Yoga at Home for Absolute Beginners!

Yoga at Home: Cute and Helpful Yoga Book for Your Home Practice!

     Consider adding the above yoga book to your library.  It teaches 47 poses you can do at home!

 

I periodically comb the digital "shelves" of Amazon.com for new books that provide guidance to yogis who practice at home. Recently, I discovered Amy Luwis' delightful little tome, Yoga to the Rescue-Ageless Beauty:  How to Keep Yourself Glowingly Beautiful Inside and Out!

I am always into being "ageless" and in looking one's best. This book offers so much more! The title belies the treasure trove of practical information within its covers to enhance your home yoga practice.

I recommend adding this book to your yoga library for  the following reasons:

*  Like my book (yes, a shameless plug for my book!), Amy Luwis writes in an easy-to-follow, and personal way. You FEEL her friendly presence as you read. I eschew yoga books that explain poses in a generic, lifeless, and institutional manner. Amy includes references to her own experiences in the book which makes her feel real to me.

*  Amy begins her book with basic health tips which are excellent adjuncts to a vibrant home yoga practice - dry brushing of your skin, dietary recommendations (adding a Reishi mushroom a day "can help keep the doctor away") and the importance of quality sleep..

*  You will find a wide variety of poses from which to choose - a total of 47 that are organized into 6 different sequences.  Each of the sequences has a different aim-such as practicing yoga to become ageless, achieving serenity, or overcoming pain.

*  Amy shares my philosophy of never pushing yourself through pain and she agrees with my tenet that "slow mo' is the way to go." She says, "Don't blast through yoga poses.. Do them mindfully, gently, and slowly."

*  The illustrations of the yoga poses are cute, non-intimidating, and inviting - highly encouraging for the beginning yogi!  You will find humor infused throughout the book - much welcome levity for the new yogi who may feel tentative about a yoga practice.

*  Amy offers easier options for the more challenging poses so that everyone can benefit even if they are less "athletic" or physically "challenged" in some way.

As you must know from the 8+ years that I have been writing this yoga blog, yoga can indeed come to the rescue for so many of life's challenges.  And, Amy Luwis' book (in addition to my book!!), in my opinion, is one of the best you can find to get your started or to enhance your existing practice.  Go buy yourself a copy today!

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Yoga at Home Beginners Coach

 

 

 

 

Self-taught Yoga: Helpful Video to Learn Tree Pose-Another Balance Pose

 As I mentioned a few weeks ago as part of my "yoga spring cleaning," I felt I needed to start learning a few new poses to add to my regime.

Since maintaining balance still challenges me, I felt that I should start incorporating the ygoa "Tree Pose."  I have done it in the past - but not consistently - no reason why - except that maintaining balance is often difficult for me!

I soon found a youtube video on the Tree pose that is pretty good.  Of course, there are many, I did not have time to watch them all.  I like that this video covers the basics in under 3 minutes.  Also, the video presents front and side views and has some arrow graphics to explain the alignment for which you should strive while holding the pose.

What I found lacking is that there's no explanation on exactly how long you should hold the pose or how many repetitions are recommended (although I tend to do most poses only once).  Also, the video is produced by YogaSync TV - no individual instructor is named and from that perspective, it's a bit impersonal. I prefer videos associated with a particular person.

Overall, however, I do find this video to be helpful.  Enjoy.

 

Best wishes for a yoga-filled week!

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the yoga at home for beginner's coach

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching Yourself Yoga: Arm and Leg Stretch-Another Balance Pose

The arm and leg stretch is a yoga balance pose I alternate with the Eagle pose.

Greetings fellow at home yogis!

As I said in last week's refresher on the Eagle Pose, improving balance is important. And, I was drawn to this pose because of its promised benefits to increase "balance, poise, and grace."

