David Garrigues on Jump Back from David Garrigues on Vimeo.
Greetings! This weeks post features a video on how to jump back between seated postures. The options that I demonstrate follow a progression from easiest to mastering the jump back. I suggest you play around with the variety of versions, find one that works the best for you at this time, and then work from there into the progressively more difficult steps. Here's a few additional tips to keep in mind as you practice it:
#1) memorize the set up position:
lift up the feet and knees
extend the arms forward just in front of the hips
empty the lungs and coil the body in anticipation
#2) This is the biggest key:
all of a sudden with a burst of power push the hands down in front of the hips inhale
decisively suck the feet and thighs up towards you
Immediately lean forward
#3) Bend the elbows:
pivot on an axis exhale
keep the thighs and feet sucked up as high away from the mat as possible
#4) Project the chest forward:
thrust the legs back
arrive and stop in a clean cetvari (Caturanga Dandasana) and smile
draw the shoulders back away from the mat 6 to 7 inches position the hips very low to the ground
cultivate a strong uddhyana lift of the belly
hug the thigh muscles to the bones
keep the head up gaze slightly forward
Pay particular attention to the flow of the breath (presented in bold and italic). Due to my upcoming schedule constraints I'm now going to begin posting every other Sunday. As always I encourage you to share your comments and questions with me either via the blog comment section or an email. I really appreciate hearing from you. Thank you for your sincere dedication to the practice, to holding the mirror up up to your self each day anew, and thank you for including me in your beautiful journey of Yoga. Enjoy!!
David, awesome breakdown of the jumpback. I especially liked seeing how you coiled up at the beginning, used your arms and got the energy to push off. I'll give it a go at practice!
ReplyDeleteHey David, nice breakdown of the jump back. I was wondering, in a mysore class setting do you let people use the blocks as you show, if so, at what stage does the person remove the blocks, i'm thinking straight after the jump back before they go into upward dog ? Thanls. Niall.
ReplyDeleteHi Niall, there are mutliple possibilites but the one that people seem to use the most is to stay with the blocks until at least downward dog. In fact a lot of people use blocks for the entire vinyasa. You could put them aside before upward dog, but if you are using standard sized blocks, it's a long way to lower to the floor and that can be awkward. If you are using low blocks then it is more practical to put them aside before upward dog. I recommend having a lot different heights of blocks handy (you can use a bandsaw to cut them to custom specs!) Then you'll only to use as much height you need. Make sure to progress onto shorter blocks as soon as you're able.
ReplyDeleteDavid, this completely changes my perspective. I have tended to think that I was "faking it" much of the time or that I was often "cheating" on my jump-back. Having these different versions presented as formal options really changes how I think about this crucial part of asana practice. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great lesson! I can do it here at 1:30 in the afternoon - let's see if it sticks for the wee hours (!). Very helpful how you broke this down. And watching what you do with your feet and when was most helpful for me, as they (my feet, that is) feel like they were simply in the way. Now they feel like a key weight for the impetus to move along with the head/chest. Muchisimas gracias!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent David thanks for that :)
ReplyDelete