Yoga_Journal_-_June_2016_

31

june 2016

PHOTOS: RICK CUMMINGS; MODEL: CYNDI LEE; STYLIST: EMILY CHOI; HAIR/MAKEUP: BETH WALKER; TOP: LULULEMON; BOTTOMS: LUCY yogajournal.com

YOGAPEDIA

practice well

matsya = fish · asana = pose

Fish Pose

Matsyasana

Poses of the month

How to move from

Matsyasana to Camatkarasana

}

Benefits

Opens the shoulders and chest; softens the

often-tight middle back; stretches the neck

and thyroid; offers a balance of opening without

grasping, and of relaxing without collapsing

Instruction

1 Sit in Dandasana (Staff Pose), with your legs

extended in front of you and your spine long.

2 Slowly roll onto your back. Press your palms

down and lift up onto the top of your head.

3 Walk your fingers toward your feet until your

arms are straight—your elbows should be off the

floor. Again press down firmly with your palms,

and tuck your shoulder blades into your back; this

will lift and open your chest and support your neck.

4 Keep your legs and feet strongly engaged. If it

feels like there’s too much pressure on your head

or spine, see the modifications on page 32.

5 Place your attention on the sensation of your

breath right at the edge of your nostrils. Don’t think

about or visualize the breath, but actually tune in

to the feeling of the wind energy passing in and

out of your body. Let your mind settle into this

practice of close attention.

OUR PRO Teacher and model Cyndi Lee is the first female Western yoga teacher to integrate yoga asana and Tibetan Buddhism. Founder of New York City’s OM

Yoga Center (1998–2012), she now owns Yoga Goodness Studio in central Virginia and teaches workshops and trainings worldwide. Author of Yoga Body, Buddha

Mind, Lee regularly writes for Yoga Journal, Real Simple, Lion’s Roar, and other magazines. She holds an MFA in dance from the University of California, Irvine,

is a longtime student of Gelek Rimpoche, and is currently training for ordination as a Zen Buddhist chaplain. Learn more at cyndilee.com.

By Cyndi Lee

Matsyasana

modifi cations,

page 32

Camatkarasana

prep, pages 34–35

Camatkarasana,

pages 36–37

Matsyasana

DON’T collapse through the chest

and scrunch your neck and shoulders.

DON’T let your feet flop open to the sides.

This can put pressure on your low back.