11/4/2023 0 Comments One person yoga moves![]() Place the strap in your left hand and on an exhale, lean your torso sideways over your front thigh as you come into Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose). Angle your back foot and hip in slightly, aligning your feet heel-to-heel. Aim your right toes for the middle of the short edge of the mat. Step your feet out wide and turn your right leg toward the front of the mat from deep within your hip. How to: Grab a strap and stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) facing the long end of your mat. Just favor keeping your chest open over grabbing your hands but collapsing in your chest. Using the strap helps make this variation accessible to all, but feel free to ditch the strap and go for the full bind. Why it works: This pose physically shows us that contracting in a shape (in this case, the bind) can also help generate bigger expansions. Photo: Emilie Bers Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose) Variation At the same time, get heavy in your hips, as though someone were pressing them back and down. Press your fingertips against the mat to draw your chest toward the front of the mat. Reach your arms forward and in line with your ears, rising up on your fingertips. Bring your knees slightly wider than your hips and sink your hips toward your heels, resting your forehead on a block. Engaging your arms helps us feel the potential to expand and lengthen, even when we find ourselves in a deeply folded state. ![]() Why it works: Is there any more quintessential pose of contraction than Child’s Pose? We are curled in upon ourselves like an embryo, as if we are preparing to unfurl and be reborn. Photo: Emilie Bers Balasana (Child’s Pose) Variation This sequence will help you find space and balance in the constant tussle between strength and flexibility. A sequence for building strength and flexibility Instead, it’s being aware of the posture, its demands, and what we experience when we allow everything to come into some sort of balance, which varies depending on the pose, the person, and the day. The intention isn’t to achieve a equal amount of flexibility and strength in each pose. For example, having too much sukha, or expansion, could take the form of either lack of muscular engagement or, for those who are hypermobile, going past a safe end range of flexibility. Too much sthira, or contraction, could appear as “muscling” through poses, overexerting oneself, and, quite often, holding the breath as a result. This means that each yoga pose should contain the seemingly opposing qualities of being expansive and contracted, flexible and strong, fluid yet structured.įinding this balance in each posture isn’t a fixed point but rather a continuum, one that we want to try not to let lean too far toward either end. The seminal yogic text, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjli, defines asana as sthira sukha asanam, a steady and comfortable seat. However, according to the classical definition of asana, which is the physical practice of yoga, flexibility is only half the story. Kidding aside, the fact that so many people make this remark reaffirms that there is a common misconception that yoga is all about intimidating poses that ask you to bend your body in anatomy-defying ways. There’s an inside joke among yoga teachers that if we had a nickel for every time someone told us that they have never tried yoga because they aren’t flexible enough, we would be rich. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
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