Yoga: Beneath the surface

Feeling stuck in your yoga practice? Find out how to take it deeper

Oh dear… It’s five o’clock in the morning and I’m sitting at my kitchen table listening to the sound of the rain pattering down on the skylight above me. The fridge is humming away contentedly and a distant plane passes overhead. It all feels rather tranquil until the wind begins to howl and the rain starts pummelling down. It’s about this time I start to wish I was doing what most people were -  sleeping soundly while tucked up in bed. But with three lots of homework to complete before my triyoga teacher training weekend, I’ve decided to take a leaf out of Michelle Obama’s book, stop moaning, rise early and get the work done…

One week later, back at my kitchen table (at a much more respectable 7 am), I’m happy to report that I handed everything in on time. It seems my hard work is paying off - I passed my first two asana assignments with flying colors (although I’ll have to take my ego out of the equation if I’m to become an authentic, selfless yogi!)

We’re now four months into the training, and the journey is fascinating. One of the things I’ve found most valuable in the training is immersing ourselves in the asanas and deconstructing every element of the pose to understand how it affects your body and mind.

If you’d like to go deeper with your home practice, instead of doing your regular routine, try dedicating a session to just one or two asanas, and really take your time to fully experience both the journey into the pose and how you feel afterward.

Here’s an example (from this month’s homework assignment) with bhujangasana or cobra. If you’re not attending classes at the moment and want some extra guidance, Eric Schiffmann’s book The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness (Gallery Books, £12.99) is an inspiring starting point for working in this way.
 

Bhujangasana - Cobra
How to do it:

1. 
   

   Lie on your stomach with your forehead resting on the floor.

   
   


2. 
   

   Straighten your legs and engage your inner leg muscles, lifting your inner thighs upwards and outwards to broaden your gluteal crease. Take your feet hip-distance apart, tops of your feet on the floor, ankles straight and toes spread. Align your knees with your middle toe.

   
   


3. 
   

   Place your hands beneath your shoulders, or by your chest, palms facing downwards, and spread your fingers, index fingers pointing forwards.

   
   


4. 
   

   Draw your elbows together and rotate your shoulders up and back to create space at the base of your neck, then release your shoulder blades down your back and in towards your spine.

   
   


5. 
   

   Engage your abdomen, lifting towards your spine, and root through your pelvic bone to flatten your sacrum.

   
   


6. 
   

   Inhale, and allow your eyes to follow the path of your head as you slowly tilt your forehead up and back, curling your head, neck and shoulders upwards and away from the floor, vertebra by vertebra.

   
   


7. 
   

   When you can no longer lift without using your arms to assist you, pause for a moment and breathe normally for a couple of breaths.

   
   


8. 
   

   On an inhale, continue to curl your body upwards as you extend through your hands and arms. Keep drawing your shoulder blades inwards towards your spine, and keep your public bone rooted to the floor. As you ground through your hands, imagine you are ‘pulling’ the floor towards you, and feel the corresponding lift as you curl your spine further forwards and up.

   
   


9. 
   

   Lengthen your spine evenly without compressing the back of the neck and see if you can feel a sense of lightness as you lift your back body.

   
   


10. 
    

    Breathe normally in the pose for about five breaths then, slowly and with control, exhale as you lower your body to the floor and rest your head on one side.

    
    

Guidelines for self-study:

• 
  

  Before you begin, take a moment to tune in to what your body feels like. Are your shoulders tense, is your back stiff, do you have any aches or pains? Ask the same of your mind and emotions. Is your mind racing, are you thinking about your to-do list or meeting up with a friend later in the evening? Are you feeling content with your day, or are there any slight niggles causing an underlying anxiety? You don’t need to try to change any of these feelings or sensations, just be aware of them.

  
  


• 
  

  When you start to work on the pose, see if you can notice what difference it makes to roll your shoulders back, draw your elbows together or take your shoulders towards your spine.

  
  


• 
  

  With each adjustment, you make, become aware of the effect it has on other parts of your body. For example, what is the effect on your sacrum of grounding through your pubic bone? How does pulling the floor towards you affect your spine? Do you notice what’s happening to the curve of your spine as you move up into the pose and then lower again?

  
  


• 
  

  Notice also what is your breath doing, and how you feel after the asana. Does your body instinctively want to move into another pose?

  
  

If this method of practicing works for you, try repeating the exercise over a few days with two or three of your favorite asanas. It’s a wonderful way to really understand the essence of a pose and how your body relates to it.

I hope you enjoy working this way, and if you have any thoughts you’d like to share with me or other readers, we’d love to hear them.

Read more about Yoga: Balancing act