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Graeme Northfield |
So backbends are rusty but coming back, touching my heels with my fingertips in Kapo, feel a long way from taking my ankles from the air again but that's OK. Raja Kapotasana though, now that posture bugs me, can't work it out, I can bury my head in my instep in Kapo ( on a good day) but why can't I brush even lightly the hair on my head, think I might grow a tall pink punk Mohican.
Susan mention it's all in the hips rather than the legs, yep, that's what I think too and it helps. I get a nice upward facing dog going and then rather than try to deepen the backbend aim to swing my hips further forward and through my arms, try to bring them back to the mat and then bring my legs towards my head..... it helps but still a way away, I'm missing something.
Never thought of myself as a natural back bender, tend to put what I've achieved in them down to technique so I'm sure there's some 'trick' I'm missing. Last night somebody came int the shop with a buzz on their clarinet, spent ages trying to find it, had to be something, found it eventually just as I'll find the key to Raja kapo but until I do..... slightly frustrating....in a pleasant way, an itch.
Searching for images on the web I came across the above picture of Pattabhi Jois adjusting Graham Northfield. I remember his interview in the Guruji book. Here's a link to his website (click on his name above) where he has several more excellent pictures of being adjusted, wonderful stuff.
Not sure how I feel about adjustments, had a couple when I visited AYL twice a few years back, Marchi D and lifting me higher and further back in Urdhava Dhanurasana, oh and the squish in Paschi of course. They felt good, made me realize Marichi D was possible for me but to be honest I've never missed them. Sure, as in the picture, a teacher could bring my feet to my head in Raja Kapo or the other way around but I tend to feel that if I can't do it myself then I can't do the posture and it's just a case of plugging away at it, thinking it through, until I can. Makes you very self reliant practicing at home but then I've had all the help and suggestions from the web that people have often picked up from the shalas so perhaps I'm not as self reliant as I like to think.
And here's the best of my Raja Kapo's from last night, a bench mark for a two week Raja Kapotasana challenge.
Whining voice in my ear " ...but it's not about the postures" we're all panopticon's now it seems. Well yes it is about the posture, the asana aspect of our practice anyway...obviously, whether it's Paschimottanasana or Kandapindasana. Whether it's first nailing a posture or becoming steady and comfortable in it, that bit, that small aspect of yoga practice is certainly about the posture so we shouldn't feel...bashful about having fun with it.
Sometimes it's the sheer joy of being with a posture
Is it Yoga? Yeah it's a part of it, part of the discipline, a small part. Is it all of it? Of course not.
....and so to practice.
10 comments:
If I hadn't been getting assisted into Kapo every practice for a year (or was it two?) I doubt I'd have ever managed it....
I am SURE Raja Kapo's in the hips even more than the back. For one thing, when I'm getting a strong assist in it or when I've done my propped knees, block under ankles thing, that's where I've felt it. Also when I was practicing with JC, who was very adept when he was doing advanced, he told me that I was bending through the back as far as he would. I just can't pull my feet in!
From what I've seen of your practice that may be the one missing ingredient too. Whether or not it was natural to begin with you're fairly bendy through the back. It's a common problem though. I've got friends who I think of as natural back benders. They didn't have to work for 2 years to get Kapo, say. They can't do it either. You need to be really super duper bendy to do it. Ultimately it's not that important. I mean if you're practicing advanced, for instance, there are plenty of other back bends where you can use leverage to get in real deep. I know you're not a traditional Astangi, but I'm sure you do enough asana that'll balance out the forward bends...
Hi Boodie. : )
Yes Hips, I was thinking that and Susan said the same thing last night on FB. I was joking about the two week Raja kapo challenge but I'm getting serious about the idea. certain postures i know take time, kandasana is taking a while, my hanuman took a couple of years but i can't help feel that raja kapo and gandha B are about finding the 'trick', some little shift or refocus.
if i look at the two pictures here Graeme has his hips closer to the mat, how to find the space to allow them to drop like that....certainly going to try your knees on block thing, must have missed that post.
your right of course not that important, never been too bother about raja kapo before because I always thought eka pada raja kapo was more elegant and I have no problem with that one, started to bug me though, like a puzzle.
Might try your strap thing too just to prove to myself my feet will go that far.
dear Grimmly
since backbending is a chest opening action, it opens the chest area and releases energy there. i tends to give energy for the day, hence practicing at night would conflict with sleeping, IMO. it's more an energizing than a calming set of postures.
cheers,
Arturo
I don't have any experience with this posture, but I'm just curious: is there some reason that your palms aren't flat? It looks almost as if you're propped up on your knuckles, gorilla style.
Hi Arturo. I've always assumed it was something to do with the spine rather than the chest that affects our sleep, never really thought it through though. Early evening is the only time I have to practice them at the moment as i'm doing something lighter in the morning...going to be a restless couple of weeks.
Well spotted megan. It's a screenshot from the video I took. I was trying to get more hight to bring the hips further through then I'd lower the hands and try to hold it there, experimenting experimenting, had even tried it with my hands on block. When i took the screenshot I was just looking at how close my feet where to my head, didn't notice my hands.
Just noticed Kino does the same thing on her Beijing demo, Gannon too though not Swenson. Just watched everybody doing at it in all the different 3rd videos I have, everyone struggles with it, nasty posture, not sure it ever becomes pleasant.
Gorilla Style - I like it! I sense a whole new craze for Orangustanga Yoga. After all our fellow apes don't seem to have too much trouble with back bends, or scratching their ears with their toes.
I'm way away from this sort of thing - but intuitively I think Boodiba is right: ability to relax the illiopsoas group (hip flexors) is going to be the key. I know mine are like iron bars
Hi Mike mention you in the next post, thanks for making me think about any posture that might work on that muscle group.
managed to touch my toes to my head....if only for a second or two.
http://grimmly2007.blogspot.com/2011/11/raja-kapotasana-first-toes-to-head.html
Hurrah! Well done that man! Glad it worked out, and like you say - it's not just ticking the pose, but realising that the impossible can become possible.
Today I've been visiting the osteopath and wondering if yoga will be possible at all. Practice is going to be very conservative for a while. I hope things improve because I was rather set on doing the 200hr VK course next summer.
Thanks Mike. Sorry to hear your having to visit an Osteopath, might curtail some of the fancy stuff but they surely can't suggest you don't do any yoga at all, I mean you still have to breath and move about right, VK is pretty flexible, must be able to do something. And the VKK TT is a long way away still, hope your better by then. When I was on the course there was a wide range of ages and abilities, people just sat out what asanas weren't available to them at that time, the asana is only one part of the course, the central focus being that it's an integrated practice.
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