Prasarita Padottanasana: Variations

Okay, I didn't get to much blogging on this pose this month. So, to make up for my lack of contribution, I thought I'd give you lots of photos! I did teach the pose in each class and practice it in my own practice. I was again reminded of the importance of being grounded strongly in my feet and legs in all variations. Here are my favorite variations of this pose:

Traditional hands between the feet. I did not put my head between my hands here.


Extended Prasarita Padottanasana: Be sure to keep your weight over your feet. If you feel your hands "slipping" forward, you have too much weight in your hands.

Clasp hands behind the back: It is even more essential to be strong in the legs when your hands don't touch the ground.

Clasping the toes: Again, strong in the legs:


Reverse Anjali Mudra: I only do this one in my own practice, not one I teach, because most people aren't open enough in the shoulder to do this one without injuring the wrist:



And then, last, but far from least: Snuggling-with-daughterasana:

So much fun, and then...

I love Prasarita Padottanasana and I was having a lot of fun playing around with it.  I took Laura's suggestion to heart and I've been doing PP in each class I teach and each time I do my own practice, at least until this week...

This week I've come down with a cold and am quite stuffy and congested.  I'll take this opportunity to reminder you all to first and foremost listen to your body while practicing yoga. If you are not feeling well, rest, relax and restore.  Your yoga practice can consist of just one pose, like Child's Pose or even Savasana (final relaxation).  For me right now, if I bend forward in the slightest it creates tremendous pressure and pain in my head and face so I'm avoiding all forward bending poses. Including Prasarita Padottanasana!  In fact there isn't much that feels good besides sitting.  Even breathing through my nose is a challenge too.  I'll be taking it really lightly in the Yoga practice this week.  I'm taking care of myself so I'll be back to Prasarita Padottanasana in no time! 

Prasarita Padottanasana Spotlight

We are only half way through this month. You know what that means? There are still 2 more weeks of Prasarita Padottanasana in the spotlight! I have taught it in all of my yoga classes with great response! I like to start with separating the feet as far as is comfortable and then moving into the pose - and hold it. Focus on keeping the weight back and in the feet. Come up and then moving the legs in 1/3 of the way 2 more times finally ending in Uttanasana. Then follow it up with standing poses - hold them a little longer than usual. Your legs will feel very strong and steady after working in Prasarita Padottanasana. And...after all that, Savasana is glorious. Ahhhhhhh.

Parsvottanasana--it's not just about the legs!

This month as I regularly practiced Parsvottanasana (one of my favorite poses) I focused more on keeping my heart open with shoulders and collar bones open and shoulder blades flat. It is hard to keep that open position while folding forward but the openness adds so much to the pose. I focused on this aspect as I taught my students and their poses were beautiful. Now I love the pose even more!

Challenge: Prasarita Padottanasana

Commit to practicing the pose of the month in each practice. What did you learn?

Parsvottanasana: Now I Know More

At the beginning of the month, I posted about how I didn't care for this pose much. I vowed to practice it and teach it in every class for the month to explore where it was my attitude came from. My students and I played with working the feet more, engaging the legs more fully, opening the heart more. I discovered what I didn't like...I have to work harder in the pose than, well, I wanted to. I wasn't working my legs enough, grounding the back heal and the ball of the front foot. I discovered that grounding the back foot helped wake up my back hamstring and the inner thigh. I also discovered that I needed to draw the femur bone in more as I drew up and over the front leg. Phew! Good stuff! Now, while I don't profess to loving the pose yet...I do understand its gift to me...

Parsvottanasana

I had not realized how much I enjoy this pose before this month. I cannot say that I practiced it every day. I did study it myself to come up with teaching points and I did put it in many of the classes I taught. There are so many fun variations and great ways to explore this pose. One of my favorites is with the back foot against the wall and the hands down to blocks. Feels so good and really helps you to feel the energy in this pose.

Writing about it is inspiring me to get on my mat and experience this pose right now. Bye!

Taught it Tonight

I taught the pose tonight and focused on keeping weight balanced in both legs. Fun variations! Want to read more? I wrote about it here.

