Om Shanti: A Yoga Blog

In this video, Dhyana demonstrates for us a very fun and challenging transition. It goes a little something like this. From Down-Dog, Dhyana comes into a Handstand. Then, she winds her legs into Garudasana (Eagle Pose) position. Then, bending at the elbows, she begins to lower her chin to the floor, coming down into a variation of Gandha Bherundasana with the legs still wound in Eagle position.

This is a very, very advanced transition — Jedi yoga, as some of my friends call it. I doubt that many yoga instructors can even pull this one off. The prerequisites, so to speak, for this transition are:

1) The ability to do a freestanding Handstand for an extended period of time.

2) The ability to lower safely and with control from Vrischikasana II (Scorpion) into Gandha Bherundasana.

3) The ability to wind the legs into Eagle Pose without the assistance of the hands.

For most people, the advice “don’t try this at home” applies here. It’s fun to watch these amazing transitions, however, to inspire us and to see what can happen when we combine complex and advanced asanas into a sequence that exhibits such grace, power, focus, and balance all at once.

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.

This transition is definitely fun, albeit a bit scary the first few times. My back is still not open enough to do the drop-back from Salamba Sirsana (Headstand) into Viparita Dandasana very smoothly, but I hope that this video gives you a general idea of what it’s supposed to look like.

First, I come into traditional Headstand (and almost wipe out). Then, I start to bend my knees and take my feet towards the floor. As I do this, I also lift my head entirely off the floor and start to push my chest towards the opposite wall. This allows me (at least in theory) to take a little more of a back bend and to get my feet even closer to the floor. Basically, I try to continue this movement — head off the floor, chest forward, feet down — until I can’t hold it any more and I fall over to the mat. Dropping back here is of course the scary part; but I try to remind myself that the floor is pretty darn stable, and it isn’t going anywhere. So as long as I don’t do anything crazy like panic and flail about, my feet will hit the floor eventually, and everything will be fine. Once my feet hit the mat, I walk them in a little closer towards my head and take Viparita Dandasana for a breath or two. The head is entirely off the ground here, and the gaze is moving progressively toward the hands while the chest continues to extend in the opposite direction away from my feet. Finally, I plant my hands and come into Urdvha Dhanurasana (aka Full Wheel). I finish off the sequence by coming down to the mat slowly and taking my knees into my chest, releasing the lower back. Whew! Repeat two to three times if so inclined.

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.

One of my yoga pals in Los Angeles has graciously volunteered to demonstrate some transitions for Om Shanti. As you can see in her videos, she possesses supernatural yoga abilities, and the transitions that you see her demonstrate should definitely not be attempted without the assistance of a very knowledgeable and experienced teacher by your side.

This week’s video is Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) into Eka Pada Bakasana (One-legged Crow Pose). This transition is pretty tricky, and I have personally wiped out several times trying it. The first step is to come into a good old, regular Handstand. (Of course, if you cannot do a Handstand freely in the middle of the room, this transition is not one you should be working on!) The next step is to bend one knee, which will be the knee that lands on the back of the tricep in Eka Pada Bakasana. Lowering down from here is the trickiest part of the transition, and it will require some significant bend in the elbows. Finally, to lower the bent knee onto the back of the tricep requires a great deal of focus and control. Coming down too fast will result in a crash and kaboom. One way to practice slowly lowering down here is to first practice the slow transition from Handstand to Chaturanga.

The next challenge after mastering Handstand to Eka Pada Bakasana is to figure out how to get from Eka Pada Bakasana back into Handstand. I don’t know that any human being in the world can do this, although I think I have seen a video of Ana Forrest doing it, but she may not be human.

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.

This is a fun little sequence to add into the flow, especially early on if you want to inject some intensity and heat into the practice. It’s a nice way to set the tone for a particularly strong asana practice. The sequence goes a little something like this:

1. From Down Dog, jump directly into Mukta Hasta Sirsasana (aka Tripod Headstand).

2. Come into Parsva Bakasana (aka Twisted Crow).

3. Back up to Tripod.

4. Twisted Crow on the other side.

5. Back to Tripod.

6. Wind the legs into Full Lotus.

7. Tuck the Lotus and lift up into Urdvha Kukkutasana (aka Upward Facing Cock).

8. Untangled the legs and come into regular Crow Pose.

9. Jump back to Chaturanga.

10. Whew!

When I do this sequence, I want to be pretty warmed up already. This usually means doing an extended series of Sun Salutations first, which will consist of considerable modifications that are designed to get the body ready for this intense sequence. See my 10/07/06 posting for some suggestions on how to modify the Sun Salutations.

