"asked me to do something very simple in Urdhva Dhanurasana: lift the balls of the feet up while pressing down into the heels. It felt impossible, but when I did it, I felt the legs engage very evenly. So simple!"In this video I am trying exactly that at the 41st second. It is such a great tip! it works like charm, as soon as I try it the whole back is realigned and the back bend gets more solid, and just as RA says, the legs engage indeed.
Another thing I tried on this very humid Fall day was to bring the feet as close to the hands as possible, (seconds 9 to 13), from the very beginning, and much more than I normally do. This has become a matter of daily practice now, I noticed that I must get the arch to be smaller, so I walk the hands and grab those heels before pushing up.
I had this amazing realization the other day in practice that when I drop back my feet are way to far from the wall... but that is for another post... must bring that arch to a smaller area!
Previous videos documenting the adventure of backbending can be found here, enjoy!
Follow me on Twitter or subscribe at: ClaudiaYoga.com
Dear Claudia
ReplyDeletei can't seem to get the yubiduby working with my slower connection at home. but by coincidence, as i was doing drop back practice at the shala, Bamboo Knight told me to do the same you describe, well sort of what you describe. he said to put the feet in tip toes, lifting the heels. now wait a minute, since i didn't see your video i'm confused. he said if i did this the stress would come off the shoulders and i would be able to straighten the elbows. but Kai was told to lift the balls of the feet and press the heels? the opposite of what my teacher told me today? i am never too sure on what the balls of the feet are, the part that is near the toes? this is where English being a second language doesn't help. (like trying to figure out the difference between near sighted and far sighted - does one mean you can see from up close but not afar, yea, but which is which?)
hugs
Arturo
Hi Arturo, yes Kai had suggested the opposite, sorry you cannot watch the video as it is clear there....now you have me wondering about that other way... At a workshop with Richard Freeman, he suggested we do this, in the beginning,and I agree that it does take the pressure off the shoulders (it almost feels good).... English is not my first language either, so I completely relate ;-)
ReplyDeleteoh, now i'm in a land of freer internet access, so i can see the detail. i will try that soon. i see you lift the "balls of the feet" and press the heels. My teacher suggested the opposite, but when i was practicing pressing against the wall, even when i practiced with pressing against a blocks placed on the floor in the wall. i think we can do all of these things. all of them have their use in the asana.
ReplyDeletehugs
Arturo