I've been working on that elusive Press to handstand off and on (links to the last stint working on it last April) for a couple of years. Managed to get pretty close but there was always the hint of a hop. Saw a link to a video/demo at Boodiba's place and, for some reason, something seemed to click this time. Not sure if it's just that the hands are in the right place or that I'm stretching my head out a little to counterbalance but I seem to be getting the lift off I wanted.The actual pike bit is still untidy but I have it nice and controlled in my headstands so that should come. Oh and I tap off the wall at the top, it's untidy, it's not pretty but I'm going to claim it anyway. The interesting thing about it is that I haven't been doing a lot of arm balances recently, OK, a little Advanced A but not as much as I used to, which suggests it's not so much about strength (some obviously) as technique.
Here's the guy mentioned in the comments on boodie's post
Towards Sayanasana
Again this relates to another post at Boodiba's where she mentions her teacher suggested hopping straight into Sayanasana!!!! I've tried doing it, again, off an on from pincha mayarasana but can never hold it for more than a couple of ( quick) breaths. I tried hopping up of course and landed straight on my face. Boodie mentioned trying it in frount of a wall and I'm starting to think it's not just possible hopping straight up but even preferable. Still haven't got it, half a breath doesn't count, but hmmmmmm
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12 comments:
Very nice press to hand stand G, like it!, wall and all, it is sooo coming! I miss doing the hand stands, was told by a lot of teachers to stay away from them until the end of second series, that will be a while! not that I could not try anyway, is just that they told me it would interfeer with the drop backs... which, as they are, are taking their own sweet long time... Jois was wise when he said all is coming, he just did not mention WHEN! hee hee
John keeps telling me to lift UP from between my shoulder blades when I'm working on Sayanasana. He says that I'm not used to having to do this because my "lumberjack arms" allow me to lift inversions very easily. Too funny. I looked down at my arms when he said that. I'm really not that muscular!
No handstands? I don't know Claudia, I love the Maehle books but he makes out as if the sequence is almost divinely inspired, each posture in it's place for a particular reason, to prepare you for a posture that comes next, lot's of teachers seem to have that view/approach and then all these rationalisations and justifications develop around that. And yet we know the sequence has switched and changed again and again in SKPJ's time and now Sharath's let alone when K was teaching it himself.
PERSONALLY ( block capitals to show it's just my view based on a hunch rather than the slightest bit of evidence ) I suspect Krishanamacharya and Jois worked it out on a napkin over chai latte : )
ye yes boodie, between the shoulderblades, that's how it feels when i set up to hop straight up, no arm strength at all, as opposed to going in from pincha.
Ya... You know the sirsasana C where you pick up your head & look at your toes? Chris is real big on that. I'd always do it but never to his satisfaction, and if I fell out of it any particular day I'd shrug & move on. And he'd go, "If you can't hold Sirsasana C how are you ever going to balance Sayanasana???" The thing is, I KNEW as I was falling over he was going to say that.
John brought up the same correlation this week.
But as we all know, often times an intellectual agreement / understanding is not quite enough to conquer the asana!
Interesting you say that about Sirsasana C I was thinking of that too in relation to Sayanasana but just how tricky it was bring your feet up into it from the ground. Wish i could find more videos of people who can actually hold it and see how they look. Just remembered I have those advanced series dvd's, will see about taking some screenshots.
Let me know if you find anything. John says was never that good at it. I know neither Greg nor Chris could hold it...
yeah, I think you are right, and I miss those headstands, they are coming back! will do videos too
Just looked at the Encinitas Advanced A video. This is the one Jois himself leads with Richard Freeman, Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty and Tim Miller. In this they all go straight up onto their elbows. He spots each of them in turn. None of them can hold it for more than a moment without him correcting their balance. Cute clip actually, they all laugh nervously when he calls the pose. jois tells them to point their toes and not to forget the chatwari exit.
In the Swenson Advanced A video he goes from picha. Difficult to see how long he holds it as there's some crafty looking editing ; )
Aha! So it IS a ridiculous tease as I suspected.
John said he saw some people who found a sort of effective trick. Their elbows would be so wide apart that they had more that the tip of the bone to balance on. That's not really correct.
I've made a joke before that in 6th series there is probably an asana that involves jumping onto your eyelashes and balancing, without blinking naturally.
I thought when I read the title that you are referring to the press from Bakasan to handstand. I am working on this right now, would be nice to have some hints. This is more difficult than the press from Uttanasana, as the hips are lower and there is no room for cheating with the momentum. However with the press from Uttanasana I usually bend the knees a bit, lift to tiptoes, and hop up till the feet are hip level. I can't really press up with straight knees, only with bent ones for now. As for shayanasana, i tried from Pincha, need to have a bit more bending in the waist to have balance. I like to have the elbows close because is they are too wide, you can't really lift the forearms. Any insights?
i don't know Boodie, i think it's doable and hoppomh straight up is making more sense to me, though close to the wall. Yes, Krishnamacharya refers to the eyelashasana in the makaranda though somebody tore the picture out of my copy.
hi Garanga
from bakasana/ Hmmm never tried it, don't think I've seen it done either. I go in via that half handstand kino jump through lowering into it
http://www.youtube.com/user/grimmly2007#p/search/4/ctZbIXyF2-k
so I guess, with a little work you should be able to reverse it and take it back up again and push on up. I try to limit my arm balances these days to avoid bulking up. The press to handstand has become interesting again though because of some posts boodie has done on piking up to vrksasana.
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