Day 49 : Bow Subroutine breakdown

VIDEO LINK

Day 44 : Bow : Makrasana (crocodile) & Manduka (frog) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

Day 45 : Bow : Bhujangasana (cobra) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

Day 46 : Bow : Asymmetric Salabhasana (locust) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

Day 47 : Bow : Salabhasana (locust) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

Day 48 : Bow : Dhanurasana ( bow ) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

Day 49 : Bow Subroutine breakdown

There are a number of intense back bending postures in Vinyasa Krama.

• Dropping back into Purna chakrasana in the Standing sequence 

• Raja kapotasana in Bow sequence

• Gandha Bherundasana in Bow sequence

• Kapotasana in Meditative the sequence

• Urdhava Dhanurasana found in the Supine sequence

• Uttanasana mayurasana in the Supine Sequence

• Viparita Dandasana in the Inverted sequence

• Vrishikasana in the Inverted sequence

The subroutines in Bow sequence give perhaps the most preparation and gradual development in developing your back bending facility. As such these subroutines might be included in your practice as preparation for the intense back bending postures in the other sequences.

If you don't feel ready for some of the more intense backbends in the other sequences and tend to skip the postures above, the Bow sequence, missing out Raja kapotasana and gandha berundasana, may be a good place to work towards them.

A light back bending practice might include any or all of the back bending subroutines below

• The hand/arm variations back stretching subroutine from Standing
• All of the Bow subroutines passing on raja kapotasana and gandha berundasana
• Ustrasana subroutine from the meditative sequence missing out kapotasana.
• The dwipaditam (desk pose) subroutine from Supine possible including urdhva danhurasana
• Possibly the one legged uttana mayurasana subroutine from  Sequence Supine 

Remember to include a forward folding counter posture after you back bending postures, perhaps working gently into a long stay in paschimottanasana or upavishta konasana

I often tend to practice Bow subroutines and Meditative subroutines together, the Bow subroutines as a preparation for the Meditative sequences Kapotasana subroutine.

' Backbending' is perhaps not the best expression, rather we should think of these postures as an arching of the back, a back stretch rather than bend.

A back stretch begin in the toes and ends in the fingertips.

In the Bow sequence subroutines we stretch out through the legs feet, toes and stretch our body out of the pelvis and up through the arms.

Engaging the bandhas can support the base of the spine in all back bending postures. here's ramaswami from his Sept 2011 Newsletter


'The spinal column descends from the occipital region and we have the aajna chakra in that region and the sahasrara is in the cranial region. The tailbone is the baby of the assembly at the bottom and tucked nicely but is surrounded by heavy muscles and tissues and protected well. It has some mobility.


Since it is the root of the spine it is also known among Yogis as the Mula. Since both Hata Yoga and Kundalini Yoga are predominantly connected with the spine the mula becomes an important aspect of yoga. When one wants to work with the spine, it, the coccyx, should be firmly anchored. Let us consider the example of the fishing rod (old times). It has a flexible pole, a string and the bait. (sorry I could not think of an ahimsa example). One holds the pole at the far end and when the bait is taken, the pole bends. The fisherman will have to hold the pole firmly so that the pole can bend to the extent required, even though there will be some play or movement in the hand of the holder. Further he has to hold at the farthest point, holding a bit inside the pole reduces the leverage and the pole will not bend sufficiently.


The coccyx and sacrum (sacro-coccygeal section) are at the bottom of the backbone. The coccyx is at the very end of the spine. It represents a vestigial tail (hence the common term tailbone) and consists of three to five very small bones fused together. There is, limited movement between these bones permitted by fibrous joints and ligaments. The sacrum is a large triangular bone at the base of the spine and at the upper and back part of the pelvic cavity and where it is 'inserted' like a bone wedged between the two hip bones. Its upper part  is connected to the last lumbar vertebra and the bottom part to the coccyx. In children it consists normally of five unfused vertebrae which begin fusing around 16 years and become completely fused around 26. It is kyphotic (curved, concavity facing forward). Even so, it is
now an established fact that the sacrum moves between the ilia by both ambulatory and respiratory motions . It would therefore point to the logic of the use of fuller breathing in vinyasa movements as in Vinyasa Krama.


