60 YOGAJOURNAL.COM YOUR 6-WEEK YOGA GUIDE TO BUILD STRENGTH
but energetically it directs our aware-
ness toward the spine and the higher
centers. In yoga, this is a key practice to
begin to collect and channel life force.”
And once we have begun to channel
our life force, we feel less flighty and
more grounded. Less fatigued and more
vibrant. We can more wisely use our
energy. “A lot of people have jumped up
off their pelvises and operate from their
neck and shoulders,” Ledford notes. By
collecting your energy and redirecting it
back into the pelvis, Ledford says, Lotus
can help you learn to root down ener-
getically and ground yourself.CALMING THE MIND
While energizing the body, Padmasana
can also be a profoundly calming and
stabilizing pose. Lotus helps to main-
tain proper posture and spinal align-
ment, both of which facilitate the deep
breathing necessary to obtain a medita-
tive state. And interlocking the body
parts helps keep movements to a mini-
mum. From this steady seat, the senses
can turn inward. According to Stryker,
the pelvis grounded into the floor stim-
ulates the nerves in the sacrum, whichactivates the parasympathetic nervous
system for a calming effect.
Ledford adds that this focus on the
downward action of the pose helps
release excess vata energy (character-
ized by air) from the body. “Releasing
excess vata has a calming and grounding
effect on the nervous system,” she says.
Add to that the sweet lift of the heart,
says Rosen, and the results of sitting in
Lotus can be quite dramatic. “The pose
itself transforms consciousness. It qui-
ets the brain and it draws your aware-
ness inside,” he says.
Whether you practice half or full
Lotus for 10 breaths or 10 minutes, you
create an opportunity for this arche-
typal pose to change your perspective.
“When doing the pose, imagine that
you are a lotus,” says Ledford. “It’s grav-
ity calling you to get rooted again. Even
if your life is muddy, you can blossom
and open your heart to the sunshine.”Nora Isaacs is a Yoga Journal contributor and
the author of Women in Overdrive: Find
Balance and Overcome Burnout at Any Age.6 BADDHA KONASANA
(BOUND ANGLE POSE)
BENEFITS Stretches the inner
thighs and tones the sacral and
lumbar areas
From your wide-legged position,
bend your knees and bring the
soles of your feet together. Allow
your knees to fall open. Wrap your
hands around the tops of your feet.
Inhale, and lengthen your spine.
On an exhalation, fold forward with
a flat back. On each inhalation,
lengthen the spine, and on each
exhalation, release the upper body
toward the floor. To deepen the
stretch, place your elbows onto
your calves, and lengthen your
spine as you gently encourage
your knees toward the floor. Stay
for 6–8 breaths; slowly release.