Alight - it's me Ethan and today i'll explain why it can be so difficult to breathe
in the early back bends of the intermediate series and i'll show you what to do to make
shalabhasana bhekasana and dhanurasana much more stable and comfortable to stay in..
So, for most students the journey into these more complex backbends at the beginning of the
intermediate series comes with a certain period of trying to find comfort in the uncomfortable trying
to breathe into space where there seems to be none. It's a valuable process and always amazing
to see the evolution that comes naturally in this practice but to deepen your understanding and make
this journey much more comfortable let's take a look at the counted vinyasas for these first few
backbends. Shalabhasana bhekasana, dhanurasana and parsva dhanurasana all have the same entry:
Beginning in downward facing dog, Chatvari inhale forward to a strong chaturanga
dandasana position - here we have a stopping point - exhale smoothly with no movement...
yeah we tend to hold this Chatvari for a pretty long time...
okay okay, Pancha inhale taking the position in this case it's Shalabhasana so, straight legs,
point the toes, place the tops of the hands down, and softly gaze towards the nose - that's the
entry for all of these asanas but notice that in the state of the asana the sternum shines forward
so the chest stays lifted away from the floor. It was away from the floor in chatvari, you then
lower down and the chest is still lifting away here in pancha, so as tempting as it may be to
just come all the way down have a little rest and let the sweat start to pool beneath your forehead,
that position is quite difficult to come back from. Energetically you've let go and will
have to reignite something to get back into your practice but you've also added an extra position
and with the sternum facing down you've trapped the breastbone underneath you and will have very
little space to breathe into. Rather focus on lowering down with control so that only
your lowest set of ribs makes contact with the floor the hips will naturally press down
firmly as well so the sensitive area of the lower back keeps its length and stays well
supported. The anterior tilt at the pelvis and hip extension will lift the thighs away from the floor
but, if you feel any compression at the sacrum or the lower back you could use a very subtle,
sort of, micro-tuck of the tailbone to take that pressure off. Visualize the chest moving forward
rather than down into the floor as you take five full deep breaths. Another really important aspect
is just learning that once you're firmly in the asana you don't need to struggle to lift
higher and higher off the floor the lower ribs should stay down so you have a solid
foundation to work with - this is especially important if your dhanurasana looks like this...
For all these backbends go for length in the spine rather than trying to bend into the soft spots.
Trying to use your back muscles alone to lift your whole weight off the floor would
be incredibly tense and would take away any possibility for relaxed breathing.
So here I am in more or less the optimal form of Shalabhasana for my body - the lower ribs are down
so i have a solid base of support the whole posterior chain is active, engaged,
in this position but only for an isometric hold - only to hold me firm in this position if i was
to really engage my back muscles and try and lift my weight all the way off the floor here this is
really intense i wouldn't be able to stay for a long time but when the lower ribs are down,
and to be fair i've been practicing this for a decent length of time,
in this position i can stay, hang out, talk, i feel perfectly comfortable...
As I mentioned before, having the chest trapped here underneath the body this is
very tense i wouldn't be able to stay here a long time i would need to start to come out
and get some air. What I'd recommend if you are experiencing struggle in these postures is to take
your time setting them up - you can perfect the entry once your body has integrated the correct
position which should then come fairly easily, but for now try lowering down with the hips first to
create some traction as you lengthen forward use your inhale to keep the sternum lifted and then
place the lower ribs down. With a solid foundation you can then set up for any one of these asanas.
Okay yogis thank you so much for watching this video just a quick one for today. Subscribe to
this channel if you want to see more videos like this and i'll see you in that next one!