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december 2018 / january 2019yogajournal.com.sgTADASANA WITH ARMS IN GOMUKHASANA
(Mountain Pose with arms in Cow Face
Pose)
When you practice Tada-sana (Mountain Pose)
with Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose) arms, you
will learn how to extend and externally rotate
your upper arms while actively engaging your
legs. When you do this in Headstand, you can
create a solid base and experience a feeling of
lightness that helps you lift your body weight
away from your neck and head.
Stand with your feet together in Tada-sana.
Lift your right arm overhead, and externally
rotate your upper arm. Take the outer corners
of your shoulders back and release the effort in
your trapezius muscles (near the base of the
neck). Extend upward on your right side from
the outer armpit to your elbow; then bend
your right elbow, placing your palm on your
upper back.
Bend your left elbow and clasp your hands
behind you. If necessary, use a strap to create
leverage between your hands. Lift the left
shoulder slightly toward your ear and move
the left shoulder blade in toward the spine and
forward toward your chest. Although you may
need to roll the left shoulder forward slightly
to lift your left hand behind you, once you’ve
bound your hands or are holding the belt, roll
the left outer shoulder back and open through
the front of your chest.
Maintain a stable Tadasana as you lift the
right outer arm from the armpit to the elbow,
and rotate from the outer elbow toward the
inner elbow for up to a minute. Then release
your arms and repeat these actions on your
left side. After you’ve taken both sides, stand
briefly in Tadasana and observe the openness
in your shoulders and chest.
BHARADVAJASANA
(Bharadvaja’s Twist)
In Bharadvajasana, your focus will be on
opening the front of your shoulders and
moving the upper back in toward your
sternum. These actions will help your upper
body support you in Headstand.
Start by sitting on a folded blanket in
Dandasana (Staff Pose). Bend your knees to the
right and take both of your feet beside your left
hip, with your left foot on top of the arch of the
right foot. Keep your knees facing forward and
your thighs together. Drop the left buttock and
hip as you lift your chest.
Place your right hand behind you and your
left hand on the outside of your right knee. On
an inhalation, lift your chest; on an exhalation,
turn to the right. If you find that you’re leaning
back onto the right hand, place your right hand
on a block.
Press your shoulder blades against your back
and broaden the top of your chest. Walk your
right hand farther back and around, closer to the
left buttock. Now roll your outer right shoulder
farther back. Move the left back ribs forward and
exhale while rotating your chest from left to right,
turning your head to follow.
As your right shoulder moves back, move
your right shoulder blade and the thoracic spine
(the area between your shoulder blades) in
toward your chest to raise the sternum. Initiate
the twist from movement in your upper back, an
action that will keep your thoracic spine and back
ribs from collapsing in Sirsasana.
Breathe smoothly, letting go of unnecessary
strain in the throat and trapezius muscles. Hold
for up to a minute; then release back to center
and take the second side. The rajas that comes
from the strong actions and movement in
the upper body, balanced with the steadiness
in your hips and legs, brings a dynamic and
centered sattvic quality to this twist.ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA
(Downward-Facing Dog Pose)
Focus on lengthening your inner arms and
biceps while you release your head down in
Down Dog. If you can create this dual action
here, then you can re-create it in Headstand.
Your neck will stay long and tension free as your
shoulder and upper- back muscles work to keep
you stable.
Come onto your hands and knees and lift
up into Downward-Facing Dog. Press through
the inner edges of your palms as you lift your
inner arms toward your shoulders. Then, pull
the inner shoulder blades toward your hips
and lift your hips toward the ceiling as you
press the front of your thighs back. Reach
your heels back and down, and lift your inner
thighs.Allow the sides of your neck and the
backs of your ears to lengthen down and away
from the upward-lifting action of your upper
back. Relax your throat.
As you release your head and neck down,
you may find that the shoulders move toward
the ears and your neck tightens and shortens.
Or the head may become too heavy, pulling
the shoulders and upper spine with it toward
the floor. In either case, tamas predominates.
Make sure that the lift through your inner
arms, shoulders, and upper back is sufficient
to support the release of tension in the sides
of your neck and throat so that you can find
the harmony where the qualities of tamas and
rajas meet.
If you’re able to hold Down Dog with
firmness and attention, you can stay for two to
three minutes. If you feel strained, hold for 2o
seconds and then release into Balasana (Child’s
Pose), repeating these two poses a few times.