ModifyVirabhadrasana I if needed
to find safe alignment in your body.
85
may/june 2017yogajournal.com.auYOGAPEDIA
your practice
If you feel knee pain in your
back leg, or cannot keep
your back heel down ...
TRY supporting your back heel with
a sandbag, rolled-up blanket, small
bolster, or block. You can start with
a high prop, then gradually reduce the
heigh
musc
lengt
foot t
as yo
centre
back
into t
If your legs are shaky or cramping,
or if you feel wobbly ...
TRY using the crossbar of a turned-over folding
chair to support your pelvis. (If you need
additional height to keep your front thigh parallel
to the floor, drape blankets over the crossbar.)
Press your hands against the chair legs. Using
a chair allows your body, especially your hips
and groins, to relax and open without having
to support your full weight. It provides a means to
stay l i h
bett
to e
shai
effo
writ
Yo gIf you have painin your sacrum,
lower back, or front knee ...
TRY elevating your front foot using one or
two blocks at the wall. Keeping the ball and
heel of the foot on the block, take your toes
up the wa
place a sec
between y
the wall. P
back heel,
body wei
back leg a
your pelvi
the wall an
through
your armsTHE POWER (AND POETRY) OF PROCESS
Poses can be like prayers or poems — they represent a process. In order to understand a poem, we have to first slow down and
be present to the words. Sometimes a simple poetic line cuts through our defences and pierces our heart. In the same way, the
process of creating a pose can pierce through our habitual postural patterning and surprise us with an experience of freedom or joy.
So in each pose, let the sense of direction (process) be more important than the final form. Virabhadrasana I is a powerful
pose that takes the body through a process of continuous rooting and rising, a process that’s an expression of what it
means to live wholeheartedly in the space between earth and sky.Paryankasana
Bed Pose, supported variation
Benefit
Opens and expands the chest and shoulders;
stretches the quadriceps
Instruction
To begin, come into Virasana (Hero Pose): Kneel with your knees
together, shins hip-width apart, and sit between your heels. If this is
too stressful for your knees, place a block at its short height between
your ankles before you sit back; for further comfort, you can also
add a blanket behind your knees. Now place a tall block on the floor
behind you so that when you recline it lands between your shoulder
blades.
Stretch your legs and open your chest in these
prep poses for Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II.
Allow your neck to extend, and release your head backward as you
reach your arms overhead and down toward the floor. (If this position
hurts your neck, place another block on its tall setting under your
head.) Try holding onto the edges of your mat. Stay in the pose for at
least 1 minute with steady breathing. Keep your eyes soft, and your
throat and tongue relaxed. Observe how your heart is uplifted and
your lungs are spreading.