Tag: Yoga 101

Yoga Posture Library: Finding Comfort in Your Yoga Pose and 6 Steps for Finding Your Compass (Pose)

Yoga Posture Library: Finding Comfort in Your Yoga Pose and 6 Steps for Finding Your Compass (Pose)

by Dominique

We are here

Vocabulary

Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana

Parivrtta = Revolved

Surya = Sun

Yantra = Instrument, usually a mystical diagram

Known in English as Compass Pose or Sundial Pose.

To get straight into Compass Pose (after an appropriate warm up), head on over to the the middle bit, we’ll catch up with you!
One of the most helpful lessons I learned in Yoga was how sometimes all I need to do is take another look. Different postures are often the same but placed differently in space. Rather than trying to learn each posture on its own and find comfort on that island, I realised that many of these postures could be grouped together. If I could only find the thread that connected all of them.

A lot of mixed metaphors! Forgive me!

Compass Pose is usually done seated. With the back thigh lifting off this becomes a modified version of the arm balance posture often referred to as ‘Flying Compass Pose’. In the flying version, the back leg is outstretched in the manner of a side plank. Keeping the back knee down makes the posture more accessible as the balance requirement is reduced.

I have also come across the flying version being referred to as Visvamitrasana, Pose dedicated to the Sage Visvamitra. From what I understand, in Visvamitrasana, the top arm reaches up to the ceiling. The posture is advanced by reaching the top arm to catch hold of the floating foot.

Ok, let’s go back to this idea of finding comfort. Asana refers to being comfortable and steady in a posture. But, but, BUT.How does one get comfortable in a posture that is simply not comfortable? You know what would be comfortable in Chair Pose? An actual chair to sit on. Not a pretend chair made of the steam that rose up from my burning thighs. How does one find steadiness when balanced upside down on two hands? Aside from taking the variation of face-planting, which is steady but distinctly uncomfortable, ow my nose.

Finding Comfort:

Different people will have different ways to seek out comfort and steadiness.

A good rule of thumb to check how you’re doing is to ask  yourself if you are breathing – slowly, steadily, with awareness or if you are holding your breath.

Another one is to check on your level of attention – are you focused, gazing steadily, or frowning hard at the current task.

You can also check how you are holding yourself – soft, relaxed but actively engaging your muscles, or tensing, hunching the shoulders around your ears, biting your lips and so on.

That last one will give you an idea of how okay you feel with the outcome of your practice. Ask: Do you have to nail this posture today?

Be calm and trust the unknown. For me, finding comfort means being okay with what is going on and feeling comfortable with my body and believing in the ability of it to support me wherever I end up. If I hold my breath I know I am fearful and tense. Knowing that being ‘successful’ in any posture won’t make me a better person, and ‘failing’ a posture won’t mean I am a bad person allows me to practice with detachment. I feel OKAY with the possibility that today may not be the day I get my leg behind my head or fly my compass, or leap like Hanuman into the splits. And I am then free to practice. 

Understand the difference between challenge and strain. There may be awareness of some intense stretching sensations or a serious amount of strength being demanded or that, “Do you smell smoke? Because I KNOW my quads are on fire” feeling but through all of that I understand the individual actions I am performing and I am BREATHING calmly. Maintaining a steady and calm breath means I am less likely to exceed my limitations for the day and end up hurting myself, physically and emotionally. It’s so important to practice with compassion! Yoga practice is not a torture practice. If I get my breathing under control, my thought patterns change from scattered, critical, irrelevant, tense to focused, precise, quiet and steady. And I feel okay, fine, maybe even peaceful. Despite the smoke signals.

Learning New Poses, like Compass Pose

I’ve noticed that people learning a sequence like the Sun Salutations would try to hurry through the current posture to get into the next and become breathless. If they are asked to focus on breathwork, they report feeling less frazzled, especially if instructed to allow the breathing to slow down. It’s the same for learning a new pose. This was my personal experience as well.

The first time I saw someone in the full flying version of Compass Pose, I remember thinking, “HOW did you get there?”

The first time I experienced being taught the full flying version of Compass Pose with the body in an extended side plank position, I had forgotten about that person and was thinking to myself, “Where is this going?”

Anyway, once we were there* in the posture (as close to ‘there’ as a first attempt could feel, accompanied by me calling out, “Um, something like this?!”) I didn’t feel great, I just felt awkward, weird, gangly, tired, sore, confused, frustrated, and EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE. All my limbs were crying, “ARGH we don’t belong in this configuration.” My breath was erratic just like my thoughts. I didn’t recognise where I was and I was freaked. I had also forgotten about the idea of comfort and steadiness in my posture. I didn’t fall out of the posture but crashed, backwards on my bum.

