Lately I've been practicing Ashtanga-based yoga which is flow oriented. I regularly attend 2 studios that teach variations of Ashtanga; one hot and one not. The real point here is that I often find myself getting frustrated with Ashtanga, wishing that we would hold the poses just a little bit longer and often find that I don't have the necessary time to get my body adjusted into the poses. Do you ever feel that way?
I particularly notice this frustration in Warrior 1 because Ashtanga (and most other disciplines of America yoga) instruct that one plants the back
heel with the toes pointed out to about 10 or 2 o'clock. One is encouraged to ground the outside of the back foot to keep energy flowing between said foot, through the hips and up through the fingertips. Meanwhile, the hips are encouraged to remain square while the inner thighs (adductors) are ecouraged to scissor together. As you can see, I'm not even at the upper body yet and already we have built a rather complex foundation for the pose!
For me, grounding the outer rear creates is difficult since as I ground the foot, I struggle to keep my hips square. My lower spine curves and I become acutely aware of how Uttyana Bhanda(core lock, so let's call this your hip flexors, psoas, iliacus and a slew of other muscles) engages to keep my upper body erect. The foot position often feels "weird" or "unnatural," although I am now aware of how I ground my feet in postures like Warrior 2 and Triangle and has maybe even helped strengthen my base in these poses!
Today I'm chillin' at Borders in Braintree reading the prep materials for the month-long Kripalu Teacher Training and the book depicts Warrior 1 with the back heel elevated like in high lunge (This is what the pose is called in Ashtanga-based practice)! "What are these shennanigans?" I thought, and started flipping through the book's pages trying to find any reference to the mysteriously raised heel.
To the internet! Of course, there are umpteen websites that talk about how to "properly execute" Warrior 1 without any mention of the back heel being raised. I thought, "maybe this is part of the Kripalu discipline," but I needed a concrete answer.
I found this article that not only gives the background mythology of Warrior poses but also explains, "The pose that Swami Kripalu ushered into the world does differ in one key detail: The back heel stays off the ground." Great Arms of Shiva! What a discovery!
By keeping the back heal raised the pelvis is allowed to tilt forward, tailbone allowed to drop down and the yoga practicioner can achieve deeper stimulation of their hip flexors (along the front of the upper thigh/pelvis/low abs region). This allows for freer spinal extension as well.
Warrior poses may only be 70 years old!
I particularly notice this frustration in Warrior 1 because Ashtanga (and most other disciplines of America yoga) instruct that one plants the back
heel with the toes pointed out to about 10 or 2 o'clock. One is encouraged to ground the outside of the back foot to keep energy flowing between said foot, through the hips and up through the fingertips. Meanwhile, the hips are encouraged to remain square while the inner thighs (adductors) are ecouraged to scissor together. As you can see, I'm not even at the upper body yet and already we have built a rather complex foundation for the pose!For me, grounding the outer rear creates is difficult since as I ground the foot, I struggle to keep my hips square. My lower spine curves and I become acutely aware of how Uttyana Bhanda(core lock, so let's call this your hip flexors, psoas, iliacus and a slew of other muscles) engages to keep my upper body erect. The foot position often feels "weird" or "unnatural," although I am now aware of how I ground my feet in postures like Warrior 2 and Triangle and has maybe even helped strengthen my base in these poses!
Today I'm chillin' at Borders in Braintree reading the prep materials for the month-long Kripalu Teacher Training and the book depicts Warrior 1 with the back heel elevated like in high lunge (This is what the pose is called in Ashtanga-based practice)! "What are these shennanigans?" I thought, and started flipping through the book's pages trying to find any reference to the mysteriously raised heel.
To the internet! Of course, there are umpteen websites that talk about how to "properly execute" Warrior 1 without any mention of the back heel being raised. I thought, "maybe this is part of the Kripalu discipline," but I needed a concrete answer.
I found this article that not only gives the background mythology of Warrior poses but also explains, "The pose that Swami Kripalu ushered into the world does differ in one key detail: The back heel stays off the ground." Great Arms of Shiva! What a discovery!
By keeping the back heal raised the pelvis is allowed to tilt forward, tailbone allowed to drop down and the yoga practicioner can achieve deeper stimulation of their hip flexors (along the front of the upper thigh/pelvis/low abs region). This allows for freer spinal extension as well.
Warrior poses may only be 70 years old!
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