Strengthen Your Butt With Trikonasana!

Trikonasana is one of the basic standing postures in yoga.

Cultivating good activation in the muscles around the hip of the front thigh will help you move gracefully into some other fun poses that have their foundations in the triangle posture.

In this post I show a fun transition out of trikonasana that will help develop some balance and focus skills.

Watch the video then take a look at the individual positions in the photographs below.

Lifting not sinking
It is hard to tell from watching (which is why I do a lot of demonstration and adjustment in class) but I work strongly in these transitions to cultivate a 'lifting' not sinking feeling out of the standing (front) hip/leg.

There is a strong action of external rotation of the thigh in the front leg.

External rotation of the front thigh in trikonasana is when you sense the inner thigh rolling up towards the sky/ceiling so the kneecap looks more like it is pointing more straight up or even slightly more towards the outer front foot (rather than dropping in over the inner foot).

You should feel a corresponding activation around your side/outer hip/butt area.

This can be easier to sense for many people if you bend the knee slightly, generate the action, then slowly start to straighten the knee.

If you can make sure you cultivate this external rotation in trikonasana then the transition to the balance will be easier.

If you move slowly you will notice there is a slight tendency for the standing leg thigh to want to roll in and the side of your hip move out slightly.  This leads to a feeling of 'dip' in the hip.

As you transition, counter this by bringing your awareness to the outer/side hip and try to either:

• roll the front thigh out
• move the front hip more to the centreline of the body
• push down strongly through the heel of the standing foot (while lengthening and gripping the toes)

The back thigh, throughout, is rolling in.

Trikonasana

Start in trikonasana.

Ardha Badha Trikonasana
Go for an arm bind if comfortable.  Mine easily wraps around my back to catch my thigh but yours might just be behind your back.  Don't worry where it goes, it is more important there is no discomfort.

Niralamba Ardha Chandrasana (with arm bind)
Niralamba means unsupported.  In this case it means you do not have hands on ground.

I try to maintain the external rotation in the standing hip as I lean forward.  I press strongly through my heel.  I keep leaning forward until my toes naturally start to grip--a good sign that the balance is coming!  My back leg comes up easily due to the shift of balance.  To get it higher I have to use active movement.

Raise elbow
I bring fingertips to shoulder.  Stay steady!

Raise body
Ok, starting to get tough here!  Raise the body!  This is the trickiest transition in my opinion.  You have to keep absolutely stable in that standing hip.

Release bind and straighten arm
Once you are here it is now relatively easy just to release the arm from the bind and extend it out.

You did it!
As Dora (the explorer) would say: You did it!

Of course, you can always keep that back toe tip down as lightly as possible and do the spinal/arm actions with toe tip just touching.  You still need to maintain that lift out of the hip though.

Have fun practicing.  Try your best but without an attachment to the outcome.  Without strain.  Without stress.

Oh, probably you will feel something deep in your butt after this sequence.  Yeah!  It's working.

I don't recommend learning from the internet.  Come to class if you can!

This is a mini-sequence we will be working with in our current 9 week sequence.  It is such a good training tool I will likely be teaching it in our retreat in Sri Lanka and in Bali as well (www.artofliferetreats.com).

This sequence is part of a Yoga Synergy style sequence taught by Simon Borg Olivier and Bianca Machliss.

Much metta,
Samantha

www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com
www.artofliferetreats.com

Wowee Active Hip Opening Sequence!

In the second part of our standing phase of the current series we do this warming, lengthening, strengthening (not to mention challenging) sequence of five linked postures.

This will really connect you to your outer/side thigh/butt area of the front leg.  Remember to stretch less, tense less so if it is too intense then back off.

I did this sequence five times in 36 hours while teaching classes (not sure why I have scheduled five classes in that time frame!) and by the fifth time it was as though I had new hips.  It made me think  I should see if you can get a medicare rebate or something back from your health fund for coming to class as it should feel as though you have a whole new pelvis.

Runners and cyclists, I think you will particularly enjoy it!

Be mindful that you stay lifted out of the front hip so you feel tall rather than sinking.

Also, remain mindful that the front thigh rolls out and back thigh rolls in.

No squashing in the lower back.  It should feel free.

I hope you enjoy this!

I have put the main postures below, with a few optional extras, which is why there are more than 5 steps.

1. From standing, step back...

2. To parsvakonasana...

3. Optional bind only if you can get it in the first second.  Otherwise, let it go...

4. Turn this into a standing balance...

5. Then back to a lunge and turn it into a standing balance the other way (active spinal twist towards the thigh)...

6. To parivrttta parsvakonasana...

7. With an optional bind if it comes in the first second.  Otherwise, let it go...

8. It is almost finished!  Turn back to front and turn it into a standing split without arms ...

9. Ta da!  You did it.  Wowee.  Walk around and see if you can sense a difference between your two sides before trying the second side.