You know how sometimes people learn a new posture and they seem so elated? That was not me. I was just bewildered. I couldn’t wait for naptime Savasana and then also lunch.

At the time of that class, I was familiar with side plank and had developed a healthy dislike of it. (I won’t pretend I like it much these days but I see the value in it and I appreciate it.) I had also experienced the seated compass pose. And although I knew how to add I wasn’t connecting the dots between the two postures and my current extremely uncomfortable mess of tangled limbs. I was so suspended in this huge reaction of being uncomfortable that there was just so much disconnect between my body and my mind.

But could I really claim to have learnt that posture that day?

Later on after a day or a week or let’s be honest, more like a month had gone by, I took a closer look at what went down. Ohhhhhhhhh heyyyyy…. that kind of looks like if I did that stretchy side thing with my top arm whilst balancing in a sideways plank. But how the heck do I get into it again? What leg goes with what hand? What does this foot back here do? If I go into side plank, I can’t get the front foot off the floor. If I lift the front foot off the floor, I can’t get into side plank. UGHHHHH. 

Over time as I played around with the different shapes, I sort of made friends with this posture. I wouldn’t call us bosom buddies or the kind of friends that need to be together all the time, more like a long distance good friendship. We’re happy to see each other when we can but if we don’t, that’s okay too, maybe another time, we’ll catch up and see what the other is up to.

THE MIDDLE BIT: Finding Compass Pose

Let’s see if we can’t get you two acquainted:

To enter (hover over each photo for detailed instructions):

Step 1
Step 1: Kneel on one knee, keeping the other leg upright, foot placed flat on the floor. Feet are roughly perpendicular: draw an imaginary straight line from the second toe of the foot out in front, down the heel, and intersecting with the ball of the back foot. The same hand as the foot in front threads through the inside of the front knee to the outside of the foot. Avoid sinking down into the back leg.

 

Step 2
Step 2: Wriggle the front shoulder so that the front knee rests against and even slightly over the shoulder. If you have long arms like me you’ll probably bend the elbows to get under.
Step 3
Step 3: Get lifted by pressing your hips away from the floor and strengthening that front arm. Think about how your torso and supporting arm behave when you are in a sideways plank. As your supporting arm extends, let the front foot start to float off the floor, or just the heel. Keep the shin pressing firmly into the ground and the upper body light.
Step 4
Step 4: Stay chill! If you need a little more stability, tuck the back toes under. Keep the front shoulder and the inside of the front knee close.
Step 5
Step 5: Ok looking a little determined here, haha! Ignore me and take hold of the front foot with the opposite arm. Notice the grip, hold the foot from OVER the front of the foot and then wrap the fingers around the outside edge of the foot. Alot of people get the foot in their hand but sink down into the back leg and struggle to get back up again. Stay lifted by keeping the back leg engaged. Alternatively, just stay here like this, or don’t reach for the foot and keep the top arm along the top side of your body.
Step 6
Step 6: Ok, if you’re still feeling pretty comfortable so far, hang onto the foot whilst you start to let the leg straighten. As that happens, let the top arm slide behind your ear.

Got it? 

Compass Pose

 

From here: Gaze upwards, or if that is uncomfortable simply look ahead. In this instance I just gazed directly forwards rather than up as my torso wasn’t revolving as far as usual. What I would go on to do is go back to opening my hips a little more and do you see how that back thigh may want to press forward a little more? I’d work on those and then revisit the posture again and see if anything has changed.

Alternatively:

  • Keep the front leg bent
  • Float the front foot off the floor and keep the top arm flat against your side or reaching upwards
  • Feeling really steady? Try again with your back leg stretched out in one line with the rest of your body
  • Practice the seated version of the posture, back leg bent or stretched out directly in front or half crossed
  • Stop at whichever step is most appropriate to you and stay there

Whatever variation you take, keep breathing and stay calm!

Inhale, release the foot; exhale, take a moment. Switch sides. Let me know how you went!

Note: I cannot stress how important it is to practice with awareness. The most important tool for me has been to learn to understand my body. Learn about your body, become aware of what conditions it thrives under and what conditions it does not. Do not force. Find a teacher you can trust to guide you.

Take care and be well! x

*what does ‘there’ mean anyway? In the beginning of practice I would think of ‘there’ as the place where I matched the picture in Light on Yoga. I currently think of ‘there’ as where I can go based on who I am on a given day but I don’t know until I start moving where I will get to.