So the mula or the tail bone will have to be held firmly during the spinal exercises. And the yogis used the well known technique called mulabandha which is contracting a few groups of muscles surrounding the tailbone:  the perineum, rectum and the gluteal muscles. All spinal movements, the forward bend,the rounded back, the turn, the back bend, the side bend, all will be better if the mula is gripped firmly and engaged.'

Day 48 : Bow : Dhanurasana ( bow ) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

VIDEO LINK

Asymmetric Dhanurasana

Get a grip during exhalation

Pause for a breath

Pull in your leg on the next inhalation

Relax on the exhalation

Repeat three to six times

Pause for a breath after the final exhalation

Dhanurasana
Reach back and catch both legs on the exhalation
Drawin in the legs on the inhalation
Relax on the exhalation
Repeat three to six times.

Ideally the feet knees, thighs will stay together although in the beginning it's acceptable if not preferable to allow them to to be a few inches apart.

Drishti (gaze) look straight ahead.

HINTS/TIPS/SUGGESTIONS

Engage Mula and uddiyana bandha, imagine there is a pea beneath you belly that you are trying not to squab by daring in your belly throughout.

Rather than lifting for the leg or pulling in there is a stretching through the whole body. Because the hand and foot are bound this stretch arches the back and lifts the chest and leg.

drop the shoulder blades down the back  to allow the chest to lift more easily and to relax the neck.

In the asymmetric version, ground the whole trailing leg pressing into the mat from the hip to the toes

Day 47 : Bow : Salabhasana (locust) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

VIDEO LINK

HINTS/TIPS/SUGGESTIONS

Regular Salabhasana

As Day 46 (Asymmetric Salabhasana ), There's a tendency to lift the leg from the foot but activate the buttock and begin to lift from the head of the femur itself rotating it up in the hip socket, along with the thigh, the knee the calf and the foot, lift the whole leg.

Stretch through the length of the leg

At the end of the inhalation give the hip a little nudge upwards while pushing the other hip into the mat.

As with the leg, rather than just lifting the arm stretch right through the arm from the shoulder to the hand

Stretch through both the arm and the leg, tho seems to make them lighter as if they want to float up.

In all these postures stretch through the back lifting out of the pelvis to give space for the arch of the back.

Ground the pelvis into the mat.

Viparita Salabhasana VIDEO LINK

In the Vinyasa Krama version of this posture the hands are clapped together under the groin.

We can begin to explore this posture by placing a towel under our shoulders to take some of the pressure of out throat, which can feel strange and uncomfortable in the beginning.

It's possible to take the legs up together, in the video i walk the legs in as far as possible and then push off with one leg while leading with the other.

As you legs go up the back will need to arch to catch the feet at the top of the ark.

Stretch firmly through the whole length of the legs from the pelvis to the toes.

Keep the legs straight and take the feet  beyond the head to find a point of balance where the weight of the feet counteracts the weight of the pelvis

Press the full length of the arm firmly into the mat

There is the fear of flipping over, although this is highly unlikely in Viparita Salabhasana you may wish to practice near a wall as in the video. (This will also allow you the option of walking down the wall when beginning to work on the next posture Gandha Bherundasana.

Here's a link to a video showing the use of the towel http://youtu.be/xwDSQyjBl8chttp://youtu.be/xwDSQyjBl8c

Gandha Bherundasana VIDEO LINK

In this challenging posture a development of Viparita salabhasana we seek to bring the fee to the head. This may take some time to achieve.

The trick is to drop the hips  to bring the feet lower

We also need to create more of an arch in the back. To do this take your feet further beyond your head in Viprita Salabhasana, the increased counterweight will allow you to drop your chest a little lower towards the mat creating a deeper backbend.

The temptation is to bring the feet in towards the head by bending at the knee but try to stretch through the full length of your legs as you bend at the knee.

The tendency is to focus on the lower half of the body but still try to stretch through the full length of the spine as if your still lifting out of the pelvis. Although the upper body won't move it will seem to create space in the spine and sacrum allowing your to arch the back more comfortably.

Day 46 : Bow : Asymmetric Salabhasana (locust) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

VIDEO LINK

HINTS/TIPS/SUGGESTIONS

Ground the leg your are not lifting, push the thigh, shin, foot into the mat

There's a tendency to lift the leg from the foot but activate the buttock and begin to lift from the head of the femur itself rotating it up in the hip socket, along with the thigh, the knee the calf and the foot, lift the whole leg.

