Laura Erdman-Luntz, MA, E-RYT(500) | Yoga | Yoga Teacher Training | Minnesota | Costa Rica | Life Coaching

Study Points for the Yoga Pose of the Month: Salambhasana (Locust Pose)

Check out Musasana and the pose of the month:  Salambhasana (Locust Pose).  Here are some Study Points for you as well as a few other posts.  

Deepening Your Pose: Supta Padangusthasana (Reclining Big Toe Pose)

Here is a video I did for my sister blog, Musasana.  On Musasana, I study and blog about one pose every month. 

Yoga Pose of the Momth: Parivrtta Parsva Konasana

Check out Musasana and the pose of the month:  Parivrtta Parsva Konasana (Revolved Side-Angle Pose).  Here are some Study Points for you.  Here are a bevy of posts on last month's pose: Dandasana (Staff Pose).

Dandasana (Staff Pose): Pose of the Month

This month's pose on Musasana is Dandasana (Staff Pose).  Last month's was Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III Pose) BUT I did not get much done for it.  There are the Study Points, but when I made the video, the sound didn't work and I haven't re-done it yet.  (Actually, I created ALL the videos for the next 6 months and the sound didn't work on any of them!  Do NOT get me started! :-) )  Anyway, I have quite a few ideas for this month's pose so I plan to post a bunch.  Keep checking back.

Poses from previous months:

• Bhujangasana
• Parsva Konasana
• Savasana

Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose): Pose of the Month

The pose of the month on Musasana was Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) for April.  I have some great posts out there (and a video!)  Ideas for taking your pose deeper, studying it, assisting your students, variations and more!  Check it out.  May's pose coming soon!

Poses from previous months:

• Upward Facing Dog Pose
• Warrior I Pose (Including video on how to safely take the head back and bring your arms up overhead)
• Savasana

Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I Pose): A Relationship

In Musasana, the pose for this month is Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I Pose).  Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I Pose) is an intriguing pose for me because I have vacillated around it so often.  I have loved it, disliked it, love it again.  I was just reviewing my practice journal from 2005 and was amused to find the pose had made it to the very top of my "dislike" list.  Back then I thought it had to do with my confusion around the action of the back leg.  While that might have been the superficial reason, physical issues are never the the deeper reason for intense dislike.  There is always an emotional, energetic, issue as well.

I also read in my journal that learning how to ground better was something I wanted to practice.  In fact, grounding is something I have worked on for a few years (just ask my students!) and in learning how to ground, Virabhadrasana I became not only easier, it became enjoyable and downright exhilerating.  The grounding did help with the back leg and the action of the back leg is now clarified for me, but it was grounding that was the deeper lesson. Always look for the deeper lesson in any of  your challenges in your practice.  It will always keep you inspired for your practice!

Here are some posts I have written about grounding and teaching grounding:

Teaching Groundedness
Wake Up Your Feet
Ground Your Feet

 

Yoga Pose of the Month: Savasana (Corpse/Relaxation Pose)

Yoga pose of the month:  Let's study Savasana (Corpse Pose) this month!

Join me on another blog, musasana, as we study Savasana this month!  Here are some Study Points, (including a challenge for the month).

Musasana's Pose of the Month: Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)

Let's study Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) this month!  Check out some ideas for Study Ideas on the Musasana blog and a video for taking the pose further.

musasana: Pose of the month

          

Let's study Vrksasana (Tree Pose) this month! 

I started this blog a year ago and stopped last fall.  It is time to restart it and I would love your company!  The blog will be helpful to give you some ideas for your own practice and, if you are a teacher, to give you ideas for teaching.  Check out this post for some ideas on how to study the pose.  Plus, MuseMarya and I will be adding videos and our own thoughts as we study the pose for the month.   Feel free to add more ideas in the comments. 

To Prop or Not to Prop

Whether or not to use props is such a controversial topic in yoga.  Some lineages need many, others eschew them all.  I understand both sides and do choose to use them with discretion.  I use them to aid my students in finding their alignment in the pose to keep their bodies safe.  I do know, though, that the more you add props, the less you are connected to your body; the very thing we want to cultivate with yoga.

The musasana pose we studied last month was Sukhasana (Easy, Cross-Legged Pose).  In Sukhasana, the prop we use is a blanket under the hips so we sit higher. First, make sure it is truly Sukhasna you are in.  There are three main cross-legged seated positions in yoga.  In Sukhasana, the feet are away from the body so the shins are almost parallel.  Feel are moving toward hidden underneatht the opposite knee.  (In the photos that follow, MuseHeather's legs are a bit too close together, causing a torque in her ankles.  These photos are expressly to demonstrate the effect of a lift)

Now that you know you are in Sukhasana, should you use a lift?  Here is what I know about the psoas:  If your knees are above the hip joint, the psoas cannot release.  If the psoas doesn't release, the lower back is gripping.  Keep in mind, you might be unaware of the gripping!

 

Here, MuseHeather is not using a lift.  Here knees are well above the hip joint.

 

Here, with the simple addition of a lift, MuseHeather has raised herself above the knees so her psoas can release.

So, this pose is the perfect example of the benefit of using lifts.  With the help of the lift, the student was able to be more comfortably in the pose (even if she wasn't fully consious of the benefit.)