The one goal in 2020 is to come up from this urdhva dhanurasana. This is part of primary. I was told that I was able to come up already by different advanced teachers. My feeling was that I needed help to come up, always. I lost strength and flexibility in the meantime, but I have a plan and a method how to get where I’ve been and beyond.

In order to perform this deep back bending strong arms are necessary. One must lift up the body. Also if one drops back, the arms must have the strength to stretch against the floor and to hold the body. Nobody likes to fall on the head.

In yoga classes students often lie on their backs, they seem to relax. I fear they try to postpone this asana at least for a couple of minutes. It seems so hard to get into the pose. This is exactly what one has to do. To lift up again and again makes the arms stronger. If it’s possible to lift up 10 times, to lift up once is a piece of cake.

To hold the asana up to one minute or longer helps to get more flexible. The closer the hands are to the feet the easier it is to hold the pose. It’s easier to come up, too. The wrists are less challenged. This can be a motivation to work on this asana.

The January challenge on Instagram is rather interesting. It’s the same since many years. Yogins publish older posts of the same asanas:

1. Many might not be part of the party anymore.

2. On some pictures I see no difference even though years are between the first picture and the last one. I don’t believe that these yoginis have reached their limits. Either they have not practiced regularly or their method to deepen an asana is not effective.

3. Then there are those yoginis who made progress a lot. 5 years ago handstand looked like a banana. This year it’s perfect. I know that hard work must be done to get an inch more flexibie. Strength doesn’t come from alone either.

4. Another group have setbacks. I belong to this group. I don’t publish older pictures. Past is past. One cannot foresee the future when looking into the back rear. I practice and give my best every day. What this is, is very volatile. Who cares…… Nothing is really important.

A daily practice and an effective method to learn an asana will show results sooner or later. It might take years, but who cares. One must fall in love with the process.