Back in 1970, when I first began to learn yoga, I found the arm and leg stretch yoga pose in the book, Yoga for Beauty and Health by Eugene Rawls and Eve Diskin. My two copies of this "ancient" tome are falling apart-- the pages are yellowed and frayed. Nevertheless, the teachings in this book are timeless!  Most impressive to me was the authors' assertion that:

"Our lack of normal physical activity results in the diminishing of our sense of balance, and it is this loss of the normal sense of balance that is responsible for the impairment of grace and poise..." 

However, when you improve your balance with the arm and leg stretch and other balance poses, Rawls and Diskin claiim that you regain natural poise and grace, and in turn, increased self-confidence. Moreover, you gain a "lightness" of being and energy throughout your entire being.  I have experienced this myself, even if I have not perfected the pose.

Need any more convincing to try this pose? I would think not!  Instructions follow.  Enjoy! 

 

Yoga Arm and Leg Stretch

Type of yoga pose:  Standing

Body parts targeted:  Upper arms, legs, back, and spine

How to do the pose: 

1.    Stand tall on your mat with your hands at your sides, chest held high, abdomen in and your feet and heels together. Inhale and exhale slowly at least once.

2.    Gradually raise your left arm into the air until it is above your head but not completely perpendicular to it.

3.    Place all your weight on your left leg.

4.    Bend your right leg at the knee and slowly raise your right foot up until you can grasp it firmly, yet gently, with your right hand.

 

 

5.    In slow motion, inhale deeply and pull your right leg up with your right hand.

 

6.    Bend your body backward at your waist.

7.    Move your left arm as far back as is comfortable and without losing your balance.

8.    Let your head drop back gently and slowly until your eyes are looking upward. 

 

9.    Hold the pose motionless for 5 seconds.

10.To exit this pose, take a few seconds to bring your left arm forward while also releasing your pull on your right leg. Relieve the backward bend of your spine.  Come forward gently with your head.

11.Release your right foot and let your right leg descend to a normal standing position.  Lower your left arm back down to your side in slow motion.

12.Inhale and exhale slowly for a moment or two and repeat the pose on the opposite side.

Practice time:  Start by holding the pose for 5 seconds on each side during the first week and add 5 seconds each week until you can hold the pose for 15-30 seconds.

Number of repetitions:  1-2 on each side

Key benefits from this pose:

1.    Develops your sense of balance.

2.    Gives your spine a gentle, backward stretch that can be energizing.

3.    Relieves and reduces tension in the back and thighs.

4.    Increases your poise and grace as you sit and walk—leading to improved posture.

Special hints and my experience with this pose:

Stand tall and erect when you do this pose. Imagine you have the grace and poise of a swan gliding across a placid lake. Learning to maintain your balance during this pose may take a few weeks or months of practice. I have found that keeping my eyes fixed on a point in the ceiling can help. If you lose your balance, lower your arms and leg gently, pause, regain your composure, and redo. It helps to do this pose next to a wall so you can catch yourself and regain your balance if you start wobbling.

Sometimes you may suffer setbacks. No problem. This pose requires special balance and coordination – no wonder it’s been one of the more difficult ones for me to master. Some days I can keep my balance perfectly.  Other days I am wobbling back and forth like an inexperienced trapeze artist on a tightrope! 

Enjoy the stretch and have fun with it, regardless of how long you can keep your balance. Doing this pose makes you more conscious of your posture and encourages you hold your head high! You’ll feel more energized and confident!

Yours for keeping your balance with the yoga arm and leg stretch,
 

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the self-taught yoga coach for beginners

 

 

 

 

Self-Taught Yoga: Balance Pose- a Refresher on the Eagle

I practice the Eagle, an important balance pose, every other day - alternating it with another balance pose, the Arm and Leg Stretch.

In her wonderful book, Yoga Sparks:  108 Easy Practices for Stress Relief in a Minute or Less, yoga therapist Carol Krucoff writes about the importance of balance and how yoga can help us gain balance.

