Asana Practice
Unit 6
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Ardha Salabhasana – Half locust pose
ardha - half
salabha - locust
asana - pose
Both versions of salabhasana are helpful in learning how to use the legs and pelvis in the deeper backbends. These asanas only address the spine in backbend at the sacrum and lower lumbar areas.
1. Lie face down with the arms along side the torso.
2. Internally rotate the femurs to broaden the sacrum and release the coccyx toward the pubic bone.
3. Keep the right leg fully straightened as you lift it from the floor.
4. Release the pose with an exhalation, and rest for a few breaths before doing the other side.
Lie face down with the arms along side the torso. Although the hands can face up or down, the palms are usually kept upward, because this way they will bias the shoulders toward internal rotation, which will assist in keeping the back broad.
When lifting the legs in this position, it is common to use the buttocks very strongly. However, this action will tend to narrow the sacrum and tighten the lower back. To prevent this, a deep internal rotation of the femurs is suggested to keep the sacrum broad. This openness in the sacrum will permit the coccyx to release toward the pubic bone by lengthening the back rather than contracting it. In this way, the buttocks will contract when the legs are lifted, but without narrowing the sacrum.
The internal rotation of the legs can be deepened by fully straightening the legs. This is done by pressing the tops of the feet into the floor before lifting the leg off the ground. (It is acceptable if the knees lift slightly off of the floor when you do this .) Keep the legs straight and strong as you lift the right leg off of the floor. Initiate the lift of the leg from the hip joint and not from the shin or the foot. In this pose as well as virtually every other backbend, the femurs move into the hamstrings as the calves resist into the shins.
While in this asana, breathe as much into the back as possible. Breathing into the back will help to keep the length of the lumbar spine so as to minimize any gripping there. It will also help to keep the nervous system quiet.
With an exhalation, release the leg to the floor and rest for a moment before repeating on the other side.
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Paripurna Salabhasana – Full locust pose
paripurna - full
salabha - locust
asana - pose
1. Lie face down with the forearms under the pelvic rims.
2. Internally rotate the femurs to broaden the sacrum and release the coccyx toward the pubic bone.
3. Keep the legs fully straight as you lift them from the floor.
Lie face down and place the arms under the body so the pelvic rim is resting on the forearms. The hands should form fists below the pubic bone with the thumbs of the hands touching. Charge the arms and straighten them as much as possible.
Although the hands can face up or down, the palms are usually kept upward, be- cause this way they will bias the shoulders toward internal rotation, which will assist in keeping the back broad.
When lifting the legs in this position, it is common to use the buttocks very strongly. However, this action will tend to narrow the sacrum and tighten the lower back. To prevent this, a deep internal rotation of the femurs is suggested to keep the sacrum broad. This openness in the sacrum will permit the coccyx to release toward the pubic bone by lengthening the back rather than contracting it. In this way, the buttocks will contract when the legs are lifted, but without narrowing the sacrum.
The internal rotation of the legs can be deepened by fully straightening the legs. This is done by pressing the tops of the feet into the floor before lifting the legs off the ground (it is acceptable if the knees lift slightly off of the floor when you do this ).
Keep the legs straight and strong as you lift both legs off of the floor. Initiate the lift of the legs from the hip joints and not from the shin or the foot. In this pose as well as virtually every other backbend, the femurs move into the hamstrings as the calves resist into the shins.
While in this asana, breathe as much into the back as possible. Breathing into the back will help to keep the length of the lumbar spine so as to minimize any gripping there. It will also help to keep the nervous system quiet.
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Bhujangasana – Cobra pose
bhuja - tubular like shape, also used to refer to the arm
anga - limb
bhujanga - serpent commonly specified as cobra
asana - pose
1. Lie face down, palms on the floor, wrists aligned with the sides of the bottom ribs and the fingers facing towards the shoulders.
2. Lift the shoulders to the height of the elbows and move the shoulders into the back body, drawing the scapulae towards the pelvis to open the chest.
3. Keep the shoulder girdle stable as you lift the chest with the assistance of the arms.
Lie face down with the feet pointed back. Place the palms on the floor along side the ribs, with the wrists aligned with the bottom of the ribs. The fingers should be facing in the direction of the shoulders. Lift the shoulders so they are the same height as the elbows and draw the inner edges of the scapulae toward the pelvis. This action moves the shoulders behind the back to open the sternum and chest.
Internally rotate the femurs to broaden the sacrum. Keep the internal rotation of the femurs, and resist the shins in external rotation. These opposing actions will help to keep the joints of the legs parallel.
