December 19, 2014: From p.40 of Light on Life by B.K.S. Iyengar LIGHTNESS: THINK LIGHT AND FEEL LIGHT When as asana is done correctly, the body movements are smooth and there is lightness in the body and freedom in the mind .When an asana is felt as being heavy, it is wrong. This can be achieved by mental extending yourself outward from the center of your body, that is, think tall and act tall. Think not just of raising your arms but of extending them outward in the physical sense and when you are holding them still, think again of extending the intelligence by reaching still further away from your body. Do not think of yourself as a small, compressed suffering being. Think of yourself as graceful and expanding, no matter how unlikely it may seem at the time. When we lose this lightness, our bodies shrink. The moment the body shrinks, the brain becomes heavy and dull and you see nothing. The doors of perception are closed. You should immediately lift the intelligence of the chest and open the mind. The corners of the chest are pillars: They should always be firm. Slouching acts like a narcotic to the body. When our parents tell us not to slouch, it is because the instinctively understand that collapsing our chest caves in the very Self. It is because your mind shrinks that your soul shrinks. It is the spines job to keep the mind alert. To do this, the spine has to keep the brain in position. The spine must never be slack but must reach up to the Self. Otherwise, the divine light within you dims. Ustrasana (Camel) is considered one of the baby backbends that anyone can do regardless of condition or age (according to Iyengar) It is the opposite of slouching. Be sure to take support for your arms in the pose in order to work on opening the armpit chest. Only then will the pose feel light and bright as Iyengar described above. The shins and the ankles are the foundation of the pose. They must be pressed down firmly in order to create a buoyancy and extension to the spine. Use a support under your ankles if you have a big gap there. What poses prepare you for Ustrasana? We make a similar shape in Dhanurasana and Chattush Padasana dont we? In Light on Yoga, Iyengar places Parighasana right before this pose. I challenge you to explore for yourself..... We can light it up, up, up So they cant put it out, out, out https://youtube/watch?v=fftF5lh58qE
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 18:50:48 +0000
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