So a quick reminder.In the comment section on a previous post it come up that in Iyengar, 12-20 Drop backs may be recommended. It was also related that Iyengar himself dropped back 108 times on his 80th birthday.
Now this blew me away, 108! 12-20! I'm used to 3-5 in Ashtanga (Although as I point out in the previous post to this one, there are 21 back bends in the full Mysore back bend sequence as presented in Matthew Sweeney's book ASTANGA AS IT IS).
I take Sunday as my day off regular practice, rather than Saturday so thought I'd give the multiple drop backs a try.
Surprisingly it went well, really well. I did a little Vinyasa Krama back bend prep. basically leaning back in Tadasana with different hand variations. I followed that with Five UD's and then went straight into Drop Back's. The first one went so well that I thought I'd video the whole thing and edit it up later. I expected a couple of good one's coming up after a little rocking, some fails where I wouldn't manage to come back up, lots of pauses. I thought I might manage six.
As it turned out I did fifteen. The first fourteen without any rocking. The last one I had to rock once before coming up and decided to call it a day. A couple of times I go to far forward and have to reach out to the wall and a couple I have to take a step back. in the middle somewhere there are a couple where I come up and then go straight back, those were my favourites.
I'm using my new drop back approach that I try to outline here.
I can't get over how meditative it was. You begin to get a rhythm going (best ones are at 6.00), the breath is steady, your very focused, it was really quite wonderful. If it was like this after the first attempt then it really should be marvelous when I can go straight up and down on the breath.
Best of all I don't feel any strain, tension or ache just very very relaxed, peaceful and mellow. 108 doesn't seem such madness, in fact I imagine it's quite a profound experience.
I believe they tend to do the 108 on their birthday's, mine is in July and I think I might have to give it a try.
UPDATE: The morning after
My back felt a little stiff this morning so decided to go with Primary instead of Intermediate. Went round twice in Garbha Pindasana. Interesting the comment that Iyengar went easy on the backbends when he decided to focus on Pranayama. Some of the Drop Back's yesterday were better than others, smoother, I'm guessing the stiffness comes from the not so great ones. I didn't feel at the time that I was straining to come up in anyway. I might give it a miss tonight and then take ten minutes rest before doing them after 2nd tomorrow.
UPDATE 2
This has been going on all week now so have decided to christen it the Iyengar Drop back challenge week.
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22 comments:
Awesome! Very light and rhythmic.
I will definitely give it another try. I doubt I will ever build it up to 108,though, let alone by my b-day, which is in April. 20, perhaps?
Very proud of you, Grimmly.
Thank you alfia. So glad you posted your post, might not have tried this otherwise and really glad I did) If I wasn't feeling so mellow still, i'd be jumping around with excitement.
It just makes so much sense. We do three or five and just as we start to get the hang of it we stop until tomorrow. Doing ten, fifteen (or even twenty), you start to nail the action and get to reenforce it and then reenforce it some more.
Supposedly the 108 was done in groups of ten and honestly, I felt really relaxed at the end of the fifteen. If you can build up to a nice relaxed rhythmic ten by April then who knows.
Thinking of having a drop back week next week and do fifteen minutes every evening when I get home from work, five minutes prep ten minutes dropping back.
hi Grimmly
sometimes i've wanted to make my practice of the day just that- dropbacks. maybe i will now, given your post. i will come back to watch the video.
cheers,
Arturo
you're bang on about just finding the rhythm when we move on to the next thing. There is the issue, though, of the legs turning to jelly at around #5, so it will be a challenge indeed to push past that. I'm not gutsy enough to try it in the evening, though. Does it mess with your sleep? I get pretty zingy energy after a lot of backbending, even with a long cool down after.
cheers, very inspiring this post. I'm signing up for the challenge too.
It makes a nice short practice Arturo. Perhaps a little more prep, the Drop back's and some quality time in Pascihmottanasana. I felt so relaxed and mellow that it might be nice to have some time for a little Pranayama and meditation afterwards. That was my plan for the evenings this week, though I might be sensible and do it every other evening instead. thinking about alternating primary and intermediate too this week. So intermediate tomorrow (tuesday) and the multiple dropbacks. then primary Wednesday, no dropbacks, 2s thursday plus the drop backs Friday Primary and so on till I feel I really have the rhythm down.
i didn't feel it in my legs at all Lew and they don't ache this morning. I think I might be working it a little higher or perhaps the momentum in the rhythm is helping. My legs tend to ache a little in UD but not drop backs, that's interesting, will think about why that is.
