Seems like work has taken over most of my life. I realized that I need to do some homework – so I decided to do some research and further reading on the chakras.

What Is A Chakra?
Based on readings online, Chakras are derived from Sanskrit, which literally means “wheel” or circle and it is used to express the “subtle energy” within the human body. It is not visible by human eye but can be felt instead. (some people with healing abilities can even feel if your chakras are in alignment.) It seems like in the original Sanskrit literature, there are only 5 chakras listed but in the more recent times, there are 2 more added to the list.

7 Primary Chakras

1. Sahasrara or Crown ( Top of the head )

This chakra is connected to our consciousness, our nervous system. This is usually symbolised by a drawing of a lotus with a thousand petals. In kundalini yoga, the state of samadhi is reached when you can raise your energy up to this point… it’s the enlightenment or connection to the highest being.

2. Ajna or 3rd Eye ( Forehead )

This chakra is located at the forehead slightly above and between the eyes. In the Chinese culture, some people believed that this is the 3rd eye which when “opened” in some individuals, they can see the spirits. This is also commonly known as the mind’s eye.

3. Vishuddha or Throat

vishuddha

The thyroid gland and thymus gland in the human endocrine system is located at this chakra.

4. Anahata or Heart

This chakra is associated with the heart. Naturally, it is often associated with love, compassion, devotion, charity etc.

5. Manipura or Solar Plexis

manipura

This is the place sitting at the upper abdomen, near the navel region where all prana or energy comes from.

6. Swadhistana or Sacral
This chakra is near to the lower abdomen.

7. Muladhara or Root/Base
This chakra is located at the base of the spine.

The yoga pose to stimulate them all at once? According to Iyengar, try Chakra Bandhasana!

Some Pincha Mayusara tips that may help :

1. Setting up. Measure the distance between your elbows by holding your right elbow with the left hand and left elbow with your right hand while in all fours.

2. Once you get a comfortable shoulder width distance ( you can try a shorter distance as your elbows will tend to move outwards when you go up ), hands are released and placed on the floor. Fingers should be spread out and gripping ( make sure your inner wrists are slightly lifted ).

3. Next, look in front of your hands. Melt your heart into the arms. And then move your legs into downward dog and lift one leg up.

4. Prepare for lift off… ideally one should lift up with one leg and then the second leg lift up also to meet the top leg. IDEALLY… most normal people like you and me ( ) require a slight hop with the second leg to swing the top leg up.

5. If you are doing it near a wall, try to lift up and balance without ever touching the wall with your legs. Of course, when you first start out, you can stay close to the wall. But as you progress, you should move further and further away from the wall.

6. After your legs are up, one of the most common problems that most people have is that they tend to have the forearms “fraying” out. Try to keep the forearms in by hugging the arms towards each other.

7. If you are having problems kicking up to the pose, try it this way (tip by Heeboon) : Lift one leg up, the other leg kick up and bend it to have the feet close to the butt. I reckon that it helps as when you bend your leg, there is more weight on it and it will help the hip to be moved back towards the wall. Most ladies have this problem as their hips are bigger and heavy.

om~

Yey, today we are back doing backbends and dropbacks. Woohoo!

Twas a bit scary doing the first dropback as I have not done it for quite some time. I remember the first time I tried doing drop back, it was quite scary. The feeling of going down backwards is not something normal people do. It’s like falling down into the unknown. But once you overcome that fear, the feeling is light and open and almost magical. It’s like you gone past that what ifs stage, and you know you are going to be just fine and your hands gonna land safely… you know exactly what’s going to happen.

If you are new to backbends or have some back problems, please please, do not try this… unless you have your yoga teacher around, kay?

Some tips on drop backs that I have experienced ( due to amazing teaching by Bo )
1. It’s all about opening the chest. Try this anusara method in opening your chest : Stand with “robot arms”, arms bent at elbows. Have someone in front of you to help spot you. Ask the person to put his hands on your elbows. You push your bent arms against the person’s hands. Breathe in, roll shoulders back, push your chest outwards ( like a puffed pigeon’s chest ). Then push your bent arms against the person’s hands as you back backwards. … –> must draw pictures to show properly… stayed tuned…

2. Standing wider, bending your knees slightly and pushing your hips forward as you bend backwards will help.

3. If your back is still not strong, you can practice by standing with your back facing the wall. Then bend backwards using similar “robot hands” until your max and you can stretch your hands out behind and above your head to touch the wall behind. Then you can slowly “walk” your hands down the wall.

Then the second part : coming back up from the drop back ( from wheel ).

This is one part which I am still practicing hard to get. But I think I am inching forward. I can finally feel that I am engaging and pushing my feet down to the floor as I move up.

