleeves, roll them up.  You want to make sure that your elbows don't slide out while you are in the pose; skin to sticky mat is best.

The foundation in any yoga pose is that part that touches the floor.

The Head

Knowing what part of the head is on the floor is important for the integrity of our neck in particular and your spine in general. The spot is right at the top of the crown of your head. It’s right where you would try to balance a book. A way to find it is to place the heel of your hand at the bridge of your nose, keep it there and stretch your fingers up and over the top of your head. Right where the tip of your middle finger touches your head, that’s the spot.

Arms

From a kneeling position, place your forearms on the floor so that your elbows are directly under your shoulders. There are ways to measure this, but it is important to learn to look, see and feel it for yourself. Stretch the forearms forward and clasp the hands, interlacing the fingers. Remember to keep your elbows under your shoulders and don’t let them wing out. This will cause you to put too much strain on your neck. Sometimes it may be necessary to belt the elbow if they keep winging out. Make sure that you alternate which way the fingers are interlaced each time you do Head Stand.

The part of your forearms that should be on the floor are the long bones that go from your elbows to the pinky finger sides of the wrist. The wrist bones should be stacked vertically. Look to see that the bump on your wrist at the thumb side of your hand is directly above the bump that is on the pinky finger side of the hand. Most students squeeze their hands so tightly together that the fingers turn white. Try to keep your hands relaxed. Instead of gripping the fingers, try to press down evenly along the entire length of your forearms from the elbow tip to the wrist. This will help you balance and take pressure off of your neck by putting it into your arms.

Stages

The first stage is called Dolphin. This is “Head Stand” with your forearms and head on the ground as if you were going into the full pose; your hips are in the air but your feet stay on the ground. Keep walking your feet in close to your head as you press your forearms into the ground. As you walk your feet in keep lifting your hips higher and higher. This can be done in the middle of the room.

The second stage can be done against a wall. Be close enough to the wall that your knuckles are touching the wall. If you are feeling particularly insecure about this, find a corner to practice in. Do everything from the previous stage, but keep walking your feet in toward your face. Keep the hips lifting until you feel your feet start to get lighter and lighter. Try to push with your feet until you can bend your knees and draw them into your chest and allow your feet to come off of the floor. Imagine you are trying to balance on your head in “Child’s Pose”. This requires core strength to hold you up.

After learning to balance in the previous version, you can start taking one leg up at a time. Once you get used to being upside down, be aware of what you are doing with your legs. Practice all of the same actions you do in Tadasana: Hug your legs toward the midline; roll the thighs in, back and apart; Sit bones reaching towards the heels, pubic bone lifting towards the head; inner ankles together, heels slightly apart; knees lifted, feet “flointed” (feet pointed, toes flexed back).

Once you become comfortable in Head Stand at the wall, then you can begin to move away from the wall. The first stage is one knee length away from the wall. This way you are far enough away from the wall to try to balance, but close enough so that you can bend a knee and touch the wall safely with your foot.

If you can balance a knee length away from the wall, the next step is in the middle of the room. Unfortunately, it starts to get unsafe to simply keep inching away from the wall. If you are farther than your knee length and you start to go over backwards, you can crash your knees into the wall and hurt yourself. Not fun!

The first couple of times you practice in the middle of the room, if you don’t have a spotter, just try coming up into the Child’s Pose variation. Again, this is a great core strengthening position! Once you feel confident you can try reaching one leg up at a time.

Everybody falls out of Head Stand occasionally. It is helpful to have a contingency plan if this happens. It can be scary but it’s often not as bad as you feared. If your feet fall towards your face, this is not falling out. It’s when your feet go over backwards. If you have the presence of mind, tuck your chin, release your interlaced fingers and just try to roll out of it. (Again, if you are too close to a wall, this could be painful.) Tucking your chin will keep you from falling flat on your back. Often it is the sensation of your interlaced fingers getting squeezed hard that is the most painful thing about falling out of Head Stand. Some people try to minimize the damage of falling out of Head Stand by practicing on a carpet. But, just like having a too thick mat, the squishier the foundation is, the harder it is to balance.

Remember to rest in Child’s Pose for a period of time proportional to the amount of time you spent in Head Stand before coming up. Head Stand should usually be counter posed by Shoulder Stand although it doesn’t have to immediately follow Head Stand, it just needs to be done before that practice session is over.