In the video below, I demonstrate the entire sequence, taking about 5 breaths in each pose. The most difficult transitions in this sequence are probably the initial jump into Tripod Headstand and the lift from Tripod Headstand into Upward Cock. Check out my 09/01/06 posting to read some more about the jump from Down Dog into Tripod Headstand. Here are some thoughts on the lift into Upward Cock. Once I get my legs into Full Lotus while in Tripod Headstand, I try to really make sure that my feet are locked in tight. Otherwise, they will pop out when I’m trying to do the lift. Tucking the Lotus legs is not the hard part, but the next move, the lift up, is really tricky. I don’t find that it actually requires a tremendous amount of strength; the issue here is control. It’s easy to push too hard, which will result in falling back on to your butt. The key, I think, it to really grip the mat with the fingers while doing the lift. Think “up” and perhaps even “up and forward” instead of “back” when lifting here. The tendency, I think, is to think “back” because you have to lift your head up and back when you lift into Upward Cock. But this will typically result in overshooting the pose and falling backwards.

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.

After learning how to do Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) freely in the middle of the room, the next step is to work it into the flow in a way that doesn’t interrupt the flow sequence. One graceful and fun way to do this is to lower from Handstand directly into Chaturanga. The first few times I tried this, it was a little rickety, but after figuring out what to do exactly with my hands, elbows, and legs, things went much smoother.

In this video, I start out in a full Handstand. The first move downwards is to bend my elbows. It is absolutely crucial here to consciously keep the elbows in tight; if the elbows flare out to the sides, you can cause some serious damage to your wrists. I learned this the hard way. Now, as you can see in the video, as I lower down, I start to arch my lower back a little and keep my feet pointing up to the sky as long as I can. I also lean forward more and more as my body gets lower to the ground. These two movement together help me to stay balanced. Otherwise, my weight goes to the back and my legs come crashing down to the mat. This is perfectly safe, but not so graceful. To transition into Chaturanga, I progressively slide my chest foward and down, and try to keep my shoulder blades securely on my back. Finally, the feet should touch down lightly on the mat.

There’s obviously quite a lot going on in this transition. Practice makes perfect with this one, and like many of the other transitions I’ve described on this blog, this one requires subtle adjustments all the way down, in addition to a significant amount of power and control.

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.

This is a fun transition to work into the Sun Salutations, or pretty much anywhere in the flow really. I absolutely love going upside-down, and will incorporate just about anything that will get me upside-down into my asana practice. The transition from Uttanasana (Folding Forward Bend) into Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) is a particularly fun way of injecting some intensity into the practice. It involves quite a bit of flexibility — you have to be able to palm the floor in Uttanasana – as well as a considerable amount of core strength. And, of course, one needs to be able to do a Handstand freely in the middle of the room as well. If any of these things are an issue, it is also possible to practice this transition at the wall.

In this video, I start in Uttanasana and spend a few moments setting my hands just right on the floor. Then, I press the hands firmly into the ground and slowly shift the weight forward into my hands and out of my feet. This requires me to really engage my upper body, almost in an exaggerated fashion. I also have to take my hips over my shoulders and wrists, otherwise, there is no way that I’m going to get into a Handstand. Now, to lift the legs up, I engage my core and, with a little bit of an angry “oomph”, take my legs out from under me. This move involves a full transfer of the weight in to the hands. Also, to counterbalance the weight of the legs behind me, my overall weight is actually shifted slightly ahead of my hands. This is the only way I know how to stay balanced while lifting the legs up. Once the legs start moving, I make a number of subtle adjustments to the positioning of my hips to compensate for the changing distribution of my weight. Finally, by the time I land the legs above me in full Handstand, my hips, arms, shoulders, and wrists are all in line. As with most of these transitions, the subtle adjustments along the way are key. This is a very dynamic transition, and the real work is in the minute adjustments, not in the brute force.

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.

