Great Courage, Mighty Enthusiasm, and Full Strength

Happy New Year!! I have a new blog If you would like to continue to follow my blog you can subscribe to it on the new site. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and I'll see you in 2011!!





During my 20 plus years of Yoga study, I have had the joy and challenge of practicing under a great variety of circumstances. I used to practice religiously outside in Chautauqua Park, Boulder Colorado in the icy winter, pre dawn darkness wearing full winter clothes including hat and mittens. On the other hand in Mysore, I had my 'spot' in the back right corner of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois's original shala, the spot where I showed up every day for an entire year to learn the 3rd series. And more recently I had magical, centering experiences practicing in temples in Southern India while shooting my primary series DVD. In this week's post I want to tell you about the unlikely, ghetto style spot where I currently do my daily Yoga practice and how I've come to so highly value that unsavory spot.
I live in a slumlord managed, falling apart Philadelphia brownstone row home. I have three house mates, two cats and our two main living rooms are crammed full of recording and musical gear. My living situation lacks space. In fact there isn't a consistent spot in any of the rooms to lay down my mat for practice. However if I time it right, there is one spot in the entry to the house just inside the front door, the thin carpeted floor is far from clean, there is precisely enough space for my mat between the door, two crumbling walls immediately on either side and a vent on the floor in front. I have to practice in the very early morning hours before dawn-- enforced Brahma Muhurta practice time!- ( between 3 and 6am --the most auspicious time of day to take practice)!! At that time everyone else is asleep and the chances of traffic needing to tramp across my yoga mat is reduced.
When I do seated postures in this cosmically designated, exclusive spot, my gaze naturally falls along the back wall of a vintage piece of recording gear that sits there. Down near the base of this large wooden box is an old bumper sticker that reads: When All We Ever Wanted Was To Learn, Love, and Grow. My attention has been rather forced on this little sticker, and my mind has begun to ponder it, to puzzle through it, and chew on it with zen 'koan' like curiosity. I see it as I would a dream, a coded message from my inner depths to my ego, the small self who frequently likes to go 'negative' in response to all manner of experience.
Scores of unknown brilliant people with talent and creativity have succumbed to some form of negativity within themselves only to turn away from or misdirect their inner gifts, to give up or quit. Jack Kerouac had this to say in his legendary novel The Dharma Bums: "I was very devout in those days and was practicing my religious devotions almost to perfection. Since then I've become a little hypocritical about my lip service and a little tired and cynical. Because now I am grown so old and neutral…..But then I really believed in the reality of charity and kindness and humility and zeal and neutral tranquility and wisdom and ecstasy, and I believed that I was an old time bhikku in modern clothes wandering the world…".
This is a sad and tragic statement, a statement that could be coming from any of us. We can become tired, 'grown so old and neutral' and lethally cynical. There is so much about our lives that can bring us down, give us reason to become bitter, to give up and stop trying to create and grow and transform, to say a fundamental NO to cosmic Goodness, to Wisdom, to ecstasy, to the symbolic life within us where the Sacred is created and brought to the light of consciousness.
Like Kerouac I remember a younger more innocent time in my life. A time when being positive came more naturally, I had more youthful exuberance, more joie de vivre, and more unquestioning optimism about my spiritual quest. It was before a jaded, at times surly voice entered the stage of my mind, a negative voice that can zap my resolve to respond with care and love to my experience. This tired attitude can cause me to complain and whine about people or things and give way to anger, apathy, judgement, envy, self doubt, pessimism or isolation.
This turning away from spirit, affirmation, and meaning can lead to perpetual negativity, to suicide, drug abuse, obesity, consumerism, apathy or paralyzing cynicism. Many of us are spiritually hiding either too jaded or afraid to seek depth and meaning within ourselves with enough passion to 'break through' and learn to share our visions with others. How many of us are working at things with our whole heart, working on creating and being part of something greater that we could all share and benefit from?

There are many people with their eyes open whose hearts are shut.
And what do they see?
Matter.

