Getting more curl in your backbends

This relates to a discussion that came up earlier today regarding dropping back and getting more curl to your backbend.

Now remember I'm in no way a teacher or an authority on backbending, I don't actually think my backbend is that great. However, perhaps I'm close enough to having just achieved the dropback to be able to remember what actually made the difference for me.

So this was a problem I had myself a little while ago. I suspect it may have had something to do with using the wall as a training aid for my dropping back.

The good thing about the wall is that it gives you a sense of security as you gain confidence in hanging back. My problem had been that I would hold my breath as a I bent backwards. With the wall there I could hang back, my hands a couple of inches away and feel confident enough to take a breath or two, which gave me the time to start working on a deeper backbend and a longer hang back.

But I think there might be a drawback to using the wall in this way. What happens is that you tend to look at the wall all the time and can end up with a horizontal line of sight. your backbend gets deeper but your torso tends to run horizontal to the floor, you may be developing a deep backbend in the mid to lower region but if you can't see the mat your going to lack confidence for that first leap of faith.

What made the difference for me, was dropping back in stages. First I dropped back to the sofa then to cushions then to a single cushion, and finally to the floor(some suggest that dropping back to cushions may be a bad idea if you don't have strong wrists). The sofa was high enough to just be in my line of sight, it automatically drew my head back a little and as progressed through the cushions I began to arch my back just that little bit more each time until I was arched back enough to see the mat and have the confidence to drop.

I think the Vinyasa Krama hand positions may have a similar effect. The reverse hand position, hands behind your back in prayer , the same as if you were about to perform Utthita Pararsvottanasana (see video). You don't have to be that good at this as nobody is watching, the idea is that it draws the shoulders back pushing out the chest. Now try to stretch your shoulders up over the hands which brings the chest up and creates the beginning of some serious curl. Another VK hand position can help here too, arms behind the back, hands clasping the elbows (see video). Again the idea here is to bring the shoulders back and stretch up over the arms to create curl.

Keeping that curl in mind, backbend as usual, starting with bringing the shoulders back, chest up stretching up and over then continue bending back down through the length of your back, bringing your hips forward. I tend to move my hands below my buttocks allowing me to stretch up and over more, It's here I bring my hands in prayer in frount of my chest and assuming I can now see the end of the mat take my arms over and slowly drop back.

Sometimes it seems like we focus too much on the bend aspect of backbend and forget that it's actually a back stretch.

Look at the video, my back bend isn't so great nor is my hangback but I have enough curl to compensate.

I was thinking about this as I was coming home and got my mat straight out. I've left this on the video to show that we can get too wrapped up with preparation. As long as your distributing the backbend throughout the length of the the body you can do it cold, I'd just that second come in the door. The problems come when we try to bend too much in just the one area of the back and put strain on that area.

That said I should probably point out that I've been practicing Ashtanga for two and a half years and have been dropping back into backbends for around six months now. I'm not suggesting that just anyone, with no recent exercise background can just drop back cold into a backbend without any preparation. However, if you have been working towards dropping back for some time but have perhaps developed a mental block towards that last leap of faith, then it might be useful to see the dropback as less of a big performance, stripped of it's preparatory rituals.

I'm not stupid though, I didn't try coming back up cold.

The blowing of the nose at the end is kind of an in joke.

Thanks to maya for this

Richard Freeman talking about Jois:
"One day he convinced me, chronically afflicted with much conceit about my knowledge, that I could drop back to hold my knees cold, without any warm-up, preceding poses, or vinyasa. I knew it had to be impossible by any calculation, but he briefly convinced me that none of these, the body, the pose, the sequence, or the formula, were what I thought them to be. He put me in the pose without a second thought."

Richard freeman writing in Yoga journal.