TODAY: ARM BALANCE

Every yoga practitioner, at some point in life, reaches moment of “stillness” where the usual repetition of “formal” yoga poses, such as back bendings, forward folds and the warrior series becomes too much of a routine. That’s when one might want to try more challenging poses. Arm balances are usually the postures suggested to fill that void. Warning; these technical poses are not the best for beginners.

“The wise therefore discard them (beginners’ poses) and practice the intricate poses just as a scholar will not repeat the alphabet daily,” said yoga teacher B.K.S. Lyengar in the book “Light on Yoga.”

TIP:

While practicing keep in mind that most of us are not used to standing on our hands for long periods of time. So if you feel the “hitch” to be courageous and repeat the poses for more than three times in a row, make sure your are taking long breaks. These poses do require strong wrist muscles and that is usually a quality one builds with time. So, to avoid serious strains, don’t overuse them.

Crow Pose or Bakasana

Observer photo by Maryam Riaziam
Federica Valabrega demonstrating Crow Pose or Bakasana

* Inhale and place your hands shoulder-width apart and your is palm flat and fingers facing forward in front of your feet.
* Exhale and squat down and gently place your knees on your triceps.
* Inhale and line your elbows above your wrists and lean the chest slightly forward.
* Exhale and come to the tip of your toes and lift your sit-bones up.
* Inhale and while looking down lift one foot at the time and contract the abdominal muscles.
* Exhale and look forward to keep the balance.
* Stay in the posture for three cycle of breaths.

Benefits:

Balancing on the hands enhances strengthening of wrists and biceps muscles and joints.

Reaching the knees on the triceps also improves abdominal strength.

Side Crow or Parsva Bakasana:

Observer photo by Maryam Riaziam
Valabrega demonstrates the Pose dedicated to the Sage or Eka Pada Koundiyanasana II

* Squat down, thighs parallel to the mat placing your hands shoulder-width apart on the outside of your right leg, elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.
* Exhale and twist your torso to the right side reaching your left rib as far over as you can on top of the right thigh.
* Inhale and soften your belly.
* Exhale and gently place your right hip onto your right elbow and your right knee onto the left elbow.
* Inhale and look forward to keep the balance.
* Exhale and complete the posture by scissoring the legs.
* Stay in the posture for three cycles of breaths.

Benefits:

Resting the hips and the knee to the elbows strengthens wrists and biceps muscles and joints and improves abdominal muscles development.

While scissoring the legs contributes to strengthening the thighs and stretching the hip flexors.

Pose dedicated to the sage or Eka Pada Koundiyanasana II;

Observer photo by Maryam Riaziam
Valabrega demonstrates Side Crow or Parsva Bakasana

* Exhale and place your hands on the mat shoulder-width apart, palms flat and fingers facing forward and walk your feet back to the end of the mat.
* Inhale and step your right foot forward on the outside of your right hand.
* Exhale and bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle so that your wrists are perpendicularly below your shoulders.
* Inhale and gently place your right knee to your right triceps while resting the left elbow on to the left abdominal wall.
* Exhale and extend the right leg forward and the left leg backward by keeping the gaze forward to maintain a balance.
* Stay in the posture for three cycles of breaths.

Benefits:

The poking of the abdominal walls with the left elbow helps stimulate digestion while serving as a prop for the posture and enhancing arm strength.

While extending the legs in opposite directions contributes to elongate the left hamstring and strengthen the right quadriceps, while stretching the hip flexors.