This line from a Rumi poem points out that in order to open my heart I have to see beyond 'matter', beyond the rational, beyond the seeable and be able to translate my experience of matter into something personally meaningful to me. My outer experience must become symbolic to me, giving me signs and messages that point me to inner direction, spiritual direction. I practice Yoga to be able to continue to believe in those qualities Kerouac felt he had lost, qualities of 'charity and kindness and humility and zeal and neutral tranquility and wisdom and ecstasy'.
Each day's practice holds the key, gives me the renewed possibility for my full expression of 'living, loving and growing'. Practice is essential because often when challenging circumstances arise, even though I'm not directly conscious of it, all I see is 'matter', my heart closes and I'm not able to access it. That is why I need to be involved in 'sadhana' (spiritual practice) to open my other eyes and really see the heart and Spirit of things beyond matter. From the same poem a few lines later Rumi says:

If you are not one of those light filled lovers
(ie if you see only matter)
restrain your desire-body's intensity.
Put limits on how much you eat
and how long you lie down.
(ie do Yoga)

Presently my practice space sucks, it's cold, unkempt, cramped and it's available for only a limited time each day. But I love that spot; I cherish it when I'm alone and silent at 4am and able to practice. My effort, sweat, concentration, and surrender are the qualities that prevent me from giving in to negativity, to cynicism, doubt, lethargy and worse. I am reminded that it doesn't matter where I lay down my mat, it can be anywhere. Almost all variables are nullified when I make my start in Surya A. It doesn't matter that the floor is dirty or the walls are peeling or that I'll be interrupted by inner gremlins that have an aversion to concentration and breath.
Practicing Yoga causes me to continue to say YES to my real life, the life within, its inner meaning and how that meaning finds expression in outer forms, even when my habit patterns continue to tell me to say NO to my inner life. Yoga gives me the power to respond with more openness and love when I'm feeling like closing my heart.
When we've practiced Yoga for a significant period of time, time enough to be transformed from the inside out, there is a force that develops in us, a strength that causes us to want to keep making the effort to heal and transform ourselves, our relationships, and our world-- no matter what inner or outer circumstances we find ourselves in.
"The following qualities are found in the bodies of every Yogi: great courage, mighty enthusiasm, and full strength."---The Siva Samhita

Asana Kitchen: Dropping Back (PT 3)

Namaste! I'm pleased to offer Part 3 of The Asana Kitchen's drop back series. I encourage you to get out your mat, warm up your back and practice along with the video and instructions. This time I've also included written notes to supplement the video!
After this I'll have one more post before the New Year. Thank you for following my blog by watching my videos and reading my writings. I'm excited for another year of sharing Yoga with you all. If you have benefited from my blogs I'd appreciate you sharing them with your Yoga friends through any of the social media channels. I'm available as a resource to you and your Yoga community. I would love the opportunity to work with you in person. To invite me to teach at your studio, please send me your contact information and we'll make it happen! Be sure to check back for my last post of the year because I'm going out with bang...! Hari Om!! Jai Ma! Enjoy! David



Review of Alignment Principles for dropping back and coming up:

The arms vertically, actively reach up palms facing each other
Lift the upper spine upwards and curve it far forward into the body.
Move the sacrum forward into the body causing the hips to move forward. Resist the forward movement of the hips by grounding the thighbones, make the thighs powerfully firm and stabilize the legs.
As you start to go back reach up, out and over.
Continue to lift the chest and curve the upper spine up and forward into the body. Keep the legs straight and firm as long as you are able. The stronger and more flexible you are the less you'll ever have to bend your knees when you drop back.
As you drop back, touch down, stabilize the arms, land with as much control as possible, and then let the body sway slightly further in the direction it was already going. Use momentum to rock forward as you prepare the legs to support the weight of the spine. Keep the head back, keep your eyes fixed on a spot between the hands.
Lead with your chest, try to lift and curve the spine creating the exact same action that helped you drop back. Project your spine and hips forward until you feel your legs underneath you supporting your curving spine and head. Keep your head back until the very end finally bringing the head up when you are standing upright.

*Use the wall or other props as is necessary to create a healthy, sustainable step by step progression for learning to utilize the alignment principles.
*Don't go for 'too much too soon'. The true enjoyment and benefit comes from flowing with the dynamic, rhythmic play safely within the limits of your body. Not in reaching an end goal. Use your alignment knowledge to know where your particular edge is.
*Be patient allow several months or however long it takes for the proper knowledge and body intelligence to come to you in order to master this life affirming, dynamic move.

