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The first pose: in this series and in life. It's where you start, as a human being addressing the universe. A simple attempt at deliberate non-action swirls the elements into a ragout if existence-- When you recognize this, it's time to truly enter the Sun Salutation.
There are many who compare this pose to natural things: the body is a mountain; the feet are the roots of a tree. All this fantasy is fine when you are learning the pose, but you don't have time for such silly speculation once you've embarked on Surya Namaskar.
Develop a plumb line with your back. Inhale and feel the readiness in your legs. Once established, inhale again and bring up your arms. Tuck your neck into the cleft made by your shoulder blades, and look up. Before you know it, you're already in the next pose: the Backbend.
At the end of the series, you return here: to the Mountain Pose. And when you're ready, begin once again. This time, unfold from hanging with a deep inhalation. Bend your knees to help the breath if you must. Then you've returned to your source- winded perhaps, if this is your third or fourth cycle; somewhat lightheaded if you rose too quickly.
At the cusp of every cycle, we pause to decide whether to quit or go again. What will it be?
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There's a lot of fear involved in doing a Backbend. Those primitve reflexes that tell us when we do something crazy, reflexes that served us well when we hung from trees, start to clamour. Questions that undermine our intent percolate to the ears. What if I faint, or fall, or worse: expose my limitations? What if I do?
But opposing your fears doesn't kill them. And what good would it do to destroy them when their purpose is to teach. Let the Backbend give you feedback about yourself. Let your fears be a gauge of your achievement. It really doesn't matter what level of achievement you reach. If it's all you can do to reach your arms above your head, then so be it. Maybe next time you'll do more.
Breathe in as you come out of the Mountain Pose, swinging your arms behind you. Look up at your hands, tuck your head into the crook of your shoulders to protect your neck. Likewise, tuck your tailbone into your buttocks. Reach behind you as far as you can in one breath. When you feel like clenching (or your monsters cajole you,) exhale and bend forward into hanging. Let the exhalation carry you over.
Try to stay on a line from Mountain to Hanging, avoiding swaying or bending knees and elbows. Coming back to this pose at the end of the cycle is extremely optional, and not recommended for beginners.
Just don't omit this pose altogether. Write about what you see.
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Here is where you collect the results of your efforts, even as you begin. Energy and breath curl into the core of your being. The backbone cascades over the legs. Astounding things may be revealed.
At first, it is not necessary to achieve the full Hanging pose-- it is much more important to place the feet on the floor. This enables you to jump gracefully into Dog Pose. When you return to the pose again near the end nof the cycle, then you should endeavor to reach your fullest expression of the pose.
Tight people get very uncomfortable in this pose. Breathing may be impeded and there may be a painful tightness in the hamstrings or lower back. Try to compensate for breathing difficulties by leaning forward. Bringing hands up higher on the calves or bending the knees slightly may help overstretching.
Sometimes reverie is the best remedy for discomfort. Use your time in this pose for whimsy and rest. Let your imagination spill out. Breathe in deeply coming out of this pose.
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This pose is the keystone of the series-- indeed the whole practice of Hatha Yoga. Downward Facing Dog incorporates aspects of all eight branches of Yoga. It is a standing pose, a resting pose, an inverted pose, and, well, not a sitting pose. The breath runs clearly through the body.
The feet needn't be planted flat, but the hands do. The thumbs should be bearing most of the load that the hands carry. The pelvic and shoulder girdles play a tug-war using the spinal column as a rope, while the head tucks gently, watching the alignment of the body if possible.
What tells you that you're well in the pose is a sense of relief from the burden of holding up your body in the regular way. If you're feeling strain on your extremities, or if your arms start burning or trembling, then you're doing it poorly. A stretching sensation in your hips or lower back is normal, however.
Nevertheless, when performing Dog Pose in the Sun Salutation series, the movements are too swift to concentrate on correctness. Perhaps that is a blessing too. You enter Dog Pose at the beginning of the series from Hanging by placing your hands on the floor (okay to bends knees!) and kicking your feet back like a horse. Try to place them down gently, though. You come back to Dog Pose again by way of Upward Facing Dog. Then tuck back in to Hanging by jumping your feet up between your hands. All of this happens with about one breath apiece.
You enter the first Dog Pose with an inhalation, but with an exhalation the second time. The first time you get into Dog during a cycle of Surya Namaskar, concentrate your awareness on your exhalation. Feel the tightness in the abdomen, the slight lift to the small of the back. Its not so good to keep exhaling until you clench; drop into Upward Dog when you feel this begin. Jump into Hanging pose the same way.
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The difference between this pose and the more commonly recognized "Cobra Pose" is so slight that they might as well be considered the same thing. I guess this pose is called "Upward Facing Dog" in order to associate with the Downward Facing Dog, and it has been suggested that dogs sometimes stretch themselves these ways (though I've never seen such a thing!)
I believe these two poses are connected because of the way energy flows through the body as you move from one pose to the other. In Downward dog, the energy flows downward, with the exhalation. The opposite is true for Upward Facing Dog.
Try swimming gracefully from one Dog Pose to the other. Can you scoop yourself gracefully from buns-up to heads up without grunting or pressing? Can you curl back again without holding your breath?
Lift the chest, pull back the shoulders, as you breath in as far as you can go. Plant the pelvis in the ground. This shoots the head to its zenith. When you've expanded as far as you can without forcing the wind in, and before you start clenching, let it out sllowly, and swing your butt back up into Downward Facing Dog.
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