Stretch through the length of the leg

At the end of the inhalation give the hip a little nudge upwards while pushing the other hip into the mat.

As with the leg, rather than just lifting the arm stretch right through the arm from the shoulder to the hand

Day 45 : Bow : Bhujangasana (cobra) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

VIDEO LINK

Bhujangasana is similar to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana ( Upward facing dog ) except that pelvis remains groundedon the mat.

The postures are repeated again and again in each vinyasa (variation) raising and arching the spine on the inhalation returning on the exhalation.

because they are repeated so many times we can gently, gradually, deepen the stretch as the subroutine progresses.

Raja kapotasana is an advanced back bending posture where we aim to stay for three to six breaths with the head on the soles of the feet.

In Raja kapotasana Ramaswami instructs us to keep the thighs together, this is particularly challenging.

Picture 3 is a gentler version of Raja kapotasana, a working towards it.

HINTS /TIPS/SUGGESTIONS

To work on develop our flexibility we might take a tip from Urdhva Mukha Svanasana ( Upward facing dog )

To go deeper into Urdhva Mukha Svanasana ( Upward facing dog ) where our pelvis is off the mat we are able to arch the back as much as possible but then work from the pelvis and bring it down and almost through the arms which deepens the backbend.

This is possible in bhjangasana also. Arch the back on the inhalation and at the end of the inhalation lift up off the mat enough to bring the pelvis forward a little and back down on to the mat, deeper into the posture.

In arching the back we stretch and lift out of the pelvis just as we have done in the standing bacbending hand/arm variations in tadasana.

There is also a stretch in the opposite direction, try to stretch your legs from your buttocks to your toes, this is especially important in Raja kapotasana.

The main challenge and 'trick' to Raja kapotasana is to keep the pelvis on the mat as much as possible.

To bring the feet closer to the head the stretch from your thighs rather than just the calves.

Raja kapotasana will work the hamstrings and calf muscles and we must be careful not to overstretch them in reaching for the head.

Day 44 : Bow : Makrasana (crocodile) & Manduka (frog) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence

VIDEO LINK

The above video links you to Makarasana This VIDEO LINK takes you to Manduka asana'

I love this gentle lead into the deeper backbends and tend to include it along with pretty much all the Bow sequence when practicing backbends. Much of Bow is similar to the backbend section of Ashtanga Intermediate series but with more vinyasas, more time spent preparing for the deeper backbends.

I often add and/or mix the Bow Subroutine with/to the Meditative subroutines, which includes the Kapotasanas.

Most if not all of these postures and/or subroutines can be used as counterposes for Shoulderstand and/or any deep forward bend although you would tend to start with the lighter vinyasas

These postures tend to be repeated three to six times entering on the inhalation exiting on the exhalation except for manduka asana where you stay in the posture from 3 to six breaths

HINTS/TIPS/SUGGESTIONS

As with all backbends your aiming to stretch the whole length of your spine

Stretch and lift out of your pelvis just as if you were standing

Stretch and push out the chest on the inhalation, stretch the legs on the exhalation bringing them towards your buttocks.

Caution
Manduka ( pic 4 ) can put a lot of stress on the knees make sure the muscles from the pelvis to the ankles are activated, the muscles that cross the knee will give support.

In the beginning use the feet just as support for the hands to push down upon and lift the chest and head, later, in time , when you become more confident of your knees and have built strength in your legs look to push your feet closer to the mat.

As you push down on your feet stretch out through your thighs which will lift the knee and tilt the feet closer to the mat.

4 & 5 Diamond postures, Usthrasana and Kapotasana ( feet together )

I mentioned in the dropping back post a couple of days ago that in Ramaswami's book the feet are, perhaps surprisingly ( for me at least coming from ashtanga) together. This adds quite a degree of challenge as you have a less stable base to work from.

I try to keep the three locks/bhandas, (Mula -root, uddiyana-belly and jalendhara-throat ) engaged throughout my practice, in some poses more engaged than others. Uddiyana bandha, drawing in the belly, is especially useful for backbends, seems to help protect the back and ground you somehow, makes you a little more stable.

