Haven't been going for class. Been couped up at home due to some work stuff and other social obligations.. However I think the past few days, self practice taught me a whole bunch of stuff I never knew ...like:
1. To float in the surya namaskaras, hips need to lift wayyy up. I can't really manage it from uttanasana back to chatturanga, and just sort of slide my feet back, but jumping from downdog to uttanasana, just consciously lifting my hips just makes the landing sooo much lighter. I can sort of float on occasion, but the mechanics have always eluded me, kinda like a hit and miss kinda thing, but on a whim, in the past 2 days I have been working on jumping from downward dog into a half handstand. And it did unbelievable things to my surya namaskaras. I still can't float the legs up fully to balance in a handstand though. Felt like flipping. Dristi does help though. If I lift my head and look forward just when I have the hips up, it seems to stop the momentum and allows me to lightly land. I'm gonna try to work this more often in home practice.
2. Bhujapidasana. Hmm.. silly me. I never realised that I was supposed to squeeze the legs towards the midline around the arms. That one single action helped me lift the feet through much more easily. Before this, I squeeze my legs towards the back, but trust me, no more of this. I've spent probably 5-6 months doing it all wrong!!! I finally managed getting the feet through and head down..yeah!
3. To improve baddha konasana, wonderful prep is to bring the feet in right in the midline when doing pigeon, exactly where its supposed to be in baddha konasana and do each side. I did it just now and it opened my hips so much that I could tilt my head down without the usual pulling action using the arms when doing the full pose.
4. Tying legs together just on top of the knees in UD. Great at limiting any bends in the lower back and spreading the backbend higher into the chest, shoulders and upper back. I think I will bring the strap with me to mysore class and ask B if I can use it when I do my 3 backbends from the floor before standing up. No back pains in the past few days doing this.
5. Still not fully tested new insight. Spending lots of time in tarasana stretches everything that needs to stretch for me in supta kurmasana, especially the side of my thighs. I can feel the hamstrings (?) lengthening just by staying there for about 1 minute. Got to include more of this in home practice as well.
Nothing else to add. But am very glad to learn something new which I never really thought about that much. Its the beauty of practicing at home I guess. No teacher can teach me the those things no matter how good they are at teaching if my body doesn't quite get it..
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Hi very nice post. Thanks for sharing your insights. I'll give a try to the floating ideas. My teachers also talk about finding a balance between ease and effort. It must be a recurring theme in ashtanga.
I'm curious why you decided on following a home practice? I did a home practice for a long time (year and a half) because getting to the shala was difficult with respect to my work schedule. But now the teacher is in a shala closer to my apartment and I have been going. I can say that I've learned a lot from going to the shala. There was a lot I was doing wrong. Plus the other ashtangis inspire me. I'm not opposed to a home practice. David Williams said in one of his trainings that eventually we all have to develop a home practice. So I'm not knocking it.
Cheers
Arturo
Wow Arturo, you left the very first comment on the blog! I'm quite thrilled;)
I don't practice at home exclusively though. I live in a part of the world where we don't actually have shalas and certified/authorised teachers. I actually go to a studio that offers mysore class once a week. I adore my teacher, although he may not be authorised etc. And he was the first one to introduce me to the mysore concept.
I practice at home on other days because I really have no other choice. You are very lucky to be able to attend classes at a shala. I wish I could. I also go for hatha classes and some flow classes some days of the week.
I did pop over to read your blog, and you mention eka pada shirshasana. Do give me some tips...my leg behind head is dismal!;)
This and today's post are both extremely helpful. Thanks for them.
Hi again. Thanks for explaining regarding your practice. I was in your situation 5 years ago. I was exposed to ashtanga in a studio in Orlando. There weren't any mysore style classes, but I learned the method. Eventually, one of the teachers went to mysore and started teaching in that style out of his apartment. I went there in the early morning once weekly and followed his instructions to practice at home at the same time on other days. Eventually he opened a mysore style studio. When he left, the owner of the other studio let a group of us practice at his studio. It was great because we supported each other, but we didn't have a teacher. When I moved to San Francisco, I found a shala inmediately. But after a while, getting to it every morning was too difficult, so I practiced at home for a year an a half. My teacher eventually moved to a new shala that opened closer to where I live and that has been a blessing. During all of those years in San Francisco, however, it was possible to go on Sundays to practice mysore style with a teacher.
Anyway, regarding Eka Pada Sirsasana, you could start with the substitutions that David Swenson gives. For example, first craddle your leg in your arms as if it was a bay. Hold it 5 breaths. Then bring it as far behind the head as you can and simply hold it with your arm. Repeat on both sides. The work is to get the hips sufficiently open to allow them to go behind the head. Poses like Marychasna B & D help, as well as Badda Konasana. You can also lay on your back and bring one leg at a time behind your head, as if you were preparing for yogidrasana. That is actually one of the first poses of the 3rd series, but it's a good opener for the hips and it's easier because you're on your back. Hope that helps. Cheers. By the way, I posted a fun picture today on my blog. Arturo
I'm tagging you in hopes you'll write again. One writes 8 random things about oneself, then "tags" other bloggers. Hope you're doing well.
Cheers, Arturo
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