In the interest of maintaining some sort of home practice, I'm going to put up a single pose each week for you (and me!) to drop into. Preferably there would be some sort of lead-in and some sort of follow-up, but 5-10 mins. of yoga is better than nothing at all. I'm not advocating headstands without any warm-up, obviously, but most of the standard poses will still give you a nice stretch in the moment. Maybe some time, in the not too distant future, I can have my own practice, again. Sigh.
Parivritta Janu Sirsasana (Revolved Head-to-Knee Pose)
1 . Begin in Dandasana (Staff Pose) with the spine long and aligned. Then slide the left knee to the side and, using both hands, gently roll the shin and top of the foot towards the floor. Try and line your heel up with the center of your perineum, but don’t loose the length in the lower back. Extend the left leg to the side so that your legs make a 90-degree angle. Keep the left big toe and knee pointed towards the ceiling.
2. Sit tall and concentrate on lifting the side ribs and lining the shoulders up with the hips. Start twisting to the right (towards the bent knee), concentrating the twist in the lumbar spine. 3. Keeping the twist in the waist and the length in the spine, start folding towards the extended left leg (leaning backwards, sort of). Slide your left hand along the left leg, or lower onto your forearm if you can still keep the spine long. With each exhale, deepen the twist as you lengthen the thoracic spine (the spine behind the rib cage). Place your hand flat on the floor to assist the twist, or take hold of your foot.
4. Bring the right arm straight up and then drop is slightly to the back to increase the twist. Then bring it to your right hip, or, if it doesn’t affect the length of the spine, reach over and take hold of the other side of your left foot. Breathe deeply and try to extend into the pose every few breaths. 5. Slowly release the hands and bring the torso upright. Untwist and then return the legs back to Staff Pose. Repeat on the other side.
5 comments:
Isn't that the truth? I am firm advocate (especially after having children!) that one or two poses CAN be a practice!!
I hope all is well with you and your family! I'm sure you've thought about doing Yoga with the baby?? Of course, it's not quite the same, but....
I will say I have some super-strong thighs, right now. I do at least 50 squats every day with an extra 14 lbs. (not counting the Snugli)...dropped binky, dropped sock, dropped rattle, etc...
Actually, that's a good idea for a post--poses with a babe!
Great explaination in janu sirasana
Love your blog! Isn't the photo of parivritta janu sirsasana? I love both varieties, but the revolved (parivritta) version has the bent leg out to the side more and then of course you don't go straight down, you turn slightly for the lateral stretch.
Yogamom,
Thanks for the correction...you are absolutely right, it IS Parivritta.
Post a Comment