Lunging is a great way to strengthen the legs and to build strength in the structure surrounding the knees. Care should be taken to align the front knee directly over the heal so the shin is perpendicular to the ground and also it’s very important to keep the knee in line with the second and third toe so you’re not rolling in or out on the foot. Be generous with the stance. Feet, if possible, about one of your leg’s lengths apart. The back thigh bone presses into the hamstrings. The leg is strong and straight. Back shin bone pressing toward the midline of the body. This action draws a lot of energy or power into the central column of the body.

The twist begins, as always, at the base of the spine and spirals upward into the crown of the head. Lower back is soft. The feeling is one of lengthening, sliding the front and back ribcage forward, away from pelvis, at the same time the upper rib cage is rolling open toward the heavens. The gaze is soft, down, straight ahead, or toward extended hand. Neck and face relaxed. In any twisting action there isn’t as much space within the belly for the breath so the chest needs to be able to expand somehow to receive the breath. I like to feel the breath coming into the collar bone area in this particular asana, so that the collar bones feel as if they are lifting and separating slightly.

Twisting is a wonderful way tone the side body, especially the waist. It also tones or massages the organs in the belly. Go easy. I like to find my edge and then back off slightly. Give myself a little more room to breath comfortably. This is great time to move your awareness around the shape. Make subtle shifts in alignment to create more balance throughout. Then turn inward and focus on internal process. Release slowly. Relax.

*There are modifications available for this and every asana.

Visvamitrasana (pronounced “vish”)      I recently taught myself how to contort my way into this posture (it looks so pretty in all the yoga journals). It took a long time to learn and several attempts resulted in falling back on my butt, and nearly yanking my shoulder out of it’s socket, ouch. You can not muscle your way into these strange shapes.  I think it’s extremely liberating to finally, let go of trying, open up and expand fully into new space.  I like how yoga teaches us never to know whether we can or can’t do something.   It seems the minute we let go of  the attachment of  how things might or should turn out, or the way things “ought” to be, we can fall into these really beautifully places, both physically and psychologically.  Yoga teaches to let go of attachments to end results. Act for the actions sake.   I’m still not fully open or at totally at ease in this particular asana but it’s so much fun to explore.

This a wonderful “counter-pose” to Purvottanasana or Eastern Stretch. It lengthens hamstrings and opens the entire back body. Emphasis on using legs grounding into mat to lengthen the spine and slide entire ribcage forward, away from pelvis. Hands take hold wherever they land. Shoulders sliding away from ears, neck relaxed. The Drishti or gaze is inward toward oneself or just beyond toes for more advanced practitioners. At the same time the back of the body is rounding evenly forward, the front of the spine has a feeling of lengthening. It’s important to take care not to over arch in any one place, think equal space between each vertebra. Release and broaden muscles in lower back. Ride the breath like a wave, inhaling down the back of the spine, exhaling up the front. Relax and take your time with this asana. As always, never force. Roll out slowly or inhale out leading through the crown of head, using legs, not lower back to return to an upright position. Cobbler pose is nice after this intense seated forward bend.

I became comfortable with this variation of E.P.R before I explored E.P.R. II (photo below). There was a point in time when I’d look at photos of other practitioners in these two asanas and thought to myself “I’ll never be able to do that” and for a while, no surprise, I couldn’t. It wasn’t until I learned one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned from Rodney Yee:

“Don’t Know. Just be Open.”

And so each time I climbed onto my yoga mat during my personal practice, I would explore One Legged King Pigeon, without forcing myself into it. I worked on opening my psoas muscle, releasing and broadening my lower back, and opening my shoulders. I had no expectations and did not impose an external will or listen to the voice that said “I should” be able to do this. Instead I explored, micro-moved, became the witness, as Iyengar says, a self correcting mechanism. The exhilaration that comes from “falling” into these asanas is a natural high. The feeling is one of tremendous release as if some rigid part of you finally lets go and you pass through a door that opens and you find yourslef in this new place both physically, mentally and spiritually. You can not “muscle” your way into asanas. As my mentour Marie Fourcaut said, “When you force the body it rebels.” The first time I touched my toes behind my head it was only because my heart, for a brief moment, was completlety open and I felt as though I might fly.
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II (one legged King pigeon variation)

I don’t always move into this with ease and that’s okay. Again with each practice, no expectations, no external forceful will. This is a way of incorporating one of the Yamas or ethical practices, Non-Harming, into your asana practice. Be gentle with yourselves. Amazing transformations can take place.

This is another one of those asnanas I thought I’d never be able to do. So making the mental shift from knowing that I couldn’t, to “not knowing” was crucial if I wanted to move toward this posture.

Everything in yoga happens in increments. In many ways it is a practice of extreme faith. Sometimes the work we do, the transformations that take place are so subtle that if you are only goal oriented you will bump into a lot of ego driven frustration. The fact is that any change does move through pain, fear and frustration. Yoga is a process. And no yoga asana is ever complete. Every time I visit headstand the experience is fresh, new and without expectation. Most of my weight is balanced evenly along the length of the forearms. At any point in time I can lift the crown of the head lightly away from the floor, this ensuring the cervical spine is not compromised. Shoulder girdle is supporting the weight of the body. My energy is moving up and out of my legs. A lot of inner thigh work, internally rotating, hugging the midline of the body. The gaze or drishti is soft and straight down the center line of the mat. I am breathing, ujjayi breath, comfortably.

Headstand did not happen overnight for me. It took many hours of practice, I moved through fear and learned to trust my bodie’s wisdom and resources in order to turn my world upside down.