Day 92 : LOTUS : Special lotus balancing postures subroutine Subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Lotus sequence

VIDEO LINK

Practicing these arm balances and inversions together in one subroutine can be challenging, consider working on them separately at first perhaps including one arm balance a practice or every few days. Utpluthis, the raised lotus from Day 91 is another arm balance as is Kukkutasana, also from Day 91, both will build strength as will the lead in's to most of the subroutines and the sun salutation with mantra.

HINTS/TIPS/SUGGESTIONS

This version of urdhava kukkutasana is a sliding up the arms or rather the arms are there as a guide, we don't want to rely on them too much.

Place the hands close to the knees, rock up onto the knees, shoulders over the fingers. Drop the shoulder blades down the back, engage mula and uddiyana bandha.

Exhale completely hold and pressing the hands down into the mat hoist the lotus up towards the armpits lifting up from your perineum, mula bandha.

The shoulders remember are over the fingers as you come up your shoulders may need to come even further forward to create a counterweight to your hips.

In the beginning hold for a breath and then lower on the inhalation, as you become stronger and improve your balance you may stay for longer, three to six breaths.

Padma mayurasana

Place the hands on the mat as close to the body as possible, almost tucked under your lotus.

bend your elbows slightly and allow your shoulders to drop to allow your elbows to dig into your belly.

Come up onto your knees and then stretch forward while at the same time raising your knees off the ground. 

Padma Mayurasana is in effect a back stretch, tuck in the tailbone and attempt to arch the back slightly to bring the lotus up higher.

The elbows need to be together and really dig into the belly.

In the beginning hold for a breath and then lower on the exhalation, as you become stronger and improve your balance you mary stay for longer, three to six breaths.

Lotus to Sirsasana VIDEO LINK

The final vinyasa called for a tight lotus and you may wish to work towards this as a separate subroutine (see Lotus subroutines -to come).

From seated padmasana, lift up onto your knees, bend forward and place your hands on the mat with the fingers interlocked ready for headstand. Place the back of your head in the cup formed by your hands and bring your knees forward so they are touching your elbows.

To lift back up from here, exhale fully, engage the badhas and pressing firmly into the mat with your elbows draw your knees back up the back of your arms to your armpits.

Take a breath and on the next exhalation, straighten the back to bring the knees to the chest and then straighten the waist to bring your lotus the last of the way up.

Follow the directions above for the 3rd version (pic 11) to lower and raise your lotus to and from the mat. 

Day 85 : INVERTED : Handstand subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Inverted sequence

VIDEO LINK

This handstands subroutine takes a considerable amount of strength and stamina as well as good balance, it is something we can work towards however. Pincha mayurasana, the forearm stand from Day 83 is excellent preparation, individual vinyasas from Day 83's Niralumba Sirsasana subroutine might be included in our regular daily practice to build strength.

In this subroutine the full handstand is achieved by pushing up from kapliasana, the tripod headstand, this is particularly challenging and may take regular practice. 

Another entry to handstand is from Downward dog, jumping with the feet together bringing the hips over the shoulders, the legs straight out in an inverted dandasana then unbending the waist to bring the legs vertical. We may prefer to practice this at the wall.

Another option, is again from downward dog to kick first one leg and then the other vertical.

The trick is the bring the shoulders over the hands as we kick or jump up bringing the hips over the shoulders.

HINTS/TIPS/SUGGESTIONS

Handstand from tripod

Lift the head from the mat and bring it through the arms taking the legs over the head, exhale hold and push down ion the mat engaging and stretching up through your legs to press up to handstand.

In working towards this entry we might kick up to the wall in handstand and then, with the feet against the wall, bend the elbows slightly to allow the head to lower, with control, towards the mat. Lower just a little at first and then push back up to handstand. Lower a little further each day or each week.

Vrishikasana (pic 4)

A backbend, bring the head and chest through the arms and the feet as far over the head as possible. 

Engage mula and uddiyana bandha as if your taking a firm grip on the tailbone which you then tuck in as much as possible.

Push the hips forward as much as possible, stretch out through the full length of the spine, bring the chest through even further, stretch out through the hips, legs feet.

Allow the hips to drop arching the back, allow the knees to bend bringing the feet towards your head.

To return to regular handstand, unbend at the waist pushing up through the legs.

Bhuja peedasana (pic. 6)

Returning to Kapilasana, the tripod headstand, bend the knees, engage mula and uddiyana bandha drawing in the belly to allow your knees to come as high up and close to the chest as possible.

Bend at the waist and bring the knees to the outside of the armpits. Squeeze the knees as if trying to bring them together although your torso, of course, is in the way.

