I did a home practice today! Yay! I did all of standing then sitting through Janu Sirsasana A, then did Marichy A and C. BF assisted with UHP, Paschimo, Marichy A and actually managed to wrestle me into Marichy C! He's such a good ashtanga assister. Now if only I could get him to practice.... Marichy C on the left side is actually getting a teensy bit better. Right side is absolutely impossible. Then came the backbending. For your viewing pleasure we have Ustrasana and UD. Please feel free to critique the backbends (but please don't critique the tiny apartment or the messy living room).
So you'll notice in the ustrasana, very little bend in the upper back, and too much crunching in the low. The hips and thighs look like they're in a pretty good spot though. And notice the neck looks strained. Very stiff in the neck and shoulders. In the UD the hands are NOT under the shoulders. Also, feet winged out to the side. Bad lady! The stiff upper back is also far more pronounced here. I found these pictures to be very helpful! Anyone have any ideas on how to get the upper back to bend a little more?
4 comments:
Wow, lady, you don't talk too nice about S. Be nicer to her!
OK, first off, your Oosh is really admirable. Not crunchy at all in the lower back. Does it FEEL crunchy?
As for your UD, I cannot give advice because I am working on the same issue. All I CAN say is that you look good, and you really don't need to worry about backbending at all because it's always there waiting for you at the end of practice, and it won't hold you back from progressing through Primary, which is what you're doing now anyway. My personal experience was that I could only work on one thing at a time - twisting versus forward bending versus backbending. I am working so hard on backbending now, and my twisting is suffering. I don't feel like I ever really learned Pasasana properly, and I wonder when or if I ever will if I am so focused on backbending...
Food for thought is all...
Hi LIA
I think with time the upper back bending would improve. My teacher pushed the back gently up to make it go upwards. Maybe BF could assist you in that.
Lino made an amusing story about how he taught his mom to show up when he's practicing and help him with one particular asana. It may be the tic tocs, just spotting him, but I don't remember. (I also remember that he taught her to do parsvottanasana, which she is happy to have developed the flexibility to do.)
cheers,
Arturo
Hey little lamb, don't be so hard on yourself! You're very brave to put your pics out there and invite feedback!
How does your pose feel today versus yesterday versus other days? The daily practice informs you. If you're practising the right technique, then you're on your way and will eventually get there.
One idea your might want to consider for UD: keep your legs strong and try to move your chest closer to your hands. It could be tough so if you want extra support, you could place your wrists against the baseboard as you go up.
Hope that helps. Love ya! :)
You guys are too funny. Actually, this time I wasn't really being hard on myself, just pointing out what I observed. I'm going to address all the commentary in today's post though.
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