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...