Parsvottanasana: Ideas for Deeper Study

Before moving into the pose, feel complete equality between each leg. Then move slowly into the pose maintaining that equality.

Explore the connection between your back heal and your heart.

How does your heart affect your head position?

Play with the position of your arms behind your back. Do you have a position you prefer? Why?

Parsvottanasana: What's to Become of Me!

Okay, this month's pose is one of my least favorite. I injured my hamstring 13 years ago and this pose was the one that most aggravated the injured state. About two months ago I healed the injury completely. (You can read the discussion I had around it with Nadine Fawell.) Anyway, I taught the pose this morning and realized, even though my injury is gone, I still have animosity toward the pose! This month I vow to include it in every practice and teach it in every class. It is time to learn more from this pose. It obviously has something to teach me.

Ardha Chandrasana - So sorry my love!

I love Ardha Chandrasana. Why is it that I had given it no attention in the month of October? Has another pose stolen my heart? No. I'm embarrassed to admit - I just never did it except for those two times I demonstrated it while teaching. That's it. I'm so sorry my love.

Study Point of the Week: Ardha Chandrasana

Move into the pose in one flowing movement rather than pausing in Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), the traditional “launching” pose.

Love, Love, Love

I love this pose, I always have. There is something so freeing in the pose and so calming when I am done with the pose. This month I have worked on keeping the legs more active, from the feet through the inner thigh, and the pose has become even more powerful for me.

Love/Hate relationship

Ardha Chandrasana (half-moon pose) is a pose I used to hate. Actually, I secretly liked it or at least the idea of it and hated that I couldn't do it. I'd start, standing or in Trikonasana (Triangle pose), nice and open feeling and then struggle in the process of getting into balance. Once in the pose I didn't feel open and strong, I felt unstable and saggy.
I think for many people the act of trying it can be a great first step. I've had many students say they were surprised to just get their back leg up in the air at all! Props such as a block under your hand or doing the pose against a wall can then really give you a feel for the strength, balance and openness you can experience in the pose.
Working on other balance poses like Vrksasana (Tree pose) or Virhabdrasana III (Warrior 3 pose) can help strengthen the standing leg and aid in practicing balance. Trikonasana (Triangle pose) gives the same feel of the upper body both in the position of the arms and in the openness of the heart center/chest.
If you also have a love/hate relationship with this pose, take heart (no pun intended)! I now feel that strength and openness when I practice it! If this is a pose you've worked on, I'd be interested to hear what you've done in growing to love it (or hate it) too.

Study Point of the Week: Ardha Chandrasana

Let your focus be opening your heart from Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) all the way through the pose.

Help for the Savasana (Relaxation Pose) Challenged

Do you have difficulties relaxing in Savasana? In our culture, it is simply not unusual to find those who cannot surrender in that position. Savasana is actually stimulating to our nervous system! Now I don’t mean stimulating like backbends or headstands, but a bit. The back body is about stimulating (hence the effect of backbends) and the front body relaxing and surrendering (hence the effect of forward folds). We do Savasana on our backs to keep us a little alert. Savasana is supposed to be conscious relaxation, not falling asleep. But when someone already has a very stimulated nervous system (in other words, stressed -- not uncommon in our world!) then Savasana can further stimulate it, rendering relaxation impossible.

If you need help relaxing, use Asavasana. (Whenever an “A” is placed in front of a Sanskrit word, it changes the word to its opposite.) Lie on your stomach over a bolster. You can see me here in the photo demonstrating it. I like to hang my head just a bit over the edge (letting the forehead have a downward angle helps relax the brain) but if that is uncomfortable for you, rest your head on the bolster, turning it to the other side halfway through the relaxation.

Yoga in Costa Rica - Join Us!

~ Engage the Body and Open Your Heart ~

Want to join us in Costa Rica for a fabulous yoga retreat? We will be at Samasati Yoga and Nature Retreat Center January 24-31st. You will enjoy 3 daily yoga sessions with Laura and assisted by Karen (an early morning wake up, a before dinner stretch, and an evening relaxation.)

