DAILY Feathered Peacock Pose This is a moderately difficult pose requiring arm and back strength before success. The easiest entry is to move to the wall with your mat, placing fingertips close to wall. Go into Adho Muhka Svanasana-Down Dog, lower arms into Dolphin, pressing into open palms, rotate hands and arms inward, with parallel elbows. It helps to strap the arms above the elbows. Maintaining a strong base through shoulder girdle, upper back and arms is key. Press shoulder blades toward tailbone, and hug forearms inward. Step feet in as close as possible then lift one leg, and kick yourself off the floor toward the wall. Do not collapse onto head or down into shoulders. If this happens, you’re not quite ready. Simply practice lifting one leg up and then the other to test the waters. You can also reverse yourself to the wall, facing away in Dolphin Pose and walk feet up wall and hold. Great preparation pose. Back to Pincha. If you are launched and upside down, lengthen legs and feet toward the sky. It helps to flex feet and feel as if you are standing strongly, lifting up out of the arms and shoulders. Be careful not to extend front ribs, drop back into lumbar spine, or allow legs to turn out. Set your Drishti-focus on a place between elbows. Come down one straight leg at a time. Rest. Kick up again using the other leg. Don’t get one-sided about take-off. Health Notes: Gives you a tremendous sense of accomplishment, and like all inversions, helps with depression, changing a POV, calms brain and body. This is a big balancing pose, especially as you move to center floor with it. It strengthens arms, back and shoulder girdle. Be careful in you are menstruating, have a headache, or high… Read more »
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Adho Mukha Svanasana~Down Dog
Asana: Adho Mukha Svanasana-Down Dog~The most beloved of all poses possibly because it assists the body so many ways at once, plus you can move into any pose from here, making it a master-sequencing link. It is the core of Surya Namaskars/Sun Salutations, the core of most Practices. You can move into it from Tadasana, or Utkatasan by folding over and taking a large step back, hands to floor by feet, then step the other leg back. Lift hips up and back, press heels to floor. Or, Another easy way to move into Adho Mukha is either through a Sun Salutation, or from lying on the stomach, bringing palms beside chest, fingers forward, on exhale, lift abdomen and hips, then push back into heels, lengthening arms, spine, and hamstrings. Sitts Bones to heaven, back of the the neck-soft and long, shoulder blades down the back toward the hips, fingers spread, with energy moving out into tips, not wrists, arms feel like they are squeezing a big beach ball. Remain for a minute, feeling intelligent and wide open to new points of view. Keep it simple and powerful. Be present to moving into every corner of the body. Perhaps you yearn to have a better Adho Mukha/Down Dog? Fine, let it fire you towards greatness. But do not disdain, read judge, where you are in the Pose at this moment. Let it be your master. Now howl for all you are worth, becoming God-like in your Dog-like Pose. Health Notes: Adho Mukha is great for warming, stretching, strengthening, and bringing the brain below the heart. It tones abdominals, strengthens and stretches ankles, hamstrings, shoulders, and arms. The heart rate slows, helping with fatigue, and arthritis, especially in the shoulder girdle. And like all upside down poses, it is ‘happy making.’
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Scorpion Pose Asana/Pose: Vrschikasana –Scorpion is a pose requiring much preparation and schooling in order to graduate to its beauty. Kneel on the floor, placing forearms and hands parallel to one another, with elbows under the shoulders. Exhale, swinging torso and legs up over shoulders. You are now in Pincha Mayurasana/tail or feather of the Peacock. Lift head up, and bring feet down toward crown of head, exhaling. You now have the appearance of a Scorpion as it strikes its victim. Work toward keeping legs and feet together, making shins parallel to upper arms, and keeping chest open. Health Notes: There are many great health benefits from this pose, such as a stronger, more supple spine, expanded chest and breathing, and more powerful arms and back, but the best is its psychological workings.B.K.S. Iyengar writes in The Light On Yoga, “The head which is the seat of knowledge and power is also the seat of pride, anger, hatred, jealousy, intolerance and malice. These emotions are more deadly than the poison which the scorpion carries in its sting. The yogi, by stamping on his head with his feet, attempts to eradicate these self-destroying emotions and passions.”
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Circling Headstand Asana/Pose: Mandalasana-Circling Headstand. If you can do a backbend, you can do this pose. Move into Sirsasana/Headsand, back of head nested in clasped hands, and walk the feet all the way around clockwise. Reverse the direction, creating a mandala or circle around the head, which remains in the center. To accomplish this, move the feet sideways, and when coming to the difficult 3 and 9 O’clock positions, lift opposite shoulder a bit, move chest forward and up, rotating trunk. This rotates the spine 360 degrees. Make sure spine, especially neck and lower back area are fully warm before moving into the circling. Health Notes: Just as practicing Sirsasana/Headstands promotes longevity and peacefulness, so does Mandalasana, plus it stretches trunk and abdomen. As you walk around head, pretend your feet are a planet orbiting the earth-your head. Feel the earth’s changes as it moves through the uneven relationships of circling.
