Sitting for one-sided forward bends and varasana.
And there's a health warning that comes with this pose.
Remember it's your yoga and not mine.
Take care of your knees.
If it hurts,
Don't do it.
Imagine breathing to the back of the body to gradually lighten as you extend the spine upwards.
And remember Bandhas Karavelli's words,
That you never bend without lifting first.
There's a sense of the sacrum and the lower part of the body going down from the waist.
And a sense of the light and wide upper body moving away upwards.
Release the right leg forwards and the left one bent round to the side.
Rocking towards the left,
Away from the outstretched leg,
Release the heel and the sitting bone away from each other.
And so that the leg feels very long.
Then rock to the right and deliberately move the calf muscles of the left leg out of the way.
Then sit back centrally again.
Feel equally weighted on each sitting bone.
The base is wide and solid,
Supporting a wide upper body with a long back.
The pose is not about going forwards,
But upwards.
It's not about straight legs,
But open knees.
It's about folding from the center.
Release the shoulders and the hips,
Keeping them wide.
The more you're connected to the ground,
The more the upper spine releases.
Breathe in and take your hands to the hip joints.
Feel the space there with your fingers.
On an out breath,
Pivot at the hips and fold the chest towards the thighs,
Maintaining a collected feeling as the spine moves through a wide skeleton,
The neck feels long.
There is already a two way movement from the waist.
The shoulders feel light and free.
The position is half child pose and half sitting forward bend.
Keep both thighs soft.
The groin muscles are sinking downwards with gravity.
The hips are feeling pinned to the ground.
Your back is feeling long.
Your hands can move to make contact with the floor or any part of your leg,
But wherever they make contact,
They're not taking weight.
On the other hand,
They're informing the shoulder blades to keep sliding down towards your waist.
Think upwards,
Not forwards as the tailbone slides back.
Feel the space in the hip sockets.
They're free,
Not jammed.
Let the heels feel far away.
Release any tension in any muscles and come back when you're ready with your shoulders light.
And then repeat on the other side.
Extend the left leg forwards and the right is round to the side and backwards.
Rocking to the right,
Away from the outstretched leg,
Release the heel and the sitting bones away from each other.
The leg feels very long.
Rock the opposite way to deliberately move the calf muscles of the right leg out of the way.
Come back to the center and feel sitting equally weighted on the sitting bones.
The base is wide and solid,
Supporting a light upper body with a long back.
The pose isn't about going forwards,
But upwards.
It's not about straight legs,
But open knees.
It's about folding from the center.
Release the shoulders and the hips,
Keeping them wide.
The more you're connected to the ground,
The more the upper spine releases.
Breathe in.
Take your hands to your hips,
To the hip joints and feel the space there with your fingers.
On an out breath,
Pivot at the hips and fold the chest onto the thighs,
Maintaining a collected feeling as the spine moves through a wide skeleton,
The neck feeling long.
There is already a two-way movement from the waist.
The shoulders feel light and free.
The position is half child pose and half sitting forward bend.
Keep both thighs soft,
Groin muscles sinking with gravity,
Back long.
The hands can make contact anywhere with the floor,
With your legs,
Wherever they are,
They inform the shoulder blades to slide down towards your waist.
Think upwards,
Not forwards as the tailbone slides back.
Feel the space in the hip sockets,
Free,
Not jammed.
Let the heels feel far away.
Release,
Release,
Release and come back with the shoulders feeling light.
When you're ready,
Move both legs back around to the sides.
Think about forward bending,
Think about backward bending.
Use cushions or blocks or bolsters,
Whatever you feel you might be needing to ease discomfort.
We're not in the pain business,
There should be no pain whatsoever in doing this pose.
So use a bolster if you want to,
Use cushions.
Remember the pose doesn't matter,
It's more about a feeling inside the body,
An undoing tension to explore the movement of where I am and this might take me somewhere else.
I'm doing a forward bend and I can start from the wrist and the hands,
I can start from anywhere,
But I have to find how it brings me to the spine and how the spine releases me back again.
Can't define it,
Can't pin it down,
Doesn't belong to anybody,
It isn't one person's invention,
It's a discovery.
The quality of attention you bring to the practice in each moment prevents it locking itself into a method.
Think upwards as you breathe in,
Up the front of the body to the forehead.
Imagine you're sitting on the edge of a swimming pool and about to dive in.
Then start to bend backwards as if there's a great big globe behind you and go as far back as is comfortable and be careful with your knees.
Support yourself in the way your body wants to.
You can support with your hands,
You can go further and support with your elbows,
You can go even further and support with the top of your head.
Go as far as you like,
As far as your body likes.
The more you can release muscles around the hip joints,
The more your thigh muscles will release.
Release.
Notice your breathing.
Notice your contact with the ground.
Release.
Release.
Release.
Yoga is a dance for our bodies.
We invite small core muscles to come into play,
Releasing big ones and finding space and better articulation at the joints.
As you do more,
You become more aware of what your bodies need,
What your body's like.
Listen to the intelligence of your body.
Discover its harmony with the quality of your attention to your core.
And imagination is important.
It fills the gaps while your awareness is developing.
Every body is different.
Every body will come out of this pose at a different time.
Every body will go into this pose to a different depth.
You know your body better than anyone.
Let your thinking mind release control.
Let go of thoughts and feelings.
Put your body's intelligence in charge,
Finding deeper,
More subtle control,
Bringing the spine to life,
Awakening the core,
Relaxing the outer body,
Letting go of dominant surface muscles,
Especially those holding the hips,
Trying to stop the hips dislocating.
Experience how the pull of gravity helps you in this pose,
And stay in touch with how you're breathing.
Work with your body,
Not against it.
If it hurts,
It's wrong.
Let go of thoughts and feelings.
