ModifySetu Bandha Sarvangasana if needed
to find safe alignment in your body.
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november/december 2017yogajournal.com.auYOGAPEDIA
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If your knees splay open, compressing your
low back ...
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or if you have a neck injury ...
TRYplacing a rolled-up hand towel und
neck. You don’t want the roll to be too
large enough to support the curve of yo
This will lift your chin away from your s
and keep your neck and spine safe.LISTEN TO YOUR HEART
It’s a natural tendency to thrust your pelvis up to maximum height in Bridge Pose (especially if you tend to be a go-getter).
However,all of that drive through the hips actually takes away from thelift of the chest. Yoga is an invitation to open your heart.
If you find yourself really pushing your hips up, let your butt relax back down toward the floor and lift your sternum.
While it might not feel as rewarding, sometimes backing off from trying to “achieve” (so to speak) is exactly what your
heart needs to stay present with what is—the ultimate goal of yoga.Eka Pada Supta Virasana
One-Legged Reclined Hero Pose (straight leg lifted)
Benefit
Stretches the thigh, psoas, knee, and ankle of your bottom leg and
the hamstrings of your top leg; extends your spine
Instruction
Lie in Supta Ardha Virasana (Reclined Half Hero’s Pose) with your
left leg bent back and your right leg straight on the floor. Bend
your right knee and place your right foot flat on the mat. Extend
out and down through your left knee. Bring your right knee
toward your chest and hold onto it with both hands. Take a few
breaths here before placing a strap around your right sole.
With an end of the strap in each hand (like you’re holding
reins), begin to straighten your right leg toward the
ceiling. Stay here for at least 1 minute, and then repeat
on the second side.
Open your shoulders, chest, and upper back, and practice rooting down
through your forearms and lifting your shoulders away from the fl oor with
these prep poses Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana.
If your shoulders are tight ...
TRY holding a strap between your hands. Once you’ve lifted your
hips off the floor, instead of clasping your hands underneath your
torso, use a strap to take your shoulder blades deeper onto your
upper back. (Start by holding each end of the strap about shoulder-
width, and then gradually move your hands closer together.) Tug
on the strap with both hands as you walk the outer edges of your
arms underneath you, lifting your chest higher and broadening
your collarbones.