Lying for backbend.
Lying face down on the ground in the prone position.
The whole body,
Especially the upper body,
Is supported.
Your arms are along the side of the body with the palms upwards,
Feet slightly turned in.
Notice the way you're breathing,
Not to change it,
But just notice whether it's fast or slow,
Deep or shallow.
Lying so close to the ground brings your attention strongly to your breathing.
Your shoulders are not collapsing to the ground,
But rather are informed by the contact of the ground with the backs of the hands to slide in the natural direction down towards your waist.
Sandra Sabatini says,
Lying face down preparing for cobra,
Don't be surprised by a sudden movement.
It's because the spine is very independent.
It loves to dance.
It loves to float.
Your body becomes very long,
Very silent.
The ground is very close and there is a possibility for something different,
Something very special to happen.
Raise your feet and let the soul smile at the ceiling.
Remain aware of potential tension in your upper thigh,
Groin and buttock muscles.
Deliberately release them.
You can move your hands there to check there is no tension.
As you breathe out,
Lower the feet and feel their potential to anchor you.
Your lower legs feel very heavy.
Breathe in deeply and feel the spine floating on the stomach.
The palms of the hands release and the armpits become active.
The shoulders are very wide.
There is a feeling that they are active as if you are about to crawl forwards or respond to the contact of the hands on the floor.
Breathe out and feel a connection from the pit of the stomach back to the spine and through to the head which may lengthen forward and lose contact with the floor.
Inhale to allow the lungs to expand deep into the stomach.
As you exhale again,
Let the sacrum and the tailbone lengthen away and see whether the head goes forward and up a little more.
When there is no more movement to be had,
No more muscles to release,
Gently lower yourself to the floor.
While the movements are done on outbreaths,
Allow the in-breath to ease tension as you rest it back and then imagine the little toe strongly connected to the big toe to give a new base for the next extension on an out-breath.
Vandas Garavalli says,
Lift the upper part of the body from the floor a little,
Rising very slowly from the spine.
The movement must originate from the base of the spine,
Travel all along the spinal vertebrae before reaching the neck and behind the skull.
Do not bend at the waist.
Remember,
The waist must elongate.
All lift from the arms,
But lift only from the spine.
And finally,
Come back to the ground gently.
Then,
Try it with the hands placed,
Palms down at the side of the body with elbows touching the floor and hands forwards.
Face down on the ground,
You're really aware of your breathing.
The shoulders are sliding down towards your waist.
The body becomes very long,
Very silent.
The ground is very close and the spine loves to dance.
It loves to float.
Raise your feet and again let the soul smile at the ceiling.
Remain aware of potential tension in upper thigh,
Groin and buttock muscles and deliberately release them.
As you breathe out,
Lower the feet and feel their potential to anchor you.
Breathe in very deeply,
Right into the pit of your stomach.
Your spine floats on your belly.
The shoulders are wide.
There's a feeling that they're active,
As if you're about to crawl forwards,
Responding to the contact of the hands and elbows on the floor.
On the out-breath,
Feel a connection back to the spine and through to the head,
Which lengthens forwards and loses contact with the floor and will this time go a little higher into a sphinx position.
While the movement is done on out-breath,
Allow the in-breath to ease tension as you rest it back and imagine the little toe strongly connected to the big toe to give a new base for the next extension on the next out-breath.
Inhale to allow the lungs to expand deep into the stomach.
As you exhale,
Let the sacrum and the tailbone lengthen away.
Find more space on each in-breath.
Move into the space on each out-breath and when there's no more space to be had,
No more tension you can release.
Come back to the ground gently.
The movement originates from the base of the spine,
Travels all along the vertebrae up to the neck and behind the skull.
Check you are not bending at the waist.
Remember the waist must elongate so that lower lumbar vertebrae are not pinching together.
Also check you're not lifting from the arms,
But only from the spine.
If you like,
Then you can try it with the hands placed palms down under or near the shoulders.
The shoulders continue sliding down your back towards your waist.
Your body is very silent,
The ground is very close.
Raise your feet and let this movement deliberately release any tension around your buttock muscles.
As you breathe out,
Lower your feet.
Feel their potential to anchor you.
Breathe in very deeply,
Right into the pit of your stomach.
There is a feeling that the shoulder blades are active,
Sliding down your back towards your waist,
Responding to the contact of the hands on the floor.
As you breathe out,
Feel a connection back to the spine which lengthens through to the head and this time it goes even higher into a cobra position.
Check you are not lifting from the arms,
But only from the spine.
The movement is in no way resembling a push-up.
On each inhalation,
Allow the lungs to expand deep into the pit of the stomach and to ease tension.
On each exhalation,
Let the sacrum and tailbone lengthen away towards the toes and from the toes feel the extension towards the head and come back to the ground gently when you've had enough or when your body's had enough.
There are lots of alternatives,
Some more difficult,
But remember less is more.
You can try it with the hands near the rib cage where the floating ribs are.
Always remember the movement originates from the base of the spine,
Travels all along the vertebrae up to the neck and behind the skull.
Check,
Always check you're not bending at the waist.
Alternatively,
You can try it with the knees coming off the floor.
This is an upward-facing dog.
There is always a way to do more in every pose,
But remember not to be more ambitious than your body wants today.
You could also try it with the arms outstretched in front of you,
But remember in each case the shoulders are wide and sliding down towards your waist and the spine loves to dance.
Remain aware of potential tension and deliberately release it in your lower back,
Upper thigh and buttock muscles.
Finally,
When your body tells you it's done enough,
Relax the shoulders,
The arms,
The pelvis.
Drop the bones and relax and remember less is more.
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