Was a bit restless last night but have been waking up a couple of times in the night for the last few months, hmmm maybe it's 2s.
Are you counter-posing with forward bends? You mentioned doing primary this morning, but I would do a few forward bends and then a reclined passive twist, lying on the floor, on each side, after doing that many backbends. Just bend your knees and drop them over to one side, hold for a minute or two, then go to the other. It helps to alleviate some of the lower-back "work." Pretty impressive though!!
hi Liz, yes, i did a 25 breath Paschi after turning off the Camera. Will certainly give the passive twists a try too, I remember some of those from VK.
Still excited about these and had to force myself not to do another set tonight and wait for after 2nd tomorrow. If it felt so good yesterday despite being so untidy what must it feel like when you get a consistent rhythm going. Anyone heard talk about this from the Iyengar camp.Is it considered meditative rather than work?
Wow!, you go!
i'm definitely going to try this. and i have this to say--head last! head last!
head last head last head last head last, will use it as a mantra, sure it sounds better in Spoken Sanskrit, anyone know what that would be...off the top of the head?
Grimmly
The other day I did 25 dropbacks just for you! Thankfully my back felt fine the next day.
Now I read 108 - well, not just yet for me but if Mr Iyengar can do it at 80yrs old, we have no excuse.
25 Just for me? Well thank you Anon. how did it feel, did you get a rhythm going, was it meditative or bloody hard work?
I did 20 today, 16 of them filmed. might post a speeded up version. Didn't go so well this time, couldn't get the timing right perhaps because i was trying to bring my head back later. Still, back feels fine and i wouldn't say it was hard work.
Grim,
It was me who did 25 for ya! It took at least 10 mins and it was nice and relaxed. I did it in set of 6s and just 1 extra for luck. As I don't know how to get up from dropback it is a pain but not a big deal just to get back up and do it.
That wk I had started with 15, 20 and 25. Unfortunately as I've been travelling not had much time to practice these last few days.
Regards
AC
Oh hi AC, 25, good going. And you say you felt fine in the morning. I've been a little stiff the following morning ( nothing a good primary can't sort out) but I think that's from coming back up. It's fine when I get the rhythm right but every now and again I lose it and probably force it a little. It's coming along though. I get the feeling that once you nail the rhythm you could just do them all day, up and down, inhale exhale. Looking forward to that.
You must be heading to 108 for the week, no?
Greetings from rainy Melbourne.
Back to practising at shala so nothing criminal and behaving........
If only I knew how to come up I'm sure I could do 108, :-))
However, don't hold me up to that challenge but I'm sure you could easily nail it for me.
AC
Coming up I'll come AC. I just surprised myself one day and up i went. Once i learned to do it i pretty much stopped bothering with it, dropping back too. Only really since Christmas that I forced myself to do three a day and that was mainly due to putting them after standing so i couldn't avoid them.
So bit of a surprise to me to be going up and down like this.
Sorry about the rain.
Grim
To go back to Iyengar challenge.
I did finally learn to standup from dropbacks this time last year.
Anyway, last few days at shala I've been doing 15-20 on the breath. Today I did 30 which just felt awesome.
108 for our birthdays right? I'm in!!
AC
hi AC : ) been ages
Congrats on coming back up. I'd forgotten about this post, 108! must watch that Iyengar video again. Your doing 15-20.....30, how many did i do here, 15 i think but these days i tend to do around three to five and call it a day.
Much too responsible now to consider 108........
108...hmmm, for our birthdays did you say, mines only in a month though how about yours?
108 dropbacks hmmmm
Grim,
Mine's some 6 wks today.
This morning I just trotted out some 50 dropbacks, so although 108 is for b'day if it comes quicker then I'm going for it!
When it's done on the breath it's such a joy and there's 'ease' to it.
108 WE MUST DO!!
AC
My birthday is 24th July, pretty close, ok go on then I'm game will try 36 tonight just to see. Might film stand post on it tonight.
Great, I have a partner in 'crime'!
I started doing more than x3 dropbacks in order to rid myself of my hand waving habit on standing up and its seems to be working.
Mon it was 13 dropbacks, Tue. 15, Wed. 21, Thu. 30 and today 50. Sat. I rest from dropbacks but on Sun. I'll probably start the fun again.
Let the fun begin.
AC
Just posted on it AC
http://grimmly2007.blogspot.com/2011/06/when-blog-post-comes-back-to-bite-you.html
54 but found it tough, you must have very strong legs, I'm out of practice : )
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