The Queen of Asanas

Sarvangasana or Shoulder Stand

Shoulder Stand is a posture that is not often taught in yoga classes. To do it properly and safely requires the use of props for most people. The way that I prop for Shoulder Stand follows a traditional Iyengar set-up; 2 to 3 blankets, a belt, a block and a mat for each person. A lot of studios simply do not have enough props. But, in addition, students have to be taught how to use the props and how to set them up precisely for maximum benefit. Unfortunately, I have been in many yoga studios where it is clear that students as well as teachers do not know how to properly fold a blanket or even buckle a belt. Also, many yogis often see props as a sign of inadequacy and their use as beneath them. I see props as an enhancement to my yoga practice, an assist when needed and as tools to teach the body optimum alignment.

Unfortunately, Shoulder Stand has a reputation for being a dangerous pose for people’s necks. If you ask someone to stand up straight and bend their head forward, you will see that no one’s neck can bend at 90 degrees. The normal range of neck flexion is 60 degrees. In order to do Shoulder Stand safely, the shoulders and upper arms must be lifted off of the floor sufficiently to allow the neck to bend at its’ comfortable limit. Doing Shoulder Stand without props can put undue force on someone’s cervical vertebrae and this could be injurious to the neck.

Often students ask why they should practice Shoulder Stand. It seems that they are asking why they should bother with all of the props. Shoulder Stand is considered the Queen of asanas and it has many benefits. It is an introspective posture, all you can see is yourself (you are not meant to turn your head); it is also cooling, nurturing and feminine in nature. If you read in Light on Yoga, Mr. Iyengar lists many benefits for Sarvangasana. He says:

“Sarvangasana is the mother of asanas. As a mother strives for harmony and happiness in the home, so this asana strives for the harmony and happiness of the human system. It is a panacea for most common ailments. There are several endocrine organs or ductless glands in the human system which bathe in blood, absorb the nutrients from the blood and secrete hormones for the proper functioning of a balanced and well developed body and brain. If the glands fail to function properly, the hormones are not produced as they should be and the body starts to deteriorate. Amazingly enough many of the asanas have a direct effect on the glands and help them to function properly. Sarvangasana does this for the thyroid and parathyroid glands which are situated in the neck region, since due to the firm chin lock their blood supply is increased. Further, since the body is inverted, the venous blood flows to the heart without any strain by force of gravity. Healthy blood is allowed to circulate around the neck and chest. As a result, persons suffering from breathlessness, palpitation, asthma, bronchitis and throat ailments get relief. As the head remains firm in this inverted position, and the supply of blood to it is regulated by the firm chin lock the nerves are soothed and headaches, even chronic ones, disappear. Continued practice of this asana eradicates common colds and other nasal disturbances. Due to the soothing effect of the pose on the nerves, those suffering from hypertension, irritation, shortness of temper, nervous breakdown and insomnia are relieved. The change in bodily gravity also effects the abdominal organs so that the bowels move freely and constipation vanishes. As a result the system is freed from toxins and one feels full of energy. The asana is recommended for urinary disorders and uterine displacement, menstrual trouble, hemorrhoids and hernia. It also helps relieve epilepsy, low vitality and anemia. It is no over statement to say that if one practices Sarvangasana they will feel new vigour and strength and will be happy and confident. New life will flow into the body, the mind will be at peace and the practitioner will feel the joy of life. After a long illness, the practice of this asana regularly, twice a day, brings back lost vitality.”

We will work on Shoulder Stand this month and then next month we will work on Head Stand.  Since these two poses are meant to be practiced together, as counter poses to each other, we will continue to include Shoulder Stand in our practice.  According to the Iyengar tradition, you can practice Shoulder Stand by itself, but if you practice Head Stand, you should finish your practice with Shoulder Stand.

Restorative Poses for December 2018

Restorative Pose: Reclining Hero

For the month of December we will focus on restorative poses.  That doesn’t mean that we will turn our vinyasa classes into restorative classes.  It just means that we will include restorative postures during every class.  Some students have a hard time with restorative postures.  They might not see their value.  After all, you are not really “doing” anything in a restorative pose.  But, restorative poses are deceptively effective if you give them a chance.  Take Reclining Hero Pose, for example.  Some students can lie down in this pose fairly easily, but can’t hold it for 2 minutes.  That is an example of what I would call deceptive flexibility, when you can force your body into a position but you cannot maintain it because it is not comfortable.  You are not really that flexible.   That is an example of “doing the pose”.  If you can cultivate a sense that you could be in a posture forever, then the pose can do you.   Your body can reap the benefits of the pose and you can reset your resting muscle length.   If you are willing to experiment with props and support your body in a pose, you can cultivate a sense of serenity and equipoise in a pose and you might feel that you could stay forever, or at least 2 to 3 minutes with ease.  In modern exercise physiology we have learned that you need to hold a stretch for between 30 and 120 seconds in order to change the resting length of your muscles.