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Fundamentals of Yoga – Utthita Trikonasana

by Dominique

Utthita TrikonasanaUtthita = Extended

Tri = Three

Kona = Angle

Therefore: Extended Triangle Posture

This is one of the first postures I was taught; if I remember correctly it may even have come before Downward Facing Dog Posture.

It was a long time ago!

But I still get so many benefits every single time I practice it.

To enter:

From standing, step the feet out to the sides and raise your arms parallel to the floor, at shoulderheight, palms facing the floor. Wriggle the right foot 90 degrees and turn the left foot inwards towards the right. Inhale keep extending the spine long and stretching your arms out to the sides. Maintain muscular activation of the legs. Exhale and lean to the right, taking the right hand down.

There are variations on where you place the front hand:

  • If you practice Ashtanga, you work towards taking the front big toe.
  • If you practice Iyengar, the front hand rests flat on the floor outside of the front foot.
  • Or rest the hand on the shin.
  • Do what you can.

Gaze upwards, or if that is uncomfortable simply look down.

Extend and lengthen everything!

Whilst breathing!

Inhale, come up; exhale, switch sides.

Benefits (and my personal experience):
This pose strengthens the entire leg, develops the chest and improves posture. Mr Iyengar found it to help any respiratory conditions his students had and indeed it may very well have assisted in the reduction of my asthma. Or made me stronger. Any position which improves posture, strengthens the back and develops the chest seems to assist. The stamina you gain as you practice standing postures can help too. And of course learning to finally breathe through the nose rather than gasping for air helps.

Note: We are all wonderfully different so one person may have a totally different asthma experience to another. I just thought I would share my personal experience in case it is of use. The most important tool for me has been to learn to understand my body. Learn about your body, become aware of what conditions it thrives under and what conditions it does not. Find a teacher you can trust to guide you.

Take care and be well! x

Before You Begin – CAN You Do It? The Requirements of Yoga

Before You Begin – CAN You Do It? The Requirements of Yoga

by Dominique ♥ 2 Comments

Alright, alright, I hear you. Time to talk about yoga.

Let’s start from the top and talk about the REQUIREMENTS. Whaddya need and whaddya need to do. 

You need your body. Check.

And just enough space to swing your arms around you.  Check.

That’s it! You’re golden. Good to go.

There are no true requirements or criteria. Anyone can do it. You, me, Dupree, anyone.

People who learn that I teach yoga will usually say one of two things.

One: “Can you teach me? I’ve always wanted to learn yoga.”

Two: “Oh… I have always wanted to learn yoga. But you know, I’m just not flexible enough,” sometimes with an added “and now it’s too late.”

Somewhere along the line, as yoga has become more known, this criteria of possessing existing flexibility has fluttered into existence. But is there such a requirement?

No, of course not!

You won’t be turned away at the doorsteps of a yoga class if you can’t bend over and touch your toes with your legs kept straight. There’s no secret handshake to gain entry. There is no audition to become a student of yoga. A teacher won’t ever say to you, “I’m sorry. There’s just nothing we can do here.”

Over time with practice, one will start to see improvement in flexibility. But one does not need to be anything in particular to begin with. One just has to want to.

I remember when I was in primary school and failing miserably at a fitness test. Alright, timeout for a bit so everyone can have a good laugh. But no, seriously, I was really terrible at this test.

One component was the flexibility measure, and you had to plant your feet flat against a wall, and reach your hands along the floor towards feet whilst keeping your legs straight. I was truly a sorry sight. I will never forget it. I could not get my fingertips beyond my knees. I had the P.E. teacher trying to help me along, just about climbing onto my back to sort of wedge me closer to my feet. No one had ever seen anyone so hopeless. I mystified the entire staff. So young. So stiff. How is this possible? What does this mean? She is CLEARLY not trying.

Thinking about it now has me laughing so hard. The look on the teachers faces.

Some of us are born naturally flexible. I was not one of those. I have a reasonably bendy back but I still have those days when I reach for my toes and I feel like I have a metre extra of leg length that I could really have used in my torso area. So if we’re talking about candidates for yoga, I would not be what the general populace would consider ‘yoga material’. Have heart, friend.

Have you ever seen that cartoon of Batman and Robin? It pops up from time to time on social media. The one where Robin starts to say, “But I’m not flexible enough…” and before he completes his sentence Batman has slapped Robin so hard across the face his head must be spinning, yelling, “That’s why you do yoga!” It’s obviously a joke and completely not appropriate for any of us to walk around town responding to people Batman-style. We’ll talk about yoga and the practice of non-violence another time. Baby steps, hey.