***Note about the pelvis as you set up to drop back: rotate the pelvis in a slight backward tilt (like a gentle tuck, but not a tuck that flexes the lumbar spine)
achieve the feeling of this backward rotation by imagining the pelvis as the paddle wheel of a mississippi steamboat. (the axle passes through the hip joints). Imagine the paddle wheel turns in a counter clockwise direction, moves up and over from front to back.
*****Also note lengthening the coccyx means cultivating a sense that your vestigial tail is actually a real tail with length and weight. Imagine that you have a tail like a monkey or a great cat, a tail that has weight and dangles down behind or between your legs. Let this feeling of having a tail ' drag' the back of the pelvis downwards towards the earth. This action helps awaken uddhyana and mula bandha's.

Additional Notes

Focus on the drop back first as a way of getting started. Dropping back is generally easier than coming up.

First get ready action, for the significant play of forces you are about to set in motion. Center your self as though you are about to surf, to catch and ride an ocean wave, it's THAT kind of readiness--poised ready to respond, to execute, and balance.

Go through your set up progression (see above) to ensure maximum opening of the chest and thus maximum participation of the upper spine and in order to optimize the use of your legs.

Clearly center yourself over your foundation even as your center of gravity shifts forward as you go back.

As you reach up and over make sure you take the head back and look for a spot on the wall, pad or ground, a spot between the hands that will help visually orient you to prepare you for landing.

There should be a tiny bit of give in your landing for softness but keep the arms straight.
If you let the elbows bend and give way to easily you'll increase the chances of bonking your head upon landing.

Once you have the feeling for dropping back, think about coming back up. Initially a fair amount of rhythm and momentum can provide you with the extra surge you need to come up.

In order to use momentum effectively you have to attempt to come back up utilizing the motion that was generated when you dropped back. When you drop back your body's weight will be going down and back towards the wall (even though you have lifted your spine up and forward in opposition to this) In order to come back up, you want to let the body continue in the direction it was already going for a little longer. Keep the arms straight and let the body move in the opposite direction than you want to go to come back up. This step is key to creating momentum to push off and come up. You drop back, touch down, let the body sway slightly further in the direction it was already going then prepare the legs to support the weight of the spine. Keep the head back, keep your eyes fixed on your spot between the hands.

Lead with your chest, try to lift and curve the spine creating the exact same action that helped you drop back. Project your spine and hips forward until you feel your legs underneath you supporting your curving spine and head. Keep your head back until the very end finally bringing the head up when you are standing upright.


1) use the wall:
A) as an effective, safe way to begin.
B) as a way to progress step by step while staying in control of some of the important alignment principles.
C) to help you work with your fear of dropping back.
D) to feel of the essential role of rhythm in learning to drop back and come up.
2) Use firm foam pads
(as shown in part's 2 and 3 of the series. the pad dimensions: 2" high 12" wide 24" long)
A) when you can drop back with wall and are able to get most of the way to the floor.
B) when you've become comfortable enough using the wall to skillfully and rhythmically drop back and come up with clear breathing
C) when you want to focus more on learning to come up.
D) when you can drop back and come up from the floor but want to refine specific points and work with aligning the legs or get the feeling of keeping the heels more grounded.
E) when you want to use less momentum to come up.
F) when you want to soften your drop back landing.

=====Earth=====

*Contemplate the role of the earth and the importance of feeling grounded when working on drop backs
*Find the earth through the legs and then trust the earth! Trust the legs!
*consciously lower your center of gravity so that you feel physically closer to the earth.
*work with imagery to enhance the stability of the legs in your posture. Imagine that the feet and legs have thrust up through the earth similiar an outcropping, an island that has thrust up from the ocean bottom.
*learn to lift and curve the spine forward into the torso in order to use the support of the legs to center your self and control your speed dropping back and coming up.
=====Rhythm=====
*use momentum and rhythm to invite the entire body to participate dynamically in dropping back and coming up.
*co-ordinate the rhythm of the breath with sweeping rhythm of the skeleton
* feel an ascending, uninterrupted curve through the length of the spine.

*gaze over and down at a spot on the ground between your hands leading with the eyes on the way down and allowing the eyes to follow on the way up.
*proceed confidently, knowing that you will be able to execute the move. Hesitation causes you to interrupt the rhythm and gives you the message to close the chest and not to rely on the foundation of the posture.

