yoga

74

december 2018 / january 2019

yogajournal.com.sg

find you are overworking or collapsing, it’s

time to come down. If you feel strong and light,

you can stay for up to 5 minutes, gradually

increasing the duration of your hold up to 10

minutes. To release, bring your feet back down

to the floor, keep your head down, and rest for

up to a minute in Balasana.

AFTER YOU FINISH

It’s far better to hold a solid 3o-second Sirsasana

that has sattva’s quality of lightness and clarity

than a 3-minute pose that is loose and collapsed

or strained. After you’ve rested in Balasana, be

sure to take Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported

Shoulderstand) or one of its variations, such

as Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) or

Viparita Karani (Legs-up-the-Wall Pose) to balance

the stimulating and heating qualities of Sirsasana.

Resting here, consider the actions of the gunas in

your yoga and life. How can you translate sattva

from the mat to the world?

Marla Aptis a certified senior Iyengar

Yoga teacher based in Los Angeles. For

more information, visityoganga.com.

PRASARITA PADOTTANASANA

(Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend)

You release your head to the floor in this

forward bend, but you will support your

body weight in your legs, making this pose

a safe training ground for Sirsasana. From

Tadasana, step your legs and spread your

arms wide apart, placing the feet underneath

your hands. Then place your hands on your

hips and press your inner heels down as you

lift your inner thighs from the inner knees

toward the inner groins.

Extend your torso and fold forward,

placing your fingertips on the floor

underneath your shoulders. Straighten your

arms, extend your sternum forward, and

press your thighbones back. Pull your inner

shoulders away from your neck and move

the thoracic spine toward your chest as you

pull your chest forward between your arms.

Then, bend your elbows, walk your palms

back in line with your feet, and lengthen your

neck as you release the crown of your head

to the floor. If your head doesn’t reach the

floor, rest it on a block.

Your hands and head should form a

tripod. If you have tight hamstrings and find

it difficult to bend forward, continue to work

with your arms straight. Keep weight in your

legs as you spread the soles of your feet

evenly on the floor.

Press down through your heels as you pull

up your inner thighs and quadriceps. At the

same time, press your thighs back and broaden

the backs of your legs. Release your head and

neck down without allowing the entire pose to

collapse, just as you did in Down Dog. Balance

the vibrant quality in your legs with the quiet

surrender in your head to find an equilibrium

that enables you to remain in the pose, calm

and alert, for up to 3 minutes.

On an inhalation, straighten your arms, lift

your chest, and extend your chest forward.

On an exhalation, place your hands on your

hips. Then inhale and stand up, walk your

feet in toward each other, and step back to

Tadasana.

SALAMBA SIRSASANA

(Supported Headstand)

The instructions here are meant to help you

build upon a Headstand practice you’ve already

begun with an experienced teacher. A safe

Headstand is of greater importance than the

duration of the pose. If you’d like extra support,

set up your mat near a corner or practice with

your back and hands close to a wall.

Come onto all fours with your forearms on

the floor. With elbows shoulder-width apart,

interlock your fingers to cup your palms. Look

at your hands as you press the edges of your

forearms and wrists into the floor. Move the inner

shoulders and trapezius muscles away from your

neck. Lower your head to the floor, lengthening

the sides of the neck down. Place the crown

of your head on the floor and the back of your

head into the cup of your palms. Lift your knees

and straighten your legs. Press the edges of

your forearms and wrists down and lift the inner

shoulders away from your ears.

Move your upper spine and back ribs toward

the front of your body and walk your feet closer

to your head, lifting your hips. If you’re at a wall

and your upper back starts to round into the

wall, continue to work the actions of Sirsasana

with your feet on the floor. Lift your back away

from your head and neck while you maintain

weight on your arms. Practice like this for several

weeks until you can move your upper back in

toward the front of your body. Otherwise, you

risk collapsing into a heavy and tamasic Sirsasana,

putting your neck at risk for injury.

If your upper back is lifted and your neck

feels long, lift your hips and then lift your legs

from the floor as gently as possible. Once

you’re up, fully extend through your legs and

reach up through the inner edges of your feet.

Lift your shoulders, shoulder blades,

and trapezius muscles away from the floor.

Continue to extend up through your legs to

bring a feeling of lightness to the pose. If you

Headstand requires

balancing more than

just your body. You

must learn to master

the three gunas, or

essential life energies.