poll: what's your favorite asana?

[Yoda]

What single stretch is your fav?

[Cameron]

Back Bridge

[Lozen]

child

 

edit: i of course mean active child's pose, not passive.

 

http://www.wildmind.org/meditation/yoga/child.html

Edited July 10, 2006 by Lozen

[sean]

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

 

I'm getting up to 45 seconds hang time these days and have enough stability to start eeking toward the scorpion bend. Little by little.

 

Sean

 

[edit]Oh, well I guess this isn't a stretch really. I saw asana at first. My favorite stretch is probably Urdhva Dhanurasana (bridge).

[Christoph]

Downward dog has helped my loose shoulder quite a lot.

[thaddeus]

child

 

edit: i of course mean active child's pose, not passive.

 

http://www.wildmind.org/meditation/yoga/child.html

are you able to get your chest onto the floor? that takes lots of flexibility..this is a great pose...

 

I'm getting up to 45 seconds hang time these days and have enough stability to start eeking toward the scorpion bend. Little by little.

 

Sean

damn!

How do you get into and out of this one? Also how did you work up to it?

T

 

What single stretch is your fav?

Least favorite is also interesting..i pretty much like alot of them but I seem to have lots of trouble with plow and shoulder stand...

[sean]

damn!

How do you get into and out of this one? Also how did you work up to it?

You kick up into it but you also tuck your upper body down at the same time. The latter can be scary so most people try to power up with just the kick which isn't as effective. Practice against a wall. I think step one is being able to do a two minute handstand leaning against the wall. Otherwise you will get tired and frustrated going for the handbalancing without the strength. When going for the handbalancing, make sure you keep the leg you are kicking up straight (knee locked) and once you kick up put your legs together right away and point your toes. Really though, step one is just start kicking up against walls whenever you are bored during the day and get down like 30 seconds before failure. The balance will just come over time as you consciously hold the pose. It's like upside down qigong. Really addictive.

 

[edit]Least favorite pose is the bow.

[Yoda]

Damn, Sean, that's great. I think I recall you saying you were going to start with the whole hand balancing thing. I guess you stuck to it. How long have you been training for it?

 

thanks all for some great poses!

[thaddeus]

[edit]Least favorite pose is the bow.

i've been getting some wicked releases in this pose. i release the hip flexors in this one instead of pushing..

T

[sean]

i've been getting some wicked releases in this pose. i release the hip flexors in this one instead of pushing..

Can you say more about this. I'm kind of oddly attracted to resolving things I find myself instinctively hating for no apparent reason.

[mYTHmAKER]

Corpse pose.

No joke.

Five minutes on the floor after a stretching routine and feel the qi.

[thaddeus]

Can you say more about this. I'm kind of oddly attracted to resolving things I find myself instinctively hating for no apparent reason.

I lay flat and wait till i 'settle' then grab my ankles..so instead up pushing up in the pose, i think about my knees growing/lengthening and my head growing/lengthening. This initiates the pose. I only get off the ground a few inches, but I see how when I release competely, I'll go right up. I shake and do all kinds of crazy things when I approach the pose this way. I can certainly press my feet against my hands and lift up, but it's very tense. I want to work on getting into all poses this way as much as possible.

T

[...]

I must have been in the hamstring stretch 5-10 min today.

It's the best! especially when you feel it in the upper thoractic spinal area when you hang your head down. the hamstring stretch itself is great, too. it's really, really nice when you feel it in your calves, as well.

 

I think I'll do it right now...

[Lozen]

triple dottie!!!!!

 

sorry, i'm just still all excited that you're back.

[mYTHmAKER]

I lay flat and wait till i 'settle' then grab my ankles..so instead up pushing up in the pose, i think about my knees growing/lengthening and my head growing/lengthening. This initiates the pose. I only get off the ground a few inches, but I see how when I release competely, I'll go right up. I shake and do all kinds of crazy things when I approach the pose this way. I can certainly press my feet against my hands and lift up, but it's very tense. I want to work on getting into all poses this way as much as possible.

T

 

 

Thanks it's a great approach

[GrandTrinity]

perhaps mountain pose, just standing upright with feet closer together than in horse stance/wu chi

[sean]

I lay flat and wait till i 'settle' then grab my ankles..so instead up pushing up in the pose, i think about my knees growing/lengthening and my head growing/lengthening. This initiates the pose. I only get off the ground a few inches, but I see how when I release competely, I'll go right up. I shake and do all kinds of crazy things when I approach the pose this way. I can certainly press my feet against my hands and lift up, but it's very tense. I want to work on getting into all poses this way as much as possible.

Yeah, thanks for posting that. I'll give that a try. It's very yin yoga-ish which I'm into.

[Lozen]

Least favorite for me (that I can think of right now) is downward dog.

[Toni]

I think the best is downward dog

[thelerner]

Tree pose.  I'm not very flexible, so the tree pose challenges my balance and extension. 

[dwai]

Corpse Pose (Shavāsana) - I love the rest, relaxation, and meditative absorption it provides.