Deepen Your Practice
Pose of The Month:
"Salamba Sirsasana" (Supported Headstand)
by Kimberley Puryear
New year, new you! Inverted poses are an extremely important group of asanas. They reverse the action of gravity on the body; instead of everything being pulled down towards the feet, the orientation shifts towards the head. On an emotional level, inverted poses turn everything upside down, throwing a new light on old patterns of behavior and being. A great pose to add to your practice for the new year!
Here's how:
Always begin any asana practice by establishing yourself in the moment by deeply connecting with your breath.
Be sure to warm up the body with about 15-30 minutes of asana practice to warm and open the body in preparation for this pose.
So, let's begin shall we? Start out on your hands and knees. Your palms should be securely rooted on your mat, your shoulders distance apart, and your knees anchored beneath your hips.
Lace your fingers together and set you forearms on the floor, rooting your elbows beneath your shoulders. Set the crown of your head on the floor. If you are just beginning to practice this pose, press the bases of your palms together and snuggle the back of your head against the clasped hands. More experienced students can open their hands and place the back of the head into the open palms.
Inhale and lift your knees off the floor. Carefully walk your feet closer to your elbows with heels elevated. Actively lift through the top thighs, forming an inverted "V". Firm the shoulder blades against your back and lift them toward the tailbone so the front torso stays as long as possible. This should help prevent the weight of the shoulders collapsing onto your neck and head.
Exhale and lift your feet away from the floor. Take both feet up at the same time, even if it means bending your knees and hopping lightly off the floor. As the legs (or thighs, if your knees are bent) rise and are perpendicular to the floor, firm the tailbone against the back of the pelvis. Turn the upper thighs in slightly, and actively press the heels toward the ceiling (straightening the knees if you bent them to come up). The center of the arches should align over the center of the pelvis, which in turn should align over the crown of the head.
Firm the outer arms inward, and soften the fingers. Continue to press the shoulder blades against the back, widen them, and draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the weight evenly balanced on the two forearms. It's also essential that your tailbone continues to lift upward towards the heels. Once the backs of the legs are fully lengthened through the heels, maintain that length and press up through the balls of the big toes so the inner legs are slightly longer than the outer.
As a beginning practitioner stay for 10 seconds. Gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or until you can comfortably hold the pose for 3 minutes. Then continue for 3 minutes each day for a week or two, until you feel relatively comfortable in the pose. Again gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 5 minutes. Come down with an exhalation, without losing the lift of the shoulder blades, with both feet touching the floor at the same time.
Namaste!
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Yoga 2010by tiffanyviehmann7,150 views
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