Remember, these posts are mainly for people who practice with me and come to classes or who have an experienced teacher whom they can ask questions of and get feedback from.  Learning from the internet is not recommended.

Might have to think about hip mindfulness workshop soon.  Remind me to help you with this at our upcoming Sri Lanka retreat (16-19 July 2015) and in Bali in September!

Happy and safe practicing!

Much metta
Samantha


www.yogacafelk,blogspot.com
www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.artofliferetreats.com

Active Movements For Better Padmasana

An active extension of vrksasana

Vrksasana is commonly called tree pose.

Most people do tree pose by grabbing for their ankle and pulling it up into their inner thigh.

This is a missed opportunity to develop better strength and mobility around your hip joint.

So next time you try vrksasana, why not follow the steps in this post!  It will boost your practice I promise.

Below I show the steps of active vrksasana, some extensions of the pose, including a side plank variation.

The video at the end of the post shows live action transitions so you appreciate the movement.

Over time this is the sort of action and movement that will help you come into a pose like padmasana (lotus) without hands.

Step 1
Transfer weight to one leg (I will call this weight bearing leg, or WBL).  Make sure you do not let the hip 'sink' or push out to the side.

Be on toe tip of other leg (I will call this non weight bearing leg, or NWBL).

Roll thigh out of NWBL.

You should feel that the lower part of your butt starts to get firm.  If you are not sure then start again and put your hand at the crease of your butt and turn the thigh out again.  You should feel it has become firm.

It is enough to stay at this stage.  You should feel you are doing active work.

Step 2
Keeping thigh rolled out, lift knee of NWBL.

Be careful not to sink into WBL hip.

Be careful not to take the knee back.  You are just taking it up.  It will not (for most people) be directly out to the side.

Step 3
Actively pull the heel of the NWBL as close to your bottom as possible while keeping thigh rolled out and knee to the side.

Step 4
Keeping these actions, put the foot into the thigh.

You will find it does not go as high as it normally might but you should feel you are much more active in the posture.

As always, push foot into thigh and thigh into foot.

Extension Step 6
Go further if you like!

Release the foot and take the knee higher while maintaining the thigh rolling out action.

Extension Step 7
Straighten the knee, keeping the NWBL thigh rolling out.

This is tough!!

Extension Step 8
Go back to extension step 6 and take your heel.  Push heel into hand and hand into heel .

Straight the leg again.

Here I actively push my heel into my hand as though I am trying to put the leg back on the ground.

Fun Side Plank Variations
You can do active vrksasana variations in side plank!

Be mindful not to sink into the bottom shoulder/armpit.  I stay lifted out of it, just as I would stay lifted out of the hip in the standing variation.

Video Transitions
Still photos are never great as you cannot see what is happening between one shot and the next.  To appreciate the active movement, watch the video below.

Remember, it is always better to work with a teacher.

Move slowly, stretch less, tense less, think less, and breathe less.

No hamstrings or adductor muscles were injured in the making of this video.

This is precisely the type of movement and step-by-step gradation of poses that I teach in class and we will be working on at our retreat in Bali. Sign up before it fills up!

Happy and safe practicing.

Much metta.

Samantha

www.artofliferetreats.com
www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com

Padmasana Without Hands

Here I wanted to introduce you to my friend Ramali so that you can see how a more natural bodied person can come into a pose like padmasana (lotus) with ease and without hands.

Ramali can come into padmasana with as much grace and ease as she can fold her arms. 

When Ramali first came to my classes I was able to do padmasana—using my hands though. 

I would go through all of those ‘cradling’ the hip type poses to ‘warm up’ my hips and ‘open’ them and then carefully place the legs into padmasana. 

Actually, I understood this was not the best approach as my own teacher, Paddy McGrath (dancingspineyoga.com), always guided us to work into padmasana without using our hands.

Paddy would tell us to use the intelligence of our legs and move our legs using the muscles of our legs.

I would dutifully try and could always manage to get one leg in but the other leg sort of lay there like a dead fish.  Attached to the notion of padmasana I would use my hand to put the second leg in place.  

Then Ramali came to class one day and it was time for sitting meditation at the end of the class and there I was saying to everyone do your best not to use your arms and showing my one-legged version.  Ramali neatly and quickly and modestly just popped both legs into position without batting an eyelid.  

It was a great moment of realization and humility for me and from that time on I said, well, no more padmasana for me.  I won’t continue along this path of fooling myself padmasana is a pose for me. 

 It did not mean I gave up on the pose altogether, although I abandoned practicing it for many months. 

Instead, I went about my normal practice of active movements with the usual standing hip opening poses (forward bends, lunges, trikonasana variations, warrior variations, gadjastan variations) as well as moving actively (no hands) into sitting poses. 

I made sure to actively externally rotate the hip that should be externally rotated in those postures.   I made sure to remain active in the pose so I did not sink into my hips.  I used principles of activating muscles while in lengthened positions.

