Category: Yoga

Back Bend Update…

Prior to catching this cold, there was some definite improvement in my back bends. Some of it is due to my shoulders opening up, making Urdhva Dhanurasana a little easier. I plan on taking some progress photos in a week, so I can show you the improvement over the last month. I just hope I can get rid of this cold and do some serious stretching over the next week, or the progress shots won’t show much progress. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Back Bends…

OK, I’ll admit it. My back bends are shocking! The truth of it is, my back isn’t naturally flexible, and back bends are hard work. I don’t feel my back in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog) or Ustrasana (Camel Pose), but I do in Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose, Backbend, Bridge, Crab or Wheel). The problem is, bridge is really tough on my wrists.

Over the last year, one of my friends has made some great improvements in his back bends just by plugging away at it. I’ve decided finally to bite the bullet and follow suit. Since Christmas this year I’ve been using the following program more or less every day:

  • Lie over a swiss ball with my feet on the floor and my shoulders and head dangling until I get bored.
  • Lie over a swiss ball with my shoulders on the floor and my feet dangling until I get bored.
  • Lie over a swiss ball with both my hands and fee on the floor, in a full bridge position, and attempt to lift off the ball a few times. In between lifts I attempt to squeeze the ball between my shoulders and heels by tensing my hamstrings and back.
  • Lie in an Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog), with my body supported by the swiss ball. Sometimes I leave the arms in the conventional position, sometime I bear-hug the ball.
  • Do a bridge, with my feet raised on something, like a step, so I can move into my shoulders a little more. 
  • Do a regular bridge, without the ball, for a few seconds, come down to my head, move my hands closer and repeat. On the last hold I do a few press ups in the bridge position.

Essentially, it’s just doing lots of bridge, but the ball takes the weight off my hands and lets me hold the posture for a lot longer than I would be able to without it.

My back bend is still shocking, but it’s improving. I’m going to try and get some progress shots done over the next few weeks, so you can see if it’s working. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Handstands…

I’ve been doing quite a bit of handstand practice recently. I’ve liked the thought of being able to nail a handstand since I got into Yoga. In the past the ability has come and gone, but I’ve never felt really confident.

A few years ago I went to a Yoga workshop with David Williams, and he suggested practicing handstands against the wall until you can hold them for 50-60 breaths. I tried it at the time, found it too difficult and ignored it. 🙂

Recently, due to a knee operation I found myself with time to burn, so I started to practice handstands again. I thought back to what David had said and gave it a go. I managed about 20-25 breaths. Over the course of the next 3 weeks I managed to get up to 60 breaths.

Once I had reached that point I moved into the center of the room and tried a handstand. I felt really strong and confident. I’m not saying I could nail it every time, but it was pretty cool. What’s more, when I did loose my balance, I was sometimes able to walk on my hands a little to regain it.

Like everything else, handstands all come down to practice. The more time you spend on your hands, the easier they get. I know it sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many people, including myself, ignore the simplicity of it and assume we will get expert balancing skills from a couple of attempts once a week. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Update: These are interesting: