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february / march 2017yogajournal.com.sgModifyJanu Sirsasana if needed
to find safe alignment for your body.
If your lower back rounds ...
TRY placing your sitting bones on folded blankets or a firm
foam pad. (Avoid placing your hamstrings on the blankets
or pad.) Take several deep breaths, inhaling and lengthening,
exhaling and folding deeper.
If you have knee pain...
TRYmoving your bent knee toward your straight leg.
Having your knee out at a wider angle can create stress
on the sartorius muscle, which runs the length of the
thigh and connects to the knee.STAY HUMBLE
Illusions of grandeur, or the desire to get
into complicated asanas, are as much
asmita, or ego, as illusions of inability
or meekness. In order to keep your ego
at bay, approach Janu Sirsasana or its
more intense brother, Parivrtta Janu
Sirsasana, with humility and focus. Stay
present, without trying to move too quickly.
Try to experience what you are feeling
in your body without getting wrapped
up in achieving a goal. Just as these poses
can heal an unquiet mind, they can also
damage the spine when done with
aggression or inattention, causing pain
and discomfort near the sacroiliac (SI)
joint—the connection between your
sacrum and your pelvis. Ask yourself,
is it worth it to attain a moment’s gain for
a long period of pain? In asana? In life?If you have tight hamstrings...
TRY using a strap, placing it around the lower arch of your
extended leg. Hold one side of the strap in each hand and use
the strap to help you lift the sides of your waist. Remember to
only fold as far forward as you can while keeping your spine
concave and your chest lifted.Janu Sirsasana,
page 28Janu Sirsasana
modifications^Parivrtta Janu
Sirsasana prep,
pages 30-31Parivrtta Janu
Sirsasana,
page 32YOGAPEDIA
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