Sayanasana

I did this pose today.  Yep, I did it.  I have been working on balancing in Pincha Mayurasana for quite some time now (think in terms of years...) and can do it...just barely.  I was reading Mr. Iyengar's thoughts around the pose and noticed this beauty of a pose (Sayanasana) as the next variation of PM.  (Actually, the pose in this photo is a Scorpion version.  The one I did was both legs up and both hands cupping my chin.)  Generally I would think, "Are you kidding me?"  But I was feeling a bit cheeky and instead thought, "Why the heck not?" So I did it!  Holy cow!  This pose is hard, but not for the reason you think.  Actually balancing on your elbows, surprisingly, isn't that hard.  What gets you is how hard you need to lift the head from your shoulders to get your hands under your chin.  Sheesh!  Then when I was done...oh, my back felt GREAT!

So, today, I got TWO poses in, including one that was on my "won't do without a teacher by my side" list!

sayanasana scorpion variation
Originally uploaded by aayogadance