Dancers and Dancer Pose

The start of a yoga class can tell you a lot about who is settling onto their mat. There are different types of yogi’s. It is what makes yoga great – different people with different abilities all working towards the same peak pose, or at least a similar peak pose depending on which adaptation you choose or manage.

There are those of us who just flop down into a shavasana, maybe with a comfy bolster under the knees to get settled. There are the more ‘serious’ yoga folk who go through a bit of a routine. Then there are the ones who clearly have had some training in dance. They are doing the leg stuck out and stretching over it; usually very elegantly.

Hamstrings

How do people manage to stretch their hamstrings before they are even just a little sweaty? My hamstrings don’t want to move at all until at least the third downward dog. But hamstrings, chest openers and a bit of a backbend are all needed to get anywhere near dancer pose.

Hips

This is another thing to focus on if you want to notice the variety in the class. It is hard not to stack your hips when balancing but the instructors normally do adjustments to keep your hips squared as much as possible. Especially in triangle, warrior 3 and dancer pose. This hip squaring adjustment thing is hard! My body just wants to fall. Maybe my body is just telling me that my bum weighs too much to be suspended squarely in the air.

Balance

So tree, floating tree thingy, warrior three and dancer pose. All balancing. All probably my least likely poses to do for any length of time. I have this weird thing where I balance better on one leg than the other but the opposite is true when I try and bind my toes and stretch out my leg. If that even makes sense. Basically I can stretch my legs (hamstrings) better on the opposite leg that I can balance on without falling. Frustrating!

It is a journey (I suppose!)

If this happens to you (yeah probably just me!) then it does get better with practice. In class this week I placed myself at the back. I like to think this was so that I wasn’t going to distract the people behind me with my wobbling. It is hard to keep your balance when someone in front is moving a lot. Ok Ok – it was so I didn’t wobble in front of everyone.

I was however rather pleased with myself that I managed all these poses with my hips squared (mostly). The repetition of triangle helped with the hammies and I didn’t fall out of tree even when I moved my arms up from my hips. So I was feeling pretty optimistic about dancer pose when we were getting to the end of class.

Peak pose – Dancer

I always have a bit of a wobble when I catch my foot. I never understand why I am holding it on the inside of the foot rather than the outside as it feels a bit odd. But foot in hand (on my good leg) I did a kind of dancer. Probably not like the image above. Definitely not like the two girls who were clearly dancers in the class and also like the serious yoga who basically did her own class before the class. For me it was an achievement though and there was a little grin from my instructor before she put me off with the grinning and I toppled over. I won’t mention my bad leg attempt. It was less than elegant. All in all this was definitely progress and I felt like dancing down the road home. I didn’t do that – someone would lock me up!

Camel

Photo by Nesha Thich on Unsplash

You might be wondering where I am going with this post. My mind is thinking all sorts of amusing things about being in a hump, hump days, humping and…well…other things. It wasn’t inspired by any of those thoughts though…It is the yoga pose ‘Camel’ (Ustrasana). I have never managed it before but I did it this week and I am definitely not in a hump about this achievement.

Why is it called Camel pose?

Who knows for sure! But apparently it is so called because of the resemblance to the camel’s hump (yes I still giggle a little every time I say hump). Or possibly because of the way they fold their legs to sit (it is a sort of seated pose). No matter the name, I have always found this a hard pose to get into mainly due to my tight quads, hip flexors and shoulders / chest. Never mind the feeling that I won’t breath properly with my head tilted back.

The prep poses

Lots of things that involve you grabbing your feet behind and stretching out the quads. Some nice gentle back bends to prepare in very some very ungentle high lunges and chest openers thrown into the mix.

So poses like cobra in the vinyasa, sphinx and even bow were involved in my class. I managed to catch my feet in a low lunge to quad stretch. I usually have to lasso my feet with a yoga strap to catch them and get the quad stretch. However I caught them both much to the surprise of me and, I am convinced, my yoga teacher. To be honest when I managed bow I could have stopped right there and went home happy (its the grabbing feet difficulty). But Camel was the one we were heading to and it would have been slightly awkward if I left early. My progress in feet grabbing? I am convinced this is because I am spending time trying to sort my posture with chest openers and keeping my shoulders back. It might just also mean that my quads are starting to stretch a bit more. My Thai massage lady who led me through a torture session yesterday may disagree with me being more stretchy…but she didn’t know me a year ago.

Anyway…more poses like pigeon and triangle helped before we headed into a few camel variations.

Getting there

Camel can be tough for people but it is a really good stretch for pretty much the whole of the front of your body and also for the upper back. So blocks at the ready we did a little bit of dancing camel (my feet were not flat down but up resting on balls of feet so I could transition from the blocks to my heels). Dancing camel is pretty much just doing half camel pose (Ardha Ustrasana) and moving from side to side. This may even look quite graceful.

