A Little Snobbery Goes A Long Way
I learned to be a snob today in Richard Freeman's all-day intensive, "Intensive Rhythms of Consciousness: The Internal Forms."
I can't believe I never thought of his approach to Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I) and Utkatasana (Chair Pose) before, but now that I know the secret I think it may save my neck in the future--literally. I'll let you in on it, too:
Freeman advised us to keep our arms at a 45 degree angle below our ears, hold our heads up, and keep our gazes down toward our thumbs like we're noble men and women looking down on the peasants during the poses.
When we try to put our arms outside our ears it puts unneccessary strain on our necks, but keeping our gaze down allieviates much of that tension. Both of these poses are normally agony on my neck, but I felt totally free as I practiced being a snob in the postures.
"Our arms are like nutcrackers," Freedom said, "and our heads are the nuts." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Freeman led my class in an exploration of the postures that make up Sun Salutations and a few other favorites. He focused on pranayama and the direction of the gaze.
During Sun Salutations, Freeman broke each step down and illustrated how the foundation of everything is the breath. Training the breath, he said, is like training a cat--it's very difficult and frustrating, but with a little determination it's possible.
It's always a challenge for me to slow things down and really evaluate the way I hold poses. This class was no exception. Especially since the bulk of the class was about one important detail that so many of us overlook or just don't understand: the pelvic floor and the actions of the coccic bone in relation to the pelvis.
Freeman provided delightful imagery for each pose. We became slithering snakes during Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog), imagined we were swimming during Sun Salutations, and grew tails (and senses of humor) during Trikonasana (Triangle Pose).
As we connected with our imaginations during the asana practice, though, Freeman reminded us that our imaginations can also be an enemy, making it hard to turn our minds off and focus on sleeping, meditation, or asana. I can attest to that. There's nothing like a thought-provoking yoga workshop to keep you awake at night... I'm too excited to sleep! :)
Photo by Susan Slattery
Comments
I really cannot visualize this position of the arms. Could you explain further?
"Freeman advised us to keep our arms at a 45 degree angle below our ears, hold our heads up, and keep our gazes down toward our thumbs like we're noble men and women looking down on the peasants during the poses."
Posted by: Adriana Weiss | April 14, 2006 03:32 PM