During the day enjoy the Costa Rican jungle. You can take a guided eco-tour trip organized by the center, including activities such as a zip-line ride through the jungle canopy, a white water rafting trip, or a kayaking paddle (you have 12 choices!) Or maybe you’ll take a 7-minute shuttle ride to black or white sand beaches and stroll through town mixing with the locals at the local internet café. At the center you’ll enjoy comfortable accommodations with a jungle and/or ocean view, delicious vegetarian meals and a hot tub. You can also have a treatment at their spa.

So?

Before we move on to our next pose, tell me, how did you do with the challenge? Did you do Savasana every day? Did you at least do it more often or longer? What happened?

The Art of Manifesting Your Dreams

~ To Live Your Authentic Life ~

The Art of Manifesting is learning how to make more conscious choices about what you put out into the world with your thoughts. You will learn to think differently by uncovering the false beliefs you have and revealing your fear areas so they no longer control you. As you do so, you will experience a new level of joy about your life. We believe that you will then be living “authentically”. Authentic living is living your true purpose; what resonates on a deep level as “right” for you. When you are living authentically, each day is joyful, easy, free, full of possibilities and opportunities. You will be able to see thing from a new perspective and appreciate all, even the challenges because you know there is a purpose to them as well.

Each session will have an introduction to the topic, followed by group discussion. You will then be encouraged to explore each topic more deeply though homework assignments – delicious homework that involves moving closer to your dreams!

Live classes begin quarterly and teleclasses begin January 2009. More information.

Awaken to Joy

"Discover Joy in the Life You Are Already Living"

Join Marya and Laura for a unique teleclass program with monthly topics and weekly inspirations. The program will take you step-by-step through bringing more positive influences into your life and making the negative ones more conscious so you can make different choices. Join us for a month or for a year.

"The Awaken to Joy program has transformed my life. Through the monthly topics,
I am able to explore my thoughts, beliefs and my life, releasing
those things that no longer serve me. It has taught me the path of joy.
Every day is filled with joy of many types. My personal life is happier.
My job life is happier. My family relationships have improved dramatically.
Taking this course is one of the best decisions I have ever made."
Tracy Whipple

Sleep, blessed sleep

This morning I came back to Savasana. I've been wanting to do it much more than I actually have. Not for lack of want because I want so much to relax (or at least that's what I think).
This morning I had the opportunity to sleep in which happens so infrequently. I'm staying at a hotel with several girlfriends without kids - I'm running on my own time. So what happens? I wake up - wide awake - at 6am. ugh. What did I do? I laid myself out on the bed in Savasana and focused on my breathing. I'm not sure how long I laid there. Eventually I rolled to my side and fell back asleep. Thanks Savasana!

I fight: Savasana

Back in May of this year, I found myself avoiding savasana. I wrote this about my experience and what I learned about the avoidance. I forgot about it because I do not practice a long savasana - ever - until this month's challenge - and - my yoga class last night.

I forgot that the last Wednesday of the month is restorative yoga. Usually, I don't attend that class except on the days I forget that it is the last Wednesday of the month. That class always ends with a long savasana. There I was again, a few minutes in wanting, wanting, and waiting for it to be over. Why? Again, why do I dislike this pose. Oh yes, it hurts! When I begin to really relax, my very loose joints and very open body feels like it is spilling across the floor and nothing is holding it together.

Here is the final paragraph of my post from May. I'm printing it out - nice and big and putting it in my yoga room where I am headed now to practice savasana.

i fight: the feelings of instability in Savasana by accepting them and trusting that I will learn whatever they are here to teach me.

(And perhaps all I need to do is set myself up in the Judith Lasater version of savasana - many, many blankets - and I will be just fine.)

The Challenge: Update

We are now three weeks into the month...how is the challenge going? Have you done Savasana daily? Or, at least, more often or longer than usual?

Savasana "Did You Knows"

Did you know...

...it takes 15-17 minutes for the body to relax? It is then that Savasana really begins...

...your hands and feet must be warm for your body to relax?

...the room must be darkened?

