Friday, December 30, 2016
Woke up in a great mood and am eager to hit my mat this morning.
Trite and sugary as it sounds, I think 2016 was a wonderful year and 2017 will be even better.
My 2016 had some heart-ache in it, but it also had professional growth, great experiences with friends, wonderful food (I will never deny myself good food), great music, and a lot of time with my family.
I intend to fill my 2017 with the same enriching and edifying experiences with my family and friends.
Let's talk about yoga! So far, this blog has been picture-less. To the right is an image of the second forward bend, padahastasna. This is one of my favorite forward bends, as it relieves pressure that built up in the wrists from your Vinyasas.
Note the hands are completely covered by the feet and the toes touch the back of the wrists.
While I can nearly straighten my legs completely in this pose, one of the most interesting things that happens is one's abdomen is pressed up directly against the tops of the thighs and knees. Engage Uddiyana Banda in this position and you can literally feel your food being moved around in your digestive tract (very gnarly but very cool and very good for you).
With Padahastasana being one of the intense forward bends, you'll see an image of Urdhva Dhanurasana to the left. This is one of my favorite poses but I caution anyone who's attempting this to be careful and very mindful of their body as they move into this post. You can hurt yourself getting into the pose and coming out of the pose (I know I've kinked up my shoulders by being too zealous and bending too deep before I was ready).
Note how his arms are straight and how the weight looks, more or less, evenly distributed into his hands and feet.
It's a little more difficult to see but his toes are pointing out slightly. Whomever this is, you're awesome, but I want to call out the importance of keeping ones feet pointing forward. As you lift into this upward bow, your knees, feet, and legs will naturally try and turn outward. This is very bad for your knees and they need to remain pointing forward as they undergo the pressure of this pose.
I'm showered, in clean clothes, and ready to hit my mat.......
Friday, December 30, 2016 (Part II)
Post-practice post. Feeling great and ready to have a wonderful day. Followed through my modified Ashtanga Primary Series; great video here if you're interested in seeing portions of the Primary Series executed perfectly.
Forward bends (which will probably always be difficult for me) are coming along very nicely as I warm myself up with some very gently plow poses and other "feet over the head" seated poses before I actually begin my practice.
My full upward bow is coming along very well with nearly completely straightened arms. I'm going to keep that pose as my finisher as it's a great way to end the practice.
Only two more days in 2016.
Namaste.
Woke up in a great mood and am eager to hit my mat this morning.
Trite and sugary as it sounds, I think 2016 was a wonderful year and 2017 will be even better.
My 2016 had some heart-ache in it, but it also had professional growth, great experiences with friends, wonderful food (I will never deny myself good food), great music, and a lot of time with my family.
I intend to fill my 2017 with the same enriching and edifying experiences with my family and friends.
Let's talk about yoga! So far, this blog has been picture-less. To the right is an image of the second forward bend, padahastasna. This is one of my favorite forward bends, as it relieves pressure that built up in the wrists from your Vinyasas. Note the hands are completely covered by the feet and the toes touch the back of the wrists.
While I can nearly straighten my legs completely in this pose, one of the most interesting things that happens is one's abdomen is pressed up directly against the tops of the thighs and knees. Engage Uddiyana Banda in this position and you can literally feel your food being moved around in your digestive tract (very gnarly but very cool and very good for you).
Note how his arms are straight and how the weight looks, more or less, evenly distributed into his hands and feet.
It's a little more difficult to see but his toes are pointing out slightly. Whomever this is, you're awesome, but I want to call out the importance of keeping ones feet pointing forward. As you lift into this upward bow, your knees, feet, and legs will naturally try and turn outward. This is very bad for your knees and they need to remain pointing forward as they undergo the pressure of this pose.
I'm showered, in clean clothes, and ready to hit my mat.......
Friday, December 30, 2016 (Part II)
Post-practice post. Feeling great and ready to have a wonderful day. Followed through my modified Ashtanga Primary Series; great video here if you're interested in seeing portions of the Primary Series executed perfectly.
Forward bends (which will probably always be difficult for me) are coming along very nicely as I warm myself up with some very gently plow poses and other "feet over the head" seated poses before I actually begin my practice.
My full upward bow is coming along very well with nearly completely straightened arms. I'm going to keep that pose as my finisher as it's a great way to end the practice.
Only two more days in 2016.
Namaste.
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