Om Shanti: A Yoga Blog » Digital Asana Project

Digital Asana Project: Jumping into Handstand w/ Straight Legs

ekachakra — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:57:59 +0000

Sometimes it’s fun to throw in a handstand here and there in the flow. Not only is it fun, but it’s also a great way to build/maintain heat. A particularly challenging way of jumping into handstand is with straight legs, pausing in “L”-pose, and then lifting the legs up to the sky.

In this video, I demonstrate what is sometimes called “piking into handstand” (borrowing a term from swimming and gymnastics). The steps are simple; the execution, not so simple. I do not recommend this transition to anyone who cannot comfortably hold handstand away from the wall for at least 30-seconds, or to anyone who has lower back and/or core strength issues. As always, this video is for demonstration purposes only, and if you have any interest in learning how to actually do it, seek out an experienced and qualified yoga teacher who can give you hands-on instruction.

Disclaimer: I am not a certified yoga instructor, and the ideas and opinions expressed here are not intended to be formal instruction on yoga poses. If you plan to start up a yoga practice, or if you have one and plan to do any of the yoga poses described in this blog, please seek out an experienced, living, breathing yoga teacher to guide you with hands-on instruction.

Digital Asana Project: Urdhva Padma Mayurasana

ekachakra — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:51:35 +0000

Urdhva Padma Mayurasana is one heck of a pose to get into. It requires open hips, the ability to do full lotus, strong and flexible wrists, balance, and an open back. In other words, this one is not for beginners. I’ve pretty much stopped doing it myself because it compresses the back of my neck too much, but for people who are both strong and bendy, this may be a fun pose to add to their asana practice.

In this video, I demonstrate one way to get into the pose. (This is another video taken during an in-store demo, which is why there are random people walking down the sidewalk in the background.) I start by getting myself into a full lotus. Next, I turn my wrists backwards and bring my forearms together; this will be the base support for the entire pose. Then I tuck my elbows deep into my stomach, making sure they’re in there good. (If my elbows slip out in the middle of the pose, I’ll come crashing down.) Then, using my chin as the final support, I lean forward and lift my hips and legs off the ground. It’s very difficult to get into the finished pose in an elegant way, because you need to be relaxed in certain areas of your back while the muscles are fully engaged in other areas of your shoulders, back and arms. This video demonstrates my best effort at getting into the pose.

Digital Asana Project: Floating Chaturanga

ekachakra — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:52:34 +0000

Sometimes, especially in flow-style classes, you may hear your yoga teacher say something like “Step back or jump back to Chaturanga.” There are many to do this, of course, and it’s obviously not a good idea to jump back to Chaturanga if you can’t do Chaturanga all that well to begin with. Once you are strong in Chaturanga, though, it can be a fun addition to your practice to start jumping into Chaturanga during the flow.

In this video, I’m demonstrating the most advanced way of jumping back into Chaturanga.

1) I make sure to plant my hands firmly into the mat. For me, this means that I need to bend my knees quite a bit.

2) I start to transfer more weight into my hands.

3) With a little hop, I leave my feet and transfer all the weight into my hands. To soften the impact, I allow my elbows to bend here.

4) With my shoulders over my wrists, I allow my hips to float up into the air, and then I extend my legs out. I hold in this position for a few breaths (thus, “Flying or Floating Chaturanga”) before lowering down into traditional Chaturanga.

Digital Asana Project: Jumping from Down-Dog to Sitting

ekachakra — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:10:00 +0000

This is a fun transition that essentially combines the techniques and skills developed in the Gorilla Jump and Lolasana.

In this video, I start in a basic Downward-Facing Dog Position. Then, I bend the knees, making sure to take the hips low and almost touching the knees to the mat. I do this to get a nice, deep crouch. One of my teachers calls this the “cat/tiger about to pounce” position.

In order to make the transition as smooth as possible, I take as much weight as possible into my hands, allowing me to float through the transition. This requires me to take my hips high, almost over my shoulders.

Next, I cross my ankles as I begin to lower my legs down. In order to take my legs through my arms without having my feet touch the floor, I engage my core muscles and really suck my legs in tight, almost like I’m trying to make myself into a ball. Basically, in order to swing my legs through, I pass through Lolasana. Finally, before allowing my feet, legs, or butt to touch the ground, I straighten out my legs, and then end up in Dandasana.

This transition requires upper body strength, balance, control, core strength, and focus. In other words, I don’t recommend this for anyone who can’t already do the Gorilla Jump and Lolasana with a high level of proficiency.

Digital Asana Project Videos

ekachakra — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:32:31 +0000

In an effort to organize the Digital Asana Project videos, I’ve made a separate page (to the left side of the screen, in the “Info” section) where all of the videos can be accessed in one location. I’m organizing the videos according to the following categories:

1. Advanced Transitions and Sequences

2. Inversion and Transition Practice

3. Core Exercises

4. Yoga and Rock Climbing Sequences

Links to all of the Digital Asana Project videos should be up soon.

Digital Asana Project: Core Strength Workout

ekachakra — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:08:18 +0000

A curious thing about the traditional asana practice is that it tends not to develop great core strength, even though so many of the poses require you to use core strength. With the exception of Navasana (Boat Pose), there aren’t that many asanas that focus specifically on the core muscles. Some poses, like Trikonasana (Triangle) and Parsvakonasana (Extended Side-Angle), do give your obliques a nice workout, but very few poses help to develop strength and conditioning in the main abdominal muscles.

