Summer is hitting us really hard in the North East of the Americas (planet Earth). For example, right now as I draft this post at 5 o'clock PM it 'feels like' 105 degrees. That is what the weather web-site tells me. How do meteorologist get that? Do they go outside in bunches and ask themselves: hm, to me it feels like 106. No! no, says another one, it is definitely 107.
In any event it is so hot here that last Wednesday I was only able to keep the ritual, not the practice. Felt like I was going to die. Hard confession to admit to.
The good thing about the heat however is that practice, when it returns, gets sweaty and deep, and supta / kurmasana, at least this week, started showing symptoms of actually happening, or getting close to it. If you cannot see the video click here.
Right before practice I was reading Gregor Maehle's primary series book
(always a great thing to do before getting on the mat) and realized he talks about the marichasanas being a wonderful warm up for kurmasana because they open the hips and help in the action that needs to happen for the legs to come on top of the shoulders.
So I went deeper in the marichis and enjoyed them, but cannot help but wonder if it is really the heat that is doing the bulk of the work.
This week I am dedicating all practices to the summer, with gratitude for opening the body and bringing all the necessary sweat and flexibility. Bless!
And here is the video of the kurmasana and supta work-in-progress. It's coming!
In any event it is so hot here that last Wednesday I was only able to keep the ritual, not the practice. Felt like I was going to die. Hard confession to admit to.
The good thing about the heat however is that practice, when it returns, gets sweaty and deep, and supta / kurmasana, at least this week, started showing symptoms of actually happening, or getting close to it. If you cannot see the video click here.
Right before practice I was reading Gregor Maehle's primary series book
(always a great thing to do before getting on the mat) and realized he talks about the marichasanas being a wonderful warm up for kurmasana because they open the hips and help in the action that needs to happen for the legs to come on top of the shoulders.So I went deeper in the marichis and enjoyed them, but cannot help but wonder if it is really the heat that is doing the bulk of the work.
This week I am dedicating all practices to the summer, with gratitude for opening the body and bringing all the necessary sweat and flexibility. Bless!
And here is the video of the kurmasana and supta work-in-progress. It's coming!
Thanks for posting this, it's really good to see how you wriggle into it, bit by bit. I can't wait to be able to get my hands together like that!
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I already really enjoy the first 2 marichyasana, and can get reasonably deep in them, so working into them isn't a problem. c and d, not so much, but I'm getting there.
Hi Claudia,
ReplyDeleteYes heat does help, my Supta K in the Shala heat is much deeper than the ones I do at home.
You get into it the same way I do, try taking a little more time and deepening the forward bend & getting your shoulders further under before you sit down. If I do that it makes all the difference to the bind and foot cross.
Ragdoll, great, the first marichis, A and B have the deepest effect for kurmasana, they open the hip joint, so this is really good news! I am enjoying these summer practices, nothing like heat for ashtanga really!
ReplyDeleteGlobie, yes, totally, one tiny little bit by little bit... one tiny step at the time, and the video does not show it but by the end the hands sort of slip... grrrr... working hard at it! it is coming... the shala is usually much better for this pose, I agree with that, normally they put me right into it with everything, but at home... ohhhh need heeeelpppp
My inner yogini cheered for you at 1:09 when you successfully hooked the ankles. It feels light years away when I'm at that stage trying to get the feet together! Your Kurmasana looks great as do the exits. For binding in Supta K, have you tried sitting up after Kurmasana, hook the legs together then fold back down and grasp the hands? That's what my previous teacher was suggesting to other shalamates who were open enough to do Dwi Pada. I don't know how 'orthodox' it is as a method, but might be easier than wriggling the feet in :)
ReplyDeletehi Savasanaaddict, thank you, and no I have not tried that, not sure if the legs are ready to go behind the head but with the summer heat feel tempted to try now.... or did you mean cross the legs on the floor while sitted? my guess is you mean putting them behind the neck...
ReplyDeleteLooking good Claudia! I still need lots of help with binding.
ReplyDeleteYes I meant putting them behind the neck, so after Kurmasana you would sit up, bring the legs behind the head, lock the ankles and go back down, then bind the hands. Only if your hips are open enough of course (which seems to be the case from your video)...
ReplyDeleteThis pose has the feeling of "release" to it. Thank you for you candid blogging.
ReplyDeleteThanks Yyogini, I hear you, me too!!
ReplyDeleteSavasanaddict, I see, yeah, I have a thing with it, for some reason the leg does not seem to go behind the neck, although I admit have not tried in a while... maybe it will make for some summer investigation
Wild Magnolia, :-) thanks, I dont quite feel the release yet, but I cannot wait...
yes, i think heat definitely helps - i can always do more deeper asanas at the shala ~ Ivana
ReplyDeletep.s. you are so lucky with the summer. we had no summer so far (couple of weeks in April) ;-(
hi Ivana, blessing and a not so blessing, sometimes it is sooo hot it is kind of hard to practice... London might be more temperate but I know what you mean, I would crave some heat.
ReplyDeleteHi Claudia, take great care with the dwi pada project - I can very easily get my legs behind my head so was doing this a few months ago, but because it was a self-initiated project I used the incorrect method and jarred my lower back, resulting in a 3 month injury which stopped me working on dropbacks (which is thankfully ok now!). Also actually it's much harder to catch the hands with your feet locked behind your head in that way - I'd suggest it's better to work on it from the floor for now (the dwi pada way is for 2nd series students I believe...though not completely against the rules for others!) and it will come :)
ReplyDeleteDDMel, thanks, I really appreciate your warning and concern from the bottom of my heart, I would hate to have an injury, gosh I feel for that!!! must have been really hard. Good thing about me is that I never ever push, I did try today but noticed that the hip is obviously not open enough so I let it go right away... I don't have that impulse to get it done so much... guess i am in it for the long run :-)
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to try though, I was inspired by Savasana adict cause I had not given it a go in a long long time, so good to know... it is not ready yet...
That's ok then ;) In my case it wasn't actually a pushing injury, just a misunderstood one - I didn't know you must level your hips before putting your leg behind your head. so I was rocking my leg to softly warm it up and then instead of bringing my hip level again first, I just popped it straight behind my head from there and >CRUNCH<!! So that's just my little warning for when those hips are open enough to try again ;)
ReplyDeleteHm, OK, what you just said really brought your point home... "must level the hips before going behind the head"... good one, I will remember that! and hopefully avoid the crunch.... there are so many details to remember! seriously grateful that you pointed this out.
ReplyDeleteClaudia,
ReplyDeletekurmasana looks good. supta kurmasana is much closer than you think.
michael
Well Michael, thank you, appreciate the encouragement there! :)
ReplyDelete