25
february / march 2018yogajournal.com.sgModifyUrdhva Hastasana as necessary
to find safe alignment for your body.
Find your edge
You know you are at your edge when you
meet the boundaries of your comfort zone.
In order to grow, you need to explore those
boundaries with courage. There is an idea
in yoga that the heat of an experience is what
can transform you; the word that embodies this
idea is tapas. Handstand is a pose that
serves as the spark that initiates transformation
and growth, which stems from a broadening
of perspective. When you turn your world
upside down, you are pushed to your edge
in a way that insists you rediscover your
center of balance in order to thrive. When you
are inverted, finding and staying tethered to
your center and midline take effort, but the
combination of a deep, internal focus and a
willingness to experiment can be
the starting point.YOGAPEDIA
r ti ll
If you have trouble engaging
your legs and grounding
through your feet ...
TRY placing a block on its narrow side
between your inner upper thighs, close
to your pubic bone. Lift your toes and then
firm your inner thighs around the block. Lift
your quadriceps and roll your inner thighs
back—as if you were trying to pass the block
to someone—to create more space in your
low back. Then squeeze your outer hips in
and lengthen your tailbone down toward the
block. The dual action of internally rotating
your inner thighs and strongly rooting your
tailbone will neutralize your pelvis and help you
find strength in your legs. The block gives you
something to squeeze into and helps you realize
each of these actions. Hold for 8 breaths before
exhaling to release your arms.
If your shoulders
and wrists feel tight ...
TRY Baddha Guliasana (Bound Fingers Pose).
Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) with your
palms pressing together at the center of your
chest. Interlace your fingers at their roots, so
that the webbing connects and forms a fist.
Invert your palms so that they face the front
of the room, and extend through your elbows
until the arms are straight. On an inhalation, lift
your arms alongside your ears and hug them
in toward your midline. When you reach up,
extend all the way from the bottom sides of
the waist to the heels of your palms. Do not
overbend your fingers; instead, open your
wrists by pressing up through the base of your
palms. Hold for 8 breaths before exhaling to
release your hands and lower your arms.If you are having
trouble getting your arms
alongside your ears ...
TRY working your legs, chest, and
pelvis as you would in Tadasana, and bring
one arm at a time into Ardha Gomukhasana
arms (Half Cow Face Pose arms). Limitation in
this motion could mean that you are tight in
the latissimus dorsi muscles (on the mid- to
lower back) and tricep muscles (at the back of
the upper arms). Lift your left arm, externally
rotate it, and then bend at your elbow. Use
your right hand to gently draw your left
elbow behind your head. Rest your left hand
between your shoulder blades. Hold here for 8
breaths before exhaling to release your arms.
Switch sides. Over time, this will help you to
bring your arms alongside your ears.