In this video, I demonstrate a basic core strengthening sequence. (I’ve sped things up in the demo in order to preserve a smaller file size, but you should get the idea.) It goes as follows:

1) 5 breaths in Navasana.

2) 5 breaths in Ardha-Navasana (Low Boat Pose — Heels and legs off the floor, shoulders and upper back lifting up, fingertips extending towards the feet; to protect the neck, I sometimes do this pose with my hands behind the head).

3) From Ardha-Navasana, press the palms together and split the legs wide. (Heels stay 2 inches off the floor.)

4) Crisscross the legs, alternating each time which leg crosses over the top. Repeat 20 times, moving with the breath.

5) From Ardha-Navasana, extend the right leg towards the ceiling, while keeping the left leg hovering 2 inches off the floor. Hold for 5 breaths.

6) Lower the right leg, letting it hover 2 inches off the floor. Extend the left leg towards the ceiling. Hold for 5 breaths.

7) On the inhales and exhales, alternate the legs. Repeat 20 times (10 times on each side).

8 ) From Ardha-Navasana to Navasana.

9) From Navasana into a simple cross-legged sitting position, and then lift up, holding here (feet/ankles off the floor if possible) for 5 breaths.

10) Release and fold forward.

Even though we shouldn’t be focused on getting a six-pack or anything like that, it is useful, I think, to incorporate core exercises into the flow, which will in turn improve one’s overall practice. As you build up core strength, you’ll notice improvements in everything from Half Moon Pose to Chair Pose to Side Plank, not to mention all your arm balances and inversions.

Many thanks to Raghu and Brock for inspiring this sequence.

Digital Asana Project: Practicing Handstand Away from the Wall

ekachakra — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 17:03:51 +0000

Many of us learned Adho Mukha Vrksasana, or Handstand, by kicking up at the wall. This is certainly a good and safe way to feel what it’s like to get upside-down. But the wall can become a crutch, and eventually we’ll want to learn how to do Handstand away from the wall, with the hope of one day seamlessly weaving in Handstands into the flow.

I’d like to demonstrate two methods that I used to learn how to get up into an unassisted Handstand. In this first video, I work with what one of my teachers calls a “Gorilla Jump”. I keep both knees bent when I jump, which compacts my body, and allows me focus on floating my hips over my shoulders and wrists, and to develop a feeling for what it’s like to get some “hang time”. Once I manage to balance on my hands, then I extend my legs straight towards the ceiling.

In this second video, I demonstrate a slightly more challenging way of learning how to do an unassisted Handstand. Notice how I leave one leg behind as a kind of counterbalance. The weight of this counterbalance leg keeps me from flipping over, and buys me some time to play with finding my balance. Once I’ve found my balance, then I bring the counterbalance leg up, and straighten out my Handstand.

Visvamitrasana: Pose Dedicated to Visvamitra

ekachakra — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 06:41:31 +0000

Visvamitrasana is, as my friend puts it, a “bear” of a pose. Like a lot of advanced poses, this one requires balance, strength, flexibility, and strength within flexibility.

I’m just starting to learn how to get into this pose, and I thought I’d share some tips on how I’ve made progress so far. To start, come into a low-lunge with the back foot pivoted down (like in Warrior I). Then, get your shoulder under your knee like this:

Next, plant one hand on the ground, and with the other hand, grab the lunged foot. Roll the weight onto the planted hand, open the chest to the side, extend the front foot straight, and come into the full pose. To get that front leg straight, the trick, I’ve discovered, is to rotate the leg so that the heel of the lifted foot is pointing straight down and the toes of the lifted foot aim straight at the ceiling. For the longest time, I was unable to get my lifted leg straight because I didn’t think to make this small adjustment.

The finished pose will look something like this:

I’ve faced three main problems in getting into this pose. First, my front leg tends to slide down my arm once I lift it off the ground. Second, I need to rotate my top shoulder open more. Lastly, I need to do a better job of keeping my back foot planted on the ground. I imagine that anyone else trying to do this pose will want to think about these three things as well. If anyone has any additional tips, I’d love to hear them!

Flow Sequence with Upside-Down Tree Pose – UPDATED w/ VIDEO

ekachakra — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:24:52 +0000

A few months ago, I posted an advanced sequence on the blog but never got around to posting a video. A video (with bad lighting…sorry) is now finally uploaded. You can see the original posting here. Please keep in mind that I rushed trough the sequence a bit in order to keep the length of the video under 4 minutes. If you do actually attempt this sequence, or some variation of it, I recommend holding the poses for a bit longer than I do in the video.

Digital Asana Project: Down-Dog into Urdvha Dhanurasana

ekachakra — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 16:58:01 +0000

The transition from Down-Dog into Urdvha Dhanurasana (Full Wheel) is a particularly challenging one that involves, like many of these advanced transitions, explosive power, strength, flexibility, and balance, not to mention a tremendous amount of focus and a good dose of tapas - something like angry determination.

This transition moves through several advanced poses, and it is obviously necessary to be able to do those poses individually if one is to have any hope of doing them all strung together in one fluid motion. The sequence of poses is as follows. Starting in Down-Dog, Dhyana bends at the knees and jumps, with straight legs, through a pike position, through Handstand, through Scorpion II, and then, finally, into Full Wheel. Then, tapping into that tapas, she powers her way from the Full Wheel back through the very same sequence of poses, in reverse order of course, until she’s back where she started.