Tuesday, March 18, 2008

R&D for Backbends, the Housewife with a Hardware Store Problem way...

Some ladies have a little handbag problem. For others it's shoes. For me, it's hardware stores. I find myself drawn in, eyes caressing the rows of drill bits, shelving, plastic boxes, gardening tools...the fireplace supplies, the various paints and painting tools, the kitchen accoutrements. I have from time to time been banned by my husband from shopping at the hardware store in Bedford Village because, well, it's just too tempting for me.

And wouldn't you know it, I have found a way to meld my obsession with hardware stores into my obsession with....what else....YOGA.

In this video, I take a seemingly innocuous Cosco Stepladder and turn it into a rack of back cracking and arm and shoulde articulation. This is lots of fun though. For anyone with a stepladder, and who is too short-torsoed to make use of one of those metal folding chair things that they have in yoga studios, I highly recommend doing it the Bored Housewife with a Hardware Store Problem Way.

YC

5 comments:

ashtanga en cevennes said...

Ooh, I want one!

Can you extend your legs comfortably on that thing?

Yoga Chickie said...

I think it depends on how tall you are, how wide you are. I have a metal folding chair, and the seat is simply too long for my back. It doesn't allow me to articulate enough because of that. So, I hunted around for a chair that would have a more slender depth. When I couldn't find one, voila, found the step ladder! It is a really good size for me, although I wish that the bottom rung where I put my hands were further away so that I would have to reach further. I can probably make up for that by drawing my legs further down though. Next time!

alfia said...

Fun!
I use a chair for the backbends, too. I am rather tall, so the depth of the chair seat is just fine for me. But I am such a whimp, I need lots of blankets to cushion the hardness of the chair. You, on the other hand, are doing just fine without them.
I feel ashamed...

Yoga Chickie said...

I also prefer the super-thin Tapas mat. It was referred to as the Mat of Pain and Death by my teacher trainee friends. No one wanted to practice a pose on it because they could feel the wood floor underneath.

I tried to use it at the CT Shala, but there is a thin carpet there, so it just skidded around. I was forced to knuckle under and get a big heavy Manduka - it's the only kind of mat that doesn't slip and slide on the carpet.

But I guess I either have a high pain tolerance, or I just love the feel of wood and metal underneath my bones.

Dan said...

Elise (of mysoremusings fame) suggested practicing directly on a wood floor at least some of the time. i really like it!

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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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