How I practice ( thanks to Shirley who shared this tip ) :
While in wheel, try to lift your hands off the floor. Slowly work with hands on floor, then try to go onto the fingertips and then to try to lift and hang with the fingertips off the floor. While using this method, I find that I was able to connect with the legs more and hence able to finally figure out how to push the foot to the floor when trying to lift.

Another good way to help is to have your feet apart more and have your feet with toes pointing slightly outwards. This way I can feel my inner thighs pushing down to the inner shins and finally down to the inner side of the feet.

Oh ya, must try to rock back and forth to help with the momentum abit to lift up ( I dare not do this when I am alone, I need a security “blanket” to help me in case i fall back ).

Technorati Tags: Ustrasana, urdhva dhanuraasana, Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, anusara

It’s still 2 seconds. Haha…

However I just had a class where Bo teaches us a technique to balance that is used by John Friend ( founder of Anusara yoga ) or from what John Friend do when he goes into handstand or forearm balance.

Everytime you kick up with one leg, make the leg that is going up first to be super strong. Extend thru the balls of your foot that is going up. Straight up and strong. The second leg which is the bouncer ( haha ) to be suspended three quarters up to the top when you “bounce” the leg off the floor before you bring it together with the top leg.

I have been trying it. But I have a problem. I do not know where is the position of my leg and where is the three quarters way up.

This also can be similarly used for trying to balance in handstand. I think it helps because you are suspending and hence you get to feel where you are and where your weight is. I am going to try more this way.

Bo also made us do the kick up to handstand using the other leg as opposed to the regular leg you are used to kicking up. Bo was saying that you might even balance if you use the non regular leg… hmmm…. I got more of a clumsy fall rather than a balance… haha…

These few days haven’t been good to me… the mental aspect of the mind really affected my practice. I feel so tired… so much to think… cannot really focus. Unless it is really tough poses like handstand, pincha mayurasana or the super tough visvamitrasana which just takes all of your mind and focus.

PS. I think I get the hang of kasyapasana, side plank with half lotus. I dunno why but I love side plank and their variations especially when the teachers throw in the heart opening in the poses and you get to shine out to the sky! I find it so powerful and yet a sense of grace when you can strongly courageously opening your heart to the sky.

OM~

Technorati Tags: forearm balance, pincha mayurasana, handstand, visvamitrasana, kasyapasana, side plank

Finally a 2 second balance on my own. The feeling was light, quite unlike the rest of the times I was trying so hard. This time was just go up with one leg as high as possible, then lift the other leg with a tiny skip ( close to the wall of course… ).

Am I getting it? OMG, pincha before headstand balance…

Some great tips I gathered from teachers to get into Pincha Mayurasana (here’s an article on it by Yoga Journal) :

1. Find a wall or a friend as a wall.

2. Go down on all fours. Measure the forearm distance to be shoulder distance apart by grabbing your opposite elbows. try to keep the distance slightly closer as when you go up, the elbows tend to stray out.

3. Ground your forearms strongly. Your fingers should be spread out and fingers to be gripping the floor.

4. Melt your heart towards the floor. This will ensure that your arms will be connected to your shoulders. Integrated.

5. Move into downward dog with your legs. Then walk in. Using one leg, lift it as high as possible and the other leg to tiptoe. Then using a little hop, lift the other leg to meet the lifted leg. If you want, come up against the wall with both legs first.

6. Once up, remember to flex your foot and engage the legs. Think of them as one unit, keep them engaged.

7. Here, you can melt your heart again and then extend and try balancing with the legs off the wall.

Then, come down slowly with one leg and land softly on the floor ( control your movement down to build your core at the same time )

OM~

Technorati Tags: Pincha Mayurasana

For me, I just want to get my bound parivrtta parsvakonasana right first and balance well in it. One tiny step at a time!

Previously I had done it only once correctly in another teacher’s class but ever since has yet to do it again until today. I think I have gotten it down! tee hee ( everyone around me was “flying” off to reverse bound bird of paradise while I “fluttered” diligently in this pose… effort paid off! )

Some steps to remember when going to the pose :

1. Do warm ups and chest openers.

2. Go into the lunge and twist your body and lock your left arm over your right bended knee in a prayer twist. Make sure your weight is equally distributed to the front as well as the back leg. Back leg strong!

3. Next, extend your left arm onto the floor and the right arm up to the sky.

4. Then, look down. Use your right hand to move your left arm down below your bended right leg as far back as possible. At this point, remember your left arm need to be rotated so that it can move back and down below your leg.

5. Once your left arm is tucked as low and back as possible, open your chest and rotate your right arm up and behind your back. You really have to move your right shoulders back. Relax your shoulders back when you are reaching for the left arm. ( i think the relaxing of the shoulder part helped me in getting deeper ).

6. Once you get hold of your other hand, you can further open up your chest towards the right. Your throat should be relaxed and extended. Remember to always keep your extended back leg strong and activated!