"Balance poses teach some of yoga's most important lessons, getting grounded, finding your center, staying focused, maintaining concentration, and steadying the mind.  The process of learning to balance, with its inevitable falling and trying again, cultivates patience, persistence, humility and good humor."

I could not agree more!  Seemingly born uncoordinated, achieving balance in sports has been a challenge for me. When my first boyfriend in college took me out to water ski, I could never rise above a crouch.  I feared losing my balance!

Although I sometimes still wobble while doing the above Eagle pose, I persist with it because working with balance is important.  When I tore a ligament (from walking it seems - not from yoga!) in my left ankle 2 years ago, I could barely do this pose on my left foot. But, again, I worked my way back to doing it-- albeit with some teetering and tottering. 

Here are my instructions on how to do the Eagle, which I do enjoy, even if it is not always easy!

Eagle (Sanskrit name is Garudasana)

Type of yoga pose:  Active, standing

Body parts targeted:  Legs, thighs, upper back, hips, knee joints 

How to do the pose:

1. Stand tall with your legs and feet about shoulder width apart, and your hands at your sides. Focus your eyes on one spot in front of you at eye level.
2. Inhale and shift your weight onto your left leg. With your left leg (which is standing) slightly bent, bend and raise your right leg off the ground.
3. Wrap your right leg around the front of your left standing leg and tuck your right raised foot behind the left knee. To stay balanced, you may need to bend your left standing knee slightly more.  Also, if needed, hold out both your arms to your sides, parallel, and at a slight angle to steady yourself.

    4.  Next, extend your left arm in front of you and cross your right arm, bent at the elbow, over your left arm at the elbow and gently lock that position so that the right elbow is resting on the left arm at the point where the upper and lower arm meet

    5.  Entwine your hands so your right wrist is wrapped around the left wrist and your hands are clasped palm to palm.  Rest your chin on your hands.

    6.  Exhale and gently bend forward, taking at least 5 seconds, until your chest rests on your upper leg and knee. Keep your arms entwined. As Jess Stearn said in his book, Yoga, Youth, and  Reincarnation,  you should look like an American eagle ready to swoop down on its prey.

 7.  Hold the pose for 5 seconds (inhaling and exhaling deeply). Then, take at least 5 seconds to come up slowly, vertebra by vertebra.  Raise your head last. Gently unclasp your arms and legs.

8.  At first, when you are developing the balance and coordination needed to hold the pose, you may have to adjust your balance by gentling touching down the right leg to the floor as you rise up out of the pose.

9.  Repeat the pose by standing and shifting your weight to right leg and go through all the same set of movements on the opposite side.

Practice time:  Hold for 5 seconds; add 5 seconds a week until you can hold the bent over position for 20-30 seconds.

Number of repetitions:  1 or 2

 Key benefits from this pose: 

1. Improves and develops balance, poise, and nerve coordination.
2. Tones legs and thigh muscles.
3. Stretches upper back muscles and hip and knee joints.
4. Helps relieve varicose veins. 

Special hints and my experience with this pose:

This exercise may appear strange but it’s relaxing and superb for improving balance and coordination. You will also notice the toning of your calves and thighs. I feel it every time!

The key is to move gradually and deliberately to maintain your balance and to synchronize your breath with your movements.  At times I can maintain my balance for only a few seconds. If you cannot bend forward and stay balanced when you start this pose, stay balanced in the standing pose for the stated time.

After a few days or weeks of consistent practice, you should be able to bend forward and achieve balance in the “eagle” position.  If you tend to wobble as I do (often!), do the pose near a wall to catch yourself.

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the self-taught yoga coach for beginners

 

 

Yoga at Home: Refresher on Hip Opening Pose to Balance Your Energies and Forces

The ankle to forehead stretch from the side (shown above) and from the front (shown below)

The ankle to forehead stretch is wonderful for stretching the muscles around your hips and keeping your hips open.  It furthermore counteracts the imbalances that a sedentary lifestyle can create. 