To purchase pads go to the Friendly Foam shop
You need 24"L x 24"W x 2"H If you mention you need a yoga prop, with those dimensions, and say you want the firmest kind of foam they will understand.

Asana Kitchen: Dropping Back Parts 1-2

Greetings! I'm excited to offer parts 1 and 2 of a 3 part Asana Kitchen video series answering our most popular question to date: how to successfully drop back into a back bend and then stand up! Part One looks at the principles of dropping back and standing. Part Two addresses the problem of the heels lifting going down and the feet splaying out when coming back up.
Get out your mat, warm up your back and try to do what I have presented in the video's. You will benefit more by doing rather than simply watching and then trying to remember what to do the next time you practice.
Regardless of your level of experience, I recommend you watch and work with both video's because each part contains important basic information for more beginning students and subtler, nuanced information for more experienced students.

Interview on Prescribing Yoga

I recently did an interview on the blog Prescribing Yoga and I would like to share it with all of you. It has some relevant information on the practice that I feel would be beneficial for each of you. I would also like to thank Christina Palmer for having such an amazing and informational blog as well as asking me insightful questions regading Yoga and the practice.

How did you first learn about yoga?

I was sixteen and working as a bus boy. The dishwasher was really into metaphysics, supernatural phenomenons, UFO's, conspiracy theories, etc, and one day he told me about Yoga. That afternoon he took me to the local park and showed me Surya Namaskara. From that point on I was practicing Sun Salutations.


Tell us about the path your yoga practice has taken.

In 1991 I placed 4th in the Seattle Marathon after training rigorously for a few months and my body became completely tight and so I went to an Iyengar Yoga class. I got hooked and started going everyday. Eventually, I found two important teachers who lit the fire of Yoga in me and helped me to choose to make Yoga my life path. Then in 1993 I saw a video of Pattabhi Jois teaching his students (Freeman, Chuck and Tim) and saw in the Yoga Journal that he was coming to LA. I went and studied with him for one month. Then in '94 I went to India and was there almost continuously for two years. At the end of that time Guruji certified me. I went back to Seattle and for ten years ran the Ashtanga Yoga School always returning to India nearly one or twice a year to work with Guruji.

On one of my first visits to India I discovered singing and started practicing Bhakti Yoga by way of music. I now consider myself a practitioner of both Bhakti and Hatha Yoga.

For the past few years, I have started to make a more organized and conscious choice to share what I'm learning through social media: dvd's, cd's, and blogging. All of these media outlets are pushing me to go deeper into teaching as a service and to share what I have been given. And that's where I continually see my future leading, continuing to practice, study and share what I'm learning.


Who have been your greatest yoga teachers and why?

Marie Svoboda, who taught me about the process of going into an asana and that what is most important is the process not the end. She also taught me about rhythm.

Aadil Palkhivala, who still teaches in Seattle. He is a senior Iyengar teacher and taught me to think creatively and therapeutically about the body. And how to endlessly refine an asana. He also taught me how to appreciate when a magical atmosphere arises in a class.

Ramanad Patel, who teaches workshops worldwide and taught me about combining Bhakti Yoga and asana work in a class.

Pattabhi Jois, who taught me everything... how to stand on my own and how to be a complete anchor. And how to be yourself. And how much power we each have. Guruji wasn't playing around or putting on an act.


What motivates you to practice every day?

How much better I feel when I practice. And how alive I feel. And how I can finally feel my life force really flow. And the mental places that I go when I practice. The concentration that I can achieve. And also the physical benefits.


Why do you practice Ashtanga yoga?

Because Ashtanga Yoga is the only type that can adequately allow me to work with my energy the way that feels right to me. I like how physical it is. I also like the concept of Vinyasa and how working with patterns of the breath is the center of the practice.


What is your daily routine like?

I am always busy and doing things. I don't like to feel that I'm wasting my life. I don't consciously keep a schedule but my day is always consistent. If I have to teach Mysore class I wake up at 4AM and practice. Sometimes I can squeeze in some classic Indian scales. I teach at 7AM and when I'm through I go home and eat a whole grain breakfast (sweet brown rice cream, oatmeal, cream of wheat.) Then I either sing again or I begin my writing for the day. At this time I am also double tasking by cooking a macro meal (pressure cooking brown rice, slow cooking vegetables, burdock, Kimpira). But either way I will be singing or writing until I eat at 3PM. This is when I usually take a two hour break. A break usually involves some reading, a cat nap or helping my partner Joy on her film projects. But at around 5PM I start revving up again, answering emails, sometimes Joy and I will film, but most days I'm writing until its time to sleep at around 10pm. I don't need a lot of sleep, never have.