...there are three stages of Savasana:
1. Physiological relaxation
2. Pratyahara -- When you are no longer distracted by your senses.
3. Ashunya -- You only know you have achieved this after the fact. You have a feeling of having "returned" from somewhere. Your teacher maybe had to "wake" you but you know you weren't asleep.

...Savasana is the MOST important of all the poses and

...I suspect the one most skipped...

...Savasana will help reset your nervous system barometer to a slower level. (In other words, it helps you relax.)

...Savasana helps you reset old patterns, physiological, emotional, mental, spiritual, you name it!

...Savasana helps you absorb the benefits of your practice.

...can be done anytime, not necessarily right after your asana session. Do it right before bed!

Savasana: This Month's Challenge

We challenge all of you! Do Savasana every day for the month of September. Let us know how it affects you! If you need some assistance, here is a podcast from Laura for a guided 20-minute Savasana. Enjoy!

Maricyasana III: Study Point of the Week

How can you get more deeply into your upper back? When we twist, we tend to keep the twist in the mid-back, around T-11, T-12, and L-1. Getting it into the upper back is a powerful way of increasing the twist and making it deeper.

Maricyasana III: Study Point of the Week

There are two ways to turn the head in this pose, looking behind you and looking toward your toes. Play with each one. Which do you prefer? Why?

Bhujangasana and the Core

(Laura) I have never spent much time studying Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose). I used it to warm up and strengthen my back and breezed past it whenever I was doing Sun Salutations. This month I studied it and taught it. In fact, I challenged myself to teach it each week in one class so I needed to come up with fresh information each week which necessitated new insights.

My most illuminating insight came from the importance of the core in Bhujangasana. I knew that extending the legs was important but I didn’t realize that I wasn’t using my inner thighs enough and, therefore, wasn’t engaging the core muscles in my torso. Without the core of my torso, my backbend sat in my lower back.

So? Practice this idea in Vajrasana or Sukhasana. Feel the length in your spine. Arch high up in the upper back. Now, from that position, let your belly go slack. Feel the back bend sink to your lower back.

The same thing happens in Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) when you allow your legs to go slack (the legs support the work of the core muscles in the core – something you can feel in Tadasana (Mountain Pose)). When legs go slack, the backbend sits more in your lower back. The key to effectively activating the core is the inner thighs of the legs. Use those muscles to get the action into the torso as well.

Boojangasana

(by Marya) Cobra has to be one of my favorite poses recently. As I've grown more open in my back and upper body it has become easier and more comfortable. I often choose to do it instead of Up Dog - I think because it feels more grounding.
Tonight on my way to teach a yoga class I accidentally hit my elbow on the car (one of those chasing kids not really watching where I was going things). I didn't hit my funny bone, although either way it wasn't funny. It hurt a little but I was doing fine in class demonstrating and moving. Then we did (or didn't in my case) bhujangasana. I couldn't do it! My new bump/bruise was apparently in the non-cobra-doing spot of my arm. What a bummer! Is my body trying to tell me something? Maybe, slow down and stop chasing?

Bhujangasana: This Week's Study Point

Does where you place your hands affect how you experience the pose?

Bhujangasana: This Week's Study Point

What is your greatest challenge with this pose?

Vrksasana: This Week's Study Point

Do you prefer hands in front of your chest or overhead? Why? Let us know...

Vrksasana: This Week's Study Point

On which foot to you usually or always begin? What happens when you change sides? Why?

Find Trikonasana

(by Karen) When teaching, I always remind my students to "find" their pose. Anyone can do a pose, but is it your pose?

Trikonasana is one that I don't usually find quickly so it is usually added to each practice more than once and spread around. The first one is to remind my body of the technical side, but it never feels like mine. The second time is usually easier to get into and my body is "remembering" it but still not mine. Usually, the third time is it - body and pose as one. At this point, I could stay there for an hour (at least it feels that way, never tried it :-)

Trikonasana with a Twist!

(by Laura) So I have been playing with seeing Trikonasana as a twist – very interesting! I set my legs and ground myself and then breath softness into my torso and revolve. Quite delicious!