A while back, I wrote about how important it is to open the muscles in and surrounding your hips if you have a sedentary profession.  Well, since the previous post in which I shared information about the book Sitting Kills, Moving Heals, I have come across more information about how vital hip opening poses are, especially when you sit too many hours during the day.

In the latest issue of Yoga Journal, yoga instructor Ray Long shares that years ago he asked B.K.S. Iyengar, "what's the key to mastering yoga?"

Iyengar replied, "To master yoga, you must balance the energies and forces throughout the body." 

In subsequent years, Long studied this concept and he said that he learned that "balancing forces is particularly crucial when it comes to addressing the feeling of 'tightness' many of us have in our hips."  This tightness often results from sitting too long during the day.  Also, sitting leads to shortened hip flexors and weak hip extensors which in turn cause the hamstrings to work harder.

Stretching the muscles around the hips helps to maintain healthy mobility.  And, one of my favorite ways to do this (which I have written about before, but "repetition is the mother of skill," as motivational speaker Tony Robbins used to say) is by doing the ankle to forehead stretch shown above.  I do this pose during every yoga practice (six times a week) and I continue to reap the benefits.

Here are the instructions for how to do this excellent yoga pose from my book, Yoga at Home: Gain Energy, Flexibility, and Serenity in 20-30 Minutes a Day.

Start out gradually and enjoy! 

 

Ankle to Forehead Stretch

Type of yoga pose: Supine (seated) pose

Body parts targeted: Hips, hip joints, sciatic nerve, legs, and upper arms.

How to do the pose:

 Sit on your mat with your legs extended straight out in front of you. Your toes and heels should be together.

1. Bend your left leg at the knee and bring your left foot toward you so you can grasp it with your hands.
2. Take your left hand and place it under your ankle over the region of your outer ankle bone.
3. Grasp your leg foot with your right hand holding it with a firm (but not tight) grip around the arch.
4. Using the strength of your arms and bending your head forward as far as your balance will allow you, lift your left leg up drawing your ankle toward your forehead.
5. When you have reached your forehead with the inside or your ankle or have brought your ankle as close to your forehead as you comfortably can, lift your left leg up drawing your ankle toward your forehead.
6. Hold this pose for 5 seconds inhaling and exhaling as needed.
7. Slowly lower your left leg back to the mat taking at least 3-5 seconds. Inhale and exhale deeply for at least one full breath.
8. Stretch your left leg out in front of you and perform the same movements with the other (right) leg.

Practice time: Start by holding the pose for 5 seconds during the first week and add a few seconds each week until you can hold the pose for 30 seconds.

Number of repetitions: 1-2

Key benefits from this pose:

 Stretches, tones, and firms the muscles and connective tissues of the hips. Opens the hips.

1. Acts as a therapeutic treatment for the hip joints and benefits the sciatic nerve.
2. Tones, beautifies, and increases flexibility in the legs.
3. Strengthens upper arms.

Special hints and my experience with this pose:

I really feel the stretch and strengthening benefits of this pose each time I perform it.

When you first do this pose, you may be unable to you ankle with your forehead. This signals just how much your hips and the muscular area where the thighs and buttocks join need to unwind and loosen up. As I suggest when you start other poses, think “baby steps.” There’s no race or competition. Bring your foot as close to your forehead as you can without causing yourself pain and hold your stretch firmly at that farthest point.

With consistent practice, your body will ease up, you will regain normal flexibility, and soon you will be able to bring your ankle to your forehead. Once you can reach your forehead with your ankle, hold the pose motionless for the stipulated time.

Yours for balancing the energies and forces throughout your body with daily yoga,

 

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, The Beginner's Yoga at Home Coach

 

Yoga at Home for Beginners: Yoga Headstand - Trying it for the First Time!

