UPAVISHTHA KONASANA (Seated Angle pose)
Seated Angle (hereafter SA) is one of many poses added to the asana storehouse by T. Krishnamacharya (1888-1989. It makes its first appearance in a book he wrote in the mid-1930s, Yoga Rahasya (“Secret of Yoga”), the exact date is unknown for reasons too lengthy to explain in this column. There are no instructions for its practice, simply a photo of Mr Krishnamacharya in the pose.
As its name strongly suggests, SA is a sitting pose that can be counted among the “kona family”: trikonasana, parshvakonasana, supta konasana, and so on. It’s a deep forward bend that to me seems like a natural accompaniment to Baddha Konasana, Bound Angle pose. We’ll have some fun with this pair at the conclusion of the column.
PREPARATION
It’s essential if you’re tighter in the back thighs and hips that you sit on a blanket or bolster lift. If you sit right on the floor, your pelvis will tend to tip backwards, i.e., your tail bone will be closer to the floor than your pubis. To do a forward bend when your pelvis is essentially in a back bend is a really bad idea, especially if repeated regularly over time. How high to sit? As high as needed to bring your pelvis to a relative neutral, i.e., the tail and pubis feel about equidistant from the floor. It’s a good idea then to sit a bit higher, just to be on the safe side. Have a yoga belt within reach.
FIRST STEP
How far should you widen your legs? As wide as comfortably possible, although all current and former ballet dancers shouldn’t overdo it. Press your left hand very firmly into your left groin, you must be directly in the hip crease for this exercise to be effective. Then with an exhale, twist your torso right, increasing the pressure on your left hand if the contact of your thigh seems to lighten on the floor. Remember to never twist from the lower back, all twists are rooted in the pelvis. Here, as you ground the left thigh, think of rolling your left hip point toward your right heel. Press your right hand to the floor beside the hip, hold your torso perfectly upright. Draw the head of the left upper arm bone back into its socket and imagine reaching out from you mid-back, letting the entire left half of your back torso release into the arm. Stay here for at least 30 seconds, longer is better.
Now loop your belt around your right sole and and hold it in your left hand. As much as you can, maintain the feeling that your left hand is still pressing the left groin, that’s your anchor. Very slowly begin to walk your left hand along the belt toward the foot. Keep your elbow completely extended (i.e., don’t bend your arm) and DON’T PULL yourself into the pose! Never force your body to do something it isn’t ready to do. Continue to lean your upper torso back a bit and press your right against the floor.
If you can’t comfortably reach the foot with your hand, don’t struggle to get there. Use the belt to guide your forward. In every forward bend the goal is to maintain the length of your front torso; in fact, calling an exercise like this a forward “bend” is somewhat misleading. Better to call it a forward “extension.” Descend by degrees, i.e., exhale, slide your hand slightly down the belt, stop and lengthen, slide again and so on. Grip the outside of your foot with your left hand. As you do you may notice yourself rounding slightly to the right. This will inhibit your twist. So press your right hand more firmly to the floor, and use this pressure to lengthen the right side of your torso, drawing the left side in.
Hold this twist for at least 30 seconds to a minute. You can lower your torso over the thigh if you have the flexibility. When you’re ready to end this preliminary, DON’T LIFT STRAIGHT UP from the twist! De-rotate first by swinging your torso to the left to the neutral mid-point, then lift up from your tail bone with an inhale. Repeat to the left for approximately the same length of time.
FULL POSE
When you’re back to the upright starting place after having twisted to the sides, then you’re ready for the full pose. Press your hands to the floor on either side of your pelvis and lift your sitting bones off the floor. Imagine your thigh bones dropping heavily down and settle back on your lift, now imagining that you’re sitting more heavily on your back thighs than the sit bones. Rotate the thighs outwardly so your toes point straight up. Try to maintain this position as you descend into the pose. As you do you’ll feel your thighs turning slightly in, resist this with outward rotation.
There are two ways (likely more I don’t know of) to enter the pose. The first is by grasping the big toes with your index and middle fingers, securing their grip with your thumb. I’m not a fan of ths technique, it tends to encourage pulling forward and I’ve already expressed my dislike of that.
So instead, press your hands firmly to the floor between your legs and lift the top of your sternum up and out, lengthening especially between the pubis and navel. When it’s no longer possible for you to maintain this length, when you start to bend forward from your belly, you’ve reached the end of your SA road. It doesn’t matter at all how close your front torso is to the floor. Some students may finish with their torso almost upright. This is still a forward bend.
Spread your palms on the floor and pressure them back toward your torso. Use this pressure to help lift the top sternum even farther up and out. Then pressure your hands back toward your torso and deepen your inner groins. Don’t forget about your legs. Keep them firm, press actively through your heels, try to keep your toes vertical. Continue to imagine you’re sitting more heavily on your thigh bones than your sitting bones. By the way, if you tend to hyper-extend your knees, your heels will lift slightly off the floor. Don’t do that. If you need some help, roll up a couple of wash cloths and wedge them under your knees.
If you intend to hang out for awhile, you can lay your torso on a bolster or other support, as long as it allows you to maintain the length of your front torso. Stay for a minute or so, more if you have the time to spare, and come with an inhale, drawing the tail bone down with a long front torso. Lean back slighty, bend your knees slightly, and use your hands to scoop your legs together. Straighten them forward and bounce your knees a few times on the floor.
FUN WITH SA
Sit in SA. Press your hands to the floor just behind your pelvis and simultaneously lift your heels off the floor, bend your knees, and bring your soles together in Bound Angle. Take a breath, again lean back on your hands, simultaneously lift your heels off the floor and reach out to SA. Be sure the heels touch down lightly on the floor. Repeat 100 times (just kidding, 4 to 5 will do).