Allow the hips to drop at the same time bringing your head off of the mat.

Drop the shoulder blades down the back, Engage the shoulder girdle. Press down into the mat, bring the shoulders ever further forward to counter the weight of your hips. Straighten the arms and try to bring the feet as close to your bottom as possible.

To exit, bend your elbows slowly and lower your head gently to the mat, take the knees up and then unbend the knees back into kapilasana.

Bhuja peedasana variation (pic. 7)

Precede as above for buja peedasana but being sure that the knees are as far up on the outside of the armpits as possible, unbend the knees and stretch them around in front of your body and bind at the ankle. Drop the hips and bring the feet up higher and hold for three to six breaths.

To return.

Unbind the ankles, raise the hips high, bend the knees and bring your feet back behind you and up towards your bottom. Return to kapilasana as for bhjua peedasana above.

Urdhava Kukkutasana (pic 8)

This vinyasa demands a nice tight lotus.

Open your legs or drop back the left leg and bending the right knee rotate the hip joint to allow the left foot to come onto the left thigh high up near the groin. Drop back the right knee, rotate the femur head in the left hip joint to allow the left foot to come up onto the right thigh.

Try to work the right foot high up the thigh to make as tight a lotus as possible.

Engage mula and uddiyana bandha, draw in the belly to create space for the forward bend. Bring the knees as far up into the armpits as possible.

Visualise pressing your knees through your armpits so the protrude out through your arms.

Allow the hips to drop at the same time pressing down through the hands. Move the shoulders forward beyond your hands to counter the weight of the hips. The shoulders blades are dropped down the back the shoulder griddle engaged as the arms straighten and you settle for three to six breaths.

To return
Bend the elbows slightly at first and lower your head slowly and with control to the mat by bringing the hips up.
Once the head is on the floor take the hips back and unfold at the waist raising your lotus, unbind and stretch out through the legs.

Ashtavakrasana
Bend the knees towards the chest as if in Bheeja peedasana but twisting bring the right knee (with the let above it) across the chest towards the left armpit, take the knee beyond the arm and resting the knees abut the arm stretch-out the legs on the exhalation while raising the head.

Stretch out through the legs at a right angle to your bay while  raising your chest and head, stretch out through the head and chest as much as possible.

The return is challenging. Lower the head back to the mat as you bend your knees and bring your feet back as close to your bottom as possible while lifting the knees off the arm and untwisting. Take the hips high to bring the knees back to the chest and return to kapilasana.

Day 83 : INVERTED : Niralumba sirsasana ( headstand without support) subroutine from Vinyasa Krama Inverted sequence

VIDEO LINK

HINT/TIPS/SUGGESTIONS

Coming up to headstand with the forearms on the mat can be challenging, the trick is to walk the feet in, bringing the hips well over the shoulders.

Press down into the mat from the fingertips to the elbows.

In regular headstand where the fingers are interlocked you may find that you press your arms into the mat while attempting to draw your hands apart and yet squeezing your fingers together to prevent them parting, this pulling of the hands can help ground and anchor your arms as you lift up.

A similar effect can be had in the forearm version where you press down into the mat  but also try and slide your arms apart along the mat, because the pressing into the mat is stronger than the attempt to draw the arms apart the arms stay in place and yet the action anchors the arms and gives a secure foundation as you move through the more challenging vinyasas.

The lift

Notice the 45 degree angle of the arms in Picture 7. To lift, exhale and push down though the hands, forearms and elbows and draw your shoulders back to bring your arms to a 90 degree angle at the elbow, as your shoulders come back your head lifts off the mat.

Stretch out through the full length of your body, through the trunk, hips, legs feet even the toes.

Arch your back bringing your legs over and beyond your shoulders take the head and chest through the arms, to balance.

Forming your lotus.

With your head and legs forward of your shoulders allow one leg to drop back, your left and folding the right one, rotate the hip joint to allow your right leg to rest on the left thigh as high up near the groin as possible. bring the left leg forward and bending the knee bring the left foot on to the right thigh while pressing down through the forearms and pushing the head through the arms as much as possible.

Vrischikasana

We need to create a deep arch in the back, engage  mula and uddiyana bandha to support the tailbone which we want to tuck forward to create more space in the vertebrae. 

take the head through the arms as much as possible, take the legs further over and push the pelvis forward. Stretch through the length of the legs and allow the weight of the legs to drop them down towards the head.

To exit, push through the legs and unbend the waist on the inhalation.

In the Subroutine we should ideally stay in pinchamyurasana as asana sthiti as we move through the vinyasas. However, as we build strength we might practice each vinyasa separately coming back down to downward dog and even taking a mini savasana to allow the heart rate and breath to steady.