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.