Inspirations: Back Support

Two Footed Inversion Pose Asana/Pose: Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana .  This looks like a graceful bridge or arc, as though the feet lowered out and away to the floor from Salamba Sirsasana/ headstand.  Begin flat on back, placing palms under shoulders, fingers pointing to feet. Bring feet near hips, knees parallel.  Exhale, straighten legs, and bear weight on the hands, neck and head.  Place L hand behind head, forearm on floor. Slowly do same with R hand, interlocking fingers behind head.  Lift pelvis as high as possible, stretching legs from hips to feet, pressing heels into floor. Breathe deeply.  When releasing, bring feet closer to head, bend knees, release fingers to raise head off the floor, and lower trunk.  You can begin working on this pose by placing feet against a wall, instead of floor, and ask someone to hold your elbows parallel and up in place.  Clearly you do not want to do this pose if you have neck issues. Health Notes: This may not be a pose for your mother, but it is a mother of a pose, requiring great flexibility in the spine, and strength in the neck. It clearly expands chest and lungs, and like Sirsasana, and a good mother, it calms mind and emotions, capable of changing a P.O.V.

Four Limb Staff Pose Asana: Chaturanga Dandasana-Four Limb Staff Pose. This pose is usually part of the Sun Salutations.  Move into it Down Dog, then Plank Pose, keeping shoulder blades into back ribs, belly contracted, tail bone down, toward pubis. Lower torso to height of elbows which are bent at 90 degrees, snugging the ribs, don’t let belly drop!  Voila.  From here you can continue into Up Dog or back up into Plank. Health Notes: Chat strengthens arms, shoulders, back and belly, and keeps legs firm.  (Although Chat does not open the chest per se, it so often leads into UP Dog, which fully expands chest-lungs, that I have included it here.)

Tortoise Pose You can learn this pose in three stages, the last one looking like a tortoise with its limbs pulled in under its shell.  It’s called Supta Kurmasana.  Sit with legs extended, move them out beyond hip width, but not extended to sides.  Bend knees, lifting them up, inhale, and on exhale extend torso forward, reaching arms under the knees, stretching out to sides. If you can, rest shoulders on floor.  If this seems impossible, sit on a block, or pillow and see if you don’t have some success.  Bring forehead to floor, or to a block, allowing legs to lengthen out straight, hopefully with knees over armpits.  Try to keep entire foot pressed onto floor.  If not, then press the heels down. The second step is to reach the arms around the back, under the legs. bend the knees , lift chest up a bit, and try to clasp hands behind the back.  Use a strap until it becomes possible. Third stage is to interlock ankles and let head hang down as low as possible.  You can come out of pose to change interlock of feet, or not. Health Notes:  This is a pose to assist in withdrawing the senses from the world, (Pratyahara) so it is a sacred pose to a yogi, as it holds the qualities of a stable mind.  It is a good pose to practice for increasing equanimity, freeing the mind from anxiety. Physically, it stretches spine, activates abdominal organs , and soothes the nervous system

Extended Puppy Pose Like Cat-Cow on all fours, check that shoulders are over wrists, hips over knees, then walk hands out. Take a breath and on exhale, pull hips back toward the heels, toes turned under.  Keep arms straight, extending fingers wide.  Forehead to floor, neck long and relaxed, enjoy. Make puppy noises if you feel like laughing. Health Notes:  This is a good beginning warm up and or closer.  It gently stretches spine, and shoulders.  Mainly it feels good, like Child’s Pose and Happy Baby; simple, sensory, and stretchable.

Cat Pose Come onto all fours, shoulders over wrists, hips over knees, and contract the belly, dropping the head and sacrum.  You now look and feel like a stretching cat, hence the name.  This pose is almost always done in conjunction with Bitilasana-Cow Pose.  The Cat portion sucking belly in and up, the Cow portion dropping belly down.  Together they create a gentle, warming spine stretch and awakener.  It’s a nice way to begin a Practice. Health Notes:  Gently stretches spine, opens breath, and can be a rhythmical pose to set sore back into sweet motion.