Breathe into the kidney area to release the coccyx toward the pubic bone. Then with your inhalation, lift off of the floor from the chest. Although the arms are assisting the lift, most of the lift is initiated through the inner body and the inner walls of the ribs.
Keep the sternum out in front of the shoulders. The elbows may tend to move out to the sides. A little of this action is not necessarily bad but it may tend to close the chest, which should be avoided. So at least in the beginning stages, try to keep the elbows parallel to the body. As the chest lifts higher, the arms will straighten more. Though it is possible that the arms may straighten fully, this should only be done if it does not force the shoulders to open and collapse the chest.
Keep the shoulders moving toward the back of the body as the scapulae move toward the front of the body to open the chest. If the chest is in front of the shoulders, you may even feel that the scapulae are pinching together. If this occurs, maximize the width of the rib cage to broaden the upper back between the scapulae, without narrowing the front chest. This should create further inner body length.
As the sternum lifts and moves the front collarbones back, the head may want to go back. Do not let the head fall back by itself and compress the cervical spine. Let the head go back because of the lift of the sternum and collarbones. The back of the neck should not feel compressed.
Keep the lift of the entire chest as you breathe into the pose. Keep the lift of the chest even with the exhalations. Pay particular attention to the lift of the back ribs and the release of the coccyx toward the pubic bone, so you do not overwork the lumbar spine.
With an exhalation, release the asana and rest while observing the aftereffects of the pose.
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Urdva Mukha Svanasana - Upward facing dog pose
urdva - upward
mukha - face or mouth
svana - dog
asana - pose
1. Lie face down, palms on the floor, wrists aligned with the sides of the bottom ribs with the fingers facing the same direction as the shoulders.
2. Lift the shoulders to the height of the elbows and move the shoulders into the back body, drawing the scapulae towards the pelvis to open the chest.
3. Keep the shoulder girdle stable as you use the chest and arms to lift the pelvis and legs off of the floor.
The work in urdva mukha svanasana is the same as bhujangasana except the upper portion of the legs and the pelvis are lifted off of the floor and the arms are fully straightened.
In bhujangasana, one must lift the torso away from the pull of gravity, whereas in urdva mukha svanasana, the weight of the legs and pelvis are helping to release and stabilize the spine.
Urdva mukha svanasana requires more muscular work for the arms and legs than bhujangasana, but it is usually easier to keep the length of the spine.
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Purvottanasana - Front body extension
purva - east side, referring to the front of the body
uttana - intense extension
asana - pose
1. Sit on the floor with the palms on the floor behind the back, fingers facing for- ward towards the hips.
2. Broaden the collarbones and lift the sternum.
3. Lift the pelvis off of the floor as you press the inner feet down to the floor.
Begin by sitting on the floor in dandasana. The placement of the hands for purvottanasana will probably be about one palm length further back than in dandasana. The exact placement will vary with the proportions of your body. For example, if the arms are relatively long for the torso, the hands will be further back. If the reverse is true and the arms are short relative to the torso, then the hands will be closer to the hips.
Bend the elbows slightly out to the sides as you lift the sternum. This will broaden the collarbones and expand the entire rib cage laterally.
Press through the ball mounts of the first fingers to minimize the weight in the wrists, and straighten the arms. Then with an inhalation, lift the pelvis off of the floor. Work an internal rotation of the legs strongly as you press the inner edges of the feet downward. The arms best support the weight of the torso if the shoulders are directly above the wrists. To accomplish this, make any necessary adjustments in the relation- ship of the hands and feet, lengthening or shortening the asana as appropriate.
If the sternum is lifted higher than the shoulders, the head may rest back comfort- ably. (Extending the head back even further will lift the sternum more.) If the shoulders are higher than the sternum, taking the head back may create discomfort in the back of the neck. If this occurs, the head should remain lifted with the sternum lifting toward the
chin.
Breath comfortably as long as the quality of the asana can be sustained. Then with an exhalation, release to dandasana.
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Setu Bandha – Bridge pose
setu - bridge
bandha - structure/formation
Setu bandha is a primary backbend that also provides all of the foundational actions that will prepare you for sarvangasana (all limb pose) and viparita karani (unusual practice). Also, in this pose, the whole body, except for the arms, is educated for urdva dhanurasana (upward bow pose).
1. Lie on the back with the knees bent and arms at the sides.
2. The feet are on the floor hip width apart.
3. Press the shoulders down as you lift the sternum and hips.
Lie on the back and bend the knees. The outer feet should be about hip width apart.
