Wednesday, August 15, 2007

I Confess

I practiced all the way up to Kapotasana yesterday, not that I can touch my toes with my fingers yet on that one, but whatever, that's not the point. Here is the point: I can touch fingers in Pasasana, without assistance. I think the key is going to be figuring out how to place my wrapping arm appropriately. I remember that this was key to figuring out how to do Mari C - how to drape the wrapping arm so that the hand is in the proper place to grab or be grabbed. I found yesterday that if I wrapped my arm around one leg, a la Mari C, it gave me a clue as to how to properly wrap my arm around both the legs. The squat is not problem. Nor is the twist. It's a mechanics thing, I think, that stands between me and a proper bind. Oh yeah, and the thing about actually being "given" the pose.

I also tried the Tittibhasana version where you bend over and wrap your arms around your legs, binding in a fashion similar to Supta Kurmasana. I got fingers to touch, but I couldn't get them to hook. Still it was further than I had ever been in that pose, which I have been trying on and off for as long as I have been practicing Bikram yoga, in which the pose is referred to as "Guillotine" for obvious reasons.

Finally, I confess that I hung out in Yoga Nidrasana, fingers hooked, for a nice long while yesterday. All of this legs-behind-head stuff occured after Supta Kurmasana but before I headed into the backbending portion of my practice.

And thanks to Laksmi, I have a new way of practicing putting weight in my hands for my jump throughs. I do handstands against the wall with my fingers touching the wall. There is absolutely NO way to shift weight onto the fingers that way. I think Laksmi practices handstands this way for the sake of practicing handstands away from the wall. But I find it useful for my own (criminal?) purposes.

As for my non-criminal pursuit of backbending prowess, progress is happening, albeit slowly. Standing up is happening, but a la Jumpy Monkey. Not graceful yet. In time....

One glitch: I am so sore today, I can barely walk up and down the stairs in my house. Damn quariceps. Damn enire front body, for that matter.

Must be because I practiced on a mooon day. Or practiced stuff that I haven't been taught by a blessed teacher.

Apparently there are at least two prisons here in Northern Westchester. Lock me up. I'm a yoga criminal.

YC

3 comments:

Lees Lamar said...

Laksmi's teacher teaches the handstand this way.
More control....Laksmi's teacher is the best.

Anonymous said...

head last! head last! Then no monkey jump ups! And yeah, my teacher is the best and most criminal

Boodiba said...

A criminal way to practice Pashasana at home. Use a timer and a wall. Prop the back of your butt on the wall, so you can get your heels flat. (Set timer for 1m).

I learned to bind to my wrists this way, and now I can do it "in shala" while balancing with heels up.

Course I wouldn't give up the Greg assist for anything. I'm getting closer to being able to get the heels down... Gotta push hard against the bind of the noose. Right now I shoot straight up & end up losing the bind vertically.

Coming someday, maybe.

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

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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.

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