Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga

Yogasanas, Bandha and Kriya 361

4· After securing the above position stretch the legs and arms straight.
(Plate 487)

487

5· While learning the pose this way it is helpful to use a friend or a

wall. Stand about three feet from a wall with your back to it. Curve the

back and move the head towards the wall. Raise the arms over the head

and rest the palms on the wall. Push the pelvis forward so that the body

weight is fe lt on the thighs and move the palms down the wall until

you touch the floor. Use the wall for coming up in a similar manner.

After mastering this, only use the wall until you are half-way up. Then

learn to do the asana in the middle of the room.

173. Vipar"ita Chakrasana in Urdhva Dhanurasana. Twenty-six* (Plates
     488 to 499)

Technique (This is for advanced pupils)

I. Stand erect. Bend forward and place the palms on the floor. Exhale

and swing both legs up as though you were doing the full arm balance

(Plate 359), bend the knees, arch the back and drop the legs behind the

head. (Plate 486)

2. While the legs are coming down beyond and behind the head, con­
   tract the hips, extend the back up, stretch the ribs and abdomen and
   straighten the arms at the elbows. Unless you do this, you will sit on the
   floor with a bump.

3· When all this has been mastered, learn the reverse swinging move­

ments of the leg as shown from Plates 488 to 499, so that one swings

the legs up and back in a reverse somersault movement. This reverse

somersault into the forward bending position is called Viparita