Stuck at the wall

Posted in ashtanga yoga on 10/18/2007 07:42 am by karen

So there I am, doing urdhva dhanurasana with my hands in the corner of the wall/floor. Need to press my chest forward. Which would suggest walking the feet in. But wait, I’ve made a point of how important it is to walk the HANDS in. At 6 AM, upside down, this seems like an impossible dilemma. I am frozen with indecision.

It’s also a good measure of how far I’ve come. When I first started doing urdhva dhanurasana, my heart would beat wildly and I would feel panicked. Then for a while, I would get nauseated. Then it was stiff, cement-block asana: dense and opaque. Now I can at least be upside down suffering an inability to reason and testing the limits of my lack of coordination. Lame though my situation might be, I’ve come a long way. Finally my full consciousness is present in the pose.

This morning’s upside-down, “Oh my God! What am I going to do?!” drama is hilarious. Once I am righted, it is clear that I need to walk my feet in to push my pits to the wall AND I need to practice walking my hands in. I need to do both. I need to avoid being dogmatic and setting rules.

Such a challenge.

Oh, also wanted to mention that I tried Tova‘s Prasarita C tip this morning. Instead of pushing down with my hands, I pushed out through the shoulders. (She explained this better than I am…) MUCH better results, and feels better than cranking the arms. Prasarita C is a pose I’ve never stressed about: it’s easy for VBG to push my hands the last little bit to touch the ground, so I’ve never had any drive to perfect the pose or make sure I could get my hands to the ground on my own. Figured it’d happen eventually — once my shoulders opened up. BUt Tova’s tip is one of those ones where you try it and go, “Oh! So this is what I’ve been supposed to do all along!”

 

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  1. Uh oh. I want to tell you this idea although (for me) it is an annoying modification. But I wanted you to have it in your toolbox. Yesterday my practice was odd–very open back but intense, focused pain in the tiny place along the back of the ilium (near the left SI) that’s bothered me since April. So did 3 UDs with a foam block btwn the thighs, to really broaden across the low back, firm the outer hips, and rotate/ enliven the thighs. Sort of a drag. Also, pretty helpful work.

  2. Oh cripes, the leg block thing. Sigh. You are right. I will do it.

    Can I turn it so it’s lengthwise and I can splay my shins/feet? ;-)

    Okay, I’m still trying to figure out the celebrity Vanessa is talking about. Just one person comes to mind…

  3. crankyhousefrau
    10/18/2007 at 1:51 pm

    happy to be able to help out! i just hope it isn’t the “wrong” way to do it. i have hypermobility in my shoulders, so the being able to let go and extend the arms out might not be a good thing? who knows?

  4. Hi Karen
    I’ll have to read Tova’s post on Prasarita C. I don’t think I’ve touched the floor with the arms, except maybe once when Lino Miele made me move the legs wider, so I could get the head to the floor, then getting the arms to the floor didn’t seem like so much of a challenge. I’m not sure what pushing through the arms means, rotating the shoulders perhaps, so the arms are more extended? I think I’ve seen Legacy Rose in my shala do that, but she is very flexible.

    I was wondering if the celebrity Vanessa spoke of was ocassionally a blonde, such as Madonna. But that may be way off, such as my thoughts about Gloria Estefan, who is petite and dark haired. But she would have been accompanied by her husband, who is also a celebrity… I’m too chatty. It happens when there is a social at the office and wine is involved.

    Hey, one of my friends and fellow practitioners, Frank, will be in Scottsdale and would like to practice with you all during his visit. I was going to write to you about it and see he’s left you a message already. Could you orient him?

    Cheers,
    Arturo

  5. Hi Arturo,

    I don’t quite know how to explain the shoulder thing — instead of pushing down with the arms, try to push out with the shoulders. Perhaps Tova could explain it better. I’m sure if you ask her, she will try to help.

    Yes, I got Frank’s note. I’ll ask VBG tomorrow. I’m sure it is fine for Frank to visit (we always are happy to have new people at the shala!) but I need to find out if we can be sure to have a mat available for him. I’ll get back to him once I’ve spoken with VBG. And I’ll make sure Frank is clear on directions, etc.

    Karen

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