This seemed to come out of nowhere yesterday. I don't think I'm getting that much deeper into the posture, well perhaps a little given all the 'lifting out of the pelvis' Vinyasa Krama work, mainly it seemed that I was doing something different with my arms and shoulders.Wish I could tell you what that was that brought it about but as so often with asana it seems to be a little shuffle here, slight rotation somewhere around there, a little bouncing in and out a bit on the edge, a smidgin more boldness perhaps......
What I 'think' happened is that I was perhaps a little deeper into the bend, feet felt nice and secure and balance felt good, stable. I used to think it was a case of getting my head down further, that getting my crown and then even the back of my head to the mat would help bring the shoulders further down. That didn't seem to bring my hands much closer though. I tended to focus on my hands, bouncing them towards the mat. This time I started thinking about the shoulders, bringing them down a little further, opening them up a little, almost drawing them apart to create a little more space. Also I didn't tilt my chin in right away but kept my head up a little to try and help bring the shoulders down. Once I was down as far as I felt could go I worked out from the shoulders playing around somewhat along the length of my arms. They felt closer to the mat, I bounced them in a little and felt the mat with my little finger. I came out, got the camera and tried the same thing again. This time I touched the mat three or four times and just about managed to rest part of my hand, fingers on the mat for a second or two.
Still a way to go of course to be able to rest my hands/arms comfortably on the mat but it looks like it's coming.
The fancy poses are nice, still enamoured by the shape of the Parsva Dandasana at the top of the blog behind the title, but it delights me when something improves a little in those old Standing and finishing postures that we've been doing everyday since we started. First time you get your head to the mat in the Parasaritas or grab toes in Badha padmasana and get your chin down in Yoga Mudra. Oh and your knees to the mat in Karna Pindasana or getting through Utthita hasta Padangusustasa sequence without bouncing back and forth all over your mat.
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9 comments:
Lovely. The shoulders ha? Will try today. I recently grabed toes in baddha padmasana, the exhilarating feeling is so good, tastes like chocolate to me... Really liked this post
Waw looks cool Grimmly. My shoulders are sooo stiff and i'm way off on this. Thats the one thing i find with primary i don't feel it works my shoulders much. I've integrated a small bit of the the fist vinyasa Krama sequence into my practice, only a small bit. I was wondering what you poses/sequence in vinyasa krama are good for shoulder opening. Where is the 'lifting out of the pelvis' work in the sequence. Many thanks, Niall.
With help my hands touch the floor, too. It feels better nowadays. When I practice alone, I'm still away from the floor. There remain challenges...:)
I'm already curious about your trip to India
Wow, that's really cool! Especially given that you did it without shala adjustments ( which definitely speeds up the process). With enough time and practice , these openings come without force.
I'm still a rank beginner, only about 1.5 years in, but even I can see that those standing poses will continue to open up. I feel like it will never stop and I love that. Still working hard in Prasarita Padottanasna with my head not down yet, but getting a millimeter closer each day.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Excellent! The unexpected surprises are great aren't they.
I reckon the Tadasana sequence in Ramaswami's book is instrumental to getting deeper into these postures and extremely complimentary to a dynamic practice.
I took up your idea of the 2 week challenge (about 6 weeks ago now) and still keep getting loads of re-alignments and heightened body awareness experiences. Keep getting the feeling that it's fixing things that I didn't even know were broken and everything starts running right. As he says in the book 'chakra alignment' kind of sums it up in two words.
I've just started teaching my elderly in-laws it and if they stick with it, that's going to get interesting. One has a sciatica condition, and the other is asthmatic, though neither are chronic. We'll see.
Grabbing the toes is a nice one to get, it's a mudra isn't it, a seal and it kind of seals the practice nicelyOne of my favourite postures and a classic too, it;s in HYP. Think I'm right about the shoulders, tried it again tonight, seems to help.
hi Niall, the first VK sequence is great for the shoulders see Steve's comment a few comments down. I still start my bot my VK and ashtanga practice with the ten minute version. here's a link to a video of it.
http://vinyasakramayoga.blogspot.com/2010/08/vinyasa-krama-yoga-10-min-tadasana.html
see what I mean about working the shoulders.
My trip to India, Ursula? or do you mean Claudia's
Yes yes, time and practice, always like how we get wrapped up in the glory poses and then suddenly notice something else has come along nicely.
Thank you Loo and your welcome. You have such a nice blog, haven't seen it before. good luck with the head to the floor, that'll be a good day.
Wish Ramaswami could read your comment Steve, sure he would be really pleased to hear tadasana is working for you, as I think I said we started every class on the course with it, often did it twice a day. that lifting up has helped me in so many postures and your probably right about here too.
Excellent stuff Grimmly and Steve, great video and yip those shoulders are working alright :) I'll try to add more of this sequence in over the next few weeks, thanks a mil..
(Hope you don't mind me chipping in here Tony)
Niall,
Another point that is really, REALLY good for blocked shoulders is incorporation Jalandahara Bandha (the chin lock) into your primary series practice.
Again, Ramaswami advocates this for numerous postures, many of which are a part of the Ashtanga series'.
Jalandahara bandha always kind of got left waiting in the wings in all the classes and workshops that I attended, and this is also seems to be the case in dvd's and text books that deal specifically with Ashtanga.
Of late I've used it in heaps of forward bends & twists (both standing and sitting) and unlocked lots of stuff for me e.g. forehead to the knee in Paschimattanasa is a doddle if I've engaged this bandha on the preceding inhale. Binding behind is also far, far easier, as is lifting and jumping back. Try it!
Good luck.
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