Take-It-Up-Asana
November 28, 2011
The any-level Astanga class on November 18 started with a question about Take-It-Up-Asana. Whether this is a real sanskrit word or not, it is a great option to use between poses if a vinyasa is too much and you still want to work on developing strength or build heat.
Instructions for Take-It-Up-Asana based on David Swenson's instructions in Ashtanga Yoga, the Practice Manual:
ONE: Exhale cross your legs (Alternate which one is on top). Place both hands flat on the floor (not on your finger-tips).
TWO: Inhale draw the knees toward the chest. Attempt to lift the hips and feet up from the floor. Feel the bandhas working! Lift on an inhale and lower on an exhale.
I made one change to David Swenson's instructions; I added the words "attempt to" before "lift the hips and feet". I added this to emphasize that the important thing is to keep a balance between effort and inactivity. As long as you keep that balance, you are doing it right and it doesn't matter if only your skeleton is lifting inside your skin or if you can only lift hips or feet.
Take-It-Up-Asana is also a variation of Kukkutasana (Cock Pose) and Tolasana (Scale Pose) if/when you aren't doing lotus pose.
Listen to the live recording of Friday, November 18's any level class.
Instructions for Take-It-Up-Asana based on David Swenson's instructions in Ashtanga Yoga, the Practice Manual:
ONE: Exhale cross your legs (Alternate which one is on top). Place both hands flat on the floor (not on your finger-tips).
TWO: Inhale draw the knees toward the chest. Attempt to lift the hips and feet up from the floor. Feel the bandhas working! Lift on an inhale and lower on an exhale.
I made one change to David Swenson's instructions; I added the words "attempt to" before "lift the hips and feet". I added this to emphasize that the important thing is to keep a balance between effort and inactivity. As long as you keep that balance, you are doing it right and it doesn't matter if only your skeleton is lifting inside your skin or if you can only lift hips or feet.
Take-It-Up-Asana is also a variation of Kukkutasana (Cock Pose) and Tolasana (Scale Pose) if/when you aren't doing lotus pose.
Listen to the live recording of Friday, November 18's any level class.
Posted by easenow. Posted In : Live Recording
