Thursday, February 02, 2006

Another 108

The lostaways over on Lost Island believe, based on the instructional video from the Dharma Initiative, that every 108 minutes, they must input into a computer the series of numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 , which add up to 108...

And I just remembered...I weigh 108. And I started binding in Mari D only when I reached that weight...

Eeeerie.

YC

4 comments:

Anne said...

Hi Lauren,

Totally unrelated to your post, hope you don't mind!

My arm is now healed well enough that I can reliably bind in Mari A on both sides, and now I'm wondering - how do I proceed? I need more of a forward bend, of course, but I'm not sure how to do it. Does one use abs to "pull" the upper body down? Use bandhas to lift the upper body forward and towards the straight leg? I'm confused! Any insight or tips would be much appreciated.

Have a great weekend!
/TriYogini

Yoga Chickie said...

Well, this is kind of a tough question for me to answer because I don't know about the rest of your practice, where your strengths lie, where you need work. But I can tell you about how my own Mari A has evolved:

First came the bind (just like you). But in order to forward bend, the bind has to be more than "by the fingertips". About six months ago, when my bind was pretty shaky, I started doing the following:

1. Bend my binding leg as deeply as possible, but make sure there is a bit of space between the foot and my extended leg.

2. Then take a deep INHALE and reach my wrapping arm forward, way out, past my toes, dropping into a deep forward bend.

3. Then with my other hand stabilizing my binding leg into place, I would wrap my binding arm around my shin, as LOW on my shin as I can, and hold onto the back of my thigh.

4. THEN I TWIST. I twist AWAY from the binding side so that my NON-binding hand is brought closer to my "grabber" hand. This helps get a solid bind going.

5. Then I turn to the front and bend forward. It helps to have someone behind you encouraging your sternum forward. But without that, you simply have to be patient and wait for your lower back to open up.

There is a photo of David Swenson doing Mari A - it's in his practice manual, but it is also probably on the web somewhere. It is VERY instructive - just looking at it makes me realize what is involved in Mari A. It basically is a deep deep FORWARD BEND with the bound arms acting as resistance. It is basically prep for Kurmasana, it seems to me.

Let me know if this helps.

Lauren

Yoga Chickie said...

p.s. the role of the bhandas: It helps to pull the lower belly in and up to deepen the forward bend, but most important is to BREATHE throughout, while getting into the pose, while IN the pose. And to INHALE the wrapping arm forward before you EXHALE to wrap it around the shin, sticking the armpit in front of the shin and to make sure that you are EXHALING as you fold forward.

Lauren

Anne said...

Hi Lauren,

Great info, thanks! The twist to get the hands closer together really helps, and your description helped me get a better feel for what is involved in progressing.

Where I need most work in my practice right now is hip and lower back flexibility, so it may very well be my stiff and unrelenting lower back that is preventing more of a forward bend than I am currently getting. Patience then, I guess!

Thanks again!
//TriYogini

Copyright 2005-2007 Lauren Cahn, all rights reserved. Photos appearing on this blog may be subject to third party copyright ownership. You are free to link to this blog and portions hereof, but the use of any direct content requires the prior written consent of the author.

About Me

My photo
Northern Westchester, New York, United States
I live by a duck pond. I used to live by the East River. I don't work. I used to work a lot. Now, not so much. I used to teach a lot of yoga. Now not so much. I still practice a lot of yoga though. A LOT. I love my kids, being outdoors, taking photos, reading magazines, writing and stirring the pot. Enjoy responsibly.

Bygones







Ashtanga Blogs


Thanks for reading Yoga Chickie!