Recently, somebody mentioned a tip from a workshop where they were told to imagine they had a pea beneath their belly that they were trying not to squish as they were laying in the Salabhasana's (trying to find the source of this anyone remember?). great tip, it really helps but what about standing backbends and kapo, here's my variation.....

This only works if your belly button is an innie, sorry outie's your backbends are just going to have to suffer or perhaps you can come up with your own version in which case please let me know.

The yogi and the pea
So the idea is that you imagine your holding a pea inside your belly button. Now you want to grip that pea so suck your belly in and up, grip the pea and draw it back nice and safe, now keep that engaged like that through your drop back's, kapo's and what have you.

In the video below I'm whizzing through the Bow sequence and part of the meditative sequence. The idea here, as with the previous Leg behind head post, is to show how the postures of the sequences build upon each other preparing you for the more challenging poses.



I'd already done my bow sequence practice this morning, here I'm going in and out of each pose on the breath but earlier, of course, I was repeating the postures three times and or staying in the pose for a number of long, slow breaths.

Key to ushtrasana and kapotasana are getting the hips as far forward as possible, lifting up out of the hips as we do every day in tadasana. There's a tendency to collapse the hips backwards as we go over but all the way keep thinking "hips forward, hips forward...". Mine collapse here because this is my first time doing kapo with my feet and knees together. You may find it easier to work toward the feet together version by practicing with your feet and knees apart.

Look inside

The full kapotasana doesn't show up in Ramaswami's Complete book of vinyasa yoga but it's there in his earlier book ( and one of THE best books on yoga I've come across) Yoga for the three stages of life.

Vinyasa Krama Bow sequence Speeded up x 4 plus Kapo/dropbacks

Bow sequence is one of the shorter Sequences in Ramaswami's Complete book of Vinyasa Yoga, Here it is speeded up. No doubt I've moved away from the book a couple of times, I'll go through it later and list any variations.

Sometimes I'll add the Vajrasana sequence at the back of the book to Bow as it includes Ustrasana, Lagu Vajrasana and Kapotasana but here I've just gone straight in to them. I've finished it off with drop backs.

In my practice yesterday evening I then moved on to the Seated sequence with it's forward bends. It's a short sequence too and they seem to complement each other.

As with any of my video's, if you think you might find something useful, feel free to download it from Youtube using Realplayer etc. These speeded up sequences can usually be slowed back down again if your trying to learn a sequences. I'm still working them out myself though and sometimes part company with Ramaswami's book so it's worth getting.

PRANAYAMA IN MY SLEEP

So after all those backbends, and that Ganda B felt pretty deep, I knew I was going to have a restless night, must have woken up every hour. Sometime in the night I ended up having a nightmare.

Now when I was about six, I was in Boots the chemist with my Mother, and a wasp flew into my ear. I panicked tried to get it out and it stung me a bunch of times. I've had a bit of a phobia about wasps ever since. Anyway I tend to sleep with earplugs, it's noisy here, you can hear the traffic on the video. Last night I dreamt a wasp flew into my ear. It was very realistic, perhaps because I could feel the earplugs. I was just about to panic, and try and get it out but remembered that it would just sting the hell out of me. Without thinking I started to do Pranayama, getting really into it, retention and everything. All the time the Wasp was moving about in my ear. One moment it seemed it was about to come about but then it would go in deeper again, I could even feel the tiny hairs on it's back and it's hot legs. Eventually the thing crawled out and flew away and I woke. up.

Of course if this happened while I was awake I'm sure I would run shouting and screaming up and down the street sticking sticks in my ear to try and get the bugger out. No doubt some may think this is some deep memory stuck down in my spine somewhere released by the deep Ganda B. but I tend to remember that time as kid every time I see a wasp so I'm not sure I buy it.

On another note. I did primary this morning. Straight leg jump through all the way through. Still clumsy with heavy landing but getting through every time.

Adapted Bow and Seated sequence.

I'm so taken with the seated sequence at the moment that I wanted to try adding it to all the other sequences this week. This morning I thought it would work as a nice counterpose sequence to Bow/Backbends.

This is how it turned out, bit more than I intended but I was having such a good time and things seemed to flow into each other and make sense that I got a bit carried away. There tend to be jump backs and though only between the subroutines. It took a little over 90 minutes. Some sections like seated and Asymmetric were slow with extra, long steady breathes, other sections were more ashtanga like, quite enjoyed altering the pace.

