Australian_Yoga_Journal_-_September_2015_

If you have trouble engaging

your legs and grounding

through your feet ...

TRYplacing 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

behind you. This will create more space in your

lower back. Then squeeze your outer hips in

and lengthen the 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, which you’ll need

for Handstand. The block gives you something

to squeeze into and helps you realise each

of these actions. Hold for 8 breaths before

exhaling to release your arms.

If you are having trouble

getting your arms alongside

your ears ...

TRY working the 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 the

elbow. Use your right hand to gently

draw the left elbow behind the head.

Rest the left hand between the 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.

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

over-bend your fingers; instead, open your

wrists by pressing up through the base of the

palms. Hold for 8 breaths before exhaling to

release your hands and lower your arms.

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.

Modify Urdhva Hastasana if needed

to fi nd safe alignment for your body

Urdhva

Hastasana

modifi cations

Adho Mukha

Vrksasana prep,

pages 77

Adho Mukha

Vrksasana,

pages 78-79

Urdhva
Hastasana,
76 page 75

august/september 2015

yogajournal.com.au

YOGAPEDIA

practise well