Balance & Bend

Yoga Teddy Bear’s brand new coloring book is named Balance& Bend, because it’s packed full of arm stands, balancing postures and back bends.  Most people can do at least one of the poses in this mostly advanced book.  The interesting thing is that everyone’s body is different, so a pose that seems impossible for one person may seem extremely easy for another.  The important thing in yoga is to simply try your best.  That’s how you learn more about your body today and improve yourself every time you practice.

Here are 4 fun poses from the new book.  They range in difficulty level, but all are worth a try!  Remember to breathe deeply and flex your muscles a lot.  By doing that, you’ll protect your joints and ligaments. 

1.  Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)

Just looking at this pose should help you cool down on a hot summer day!  Upward Facing Dog is a classic pose that just about everyone can participate in.  As an integral part of what many teachers call a “Vinyasa” flow (which essentially consists of “Plank, Upward Dog and Downward Dog”), it’s one of those poses that most classes include. 

Lay on your tummy with your toenails pressing down.  Place your hands under your shoulders, inhale and push into your hands to lift your chin, chest, and knees off the ground.  Only your hands and feet touch the floor.  Your body should be curved like a ski jump. Look up and breathe deeply.  Exhale and press back into Downward Facing Dog.

2.  Scorpion Pose (Vrschikasana)

OK, here is where it starts to get a little harder.  This is an arm balancing pose that many consider to be easier than a handstand but harder than a headstand.   If you want to test your arm strength first, try a Plank pose with your forearms on the ground.  If you feel stable doing that, give this one a shot.  You might surprise yourself!

Begin on your hands and knees facing a wall.  Drop down to your elbows keeping your forearms in line with each other, or clasp your hands together.  Straighten your legs and walk your feet in toward your elbows.  Lift one leg, then use the other as a springboard to kick your legs into the air.  Bend your knees and try to touch your head with your toes.  If you can balance come away from the wall a little more.  Your legs look like a scorpion’s tail.  Breathe.

3.  Bird of Paradise (Svarga Dvidasana)

This is a pose that many people believe looks harder than it really is.  The key is to work your way into it in steps.   If you have a solid tree pose and a good sense of balance, you’re more than halfway there.  The other piece is an under-the-leg bind, which is most easily accomplished correctly when you follow these steps. 

Start in Warrior 2.  Reach inside and under your bent leg with your front arm, then reach the other arm behind you and clasp hands.  Get comfortable here for a few breaths.  Next, step your back foot forward into a squat and shift your weight to it.  Breathe in and focus on one point.  Breathe out and slowly stand up.  Once you feel balanced, straighten your bound leg slowly like an opening flower.  Balance & breathe.

4.  Heron Pose (Krounchasana)

While not exactly a balancing posture, armstand or backbend, Heron pose is an intense hamstring stretch that also requires a sense of balance.   Remember, it’s not about how high you lift your leg, it’s about tuning into your body, using your breath to lengthen your muscles, and taking your time. 

Start by sitting on the ground.  Fold one leg back so your heel is outside of your hip with your toes pointing straight back. Sit tall and step the other foot onto the floor with your knee bent. Using both hands hold your standing foot or ankle, then lift and lengthen your leg like the neck of a heron.  Keep your spine straight.  Flex your leg muscles and breathe.

These four fun poses are just a small sample of the hundreds of yoga poses that challenge us to stretch, balance and breathe.   You can learn even difficult poses at any age if you undertake a regular practice.  Go to yoga classes when you can and find teachers that you like.  A teacher can help you identify how to make the proper adjustments so that you can find each pose at the deepest level for your own body.

Yoga mirrors life in that the most important aspect of your practice is to be kind to yourself.  Forgive yourself.  Simply do your best.  You’re here to enjoy your body and discover where you resist, where you surrender, and where you want to go next on your incredible journey.  Smile!