In class this month, we will start with Supta Virasana, Reclined Hero Pose, to prepare us for Pinca Mayurasana and various Back Bends.  There are modifications for every ability.  I will offer a choice of set-ups for the pose at the beginning of class.  Learn what props you need to be able to hold the pose for at least 5 minutes.  Please be precise with your props, they can make or break your ability to hold the pose.  And, don’t worry; there are straight leg modifications for those of you with knee issues.

Adho Mukha Vrksasana or Handstand

Adho Mukha Vrksasana or Handstand

Adho downward
Mukha face
Vrksa tree

Adho Mukha Vrksasana literally means downward facing tree pose. We generally call this pose handstand.  This is a very challenging but empowering pose. Most adults don’t go around standing on their hands, but in yoga class we often do.

The ability to stand on one’s hands is emotionally tied to the ability to support one’s self.  This is especially empowering to women who, in the past, may have been socially and culturally taught to be dependent on a man for support.   Stereotypically women are also generally weaker in their upper bodies than men.  Sometimes women don’t think that they can do handstand. But, when we build the foundation carefully from Child’s Pose and Downward Facing Dog, into Handstand, it can be a very safe and rewarding posture.  And, when students lift up into their first handstand, they are inclined to give out a whoop of excitement.  It can be very fun and confidence building.

One of the most crucial aspects of this pose is the flexibility in the shoulder girdle.  It is important to be able to raise the arms over head and make them straight and parallel.  Because of many things in modern life from poor posture to smart phones, movement in the shoulder girdle is often compromised.  When movement in the shoulders is limited, compensation will occur in other parts of the body such as the wrist, neck and back.

During this month of practicing Handstand, we will also work on the mobility of our wrists and back while opening the chest and shoulders.

One of the ways we might practice is by doing handstand lying on the ground.  Take a look at these two photos of one of my students in Handstand:  one is standing on her hands facing the wall and the other picture is actually the same photo.  I just flipped it around so it looks as if she is lying on her belly.  You know my saying:  There are only 12 yoga poses and the variations are just done in different relationship to gravity.

Vinyasa Pose of the Month - Hanumanasana or Split

Hanumanasana is a pose that requires diligent physical practice, but also an open mind and heart. When Hanuman lands in Sri Lanka to rescue Sita from the demon king, Ravana doesn’t believe that Hanuman could have leapt across the ocean to his island kingdom. Hanuman tells Ravana, “Withdraw your heart from Sita, or that will be a costly theft, for it’s by her energy that I jumped over the sea.” It’s devotion or the energy of the heart that will help you find the gateway to the posture.In order to perform Hanumanasana, the pose based on Hanuman’s famous leaping ability, we need to stretch the hamstrings and the quadriceps. Often people fold forward or bend backward with more ease, but Hanumanasana requires both. So, as we work on doing a split this month we will stretch our hamstrings in poses such as Forward Folds, Triangle and Pyramid and we will do thigh stretches in poses such as Low Lunge with a thigh stretch, Dancer’s Pose and Warrior I.

If you find that your hamstrings or quads are really tight and more like steel cables than muscles, you might want to look at the psychological/emotional issues associated with those muscles. The hamstrings are connected to the knees, which are symbolically used to bow down to a higher power, and so tight hamstrings can often mean a deeper level of surrender is needed. The thighs (quadriceps) hold onto past conflicts, such as traumatic childhood memories, anger or resentment. This is an area closely associated with sexuality and intimacy. This comes from the book You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.

If we did Hanumanasana as frequently as we did Down Dog, imagine how good our splits would be!

Keep practicing. I’ll see you in class.

Bound Triangle - Part 2: Your shoulders are part of your back, not your neck

“Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.”Just when you thought your Triangle Pose was looking pretty good here comes Bound Triangle; which is Triangle on steroids.  As one of my philosophy teachers used to say:  “In an ever expanding universe, there is always more.”Four Stages to Bound Triangle

1. Elongating the Torso

2. Shoulders are part of you back, not part of your neck.

3. Lengthening the Hamstrings

4. Binding – When the Effort becomes Effortless

Remember that Tadasana is the blueprint for every posture.  So, in every pose, lengthen through your spine, lift the collar bones and draw your shoulder blades towards the spine and down towards your waist.  If you are used to standing with your shoulders rounded forward, this may feel a little like you are doing a Standing Bridge Pose.We can feel this by using a belt as a shoulder harness to stretch the shoulders back.  It looks like this:We will use some variations of Triangle, Side Angle and Half Moon with the top arm behind the back holding on to a belt that help to turn the chest up. The belt helps us to feel what it is like to get the shoulders in the same vertical plane with the chest facing sideways rather than the floor.

Bound Triangle

“Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.” 

Y.S. 2.47Just when you thought your Triangle Pose was looking pretty good, here comes Bound Triangle; which is Triangle on steroids.