Tell us about your diet.

I practice a wide macrobiotics. Because I'm not sick so for me the macro diet does not need to be narrow. But I also have a Yin disposition and therefore, am inclined towards Yin foods (sugar, alcohol, caffeine) so I have to be very conscious to eat the Yang foods my body needs in order to be balanced. The most hearty Yang foods are short grain brown rice, burdock, turnip, daikon, carrots, and then cooked for hours. One of the things I love about the macro diet is that you do put a lot of energy into making the food but in the end you have an amazingly tasty and healthy dish. Its not like you spend hours in the kitchen making Fettucine Alfredo, where the result is tasty food, but also super high in fat.


What are 3 pieces of advice you would give serious yoga practitioners about their diet?

I've said it before: The diet is the final frontier for a Yogi. Its a lot easier for people to acclimate to waking up and going to bed earlier, or being more physically tired throughout the day, but eating a proper diet is really challenging. My advice is more on how to transition into a healthier diet.

#1 Be kind to yourself when your transitioning into a healthier diet. This is where most people have trouble. If you start off too extreme… cutting out everything you enjoy and just eating brown rice and turnips, you will probably not hold the diet. It takes a long time to change your diet so transition slowly. In the beginning eat the occasional slice of cheese and slice of cake.

#2: Get onto whole grains. Buy a pressure cooker and a grain meal and learn to use them. The food tastes a whole lot better.

#3: Most importantly, make a very careful study of how the food you eat affects your practice. You really have to study this because you want to have an optimum practice each day. This means you have to feel when your body system and digestion is ready to practice. So when your practicing take note of how you feel and what it was that you ate yesterday. And then if you observe carefully and long enough your practice will teach you what you need to eat.


What advice do you have for people interested in starting a yoga practice?

I'm biased but I think that Ashtanga is the best practice. And the way to learn Ashtanga is to find a teacher who teaches Mysore. Sign up for the month and follow their instruction. If you can't get access to a teacher then a dvd can do it. Also, make an intention within yourself to honor your body. If you want to start a Yoga practice you need to realize that Yoga is a large path. There's a lot to it. Its a discipline that takes several years to understand and get established in, and in the beginning, you don't have to understand very much of it. You only have to make a start. Start small and simple and see how you feel and see where that takes you. And continue to feel what's happening and value what you feel. Don't do too much too soon. And be careful not to get swept away by your ego trying asanas that your body is not ready for because you can get hurt.


What advice do you have for people with busy schedules who must maintain a home practice?

1: Have a consistent time that you practice.

2: If you only have the energy to do ten minutes, five minutes, one Sun Salutation, then just do that. Again, you have to be kind to yourself. Because that one sun Salutation will carry you onto the next morning when you may feel like doing the entire Primary.


How has your practice changed over the past 10 years?

My body has aged. I've slowed down some. I value breathing and simplicity much more. My focus is way deeper, way more subtle, as well as my breath. I still love practicing but for very different reasons. Now, I love the very moment that it's happening rather then what I'm going to get out of it when I'm done.


How do you see your practice changing over the next 10 years?

I don't know what's in store and I'm happy about that. I only know that I will be doing it and it's bound to get deeper and take me to new places that I've never gone. And I'm excited about that.


What is your biggest fear?

I tried to just think of one but this is what came out: That for whatever reason people can't relate to my experience. That I haven't gone deep enough. That I haven't applied myself enough. I'll run out of time before I've gotten the chance to really find my wisdom. That I can't face and accept my ugliness and join in healing around that.


Who have been the most influential people influencing your health habits?
Pattabhi Jois
Marie Sbavoda
Macrobiotic teachers (AnneMarie Colbin, Herman Aihara, Michel Abehsera)
My mom
Jung
Patanjali

If you could tell a room of thousands of people one piece of life advice, what would it be?

You have an incredible reserve of life force within you that is meant to be positively channelled to heal yourself and the world. So face whatever demons that block you and use your power to heal and move life forward.