I 'Heart' Triangle

I thought it fitting to say I 'heart' Triangle, in place of I love Triangle, as it is such a wonderful open hearted pose. I do love Triangle pose (Trikonasana) - it is one of my favorites. But why? Good question. Part of my exploration this month is to find out just why I enjoy it so much.
Is it the feeling of strength and stability and grounding in the legs?
Or because my knees are hyper-flexible and I've been able to strengthen them by learning alignment and having more awareness?
Is it because my hips are fairly open and flexible already?
Is it because for many years my upper body felt so caved in and triangle really lets me open up in the heart?
Maybe its because for a long time I felt an inner strength and through my physical work in yoga have created a body more able to express that strength. When I do Trikonasana I just feel like "here I am!" and it feels good.
How do you feel in Triangle?

My Equilateral Triangle!

I have been working on more firmly engaging my legs in Trikonasana. My legs have been quite a study for the past three years, all in the evolution of my first chakra balancing. I never knew how solid one could feel when the legs are fully engaged! (And I am not sure I am fully engaging them yet – exciting for me!) So, once I have turned my feet, I press the inner edge of my front foot down, lift the inner ankle and continue lifting up to the inner thigh/groin. Then I do the same for the back leg. I then move into the pose, paying particular attention to the back leg, especially the inner thigh. I find my inner thigh likes to sag and when it does, the pose “melts”. When I come out with an engaged inner thigh, wow! I think of coming out by lifting the back inner thigh. I am so solid! I feel as solid as an equilateral triangle!

Trikonasana: So Solid!

(From Laura) I had an amazing month playing in Tadasana. My pose has become infinitely more “mountain-like” in grounding and presence. As a result, I have been playing with firming my standing poses. The legs and arms are the “strength” of the poses so the body and heart can be open and light. I have been finding my Tadasana – a strong Tadasana – and then taking my arms overhead, lengthening them out of the lower back. Then I take them out to the side and separate my feet. My arms feel incredibly strong and mimic the strength in my legs. I then turn my feet and, maintaining the strength in my arms and legs, move into the pose. Watch in particular to the back leg and arm, their action can easily be lost in the movement into the pose. If the arms and legs are firm enough, weight on the bottom arm is unnecessary and you will have plenty of “umph” to get back out of the pose when you are done. Don’t you feel incredibly solid?

Ending Tadasana

As we leave our month of study on Tadasana, I am curious: What does Tadasana mean to you? What is it suppose to represent? This question is not rhetorical, I really would love to know what it is to you and what the intention of the pose is for you.

A More Intimate Conversation

One of my favorite quotes I use frequently when I am teaching comes compliments of Rodney Yee. He used it in his book Yoga: The Poetry of the Body in his discussion on this pose. “There is no such thing as perfect alignment, but there is always a more intimate conversation you can have.” Think of this thought whenever you are in Tadasana. Can you have a more intimate conversation with your alignment in this pose? Of course make sure you are balanced from the right to left foot. Make sure your pelvis is where you want it to be and your head is aligned. Then begin to play with your feet and where you balance on your feet. Play with what you can do with the rest of your body to open your heart more. What about your organs? Play with your alignment and have a more intimate conversation.

Five Minute Tadasana

I stood in Tadasana for 5 minutes today. At first I was flying. Everything felt light and free. After a minute or so I noticed my body start to "settle". Different muscle groups "kicked in" and then let go as I would lose and restore balance. The longer I stood there, the more I could feel my feet. At first it was just the bottoms and then the feeling crept up to the tops of the feet and then to the ankles. Every once in a while I would lose balance, my torso would feel as if it were falling back and the quads would come to the rescue. Little twitches were popping up here and there. When the concentration was lost, my knees would hyper-extend. It was a lot more work to keep them aligned! Eventually, it was not evident where my feet ended and the floor began. All the while, not a sound was heard from the upper back, shoulders or arms. Wow.