This was part of my regular practice. 

And then one day, several months later, I thought I might just try padmasana again. 

Voila.  My legs went into the pose of their own accord. 

Now, my legs still do not go into padmasana with as much ease as Ramali’s do. 

While I can do it first thing in the morning, with no preceding warm ups or movements, as you can see in the video I still have a slight ‘sawing’ action to get there.  

Ramali takes her legs into position in two smooth movements. 

I wrote this post not to dishearten.  But for you to think about the truth and reality of what your body is able to do of it’s own accord. 

Based on ideas of active movements and trying not to force your body into position I encourage students to try to move their legs into postures using just their legs. 

One of the reasons is that there is always the risk of damage to your knees if you are really straining to get into position.

Ramali is one of the few people I have met (Georgie in Australia, you are another one!) who have always been able to perform these movements so smoothly.  I am very fortunate to have come across them and have the good sense to watch and learn from what their bodies had to teach me.  Thanks guys!

Perhaps you can watch and learn as well.  

Happy and safe practicing. 

www.artofliferetreats.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com

Dynamic Balance

One legged standing poses can strengthen the standing leg and promote mobility in the raised leg hip

Standing on one leg helps develop stability in the hips, knees, and ankle of the standing leg.  When you are really stable on that leg you can do all sorts of interesting things with the rest of your body.


In the videos below I demonstrate how you can do a lot more with one legged standing poses than just plain old vrksasana (tree pose).  Not that there is anything wrong with vrksasana--it's great too.  But there is a lot more you can do in standing balances that will take your non weight bearing hip through more range of movement while moving energy through the spine.  



These movements are based on my interpretation of the opening postures of the Yoga Synergy Air Sequence.  Please go to the original teachers, Simon Borg Olivier and Bianca Machliss for expert guidance (www.yogasynergy.com).

I have filmed a simple version and a more complex version.  Do what feels right for you. 

One-legged dynamic standing sequence: Simple version

For most of these postures it helps if the weight bearing foot is slightly turned out.  Allow the standing leg to be bent.  You do not have to straighten it.  You can claw with the standing toes a little.  It helps with balance.  Relax your gaze.  In the beginning it helps to look at the floor but with practice you will find you can find other points of focus on.  Let the grounded foot move and wobble as needed to help you find your balance.  


The standing leg hip might try to jut out to the side so try to keep it in.  It's important that you don't feel squashing around the front of the thigh or in the lower back.  Make subtle shifts to keep these areas at ease.  It helps to keep reminding yourself to let the sitting bones move down the back of the thighs.  Relax the tongue, lips and jaw.    


The instructions for the simple and more complex versions are basically the same.  Don't raise the toe if it does not feel right.  You will develop your balance skills even if you keep the toe on the ground.  

Over time, you can lighten the load on the toe so it is just the toenail touching and one day, perhaps, the toe might feel like floating off.  Don't be in a rush to get there and even when you do come back to the toe tip practice sometimes.  I often do and it feels great.

One-legged dynamic standing balance sequence: More complex version

Instructions

Stand comfortably.  Knees soft.  Soften the sitting bones down the back of the thighs to create relaxed space in your lower back.  Relax the face.  Breathe naturally.

Stand comfortably

Simple version

More complex version

From standing comfortably, lean to the right and take your left toe tip forward.  Move the hips forward. Roll the shoulders out, chest rises.  Stay, or lift the toe.  Stay or straighten the leg.  Raised thigh rolling out. 

Simple version

More complex version

Toe tip down, take it to the side.  Thigh rolls out.  Roll the shoulders in.  Hips move forward.  Stay, or lift the toe.  Stay or straighten the leg.  Raised thigh rolling out.

Simple version

More complex version

Toe tip down, arms down.  Roll the thigh in.  Take the toe diagonally behind, knee straight.  Raise the opposite elbow to shield your face.  Lengthen through the front side waist and move the back leg hip forward and up to firm the opposite waist.  Stay, or raise the toe.  

Simple version

More complex version

Toe tip down, elbow down.  Take the toe tip behind you, knee straight.  High on the back toes.  Thigh rolls in.  Push both armpits down towards your waist.  Move the hips forward. Slowly lower the body a third to a half way, however much is comfortable.  Stay, or raise the toe.  

Simple version

More complex version

Toe tip down, thigh rolls in, body rises.  Raise the same side elbow, lengthen through the waist.  Stay, or raise the leg.  

Simple version

More complex version

Toe tip down, elbow down, you are still in a twist.  Toe tip forward, hips forward, take the arms forward and across to twist the other way.  Turn the head and look over your front shoulder, chin to the middle of the throat  head tipped to the side to lengthen the top side of the neck.  Stay, or raise the toe.  Perhaps straighten the leg.  






Return to centre.  Repeat on the other side.  Happy and safe practicing.  Look forward to seeing you in class.

Much metta,

xo Samantha