In camel both hands (externally rotated to help to lift the chest and not press your shoulders into your neck) rest on either the heels or on the back of the feet if you aren’t up on the balls of your feet. The easiest variation is hands to lower back, moving to blocks and then to the heels.

I can’t get further than my heels but for me this is pretty bloody good. As said, I am definitely not in a hump about achieving this. My facial expression, however, may have resembled the lovely photo above.

That one Yoga pose I will never manage

Photo from http://www.pexels.com

Do you have a yoga pose you just don’t like? Or you know is just not achievable (and therefore don’t like it)? There are loads of poses I can’t do. I know, however, that this just means I can’t do them yet. There is one pose that doesn’t fit this mental (and physical) progression. Wheel pose (or Urdva Dhanurasana)! Apparently it is an invigorating pose that requires strength, effort and one which basically uses all parts of the body. Well not my body thank you very much. This isn’t even a pessimistic view – in my opinion. I just know it is a yoga pose that I’ll never manage.

Good advice I am not going to take

I read and view a lot of posts about yoga on twitter, instagram, Pinterest and blogs. It’s great to read the advice, see the pictures, learn the ‘do’s and don’ts’ and also to follow other people in their practice. I have looked at posts on Wheel pose since I first came accross in it a yoga class. Initially I was optimistic. Now I am a realist.

There are a number of other poses that you can practice to prepare for wheel. Upward Dog for opening the chest and backbend – tick. Locust to build back and backside (glutes) strength – tick. Camel pose for stretching the quads, opening the shoulders and of course the backbend – half tick. Bridge pose as a precurser – quarter…ish tick. Bow pose – hmmm, does grabbing one sweaty foot and missing the other count?

The thing about all those other poses is that I know I have progressed in them and I know I will achieve them. So the advice would suggest that I will get into Wheel.

Here is why I won’t. I have strength (I used to lift weights as my fitness routine). I even have core strength and can do a mean, if not sort of perfect, plank. I basically have strength in isolation. So putting together back strength, core strength, quads, glutes, arms and shoulders all together leads to me having no strength. This sounds weird but in bridge pose my legs quiver, my stomach protests and my backside just wants to land back on the mat. Never mind the fact that my boobs interfere with my chin regardless of what sports bra they are strapped into. I also have tight shoulders and no matter how many weights I used to lift (chest press using the bar was a favourite) there is no way my arms are holding me up into a Wheel. The one bit of advice a teacher gave which I thought was a gem was that basically your hand placement is pushing one way and your feet placement is pushing the other way so the middle of you will lift. Again on paper this sounds weird but in practice I totally get it. The problem is my practice doesn’t involve that lift.

What happens when it is part of the class

This occurred on Tuesday. My Tuesday yoga teacher is fab and her classes are hard (in that they push you physically) but satisfying. So when she said that we would be working towards Wheel my heart sank a little. I had to have a talk to myself. Not out loud (that would be embarrassing). I set my intention that my practice in the class would be to be strong and to build on what I could achieve. To be fair the classes I go to are so supportive and don’t group you into levels. So nobody feels under pressure to achieve the ‘peak’ pose and all levels are pretty much celebrated by everyone. It also felt great to hear her [yoga teacher] admit this was one of her least liked poses and that this was a good reason to practice it. Fair enough and I am ok with the practicing. I just know I won’t get there.

We did all the aforementioned poses throughout the vinyasa class. We got to Bridge pose and I did my best Bridge yet. This was an acheivement! My teacher had good hints about blocks against the wall for Wheel practice (either for your feet or hands depending on what you felt you needed to assist). I tried this. I still failed to get into Wheel. I’m ok with this. I know it is that pose I will never manage. So I did a better Bridge. Better than my previous bridges and was pretty chuffed with that. When it comes up again I will practice my Bridge. Hopefully my legs will stop shaking, my feet will stop sweating and my backside will lift to the sky (there is no hope that my boobs will not attempt to suffocate me). But this will be in Bridge. There is no way I am getting to Wheel.

P.S

If I ever do manage to do a Wheel I take all this back!

Yoga Wheel: my new yoga toy

I have been wanting a yoga wheel for a while but I am taking my practice slowly and enjoying every minute of yoga so was happy to take my time purchasing all my yoga props. So….I finally purchased a yoga wheel. It was delivered by the time I got home from work tonight along with my favourite incense (the one that immediately sends me into a savasana like state of relaxation). Deliveries are exciting. New yoga toys are definitely exciting.

Why get a yoga wheel?

They are pretty popular as a yoga prop. Check out Instagram or Pinterest and you can see those yoga types using them for things like: forearm stands, locust, king pigeon, support in wheel, strengthening for abs, flexibility and even two wheels on each toes for splits.