Loved this so much that I wanted to print it out and do it again.....and again. Seeing as I'm typing it out anyway I might as well put it here and post it.

I'm thinking the bow/seated combination might make a nice framework for a daily practice. One day add more Lotus poses another day less Lotus and more Asymmetric or a stronger Inverted posture focus. That way I wont end up trying to add everything all in one go. I want to be ending up with a shorter practice, an hour maximum, and thus more time for Pranayama and meditation rather than allowing it to creep up to two hours of asana.

STANDING

Tadasana

Surya Namaskara A

Surya Namaskara B

Padangushtasana

Padahastasana

Utthita Trikonasana

Parivritta Trikonasana

Utthita Parshvakonasana

Parivritta Parshvakonasana

Prasarita Padottanasana A

Prasarita Padottanasana B

Prasarita Padottanasana C

Parshvottanasana

Utthita Hasta Padangushtasana (inc. lower to squat then head to knee)

Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana

Vatayanasana

Utkatanasana

Virabhadrasana (A & B)

Natajarasana

BOW/BACKBENDS

Bhujangasana

Shalabhasana

Bhekasana

Viparita Shalabhasana

Ganda Bherundasana

Dhanurasana

Parshva Dhanurasana

Dhanurasana

Ustrasana

Laghu Vajrasana

Kapotasana A

Kapotasana B

Eka Pada Raja kapotasana

Hanumanasana

Urdhva Danurasana/Dropbacks

SEATED

Paschimattanasana (3 types)

Purvatanasana

ASYMMETRIC

Tiriangmukhaikapada Paschimattanasana

Mahamudra

Janu Shirshasana A

Janu Shirshasana C

Ardha Matsyendrasana

Akarna Dhanurasana A

Akarna Dhanurasana B

Eka Pada Shirshasana

Kashyapasana (or Kashyabasana)

Chakorasana

SEATED

Upavishta Konasana Subroutine (from Vinyasa Krama)

Kurmasana

Dwi Pada Shirshasana

Supta kurmasana

Garbha Pindasana

Baddha Konasana A B C

Mula Bandhasana

Padmasana

Bhadrasana

ARM BALANCES

Urdhva Kukkutasana B and C

Padma Sirsasana

Karandavasana

Urdhva Kukkutasana

Padma mayurasana

FINISHING

Sarvangasana

Halasana

Karnapidasana

Urdhva Padmasana

Pindasana

Matsyasana

Uttana Padasana

Shirshasana

Baddha Padmasana

Padmasana

Uth Pluthi

VK Bow sequence, Viparita Salabhasana and towards Ganda Bherundasana

As I mentioned, this week I'm working on my back bends through the Vinyasa Krama back bend sequences, Bow and Vajrasana (Vajrasana is actually a sub routine in the meditative sequence).

Vajrasana includes Kapotasana via an Ushtrasana subroutine and Laghu Vajrasana. The big asanas of the Bow sequence are Viparita Salabhasana and Gandha Bherundasana.

These two asanas come at the end of the sequence. You lead up to them via Bhujangasana (cobra) and Salabhasana (locust) subroutines. This is similar to the gradual build up towards Kapo in 2nd series Ashtanga. Typical of Vinyasa krama, though, there are several hand/arm variations. In the Salabhasana subroutine the right arm/left leg are lifted and then switched, followed by both legs raised and the arm variations, stretched out in frount of you, fingers clasped behind the neck, reverse prayer and outstretched to the side.

In Vinyasa Krama the hands are clasped as opposed to Ashtanga where they lay parallel to each other along the mat. Gandha B is still way beyond me but I couldn't help a little nod in it's direction with the wall to fall back on. Long way to go but I can clasp my heels in kapo so surely it should be doable.

Ganda B is one of those asanas that should probably come with a 'don't try this at home' health warning. There's the fear of shifting too much weight forward as you take your legs over and flipping over while your head stays where it is, this would be bad. But that's what the wall is for, also one of Boodie's tips is to use the wall to push your hips back. As with the drop back work it's probably a case of working on the point of balance, shift the hips back so you can take your legs a little further over, back a bit here forward a bit there.