The centerlines of the feet should be parallel to encourage the internal rotation of the legs. Since one cannot see the feet in this position, it is difficult to know if they are parallel, and for many people the feet will tend to turn out. If you think of turning the toes in slightly, there is a better chance that they will end up parallel. Even if the toes do turn in slightly, it is better than letting them turn out, as this will inhibit the internal rotation that is necessary for the pose.
Release the groins inward, without putting any additional weight on the sacrum. To do this you will need to engage the internal rotation of the legs and release the coccyx toward the pubic bone. As this is done, the inner heels should press down.
Keep the collarbones straight across. In this position it will feel as though you are pulling the shoulders slightly toward the ears. Roll the deltoids under the shoulders to lift the neck off of the floor and initiate the lift of the sternum. Press the shoulders down and lift the sternum as though it were going to become perpendicular to the floor. Strengthen the work of the legs and deepen the lift of the sternum as you lift the pelvis. To minimize the possibility of overwork in the lumbar spine, do the following three things: maximize the lift to the sternum, resist the front floating ribs toward the kidneys, and release the coccyx toward the pubic bone. All of these actions, along with the internal rotation of the legs, serve to sustain the length of the back body and distribute the back arch as evenly as possible throughout the spine.
To deepen this asana, interlace the fingers behind the back and try to join the palms together (not shown in photo). When doing this, be careful not to pull the shoulders away from the head, as this will collapse the cervical spine into the floor. If the hands join while remaining on the floor, the chest is probably very open. However, it is likely that the scapulae are pinching. To reopen the back, keep the openness of the chest as you release the interlace of the hands. Internally rotate the forearms, turning the palms to the floor.
Keep the throat and neck soft. There should be a feeling of resisting the chin away from the sternum as the sternum moves toward the chin. Pressing the chin toward the sternum will likely flatten the cervical spine and inhibit the lift of the sternum.
Breathe comfortably in this asana as long as you can retain its quality. Then with an exhalation, release the pose and rest the face of the sacrum on the floor, first. This will keep the spine from going into flexion too quickly. Going immediately into flexion after a back bend can be too rapid a change for the spine. So some transition time in a neutral spine before flexion is usually a good idea.
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Urdva Dhanurasana - Upward bow pose
urdva - upward
dhanu - bow
asana - pose
Urdva dhanurasana is often the first full backbend that is taught. Full back bend, in this context, means that every part of the front body is in extension, from the hands to the shins.
1. Lie on the back with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor, hips width apart.
2. Place the palms on the floor, over the shoulders, with the fingers under the shoulders, fingers pointed toward the feet.
3. Keep the arm and leg joints parallel as you lift off of the floor.
Lie on your back. Bend the knees and place the feet on the floor with the outer edges of the feet about hips width apart. Keep the centerlines of the feet parallel. It is often difficult to keep the necessary internal rotation of the legs in this pose. If the inner edges of the heels remain firmly grounded, this indicates that the internal rotation of the legs is engaged correctly. Sometimes it is helpful to pretend that the toes are turning in slightly just to bring the centerlines of the feet to a parallel position. With this action in the legs, release the coccyx toward the pubic bone.
Place the palms on the floor over the shoulders and on the sides of the head pointing toward the feet. Then tuck the fingers under the outer shoulders. The shoulders are often a difficult area to open. If this is the case, the hands may not want to separate wide enough for the pose. The action of opening the shoulders should feel as though you are separating the wrists and drawing the elbows in. This will create the necessary external rotation in the shoulders. In addition to the external rotation of the shoulders, the shoulders need to be drawn into the back body. This action will press the shoulders into the floor, which will open and lift the sternum. It will also enable the entire spine to lift off of the floor.
Now, with the sternum lifted and the shoulders stabilized, lift the hips and the head off of the floor; pause for a moment to rest the very top of the head very gently on the floor. (Be very cautious not to place any weight on your head as this can adversly affect the cervical spine.) Take this moment to affirm the grounding of the humerus into the floor by again drawing the shoulders back and opening the sternum. Then, keeping the internal rotation of the femurs and the inner heels grounded, straighten the arms and continue to lift. Press through the ball mounts of the first fingers to deepen the opening of the shoulders and arm pits. If possible, move the scapulae into the back, release the coccyx toward the pubic bone, and resist the bottom front ribs toward the kidneys to help sustain the length of the back body.
Breathe in the asana as long as comfortable. Then keep the elbows and the knees in as you exhale and release the pose.
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