How does the pose change when your legs are straight versus bent?
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Sukhasana
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Deeply explore one yoga pose each month
This Month's Pose (April 2009)
Sukhasana
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Join us as we spend one month playing with one yoga pose in-depth, to see what we have to learn about the pose and what the pose has to teach us. We welcome your questions and comments.
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Ideas for Deeper Study
Sukhasana
Are you really in Sukhasana? Shins need to be parallel with feet hidden under opposite knee.
Sit in the pose for a long time – 5-10 minutes. What comes up?
Compare being on a lift and not. What changes?
How is this pose different from Siddhasana? Compare the two. When would one be more appropriate than the other?
Labels
- A Yoga Moment (1)
- Ardha Chandrasana (5)
- Beth (1)
- Bhujangasana (4)
- Challenge (3)
- Karen (9)
- Laura (24)
- Maricyasana III (2)
- Marya (7)
- Muse Programs (2)
- Parsvottanasana (5)
- Podcast (1)
- Prasarita Padottanasana (4)
- Retreat (1)
- Savasana (8)
- Study Point (14)
- sukhasana (2)
- Tadasana (8)
- Triangle (5)
- Trikonasana (5)
- Uttanasana (5)
- Vasisthasana (4)
- Video (3)
- virabhadrasana I (7)
- Vrksasana (2)
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3 comments:
For someone who practiced this pose with knees bent for YEARS, I have something to say! While I did get a hamstring stretch with the knees bent and was able to feel a long spine, it wasn't until I could truly straighten my legs and feel them beneath me that my joy in this pose came out. I received the physical benefits of the pose with my legs bent and then I really felt the energetic benefits with the legs straight.
I have been working for several months on waking up my legs in Uttanasana. I tried it with my knees bent and felt that it just severed any energy flow that was happening in my pose. I also asked my students to try it with knees bent and all (even those with tight hamstring muscles) gave it a thumbs down. We used a block between the thighs to help activate the legs (as one yoga teacher described--looking like a Pez dispenser!). I have always loved this pose but love it even more with active legs and lots of energy circling around.
Speaking as one who has loose knees (I could really hyperextend if I'm not paying attention) It took me a long time to figure out what straight was! I had to bend for quite some time in order to keep from being hyperextended. After lots of practice in Tadasana and other standing poses, I can now feel what it's like to have "straight" legs and love those straight legs in Uttanasana.
I've also done an exercise with bent legs in dance class that I've used in yoga. With really bent knees in Uttanasana, hug the body towards the upper thighs. Then slowly lift the hips/sit bones up keeping the body hugging the thighs. The hips will likely only come up just a little bit, but it does give a deeper stretch in the hamstrings!
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