During my last post, I shared the inspiring tale of Arthur, a disabled Gulf war paratrooper and veteran who returned home with limited mobility.  He could not walk without elbow crutches and his physicians advised him that this was his fate for the rest of his life (shame on them).  His sedentary life caused him to become morbidly obese.  Yet, he found one yoga instructor who was willing to take him on.  Arthur's video showed how he started as an absolute yoga beginner falling and tumbling over during several poses.  Yet, consistent practice over time enabled Arthur to master difficult poses including the headstand!

The yoga headstand is one pose that I never tried for more than a split second.  I tend to become discombobulated when I go upside down- I lose my balance. Despite swim lessons, as a child and teenager I could never do flip overs when reaching the end of a lap in a pool. Although I can lift myself into the shoulder stand, the head stand has intimidated me for years. However, Arthur's video so inspired me that I decided to start teaching myself the yoga headstand.  

Today I gave myself my first lesson.  I picked up one of my first yoga books -and you can tell it's a first, the pages are greatly yellowed and falling apart. But, I was able to find detailed instructions for the head stand.  I carefully read and re-read the instructions and studied the photographs.  (By the way, I haven't learned a new pose in some time - it was about time I did so!)  I clasped my hands around my head as you see above and formed a triangle with my elbows and stretched out my legs.  I had to try this though a few times.  I felt awkward - kind of like driving a stick shift for the first time.

And, I followed my own advice - taking baby steps and being very careful of how my body felt.  I noticed my head and neck felt a bit tight (I have been sleeping in an awkward position the past few days) so I was most cautious.  The neck can be very delicate. I went only as far as was comfortable - somewhere between illustrations 3 and 4 shown above.  And, that was that.  That is as far as I felt I should go!  I am going to continue to practicing a bit of this pose during the week and every weekend.  I will share my results. There are no guarantees that I will be able to do the headstand, but my intention is to at least try it so I can further expand my yoga regime.

Yours for trying new yoga poses with caution and patience,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginners' Yoga at Home Coach

 

Yoga at Home: Clarification! I am NOT Against Yoga Classes!!!

The other day, in response to my post about how I believe you can learn yoga from a book, I received a comment from a reader expressing concern.  She stated that she had considered replacing her yoga classes by using a book to do yoga, BUT that she wasn't convinced she wanted to do this.  She enjoyed attending her yoga classes and was not ready to give them up.  I assured her that my intent has NEVER been to discourage anyone from attending yoga classes!

No!  The purpose of this blog and my book, Yoga at Home:  Gain Energy, Flexibility, and Serenity in 20-30 Minutes a Day, is solely to give yoga newbies who are timid or shy about attending a class, don't have time to attend a class, have no classes nearby, or simply want to go at their own pace, an alternative to the yoga classroom.  That old cliche, "different strokes for different folks" applies to yoga.

I believe it's superb that people have SO MANY yoga classes to choose from these days and so many venues in which they can learn yoga!  But, for somewhat klutzy me, my home yoga studio beckons to me much more that the two beautiful, spacious yoga studios close to my home. I just enjoy waking up in the morning and taking the 15 second stroll downstairs to my family room where I can roll out my yoga mat and do yoga poses at my own pace.  And, I know there is a group of people out there like me - who are homebodies when it comes to their exercise regime.  

So - do you LOVE yoga classes?  More power to you - keep them up!  For those of you who are homebodies like me, just keep up your practice in the privacy, comfort, and convenience of your home!

Yours for practicing yoga in classes or at home,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez,The Beginners' Yoga at Home Coach

Yoga at Home for Beginners: Can You Really Learn Yoga from a Book?

For me the answer to the above question is a resounding YES!  I taught myself yoga by reading two books way back when I was 15.  And, I wrote my recently released book so that people who don't want to attend a class or can't for various reasons, can teach themselves yoga from a book.