What do you wish you could go back in time and tell your 25-year old self?

Don't be afraid. You have so much power and so much talent just go for it.

Action!

In this new post I speak about the concept action in asana, action as a catalyst to the revolution within you. There is a wide range from (superficial to deep) of what constitutes action in asana. At times cultivating action may mean that you activate specific muscle groups to move your bones and achieve dynamic alignment of the skeleton. When you lengthen your hamstring muscles in a forward bend, you must contract the quadriceps muscles in the front thighs. The action here is to engage the opposing muscle group to achieve a dynamism between agonist and antagonist muscle groups.

This action works the hamstring safely but also shapes the leg intelligently and leads to the deeper, more subtle action of pressing the thigh bone further into the leg. (called grounding the femur). Grounding the femur ensures that the femur sits comfortably in the hip socket and helps optimize the transfer of weight from the pelvis through the legs, feet into the earth. Grounding the femur puts you in touch with the musculature of the pelvic floor and helps awaken mula bandha.

At first cultivating action in asana may seem like something small, tedious or doing a lot of work for little or no results. But the effort you put forth to activate certain opposing muscle groups or to properly align your skeleton in each posture serves as a foundational pillar of your health, progress and growth. That effort helps you to better cleanse and work your body safely and sustainably, it sharpens the mind, gives extraordinary powers of concentration, and opens you to the interior limbs of ashtanga yoga.

The internal basis of action in asana practice is to train your senses to remain awake to the inner feelings of the body. You develop highly tuned sensory receptors that reach throughout the inner field of the body. These receptors bring back energetic information that helps you become aware, helps you penetrate to even the most remote regions of the body. You develop special eyes that see inward, special ears that listen within and most importantly a special 'skin' that helps you feel within. As the senses become 'purified' and internalized you become more conscious better able to harness life force and direct it where you find flow and harmony.

When you begin to work with actions in the body you go to a deeper level to perceive the pattern behind the movements of seemingly unrelated parts. Your skeletal, respiratory, psychological, nervous, digestive, circulatory---all of the major systems of your being both conscious and unconscious begin to act together. This leads you to comprehend a universality that connects and aligns the entire field within you.

Then instead of each breath, posture or transition feeling singular or disconnected or otherwise separate from the whole, the practice becomes one continuous expansion into greater awareness where the folding and unfolding movement patterns draw forth your deep, intuitive body intelligence.

This may sound abstract or complex but actually it's very intuitive and simple like when you have an instantaneous dawning insight, an 'aha'. It's also like learning to get the knack of how to do a difficult posture. The biggest trick of all is to learn how to stay oriented inside your body through your changing mental states, for long enough to really observe and to transform your unconsidered, gross motion into powerful movement that is born from intelligent awareness.

When your practice is centered in the foundational patterns of postures, your ideas of what constitutes an advanced posture will get upended. It is how you go about even the most basic posture that determines its depth. The limitless extent to which you can optimize your breathing and align your postures reveals the wisdom and layered depth contained in each asana.
You find the advanced asana has less to do with how bendable or strong you are, and more with the way you perceive action and the play of opposites. You learn how to align your self and work with (not against) the physical limits of your body.

Creating action within a posture leads you away from placing too much importance on an end goal for your asana. This helps you work safely as you go further. You tune in plainly to your present circumstance and direct your consciousness along positive, active channels in order to invite opening and transformation. Through action you gain the knowledge and skill to go beyond either unfocused, mindlessness or endlessly engaging with and getting caught in your continual stream of moods. You get better at transcending the range of your mental turnings, your enthusiasms, zeal, hardships, skepticisms, fears and such states that obscure your wisdom and appreciation.

The value of action in asana practice is found precisely in that it gives you ways to positively channel your fire, the passionate energy within you that needs expression. By investigating the action required to align a posture you are investigating both how to expand more into your joyous consciousness and how to respond positively to the obstacles that you encounter within yourself.

Asana Kitchen Discussion Room: Giving Up In Kapotasana

Asana Kitchen: Shoulderstand Series (Pts: 1-6)

The subject of this asana kitchen post comes from Patty in LA:

David, please help me with shoulderstand and explain why it's important.

