Alright - Hello everyone it's me Ethan and in this video we are going to look
at Bhujapidasana from the Ashtanga primary series first we'll go into the
fundamentals of the posture and then start to look at smoothing out the
transitions so that you can progress towards keeping your feet off the floor
right through the asana.
So Bhujapidasana like all the postures in the
Ashtanga sequence isn't itself a micro sequence of positions that need to be
touched on and transitioned through to complete the asana. There are four unique
positions that essentially need to be touched on in the Bhujapidasana
sequence, before we connect each of these counted positions together let's just be
very clear on exactly what they are: beginning in downward facing dog
as usual, we move towards the first unique position for Bhujapidasana
which is Sapta at the top of your inhale your weight is held entirely in
the hands the ankles are locked with the right foot on top and the head is lifted
in this position. Astau, which occurs on exhale is again with the feet lifted off
the floor but this time the toes are pointed, the elbows are bent deeply
enough that you have a third point of contact with the floor by resting
lightly on the chin. Resting on the forehead is also fine if that makes this
position accessible for you. This is the state of the asana so we hold this
position for five breaths gazing towards the nose. Nava is the same position as
Sapta, you find yourself with the head lifted once again at the top of your
inhale and once you're there, with no movement there is an uncounted exhale
here. Dasa is Bakasana position on inhale squeeze the knees inwards against
the shoulders and try to hold this position with the arms as straight as
possible before moving on Ekadasa is Chatvari position Dvadasa inhale
upward-facing Trayodasa exhale downward facing so after the four key positions
you follow the vinyasa as usual to exit the pose. In these four unique vinyasas
notice that none of them involve Tittibhasana, which is a straight legged
position - including it is an unnecessary diversion from the sequence as the
movement patterns are counterproductive to smoothly moving through
this asana, and ultimately it's just not part of the sequence at this point, and you
can remember that for the next asanas as well, kurmasana and supta kurma
be aware that the first time we see tittibhasana as a counted vinyasa in Ashtanga
Yoga is when you reach... Tittibhasana in the Ashtanga intermediate series. to
integrate the four key positions you'll need to learn to control each one of
them by squeezing in and up with the legs which will both lift the heels and
create inward pressure against the arms Bhujapidasana is arm pressure pose, that's
what it means. So stay conscious of what these four positions are, and remember
that you are only trying to move from one to the next rather than trying to
rush towards the state of the asana and then rush back to chaturanga to finish
the pose. To modify the transitions try not to move your hands but you can touch
the feet down as many times as needed so that you can confidently reach the next
counted position
let's take a second to troubleshoot one of the common problems that can make
this asana pretty uncomfortable to practice: if you tend to faceplant on
your way into the pose and struggle to get the head down even by supporting
with the feet, you might be better off modifying by only going down as far as
you can control that should help you build strength in Bujapidasana. A more
sort of fiery and determined student might be prepared to accept the
faceplant so that they can do the full version of the pose but the chances are
if you can't control the way down you probably won't be able to get back up
you'll either get stuck down there like a sea slug or you'll have to absolutely
muscle it and burst up from the pose way too quickly and you'll probably come
crashing down on the other side - so feel free to modify or touch the feet down
while you continue to stay on this pose and get more comfortable. Once you can
hit the positions you can start to flow between them with the right transitions
at downward dog check the position of your hands before you start this pose
they will be your foundation and should be planted in place - if they're too wide
it will be difficult for you to get a tight cross of the ankles - jumping to
Sapta is a challenging vinyasa and mastering this transition in particular
tends to be the last piece of the Bhujapidasana in a puzzle to fall into place so
work on it with intention every time. Jumping the feet wide to land outside
the hands is a good start. To jump the feet further beyond the hands exhale
deeply rounding your back keep the hips low and the legs fairly relaxed as you swing
them around the upper arms to make first contact with the floor ahead of your
hands trying to jump the hips to high will at best
cause the feet to plant hard near the hand. Try to aim the soles of your feet
towards each other as you gradually land them closer together. Eventually you'll
control the landing by locking into a tight cross at the ankles. hold Sapta
for a moment at the top of your inhale before moving on.
Exhaling into Ashtau squeeze the heels up and lean forward, control this
movement by slowly bending the elbows, once your feet get behind the arms you
can point the toes - if you're comfortable there pull the hips back press into the
fingertips to control as you reach the chin towards the floor. If it doesn't quite
touch you can put the forehead down at this point but be aware that the ideal
form will have the chin down but holding very little weight on that point. Nava
inhale stay tight in the middle of the body rotate by keeping the hips low and
lifting the head back up grip the floor with your fingertips and start to
straighten the arms - keep some weight forward as you come up then hold the
position at Nava and exhale. Lean forward take your legs back to - Bakasana
position - one leg at a time is perfect going with both together is also
acceptable if that's very comfortable for you - inhale into the back of your
body and hold firm in bakasana don't rush this part. Ekadasa - lean the
shoulders forward as you reach the legs back to land in a strong chatvari
position Dvadasa inhale Trayodasa exhale. Alright!
Yogis give this a go and let me know how you do - this is a tremendously
rewarding posture to work on, it's one of the great teachers of humility in
Ashtanga Yoga purely because of the contrast between how sort of goofy and
awkward it is to attempt before you've integrated in the movement patterns
correctly and then how kind of graceful and light and fluid and flowing it
becomes when you grow to master these transitions. So, I've got other videos on
the way soon. Hit subscribe but only if you want to. My actual love goes out
to every single one of you, and I will see you in the next one