But, challenges can arise and one woman who bought my book about six weeks ago contacted me for guidance. She was unsure about exactly how to teach herself from my book.  I advised her to record her own voice and guide herself through the poses by studying a pose, memorizing several steps, executing those steps, reading more, memorizing more, and executing more.  That's how I taught myself.  A few weeks later I checked back with this woman who told me that she had her husband read the instructions aloud to her and then she followed along. Wise and clever woman!

I also checked back with another buyer of my book to see how she used the book.  In her email she replied, 

 

Hi Laura, first of all my yoga practice is going well. As for how I learned the poses, I have about 10 years of experience (on and off) doing yoga. I've taken classes and done videos. Yours was the first book I used and you inspired me to do yoga at home without a book. For poses I already knew how to do, your pictures and instructions were refreshers. For new poses I read what you wrote and then looked at pictures. Sometimes I would have to read a sentence or two, put the book down, try it then pick up the book again until I figured it out.  Well, there you have it.  Yes, you can learn yoga from a book if you wish to - at least the simpler poses.  Many people have done so.  It's your option!  Certainly, when you use a book, you can take all the time you need to learn and executive the pose. Yours for learnng yoga in a variety of ways including from a book, Laura Venecia Rodriguez

Yoga for Beginners: How to do the Plough - Book Excerpt

 

The pose I am demonstrating above is the plough (also spelled plow).  I do this inverted pose daily and it is one of the classic yoga poses that is most challenging for me.  However, it benefits your body in many ways.  Just read the excerpt below from my book and try the pose.

Plough (also spelled plow):  (Sanskrit name is Halasana; hala means plough) 

Type of yoga pose:  Inverted supine forward bend

Body parts targeted:  Spine, hips, thighs, and abdomen

How to do the pose: 

1.    Lie on your back and allow your body to relax from your toes to your head.

2.    Bring your heels and toes together and have your palms facing upward on the mat close by your sides.

3.    Turn your hands so the palms are now faced downward.  Use your hands as a lever by pressing them downward as you tighten your abdomen and s – l – o – w – l – y, taking about 10 seconds, raise your legs straight up into the air, until they are in a vertical position and at a perpendicular angle with the rest of your body.  Keep your knees straight.

4.    Push against the floor with your hands (palms still faced downward), raise your buttocks and gently lower your back off the mat so that you legs come over your body toward your head.

5.    Continue moving your legs backward toward your head and bend your body at the waist so your feet move down toward the mat behind your head. Go only as far as you comfortably can – no straining!  You may experience slight discomfort so do not push yourself.

6.    When your toes have reached the floor behind your head or the farthest position they can comfortably reach behind your head, hold the position motionless for 5 seconds.

7.    Now slide your hands slowly from their original position up toward your head and carefully clasp them against the top of your head. Hold this pose for 5 seconds.

8.    Slide your hands slowly back to their original position, palms down on the mat and brace yourself with them.

9.    Slowly bend your legs at the knees and bring your knees about an inch or two from your face.

10.         Keep the back of your head on the mat and allow your body and legs to move slowly forward, taking at least 10 seconds and keeping your knees straight, until your lower back and legs are resting comfortably again on the mat. To enhance the benefits for the abdominals, when your legs are a few inches from the floor, hold them motionless as long as possible to further strengthen and firm the abdominals.

11.         Let your body completely relax and breathe in and out deeply a few times before repeating the pose or going on to the next one.

Practice time:  Start with 5 seconds for the two key holding position within this pose and add 5 seconds to each one every week until you are holding each position for 20 seconds.  Eventually, you can eliminate the first position and go directly into the second position where your hands are clasped on top of your head and extend the holding time to 30-45 seconds.

Laura’s tips and experience with this pose:

This pose is challenging for the beginner, especially if you have tight hamstrings (which I have had – I think from years of jogging) or stiffness in your back.  If I have slept in an awkward position, I may not be able to reach the floor with my feet. Nevertheless, you benefit from going as far as you can, comfortably.  Gravity will enable you to eventually reach the floor with your feet.  One trick I discovered with this pose is that if I visualize my legs stretching back and my feet touching the floor as I enter the pose, I can go back much father than I would otherwise.  It’s amazing! 