As one of my philosophy teachers used to say: “In an ever expanding universe, there is always more.”

Four Stages to Bound Triangle

1. Elongating the Torso

2. Shoulders are part of you back, not part of your neck.

3. Lengthening the Hamstrings

4. Binding – When the Effort becomes Effortless

This week we will work on Elongating the Torso

It is important to have good hip and shoulder mobility so that we move at the big joints first. If our hips or shoulders are restricted, then our spines will be forced to compensate. Yoga is primarily about learning to extend the spine, creating space between the vertebrae.So much of our life is spent shortening our spine as we hunch over steering wheels, smart phones and computers. Life can also be difficult so we further round our shoulders in a posture of protection. We often live in fear: of being taken advantage of, of looking foolish, of not being prepared. It is no wonder that we often can’t sit up straight and throw our shoulders back.We will work on this in class with a shoulder harness on. I have been doing this for the last week or so. It is a good stretch and warm up for any pose, but it is a particularly good body blueprint for binds which often cause us to shorten our spines.Next week:Shoulders are part of your back, not your neck

Pinca Mayurasana or Peacock Feather Pose

Pinca Mayurasana

Pinca Mayurasana is an intermediate arm balance. It is taught after Headstand and Handstand have been introduced. It is easier to learn to balance in than Handstand because you have more of a foundation to ground you.  It is similar to Headstand, except that it requires more strength and stretch in the shoulders as the head is lifted off of the ground.

Pinca requires the full range of motion in the shoulder girdle, where the arms are raised in the overhead position in line with the torso in 180 degrees of flexion.  It is often a good idea to begin with shoulder stretches when warming up for this posture.   If you are tight in your shoulders, you will feel that this Forearm Balancing Pose is more of a back bend, but it is not meant to be.  There are variations where you can back bend into a Scorpion version, but the basic pose is an upside-down Tadasana on your forearms.When you begin to learn any inversion, there is a tendency to become disoriented.  All inversions in yoga literally turn our worlds upside down.  Can we stay connected when this happens?  Can we breathe and pay attention to where we are and what we’re doing?  Practicing the right angle version of Pincha Mayurasana  in the beginning allows you to get a sense of the pose while being able to remain in your center.  It also helps you build strength. 

Yoga, as defined by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, should be practiced without interruption over a long period of time.  This is really important when you start going upside down and balancing on your arms instead of your feet.  Pincha Mayurasana demands this of us.  In return it will repay us with a wonderful sense of strength and confidence.  With the body in an inverted position, prana circulates stimulating the circulatory system, the glandular system and cleansing the mind.  Not only do inversions help us to face our fears, they help regulate the chemistry of the mind; balancing depression and anxiety.  With consistent practice over a long period of time the benefits of this pose are endless.

There is a Japanese word, sat, the meaning of which can be described as the moment right before a performer walks on stage when the heart is racing with the knowledge that anything could happen, the moment right before creation, the moment of crisis. This is very close to the Sanskrit word Satya meaning truth. It is this moment of crisis, this moment of truth that we have the opportunity to confront our fear and to feel the most alive. There is a moment of sat before you perform any pose that scares you.  There can be a moment of sat right before you lift your leg above your head for Pinca Mayurasana.

Vinyasa Pose of the Month – Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III)

Virabhadra = the name of a fierce warrior, an incarnation of Shiva, described as having a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet; wielding a thousand clubs; and wearing a tiger's skin.

Virabhadrasana III is said to be a continuation of Virabhadrasana I and it is a much more challenging position.

To come into Warrior II, fist come to Warrior I with the right foot forward and the left foot back.  The feet should be 4 to 4-1/2 feet apart front to back and hip width apart from left to right with the back foot almost facing forward.  Raise the arms overhead and look up. Press the palms together.   Keep the back leg straight as you bend the right knee towards 90 degrees.  Hold this for a few breaths before continuing.

On and exhalation, lean the trunk forward and lay the chest out over the bent right knee.   Take two breaths in this position

Again, on an exhalation, simultaneously lift the back leg from the floor as you straighten the right leg.  Keep the back leg inwardly rotating so that the hips are parallel to the floor.  Make the back leg straight and stiff.  Your goal is to lift the chest and the back leg parallel to the floor.  If this is too much, you can take the arms back like airplane wings, or even rest your fingertips on a block until you develop the strength and flexibility to do the full pose.

Come out of the pose the way you came into it.  (Don’t simply collapse!)  Step back into Warrior I and then straighten the front leg.  Turn the feet so they are parallel and then step or jump the feet together.

This pose encourages you to contract and tone the abdominal organs, as well as the leg and buttock muscles.   This pose conveys harmony, strength, balance, poise and power.  It improves one’s bearing and carriage.