The transition from Mukta Hasta Sirsasana (Tripod Headstand) to Mayurasana (Peacock Pose) is one of the most difficult I’ve ever attempted. One tricky part is obviously the balance in each asana, but equally important is the subtle shifting of weight as you move from one asana into the next. As with most transitions of this type — i.e. inversion “X” into arm balance “Y” — the key here is to realize that your center of gravity is constantly changing as you transition between the poses. That is to say, the transition involves a lot more than brute strength. Sure, you need to have the right amount and right kind of strength in the first place, but the subtle adjustments on the way down are what are really key here.

To do this transition, I start in regular Tripod Headstand. Then, I quickly rotate the hands around so that they point in the opposite direction. Then, I (rather ungracefully) move the hands together until they touch in the middle, setting them up in Mayurasana position. It’s quite difficult to balance in Tripod with Mayurasana hands, so I don’t waste to much time hanging around here. I move immediately into the transition into full Mayurasana, paying special attention all the way down not to let the weight of my legs pull me down too quickly. This requires me to consciously take my weight forward as I’m coming down. Finally, I settle into full Mayurasana and enjoy the breeze for a few breaths before setting my feet on the ground.

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.

In this week’s video, I demonstrate some transitions between various headstand positions. The positions, in order, are:

1) Sirsasana (regular headstand)

2) Mukta Hasta Sirsasana A (regular tripod headstand)

3) Mukta Hasta Sirsasana B (“forklift” tripod headstand)

4) Mukta Hasta Sirsasana A (regular tripod headstand)

5) Mukta Hasta Sirsasana D? (tripod with the hands pointed in the reverse direction)

6) Mukta Hasta Sirsasana A (regular tripod headstand)

To move from regular headstand into tripod headstand, first I carefully untangle my fingers. Then, making sure I am perfectly balanced, I quickly bring both my hands into tripod headstand position (I kind of miss the mark in the video…my hands are too close to my head by about 2-3 inches). Now, to switch to the “forklift” headstand, I quickly and forcefully extend my arms wide, flipping the hands so the palms face the ceiling. When I do this, I pretty much slam the backs of my hands on the ground; there is a lot of distance for the hands to travel from regular tripod headstand to the forklift variation, so speed and a little extra “oomph” are required for this move in particular. The next move, coming back to regular tripod, is not straightforward as it might seem. It’s tricky to go from having your balance spread out wide to having it contained in a narrow space again. A little extra focus and a little delicacy are need for this move. The last tripod variation is simply turning the hands around so they face in the opposite direction. Then I turn the hands back to normal tripod, before tilting my whole body down and coming straight into Chaturanga.

It’s probably not a good idea to try this out for the first time in the middle of the room. There is certainly a risk of falling over during these transitions, and balance is obviously key here. As you can see in the video, I’m pretty unstable during a few of the moves, but I try to keep my weight leaning in the direction that my eyes are facing, because I can catch myself in that direction. But if my weight leans in the other direction — i.e. towards the wall behind me — there’s really nothing I can do to catch myself if I start falling in that way. Of course, if I were to fall backwards, the best and safest thing to do would be to “tuck and roll”.

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.

Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) to Eka Pada Koundinyasana II is a pretty exhilarating transition to work into the flow. Sometimes I do this transition just on its own, but I also frequently like to build it into a large asana sequence.

To do this transition, I first come into Handstand and hold it for a few breaths, making sure to have a really solid foundation set in my hands, arms, and shoulders. Then (this next part is a little hard to see in the video), I take my right leg out to the side, keeping it straight the entire time. Slowly, with my legs scissored, I lower my body down and land in Eka Pada Koundinyasana II. I find it important to maintain control all the way down, or almost all the way down, otherwise the whole thing comes crashing down. To do the lower down, I slowly bend my arms and eventually they end up in Chaturana position, which is exactly where they need to be in order to set the right leg on the back of the right arm for Eka II. Most importantly, when I’m lowering down, I don’t just bend my arms and hope to land the transition; there is a constant shifting of the balance as I lower, sometimes more forward and sometimes more towards the back, depending on the positioning of my legs and hips as they come down. In other words, the lower down move is much more dynamic than it may look — it’s all about those subtle muscles making very tiny adjustments along the way.

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.