Remember, no strain is all gain with hatha yoga. If you have had any neck injuries like whiplash, I recommend you consult your medical advisor or physician before doing this  

Copyright 2010
 

Yours for getting slim, supple, and serene,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez

 

Beginners' Hatha Yoga Poses: Bow Pose - Great for Back,Chest &... Libido!

No, that's not a caricature of me in the bow pose!  (Hmm - I may consider it though for my book cover).  Here's another book excerpt - my explanation of the bow pose - it's strenuous but doable....!

Bow  (Sanskrit name –Dhanurasana; dhanu=bow)

Type of yoga pose:  Intensive, powerful backbend, convex pose that bends the spine inward.

Body parts targeted:  Lumbar area, spine, thigh muscles (you should really feel them!), abdominals, bustline, buttocks, and upper arms.

How to do the pose:

1. Lie on your stomach with your chin down on your mat with your arms

and hands at your sides and your legs straight.  You body should be relaxed and limp (aah – that can feel so good, but don’t go to sleep!).  Inhale and exhale deeply at least once.

2. Bring your toes and heels together; stay relaxed.

3. Bend both legs at your knees; bring your heels as close to your buttocks as possible.

4. Reach back with both hands and grasp each ankle with your respective hand (if you can’t grasp both ankles, grasp one ankle and perform the bow by alternating the feet each time until you build up enough strength and flexibility to grasp both ankles).

5. Inhale and slowly raise your knees and lift thighs as high as possible off the floor while simultaneously and gently raising your head and trunk off the floor.  Your body should look like a bow and your arms should look and feel like a taut bowstring (having that image in your mind helps the stretch).

6. Keep your head back only as far as is comfortable (be certain not to strain your neck!) and keep your knees together if possible.

7. Hold the pose for the stipulated time and inhale and exhale normally.

8. Lower yourself in slow motion out of the bow by first releasing your legs and allowing them to move slowly back toward the mat starting with your knees, then followed by your trunk and head.

9. Return to your initial resting position on your stomach with chin down on the mat.

10. Your entire body should be limp as you rest for a moment before repeating the pose or moving on to the next pose.

 

Practice time:  Start with 3 seconds max, add 1 or 2 seconds per week or as you find comfortable until you are holding until you can comfortably hold the pose for 12-15 seconds.

Number of repetitions:  1-2

Key benefits from this pose: 

1. Strengthens, firms, and tones the abdominal, thigh, and arm muscles.

2. Helps reduce weight in the hips; tightens and eliminates extra fat from the back and buttocks.

3. Opens the chest and adjusts the sacroiliac and lumbar vertebrae.

4. Improves the posture and streamlines and firms bust muscles.

5. Improves spinal elasticity and flexibility.

6. Helps relieve menstrual disorders and lower back pain.

7. Enhances libido by stimulating the sex glands (sex becomes sexier!)

Special tips and Laura’s experience with this pose:

This is one of the most intense, challenging poses taught in this book and that I do daily. Sometimes, I can hold the bow for only 10 seconds, other times I can hold it for 15 seconds.

Lift your thighs off the ground with ideally with your knees together.  If this is difficult, you can allow some space between your knees, but gradually work your way to keeping the knees together.

When I started this pose, and this is still true on some mornings when I awaken a bit stiff, I feel a strong stretch in my upper thighs just by bending my legs at the knees.  Be patient and persistent and your comfort level will increase over time. After completely the pose you will likely hear your heart beating or you may feel slightly out of breath because you have been lifting your own body weight. Although strenuous, this pose is still feasible for the non-athlete like me.  As you gain experience, you may choose to rock back and forth gently while holding the pose.

Cheers!

Laura

Copyright © 2010 by Laura Venecia Rodriguez