Australian_Yoga_Journal_October_2017

ModifyBharadvajasana II

to find safe alignment in your body.

83

october 2017

yogajournal.com.au

YOGAPEDIA

your practice

If your Padmasana knee

doesn’t touch the floor ...

TRYsupporting it with a block. Use the

lowest height possible while still keeping

your knee safe and pain free. Your ultimate

goal is a neutral line or downward slope

fhitkBthdft

If you can’t grab your Padmasana

foot with your hand ...

TRYusing a double-folded belt. Loop the belt

around the middle of your Padmasana foot and

place the ends behind you on the floor. Reach

your Padmasana arm around your back and

grab the belt ends, then walk your hand down

B.K.S. Iyengar translates Yoga Sutra II.46 sthira sukham asanam as asana is perfect firmness

of body, steadiness of intelligence, and benevolence of spirit”. Keep thissutrain mind while practicing asana, especially when

approaching poses with Padmasana legs. When we cultivate a firm foundation in our yoga poses, we can control our movements and

create mobility. Work methodically, step by step, with a steadiness of intelligence to safely move deeper into poses. Approach your

practice with a benevolence of spirit—be kind to yourself so you can benefit from the practice of yoga. As Iyengar wrote inLighton the

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,“Performance of the asana should be nourishing and illuminative”—not damaging and distracting.

Baddha Konasana

Bound Angle Pose, variation

Benefit

Creates flexibility in your hips, groins, and knees; brings circulation to
your abdominal organs; allows for good spinal extension; provides the
opportunity to sit quietly

Instruction

Sit in Dandasana with your back against the wall. Relax your legs and
place your hands inside your knees. Bend your legs outward, bringing
the soles of your feet together. Draw your ankles toward your groin.
Take a couple of breaths here. Place the block on its narrow setting
between your feet, with your heels pressing against it. (For a deeper
opening, use the block on a wider setting.) Relax your groins and
allow your knees to move away from each other. Stay in the pose for
1 minute, then remove the block and return to Dandasana, observing
the effects of the pose while taking a few breaths.

Open your hips and hamstrings, create fl exibility in your spine, and increase

circulation to your core with these prep poses for Tolasana.

If your hips and knees are

tight ...

TRY sitting on 3-5 folded blankets

with your Padmasana leg and both buttocks

elevated on the blankets, and your Virasana

shin on the mat. Sit back far enough that

your entire Padmasana leg rests on the

blankets and your knee is pain free. Place

your Padmasana sole either near

your left inner thigh, or, if

you’re able, at the hip crease.

Never force a tight knee into

Padmasana: With practice,

the hip will open, the groin

will soften, and the knee

will become suppler.