I think it is great to encourage people to find what is good for their bodies but one needs to walk the line and not transform into a vigilante in the process. Health vigilantes can be especially tiresome. Especially when they have just made the transition into health-lover. Probably because they have all that extra newfound energy. Quite often, a person who has just discovered how incredible they feel after modifying their lifestyle to include working out, eating well, yoga-ing and so on, will then start to hound everyone in their circle to do the same. No one is safe. NO ONE. Everyone will be forced to listen to the benefits of spinning and kale smoothies.

If I had a dollar for everytime a pal of mine would bemoan their partner constantly nagging them to do whatever life-changing activity they have discovered, I’d have a quite a bit of money.

“He loses 5 kg and now all day long he keeps telling me I should start running. UGH.”

“If she mentions the gym one more time…” (voice fades to ominous silence)

“He just isn’t listening to me! I don’t want to!”

That last one is especially telling. It’s about choice.

I learnt a long time ago that people will do what they will do when they want to and when they are ready to. And not a single microsecond before that. I’ve been blessed to have some incredible students, all of whom have heard some variation of the “You can’t make people do what they don’t want to do, no matter how good it is for them” speech. But it’s hard, I know, in the aftermath of a practice session, all those lovely endorphins and whatnot floating around. Sometimes one just can’t help wanting to share this little secret under the tip of their nose.

“If only they knew!” I can just about read the thought bubble over their head.

That’s usually when I find myself wedged in that awkward conversational space between two people, one of whom is a student of mine, feeling glorious after Savasana (it’s the one where you lie down and look like you’re asleep) and the other, a friend of theirs and not a student of mine. Student will pipe up, apropos of nothing, “You should learn yoga from Dom!”

By the way, my name is Dominique. Hi.

Non-student will look extremely apologetic and say,”Oh…. I would. I really would. But I’m not flexible enough.”

Before I can open my mouth to express understanding and try to turn the conversation to some other topic, Student will exclaim, “That’s why you should do yoga!” Student then turns to me for confirmation. “Am I right? Right?!”

I can just about see the Batman light glowing in the distant skyline. We just need a cape, and a poor disguise and we’re there.

(Who is Batman even kidding by the way? I’ll just cover my eyebrows, and wear this pointy eared thing and I will look totally different. Him and Superman with the glasses. We are not fooled. We are just being polite and going with it.)

Where was I? Awkwardland, yes. Gah.

What my student heard was, “I have been given to understand that one must be flexible to practice yoga. I am not flexible enough, therefore, I cannot do yoga. Such is my life.”

What I heard was, “I don’t want to. I’m trying to be polite and not offend anyone. Here is a reason so we can all move on. Away from yoga. Please. Let me live my life.”

That’s what I heard. Should I take what the person has said at face-value? Possibly. But what I have learnt is that a person who has been wanting to do yoga, but felt they were not flexible enough, would have immediately turned to me and asked for themselves, “Can you still teach me? I’m not flexible.”

If that question had been posed to me, then I would say this:

You do not need to be young, flexible or physically able. It is fine if you do not have a background in gymnastics or ballet. Perfectly ok.

It doesn’t even matter what shape or size you come in either. An acquaintance of B’s once turned to him, after meeting me, and exclaimed with relief, “I’m so glad she isn’t thin! I thought I was too fat to do yoga.”

So if you were thinking something similar, I hope that answers that.

You don’t even need to be fit. There is really only one requirement:

You must not, absolutely cannot, be lazy.

You just can’t.

” Every one can do yoga, young, old or sick people. Only lazy people cannot do yoga.”
R. Sharath Jois

And, as long as you aren’t lazy, you can do yoga.

We can even break the idea of laziness down to choice. A person who wants to and chooses to do yoga will never ever be too lazy to do something about it.

It is not so much can you or can’t you, or may you, but will you or won’t you. Do you want to?

If you read this, and thank you by the way, but if you read this, chances are very high that you want to do yoga. Chances are extremely high that you are not lazy. Therefore, you can do yoga. Please never let yourself worry about the need to be flexible enough anymore.

 

Are you still worried about the flexibility thing? Or the not fit thing?

Have no fear, I’m editing, hopefully in time for the weekend, a video of a short yoga practice you can do no matter how inflexible you are.

If I can get the spinning rainbow wheel to stop turning, that is. Talk about will it or won’t it.

Go edit yourself!
Yes, I am now at that point in video editing where I wave my wand and hope this video will edit itself. Maybe I should try the mouse.

 

For starters, here is what you can do. Hop up and walk to your mirror. Look into your reflection and say the following:

“I am clever and capable of doing anything I want to. I want to do yoga.”

By the way, the above works for anything. Not just yoga. You are never not enough for anything. You are just the right amount of you to do whatever it is you want to do.

Have an amazing weekend! We’ll chat soon! xx