In all the years of practicing yoga, I never truly experienced Tadasana as a challenging balance pose. I guess I never gave it the chance :-)

Aligning with the Intention of Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

(by Laura) To align in the pose is to align with the intention. The intention of this pose is to be strongly grounded at the same time being open to the world, just like a mountain. To fully realize the intention of this pose, you need a balance between being strongly grounded and feeling lifted. The balance is tricky. In studying this pose this month with my students and in my own practice, I have come to suspect that we all have a tendency to do more of one than the other and that these tendencies show up in other areas of our life as well. Learning which one you do can help you balance yourself in other poses and other areas of your life as well. This theory is in its initial stages so I would love to hear your opinions! Do these descriptions fit for you? If so, how and if not, why?

When the tendency is toward being grounded, without enough lift to counterbalance, the feeling is heaviness, almost like being in a hole. People who tend toward groundedness are solid physically and emotionally (whether it is positive or negative emotion, they are solid!) They often very practical and find themselves viewing life through “reality”. It is difficult for them to dream big and feel deep joy. In yoga, the deeply grounded people are strong in standing poses and can feel their feet well. They have a harder time getting those feet off the ground for handstand, though! They also have a harder time getting a lift in their heart.

When the tendency is toward a strong lift without a countering groundedness, the feeling is of lightness. These people feel less grounded and you may feel like you need to hurry to keep up with them. The tend to change emotions quickly and can enter a room like they are flying. They can hope around topics quickly. People who tend toward lifting are excitable, often projecting themselves into the future. In yoga poses they don’t have a strong sense of their feet and their hearts are so lifted they bring their ribs along with them. Inversions are easy for this group because the feet just fly off the floor.

Where are you? Do you feel a strong ground or a good lift? I have heard that strong grounding can feel as if you are in a hole. I have a strong lift and recently discovered my lift is so strong, I actually grip the tops of my feet to get even more up. When I began to release my feet, I could feel myself go down. (To feel my feet, I stand in the shower so the spray can hit the tops of my feet.) Tell me about you! Does my theory fit you?

Lifting and Grounding

(Marya) I love the feeling of lifting my toes off the floor when I am standing. It lifts me up yet also causes me to feel grounded at the same time. My inner legs work a little more and help lift me (which I love because I have pronated ankles - my legs, ankles and feet tend to roll inwards and feel like they drop down). When I lift my toes I really feel my feet - all of them. My toes are working, the balls of my feet/base of my toes are reaching down, my arches engage and lift and my heels are planted. It just energizes my whole legs! Sometimes when I feel my posture is sagging a little, all it takes is a nice high lift of my toes to bring everything back to life. ahhhhhhh.

Tadasana = Presence

For me, Tadasana is a pose of awareness. It has taught me many things On and Off The Mat. When I am On The Mat it is a very centering and grounding pose. It brings me in touch with where my body is at that moment in time.

Off The Mat is where I really feel the lesson in this pose. I am very flexible and have a tendency to hyper-extend my knees while standing. I have become aware that when I catch myself standing and my knees are hyper-extended I am not present, or as Eckhart Tolle says, "in the now". I am rehashing the past or thinking about something in the future. If I stand in Tadasana no matter where I am or what I am doing, I am fully present.

a small shift

(by Marya) Last week I taught a class in which we did Sun Salutations and Tadasana in between each one. I spoke of Tadasana and alignment at the beginning of class and also of being Present. With each Tadasana we took a minute to check in with posture and to be aware of where our thoughts were. During that minute I also went around class looking at alignment. There were several people who were aligned fairly well but their hips were ever so slightly shifted forward. Not thrusting hips or anything, just a slight shift of alignment and weight.
I had several people comment after class. One was a woman whose hips were slightly shifted. She commented that the re-alignment of her hips had changed several subsequent poses. In fact, she said her balance had totally changed in Tree pose after!
A good reminder to me that our habitual posture is so important and that Tadasana truly is the foundation of poses.

Take it to the Lake

(by Laura) Last Monday I stood in this spot for 20 minutes in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). It felt glorious! I have never spent so much time in Tadasana in such a spectacular location. I breathed and felt incredibly grounded. This pose continues to teach me...