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Headstand Asana: Salamba Sirsasna-Headstand… of which there are many variations. Going upside down in any form helps change our P.O.V. For beginners, place your mat or folded blanket 2-3 inches from a corner. Working with corners helps you to feel if the body is in alignment. If you can, find a friend who knows how to assist. Place elbows on floor, grasping upper arm muscles in opposite hands to make sure elbows are aligned under shoulders. Interlock fingers and nest back of head close to palms, with crown on the floor. Lift legs into a bent-kneed Down Dog and if possible, walk feet in until hips stack on top of shoulders. If this is new, lift legs up with knees bent, place feet on the wall so you feel safe. Stay as long as you are comfortable, do not close your eyes. Slowly roll down the way you went up. Congratulate yourself. Going upside down the first few times can be very scary. For the more advanced, follow all of the above until you are ready to lift legs. As you begin to lift straight legs, move hips slightly back to counter-balance legs lifting together, side by side, until they are parallel to floor. For 5-10 breaths, remain in Urdhva Dandasana, legs strongly extended out from hips, before continuing up to full Sirsasana. Just as we are aware in changing our P.O.V., we must remain conscious throughout this Pose. Keep shoulders high above floor, the weight primarily in a small circle in the center of the head, the trunk, thighs, and heels in a perfect perpendicular line to the floor. Health Notes: Called the king of all asanas because it affects the brain, and therefore the entire body, physically, emotionally, mentally, Sirsasana flows new blood through brain cells, rejuvenating and… Read more »
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East Stretching Pose Asana: Purvottanasana–East Stretching Pose. Begin by sitting with legs strongly extended,hands placed under shoulders by hips, fingers pointing toward feet. Press down into hands, lift hips up, legs straight, work to maintain soles of feet down on floor. Take a breath, extend head back. Do not close off back of neck. Remain here for 5-10 breaths, until the heart opens an inch. With the hips fully lifted and head back, this is an inversion, therefore eyes must remain open. If this is too difficult, bring feet in close to buttocks and push hips up- knees bent, feet under knees, finger face toward feet. You are now in Table Top Pose. Health Notes: This pose opens heart and lungs, strengthens wrists, ankles and legs, opens the shoulder girdle. It is a wonderful ‘pause’ in the day to consider who and how we love, where can the heart be opened more fully? Who can we see differently, with more gentleness, less fear. The poses are more powerful when we use them as a way in, as well as a way out.
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Feet on Hands Pose The Sanskrit of this pose is easy to interpret. Pada is foot, hasta means hand. Ergo, this pose is accomplished by bending forward and standing on the hands. If your hamstrings don’t allow this, bend the knees, but do get entire hand, not just the fingers, underneath each foot. Toes tickle the inner wrists. Keep the back as long and straight as possible, and if possible, pull feet up from the palms, opening the chest as you hang over. Don’t sit back in the heels, keep weight even through the feet. Health Notes: Not only is this fabulous for Carpel Tunnel, but abdominal organs are toned, therefore digestion improves. Spleen and liver are activated, hamstrings and back muscles are stretched and toned. There is something very sole-satisfying about standing palm to sole, letting the chakras speak to one another.
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Like all inversions, handstands are wonderful for happiness and confidence. Make sure arms and shoulders are strong enough to support you before attempting. One way to enter the pose is to move from Down Dog, placing fingertips 1-2 inches from the wall, and spread wide. Without moving hands, rotate upper arms out and up. fingers wide. Step into it on R, kick up with L leg, bringing feet together, extending heels to heaven. Lift belly up, connecting abs and legs, keep ribs in line, the lower back is long, and weight and energy move out into fingertips, which helps you to not drop into the lower back. Do not drop weight into the shoulder girdle and neck. You can either let the head hang and set Drishti/ focus, at end of mat or lift head and focus between the hands. This is an easier Drishti for balance. Remember~ eyes wide open at all times, breath long and slow. Stay in the pose as long as arms and shoulders are comfortable, and breathing is normal. When ready to dismount, bring one straight leg down at a time, with as much control as possible. Do the other side, making sure you practice stepping in and kicking up with both legs taking their turn. One side is always much easier than the other. As you become more adept, or you may simply find it easier to jump up from a wide Goddess position, bringing bent knees in toward abdominals, then extending legs up. Health Notes: Like all inversions, Adho Mukha Vrksasasana is wonderful for changing a point of view, increasing confidence and happiness, helping with stress. Physically, it strengthens wrists, arms and shoulders, and brings greater balance.It should not be practiced if you have high blood pressure, or pregnant. Check with your doc first. And you may be uncomfortable if you are… Read more »
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