Pincha Mayurasana (“feather of the peacock” pose) is named for the lift of a peacock’s tail feathers before they spread open. Hold this image in your mind as you play with this pose to help you embody this beautiful creature and increase your success with this arm-balance inversion. This stunning Indian native with its iridescent […]
Asana tip sheet #33 – Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
Crazy posture! That’s what Guruji (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the father of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga) called parivrtta parsvakonasana. He had put parivrtta parsvakonasana into the Ashtanga standing poses in the late 80s because his Maui students loved it. So why DID Guruji call parivrtta parsvakonasana “crazy pose”? I’m guessing here, but this is a pose that […]
Asana tip sheet #30 – Samasthiti
The name of this pose really says it all: Samasthiti refers to steadiness and balance, both physically and mentally. As you stand in this pose you can feel the world drop away, the chakras line up and the chitta vrittis begin to quiet down. The weight of the body begins to find balance over the […]
Asana tip sheet #29 – Trikonasana (triangle)
Much-loved trikonasana is one of those poses that’s more complicated than it looks. Which becomes apparent when you do it. And whether you’re doing it “right” has more to do with which lineage or style of yoga you follow than the particulars of the pose itself. In some styles, the feet are further apart, the […]
Asana tip sheet #26 – Salabhasana
Although we’re calling this pose salabhasana (sometimes written ‘shalabhasana’), in certain traditions it’s called belly-down navasana. I personally attribute this pose with helping me to heal a lifetime of back pain, which is, in fact, what brought me to yoga. In the beginning I could barely lift up off the ground, and couldn’t sustain the […]