I clearly am not at an advanced level of yoga. I find bridge pose hard and camel even harder (I don’t even get close to wheel). I think in my head that this is due to tight quads but I logically realise it is probably much more to do with my ability to open my chest, tight shoulders and work on my backbends. Yes my quads are tight…but without the ability to open the chest and shoulders I won’t achieve the type of poses I really want to work towards. A recent achievement of mermaid pose taught me this as we spent ages on opening the chest, back and side bends. I made it. I was ecstatic but I didn’t think I had made it (yoga is a journey and all that 🙂 ). I want to continue to progress towards king pigeon. I also would like to do bridge without the feeling that I just want to immediately drop my backside onto the floor. Yes I am aiming to get into wheel; in about 10 years if I am lucky. I am sure it was achievable when I was a child. What happened along the way?

So back to the yoga wheels. Forget all the amazing Insta photos. I just want to incorporate it into my practice. All the poses above are a bit beyond me at this time but the yoga wheel doesn’t only cater to advanced poses. It is actually a great beginner tool too!

Yoga Wheel for beginners

One of the best known benefits is for the back. Flexibility and, if you can manage it, strength. It also can aid in opening the shoulders and chest.

So this is my aim for the time being.

I was pretty surprised that yoga wheels are not very wide. How do people actually balance on it!!? After a double check on the internet though the one I got is pretty standard. All I can say is well done to those people who can balance whilst squatting on this little circle thing! I tried to put my feet up on it for plank and….well….I fell off. Not even a hint of wine at that point.

So having adjusted my expectations of what I can currently achieve I focused on the gentle stretching and opening that a yoga wheel can give.

Yoga wheel for backs

I sat with my feet in front (on the floor) and lifted my hips to roll the wheel up and down my back. I even opened up my arms to the floor to open my chest and attempted the hand grab (over head) of the wheel whilst in the same position.

What I found? Answer – my back is tight. I did have a really long week and Friday was a particularly long day. Its not as if I am sat at a desk all day but I drive for around 2 1/2 hours each day. This clearly takes its toll as even rolling over the wheel was difficult and initially a little uncomfortable.

But OMG it was bliss. Incense on, a bit of spine rolling and 20 minutes later I feel blissful. My back feels lighter somehow and I obviously realise the benefits of a yoga wheel for backs (back-ache, back pain, back flexibility).

So – I might be a beginner. I might also have expected to get it out the bag and immediately look like a yoga pro. I’m not. I am a beginner (this feels like a statement of my life at the moment despite being in my forties) and I am just bloody happy that I got to the weekend and feel great. The yoga wheel is going to feature now as a regular part of my practice.

This is the one I bought (amazon link, picture below). The one I originally fancied was much more expensive (amazon link) but looked fab. I managed to sensibly tell myself that I am a beginner so it shouldn’t be all about the looks! If you have one then let me know what kind of things you do with your yoga wheel. If you don’t have one then you are missing out. With my fabulously feeling back I am now going to float into the kitchen to get my wine. Hello weekend bliss!

Keeping a yoga diary

Another few months and I will have been doing yoga for a year. It’s quite a journey of discovering strength, flexibility and a meditative way of keeping healthy. So today I looked back at my early reflections on my practice. Amusing at times, but a great way of knowing where I was and where I’m going to in yoga.

One of my teachers always says “wherever you are in your practice today is exactly where you are meant to be”. I love this quote as it sums up, for me, the yoga journey (yes I am starting to sound like a yoga person).

Diary

There are loads of ways people track their practice. Instagram is full of yoga sites and I love following them. The pictures which show a pose a year ago versus today kind of inspire you to keep practicing. I’m not one for doing the video or photo diary though. I’d rather keep my delusional images of gracefulness for a while longer. So I kept a little notebook.

My early musings are great. The word “shaky” comes up a lot as well as “bloody ell my hamstrings are tight”. But it also says things like “so relaxed after yin” and “feeling more like I can flow through my sun salutations”. Downward dog felt difficult for me in the beginning and I don’t even mention it now as it feels like a lovely release in between even the toughest of flows.

Intentions

We often set intentions at the start of a yoga practice. I set some for the year. To do an arm balance (tick – got crow and working on progressing to some other ones). To do an inversion (with my feet up trainer but not yet without). The third: to achieve ‘bird of paradise’ (still working on it).

Achievements

My biggest reflection is that I am sticking with this and enjoying it! My yoga diary re-affirms that and how far I’ve come (and how far I want to go). It sounds simple but progressing to compass means I can now get my leg to a position where I can ‘rock the baby’. I am no where near getting it over my shoulder but I know I eventually will. Achieving the progression (I wasn’t able to hold my leg in this way a few months ago) was a woohoo moment. I also don’t write the word “shaky” as much.

These are great reasons to keep this diary. The woohoos are as good as the moments of relaxed bliss.