I must admit I've never been that bothered about grabbing my heels and taking my dropback into chakra bhandasana. Dropping back and coming up was a big deal to me, loved working on that, making it all much more controlled, smoother, but more than anything making the breath steady, the mind calm and focussed.
But then I got to thinking recently, as I began work on getting my kapo back, grabbing your heels in kapo is a big deal, something to hold on to such that you can draw your body nicely into the asana and settle. I don't mean tug and pull and wrench yourself in but using the heels to guide yourself into the full expression of the posture and then settle down to work on the breath.
Perhaps chakra bhandasana is something like that, getting something to hold on to ...where does that take you I wonder and what is it to breathe there, really breath.
And besides I need a challenge, gone a little soft. Those three months or so of being ill took their toll and it's only now I feel like my practice is coming back, that I'm starting to feel, I don't know, vibrant again.
I don't want to mess with my regular practice, interesting stuff going on in there at the moment with the mantras, lamrim, the breath, kumbhakas, all in my asana practice.... but back bends, can play with backbends.
And I saw this video from Jen René Peg Mulqueenand Michael Joel Hall. Michael, now he's a tall fella. This is the kind of Yoga video I like, the work in progress, just beginning to get it kind of yoga video, inspiring. Michael makes me think that yeah, I could do this. But it's Peg's section a minute in that iIfound particularly interesting, standing much closer to the wall than I've ever dared, interesting, was trying in this morning.
Actually I just watched it again and am thinking about the role of the bolsters, was trying to get a picture of Peg with her hands flat but they never go flat but rather spider walk along the bolster...it's kind of graffiti 'David Garrigues was yur'.
And it's like Christmas, want to go to sleep early so the morning comes more quickly and I can open presents.
But then I got to thinking recently, as I began work on getting my kapo back, grabbing your heels in kapo is a big deal, something to hold on to such that you can draw your body nicely into the asana and settle. I don't mean tug and pull and wrench yourself in but using the heels to guide yourself into the full expression of the posture and then settle down to work on the breath.
Perhaps chakra bhandasana is something like that, getting something to hold on to ...where does that take you I wonder and what is it to breathe there, really breath.
And besides I need a challenge, gone a little soft. Those three months or so of being ill took their toll and it's only now I feel like my practice is coming back, that I'm starting to feel, I don't know, vibrant again.
I don't want to mess with my regular practice, interesting stuff going on in there at the moment with the mantras, lamrim, the breath, kumbhakas, all in my asana practice.... but back bends, can play with backbends.
And I saw this video from Jen René Peg Mulqueenand Michael Joel Hall. Michael, now he's a tall fella. This is the kind of Yoga video I like, the work in progress, just beginning to get it kind of yoga video, inspiring. Michael makes me think that yeah, I could do this. But it's Peg's section a minute in that iIfound particularly interesting, standing much closer to the wall than I've ever dared, interesting, was trying in this morning.
Actually I just watched it again and am thinking about the role of the bolsters, was trying to get a picture of Peg with her hands flat but they never go flat but rather spider walk along the bolster...it's kind of graffiti 'David Garrigues was yur'.
And it's like Christmas, want to go to sleep early so the morning comes more quickly and I can open presents.
Here's the video. Supposedly there was a Madonna track on it but somebody complained so you'll have to hum your favourite Madonna tune.
Hopefully this video will appear soon, just uploaded it but have to run off to work.
Kind of playing on my old Richard Freeman 14 day Karandavasana challenge.
Besides I'm interested in studying with Vinay Kumar in Mysore, see yesterday's post and he does a lot of work on backbends, so need to tidy mine up a little at my own pace.
Here's Vinay Kumar of Mysore from one of the videos I added to my post yesterday (Much more to Mysore part II), the second video I think but if backbends are your thing you'll want to watch all of the second and third videos, it's quite a demo.
Vinay Kumar, a way to go then...
2 comments:
Some observations: 1: some people are hypermobile. That doesn't mean that becoming that flexible is right for you, nor indeed is working that way necessarily wise for them. 2: The vertebrae of your back are connected along the front surface by the ALL (Anterior Longitudinal Ligament) and you really don't want to over-stretch or damage that baby because it's what holds you together. I really want to get to quiz a genuinely knowledgeable person on this one.
Looking at Peg's asana in the video I see how so much of the movement comes from releasing her hip flexors and her upper back. It's not just a lower back hinge. Mr Kumar's extreme example though is not in his hips or upper back at all. At the risk of being a yoga heretic - it looks nasty to me.
By the way - batch of garlic pots out of the kiln this morning :)
Yes Mike, Vinay was a 'yoga champion' as a kid I believe so it's such an extreme example that I can't imagine anyone thinking " I wonder if I can do that". Although that said, you see some of those videos from Mysore, people trying their damnedest.....
As you say re Peg and in my own experience because there is no way my spine is ever going to be as flexible as Vinya's I've got to spread my backbend throughout the length of my body. I think I wrote in a post once that your backbend begins in your toes and ends in your fingertips. For me it was a lot about good strong legs, getting the hips as far forward as possible, raising the pelvis off the femurs, stretching up out of the pelvis making as much space as possible and then all that nutating the hips work, need to brush up on a lot of that. Also, bad habits crept in, feet turning out, heels lifting.... but then I haven't been serious about these for sometime.
M. will be excited about the garlic pots
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.