Flexibility can mean a lot.

August 29, 2022 in Back bending

This morning I slept too long. I had an appointment at 9:30 am, so the time for an Ashtanga Yoga practice was too short. It should be so. Sleep is important as well.

A plan is only an orientation and not written in stone. In the afternoon I don’t practice an Ashtanga Yoga series anymore. But I know so many sequences and asanas that I want to exercise that it’s easy to fill an hour. That’s what happened. At 3 pm I stepped on the mat and started with a warm-up. Quickly I focused on back bending exercises.

I took pictures.

My camera is like a pushing teacher. When the self-timer starts blinking I run to the mat. Most of the time I’m able to push my limits. Today I dropped back from a kneeling position into kapotasana. I haven’t done this for ages.

Since a decade minimum my hands try to reach the feet. 🦶 They don’t come closer. Now it’s too late to give up. Giving up is not an option either.

Some yoga teacher have kapotasana as a warm-up in a sequence. This makes me laugh hysterically. I mean reaching the feet with the hands when bending backwards is an advanced asana. I know a lot of people who have difficulties to reach the feet with their hands when they bend forward.

I sweated a lot during the practice. It’s warm here. The body is flexible in summer time.

Tomorrow I don’t have an appointment in the morning. Nothing will stop me to practice Ashtanga Yoga in the morning. When I dropped back into kapotasana today it’s very likely that I can drop back tomorrow as well. I’m ready to get surprised.

I’m looking forward to my yoga practice tomorrow.

Repetition

August 25, 2022 in Back bending

I repeat difficult asana. Ushtrasana, laghu vajrasana, kapotasana, urdhva dhanurasana are challenging asanas. Repetition is a possibility to realise that the body can relax into a pose. With each repetition the pose becomes a tiny bit easier. The discomfort fades away slightly. Repetitors allow to get deeper into a pose.

Sometimes I think that this is a nightmare to repeat a difficult asana that comes with a lot of discomfort. The opposite is the case. Usually the second try feels better. Often I can get deeper into an asana. The same is true for the third try. It’s getting easier with each repetition. The body gets used the movement. Deep breathing helps to relax.

The felt progress motivates.

I know yogis who repeated urdhva dhanurasana up to 50 times against the wall.

Usually three repetitions might be enough. To intensify the exercise I hold the asanas as long as I can. Or I set a timer for 1 min up to 5 min.

Ashtanga yoga - back bending - kapotasana

August 04, 2022 in Back bending

Today I dropped back from a kneeling position into kapotasana. For a long time this vinyasa was no longer part of my practice. I used to drop against a wall to stretch my upper body. I never walked my hands down the the wall till the floor. Today I wanted to see if my stretching exercises brought at least a tiny success. They did.

When it’s easier to get into urdhva dhanursana from a lying position, it might also be easier to get into kapotasana from a lying position. I’ll explore this next time.

This asana challenges me. If it weren’t challenging, it would be boring. I learn how to learn. The understanding of back bending asanas deepens.

I’m staring at my pictures in order to get ideas what I can do to improve this pose. The upper body could get stretched. The hips could get stretched. I do this already. It makes sense to keep stretching these areas of the body.

What counts today: I practiced. This is goal no 1 this month. The frequency of the yoga practice makes the difference. Long breaks mean set backs and often overstretching and frustration.

I found out that simply starting the timer on my habit app gets me going easily. I usually start with a forward bending asana before practicing the sun salutations. A lousy start needn’t to mean that the entire practice will be lousy. The opposite is true, too. Every practice has surprises in all different directions.

On picture three I can see how much wrist flexibility is necessary. To stretch the wrists regularly makes sense. Strong fingers are necessary to keep the body in that position and to walk them closer to the feet. A wall is surely a good prop but one day one must leave the wall.

Thank you for the ‘likes’. Keep practicing.

90 minutes are too short

May 11, 2020 in Back bending

I became stronger during the last months. I got stamina. To interrupt my practice only because 90 minutes are over makes no sense. When I went to Mysore classes a few years ago I practiced 2 1/2 hours. I was one of the first in the yoga room. The teacher was still practicing closing sequence, while I started with the sun salutation. I was one of the last who left the room. Yogini came and left the room, I was always there. The classic approach in Ashtanga Yoga is to add one asana after the other. This makes the practice longer and longer. Every day I practiced the entire primary series in the beginning. After two hours I was exhausted. Then I could finally work on these deep deep back bending asanas like kapotasana.

I altered these strategy. One day I focus on primary, the next day on second series. The back bending asanas come very quickly after the standing asanas when I practice second series on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I feel fresh, I still have strength and will power. I also have the energy to prepare these asanas with extra exercises. I realize that I progress. This strategy makes a difference.

Sometimes I stare at my pictures to find out what exercises could make the back bending asanas more approachable.

I do always splits to stretch the front side of the hips.

I practice kapotasana against a wall to stretch the front side of the upper body.

It’s so important to hold the asanas for minimum 1 minute. One minute can be soooooo long, but it makes sense. I read this advice in many many books on gymnastic i.e..

The very good news is that it’s easier to start with my practice. My practice became again a daily routine that I don’t question every day.

The asanas feel better. It’s no more so uncomfortable and unpleasant to be in a back bending position. It feels even good. (I know that tomorrow I might right the opposite. )

Today I’ll reset my timer. 2 hours of yoga in the morning seems to be a reasonable time without feeling whipped through all these asanas that I want to exercise. I don’t have to rush, I feel as if I have plenty of time for all the exercises.

On Thursdays and Fridays I try to practice as close to the Ashtanga series as possible. Yet during my other practices I work on asanas. I test variations. I stretch parts of the body isolated. Sometimes I even add strength exercises. I hold asanas longer than 5 breaths. I repeat them up to three times. This is very effective. Each time a pose gets easier and I can go deeper.