This post on shoulderstand is a six part video series. I believe that shoulderstand is such an important posture that six videos are needed to give justice to the incredible asana. I invite you to dive into the series and take time with the videos really giving the pose the time that its benefits demand.

The first 3 video's include discussions on the following aspects of the posture: 1) A talk on the importance of the posture 2) The value of supporting the shoulders with a pad 3) How to use a pad

The last 3 videos are meant for you to study but will be more useful if you get out your mat and do the exercises. They include
4) How to create a sound a foundation 5) Ways of working in the posture 6) An intro to the posture using the wall (for beginners, review, and/or teachers). I've also included some written notes to supplement the video's.

Please let me know what you think of this post and I welcome you to email your asana questions to asanakitchen@gmail.com. Enjoy! David

When you are standing upright the feet and legs are your base and connection to the earth. In shoulderstand your foundation, your source of grounded skeletal support is in the shoulder girdle, arm bones and muscles of the fingers, hands, forearms, upper arms, and shoulders. The arms and upper body (not including the neck and head) form a basket like support structure that can powerfully and effectively bear the weight of the body. The ability to utilize this foundation effectively depends upon the proper positioning of the spine in relation to the arm bones and shoulder girdle. The elbows need to be approximately parallel to each other and you must lift up the spine so that ideally neither the upper spine nor the neck touch the ground.
If the foundation is not set up skillfully and thus doesn't bear the weight of the body adequately, then neck problems could result. The elbows splaying out and the spine falling toward the ground are two signs of a faulty foundation. Using a firm pad under the shoulders can make it easier to establish a sound foundation that will ensure that the proper parts of the skeleton will receive the weight of the body. I've found that nearly every student can learn to work more safely, enjoy the posture more and expand the possibilities for exploration by supporting the shoulders in Shoulder Stand.

3 Keys To a Sound Foundation

1) Set up your posture with care and skill. Position the upper arms as close to parallel as possible. Do this by going into plow, straightening the arms behind you and interlocking the fingers. Tip to one side and roll the opposite shoulder under, then tip to the other side and repeat. Do this a few times on each side. See if you can feel the shoulders move under and the elbows move closer to each other.

2) Bend the elbows, push the "J" of the hand into your back. (The "J" is the "J" shape formed by the web space between the thumb and index fingers). Walk the hands down, push the "J" of the hand into your back, flatten out the hands and make the fingers face straight up. Spread the fingers to make the hand 'basket like' to catch and receive the weight of the body.

3) Come up into the posture. Orient your self according to the feeling of hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders. The cervical spine and head are not meant to bear weight. Make sure you are aligned so that the proper parts of the body are bearing the weight.

6 Keys for How to Work in the Posture

1) Open the chest by lifting the spine. Make the spine disappear into the front of the body. Its a feeling like the torso gets blown forward and wants to leave the hands behind.

2) Periodically walk the hands down and push the "J" of the hand into your back, flatten out the hands and make the fingers face straight up. Spread the fingers to make the hand 'basket like' to catch and receive the weight of the body.

3)Align the body clearly along the vertical axis. At a gross level, bring the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders into vertical alignment. At a more subtle level achieve this vertical line by working with breath and activating opposing forces within the entire body: lift the arches of the feet as you suck the knee caps and quadriceps up. Anchor the thigh bones deep within the upper leg and move the sacrum into the body more. tune into the lift of the perineum as you exhale thoroughly.

**Keys 4 and 5: Activate a play of opposing forces by observing breath

4)Create Jalandhara bandha as you inhale by lowering your gaze and resting the brain so that you seal your mental prana within the torso. Feel the passive brain and downward cast eyes work together to energetically contain the expansion of the chest and thus keep your mind and senses absorbed within the torso above you. Also feel the flow of the in breath cause the spine to move upwards and deeper into the body. Use breath to blow the legs and feet upwards. Release the throat.

5) As you exhale feel the transfer of weight from above down into your foundation. As though the weight of the body falls vertically down along the central axis to be caught and firmly supported by the awaiting foundation. As you finish breathing out, activate the pelvic floor and Uddhyana Bandha to energetically 'catch' and re direct the flow of the out breath so prana remains within the torso. Contrast this downward feeling by lifting and curving the spine into the body more.

6) Watch the play of these opposing actions within the entire body and their relationship to the opposing patterns of inhaling and exhaling.