My problem is always with the holding of the hands. Somehow I always cannot reach the other hand. But once I reached them, I can comfortable open the chest. I am going to try it again tomorrow!!! weeeee…. a small but in my opinion, gratifying improvement!
PS. I just discovered another pesky pose…. bunny hopping into handstand!!! Good grief… what am I afraid of? The wall is just behind me…
OM~

Technorati Tags: parivrtta parsvakonasana, bird of paradise, Hasta Padangusthasana, handstand

Here is a picture of the pose from Yoga Journal Cool?

I have been practising using the beginner’s way for quite sometime now. And I have seen gradual improvement every time I do it. Slowly but surely… as I told alot of myfriends, one day!!

Beginners way :

1. Go into Supta Virasana. See pose. Note: make sure you hug your thighs towards the center. Also make sure your both feet has the toes straight pointed backwards.
2. Place your hand besides your ears like your hands when you are going to Urdhva Dhanurasana (or Wheel pose)

3. Lift your head up by pushing from your hands. Do not lift the hips up yet. Stay here for a while. Catch hold of your opposite elbows with your hands and let them hang down. Stay for a few breaths. Remember to draw your arms back into the shoulders. This helps to extend your front body ( or stretch ) and just pulling your arms.

4. Next, get ready for lift off! Put your hands back besides your ears. This time push yourself and your hips up. Walk your hands in a little. Place your head down. Then again move your hands in again towards your toes. Then place your head down, do this a couple of times until your hands finally touches your toes.

5.Before going forward further, make sure your arms are strongly drawn in and chest out. Your arms must be drawn in strongly. If possible, move your hands further in by reaching for the ankles. The final position is when your elbows touch the floor. Remember, breathe!

6. Ok, once you have enough in this pose, how do your get out? You can either walk your hand back out slowly like how you walk in. Or engage your thighs and lift yourself from the back into sitting position ( this I need plenty of help )

Nothing like a good backbend to wake my spine!

om~

Technorati Tags: Kapotasana, Yoga Journal, Supta Virasana, Urdhva Dhanurasana

I read this from Light On Yoga by Iyengar :
Hanuman is the name of a monkey general that has great strength and power. He was the one who rescued Sita, wife of Rama ( who is the reincarnation of Visnu ) as well as saving the life of Laksmana by using his magnificient leaps.

Many people struggle with this pose and often injure themselves while trying out. However, using rotation and engaging of your muscles will help to ease yourself into the pose slowly.

Here for example is the split with the left leg in front.

Step 1. Move into a lunge with left leg. Rest your right knee and feet on the floor.
Step 2. Sit back until your hip is above your right knee. Your right thigh is straight in this instance and right knee is on the floor.
Step 3. Extend your left leg straight with left foot on the floor.

Step 4. Rotate your inner left thigh inwards to open your hips. Do the same for the right thigh.

Step 5. Slowly push your left leg forward to move into a full split while still trying to hug both legs to the centre.

Step 6. Bring both legs back into the hips and then internally rotate your thighs. If you are still very far from the floor, try to lean your body towards the right. Then imagine opening the hips ( butts splitting I’d say… ) which involves internally rotating your left thigh. Then sit up again and tuck tail in and bring both legs back into the hips.

Step 7. Do the same way for the other side. With this action, you are protecting yourself from injury by engaging the muscles actively.

This is the first time I go into Hanumanasana from a lunge. I find that the hamstrings are less strained compared to the usual way I go into the pose. I feel less tension and more ease especially at my back ( less compression ).

Try it!

om~

Technorati Tags: Hanumanasana, Light On Yoga, Iyengar

Today’s class was good especially after my long absense from yoga. We did this Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana, the anusara way. For the first time I was able to get pretty much close to it by using the anusara yoga principles. Lovely!

1. The leg on the floor can be either straight leg ( easiest ), bent leg ( like above ) or have the leg bent behind ( like the legs in supta virasana ).

2. Bring your to-be-extended-out leg behind the same shoulder. Try to move the leg as high up as possible. Meanwhile the hand of the same shoulder should be on the floor.

3. Hold the leg with the opposite hand on the outside edge of the lifted foot.

4. At this point, concentrate on the rotation of the lifted leg. Rotate your inner thigh in as much as possible ( the same hip will be lifted ). Once you do the inner rotation of the thigh, the leg would naturally go striaght.

5. The body can be bended forward at this point to help with the inner rotation of the inner thigh. ( this will mean that your hips will both be moving outwards, as if splitting your butts… haha )

6. From there, keeping the same rotation, slowly tuck your tail bone. Then rotate your body, chest upwards.

tada!

I could feel the ease in going into the pose with this inner rotation. And by doing this way, I feel that my body actually naturally wants to move into that position!

Thumbs up to Bo and Anusara!

OM~

Technorati Tags: Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana, anusara yoga