Approaching Chakrasana

Approaching Chakrasana / Kavandhasana

I posted sometime ago the ardha-chakrasana and the kavandhasana. However, they might be too difficult to execute for beginners. I am therefore, posting one that gives a swell approach to those above two Asanas.

 

Procedure :

1) Lift the back and the butts a little to slide in the locked palms under the back
2) Exert pressure with your shoulder blades, triceps and the locked palms to the ground to create enough force to lift the body - mainly the waist region.
3) Inhale while lifting the body

Julia's Blog: Post Card

Julia's Blog: Post Card

Julia visited my blog recently - I visited hers quite sometime ago. I posed a question to her blog on Vande Matram. I had read a long long time ago - in so very distant past - I can't recall - that Vande Matram was composed by Jadunath Bhattacharya - the legendary musician who taught Rabindranath Tagore music during his childhood days.

Raag Desh. Should be more likely that Jadu Bhatta composed the song rather than Rabindranath - who was a good singer, but hardly an accomplished composer. Not many would know that most Rabindrasangeets were NOT composed by Rabindranath, but by Dinendranath Tagore - or Dinu Thakhur - as he was called.

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After talking to some friends of mine who are not that initiated in music - I came to realise that it might be a little tough for people to distinguish the difference between composing and writing.

Well, music has two parts - the poem and the tune.

The poet who writes the song is the writer - Bankim chandra chattopadhyay was the writer of Vande Matram. Vande Matram is a poem in the novel Anandamath that Bankim wrote.

However, setting the tune or the music is the act of COMPOSITION. Since Bankim was no musician, he naturally, would not be able to compose the Vande Matram song. It's a skill issue :).

The song was said to be composed by Jadu Bhatta. Who was a legendary musician in the 19th Century. Just imagine he lived in an age of no radio and no TV, and very limited newspaper. Yet he was known from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Gujarat to Tripura.

He taught Rabindranath music. He was a court musician in Tripura kingdom. and I read in the childhood that he perhaps married a princess in the Kingdom of Kashmir.

A pity he did not live long; and hence he could not nurture someone similar in talent.

Bhekasana - Practice

Bheka = Medhaka = Manduka = frog

Let me fill you in on to a secret. While you are practising one Asana and are finding it tough for quite some time... you know...not much progress for a long time mode, try a different but complementary Asana. You will be amazed to realise that now you are finding the Asana that seemed tough earlier, quite easy.




I found this above Asana very helpful in doing the Baddha-Padmasana practice.

Well, do this from the Dhanurasana. I am still perfecting this pose. My idea of perfection here is: to touch my feet to the ground.

For an understanding of how a perfect pose might look like refer to Arjuna's page - the medico cum Yoga practitioner from Germany. To me he IS close to perfect.

Of course, by saying this I did a blasphemy *** grin*** - for Yoga is a journey, not a destination. Which implies that nothing that exists is perfect. We are all pilgrims in this fabulous journey, we are all students - Some are more advanced, some are less.

Yoga for Back Pain (Concluding Part) - Ardha Chakrasana

Ardha Chakrasana (the Arch)

Ardha = half
Chakra = wheel, or the disc used as weapon by Krishna, the character in Mahabharata the epic of India




Self-critique: I am no good at all in this asana. Culprit is my poorly joined left arm after a near fatal accident quite a long time ago. As also some kind of nodular problem in the tendon sheath of the right wrist - which makes it very difficult and painful to support my body weight on the right wrist. Hence the arms are never straight as they should be. Hopefully Yoga will help me get over these problems in time to come.

Comments: This concludes the back pain series in Asana. Exclusions are the pranayama part. I did not intend to cover them in this series though they are as effective, if not more, in relieving back pain.

Yoga for Back Pain (Part20) - Kavandhasana

Kavandhasana

This asana is easier version of the Ardha Chakrasana. People who find difficult to do the Arch (Ardha chakrasana) could do this.

Kavandha (n.)= headless torso.


Some call this Kandharasana = shoulder Asana. Apart from back pain, this Asana is good for Hypothyroidism too. Since it exerts pressure on the thyroid glands.

The shoulder Stand, Sarvangasana too does the same and of course does something more - which is: help the flow of blood to the neck and face region. But then people with back pain must not do a shoulder stand. I did, that for a long time :). And suffered because of this folly. :).

Yoga for Back Pain (Part19) - Dhanurasana

Dhanurasana

Dhanu = bow,

Dhanu has other Sanskrita synonyms too, Kodanda for example

I am not giving the Saral Dhanurasana before this Dhanurasana here.

For Saral Dhanurasana visit this page. Here one just holds the legs; and the knees are not raised from the ground. Perfect for those who are just beginning in the Yoga voyage. And for people for whom years of unuse of the spine has made it so stiff that raising the legs would be a trouble. I have even seen people who find even holding the legs quite difficult. In which case Bhujangasana is the best way to start to gradually proceed to Dhanurasana.



Drishti: Bhru-Madhye( middle of the eye brows)

Focus: Waist

Breathing: in while raising the body from the ground, normal, deep and slow while holding the pose, and out while lowering the body to the original position.

Yoga for Back Pain (Part18) Salavasana (both legs)

Salavasana (both legs)

Warning!!!:
1) the usual warning for back bending asana - hernia etc. patients not to practise it
2) For people who have a really bad back, do not lift both your legs together with a jerk. But perform one legged salavasana (as in back pain issue number 17, and then smoothly lift the other leg, so that there are no jerks to the waist).



Breathing and other things are as in back pain - 17.

Yoga for Back Pain (Part17) Salavasana (One Legged Version)

Salavasana (One Legged Version)




Warning: This asana is a back bending Asana. Hence must not be performed by people who must not perform any other back bending asana

Breathing: As usual inhale while raising legs, exhale while putting legs down. Normal deep breathing as you hold the Asana

Drishti: Bhru-Madhye (in the middle of the eye brows)

Focus: Waist

Yoga for Back Pain (Part16) Bhujangasana (variation 1)

Tiryak Bhujangasana (variation 1)



Drishti: Nasagre (Nosetip)

Yoga for Back Pain (Part15) Bhujangasana

Bhujangasana

Bhuja (n.) = Arms
Anga (n.) = Body
Asana (n.) = Posture

Bhuja anga means someone whose body is the arms - which is snake. This is because snakes use their body as their arm - for example, arms are used to hold, grasp - their body is used exactly for that purpose.





This Asana is quite simple, much like the saral (easy version) which is given in the earlier post. Only that there are some people who may not do any of such Asanas which call for backward bending - Particurly people of Hernia, heart disease etc.

Drishti: (Bhru madhye) the middle of the eyebrows

Focus: the waist or the back

Yoga for Back Pain (Part14) Saral Bhujangasana

Saral Bhujangasana




With this Asana starts the backbending asanas that provide good results against back pain.

Back pain causes may be various. Bad sitting posture, a job that requires standing always - such as that of a traffic police, soft mattress. And there could be medical cause too - such as excess uric acid in the blood which may cause rheumatism in the pelvis or the back.

This Asana focuses on the back muscles, and the spinal cord and strengthens them. It also strengthens the two columns of stomach muscles (the rectus abdominis and the obliques) and the internal stomach organs consequently. hence, there is a greater chance of getting rid of the back pain by getting rid of excess uric acid production in the stomach.

Focus: manipura chakra
Drishti: ajna chakra (between the eye-brows).