Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Half Lotus

ARDHA PADMASANA 

Half Lotus

Padmasana (Lotus Pose) is perhaps one of the most iconic of all the traditional yoga asanas. In the Hatha tradition it can be traced back more than 500 years, and no doubt it’s much older than that in the broader Yoga tradition. It’s typically considered one of the four “best” (shreshtha) poses, along with the Adept’s Pose (siddhasana), the Auspicious Pose (bhadrasana), known today as Bound Angle (baddha konasana), and, somewhat surprisingly, the Lion Pose (simhasana). 

The symbolism that attaches to the lotus is rich and varied. Hindu deities are often pictured seated on pedestals formed of stylized lotus petals, and the flower itself represents many gods and goddesses, including Vishnu, Surya (the Sun), Indra, and Kama (the Hindu Cupid). The lotus also symbolizes perfection and purity, the beauty of an ever regenerating creation, and the Sun. It’s also compared to the Cosmic Tree, which first emerged from the deity Varuna’s navel, with other deities hanging like fruit from its branches. This only scratches the surface of what the lotus means to Indian culture. 

The pose itself, be aware, is highly problematic, especially for Westerners, and I should say right at the beginning that if you have any issues with either or both of your knees, this is NOT a pose for you. I also want to be very clear that if you do attempt this pose–which here we’ll only be working on the half (ardha) version–to follow the instructions for getting into and out of it very carefully, DO NOT cut corners. 

If you’re just starting to learn the pose, it’s a good idea before attempting it to warm up the hips and groins. Poses might include Half (ardha) or full Hero Pose (virasana), Bound Angle Pose (baddha konasana), and a pose that I call Paper Clip Pose (a name provided by my incredibly intelligent daughter, who in this respect takes after her mother). Here’s how:

Sit on a height, maybe a thickly folded blanket or bolster (higher if you’re tighter in the hips). Bring your left heel to your right sitting bone and lay that leg on the floor. Then take your right ankle just to the outside the left knee and lay that leg down as well. It’s crucial that the ankle be just OUTSIDE the knee, so the right sole is perpendicular to the floor. Press your right thumb into the hip crease, take firm hold of the thigh bone, and spin it laterally, that is, from the inner thigh to the outer. You can then lean your torso forward, coming from the hips and not the lower belly, and press your hands on the floor in front of your shins. Alternatively, you can pull up a chair in front of your shins and rest your forearms or head on the seat (you may need a block under your forehead). Stay for at least two (excruciating) minutes, then reverse the legs and repeat for the same (excruciating) length of time. 

Now for Half Lotus. Continue to sit on your height, and again bring the left heel to the right sitting bone, laying that leg on the floor. As already stressed, follow these instructions closely. Bring your right thigh to your belly and squeeze the calf against the back thigh; in other words, completely flex the right knee. When bringing the right foot into place, there should be NO rotary movement in the knee (which is a hinge joint), it all happens in the rotary hip. Swivel the outer edge of the right foot into the left hip crease, bringing the knees as close together as you can. Once again, the sole of the top foot should be more or less perpendicular to the floor. If you’re new to the pose, hold for no longer than about 10 seconds, then bring the right thigh with the knee still fully flexed back to the front torso, then stretch the leg straight forward out on the floor. Repeat for the same length of time with the left leg up. 

One of my former teachers had a list of what he called “everyday poses,” which means just what it says: there are certain poses that need to be practiced regularly or not at all, among them Headstand (shirshasana) and Lotus. I would suggest 4 to 5 times a week. Gradually build the time you stay in the pose in 5 to 10 second weekly increments, staying very alert for any discomfort in one or both knees. Nest Yoga strongly advises that you ONLY attempt the full pose under the direct supervision of an experienced and trusted teacher. After finishing, lie on your back, secure the big toe of the right foot with the right index and middle fingers (or loop a strap around the sole), and stretch up through the heel (Reclining Big Toe Pose, supta padangushthasana). Actively contract the front thigh muscle (quadriceps), hold for a minute or so, and reverse with the left leg for the same length of time. 

There are various ways to place the hands. 

• Lay the upturned hands in your lap, the back of one hand resting in the palm of the other.

• Bring the palms together and rest the outer edges of your thumbs on your sternum. This is called anjali mudra. Spread the palms wide and press the palms evenly to each other. 

• Cup the palms and bring one hand over the other, the bottom cup facing up, the top cup down, in front of your belly. This pose is called samputita pankajasana. A samputa is a hemispherical bowl, pankaja literally means “mud born,” another name for the lotus, which famously floats pristine on the surface of a pond, while its roots reach down into the mud on the pond’s floor. This hand position is called kacchapika mudra, the “tortoise seal.” 

• Rest your hands on your thighs or knees, palms down. The latter is known as samasana, the Even (sama) Pose.

• Cross your arms in front of your torso and hold your toes, right hand right toes, left hand left. This is called karmukhasana. Karmukha has many meanings, you choose: rainbow, bow, bamboo, a kind of honey, and efficacious.

• The hands hold the same side feet, that is, right hand left foot, left hand right. This is called mukta padmasana, Free Lotus Pose. 

There are also a number of synonyms for padmasana (I’ve left off asana at the end of each):

• amburuha: “water growing” (ambu, “water”)

• ambuja: “water born”

• abja: “born in water”

• Goraksha kamala: “cowherd lotus” (Goraksha is a semi-legendary early progenitor of Hatha Yoga)

• kamala: “lotus” (and Vice-president of the US)

• saroruha: “lake-growing”

• saroja: “lake born”

Old Iyengar hands would always marvel at the difficulty rating given padmasana in Light on Yoga. Each of the 198 poses in the book is given a number from 1, the easiest pose, like Tadasana, to 60, the most challenging, the next to next to last pose in the book, the impossible seeming tiriang mukhottanasana, a standing backbend in which the performer bends backwards and holds her ankles (not recommended). For most Westerners, who regularly sit on chairs, which plays havoc with hips and groins, we might expect Lotus to be somewhere in the high 20s to low 30s. But for the traditional Indian, who sits mostly on the floor, padmasana is the proverbial piece of cake, and so is rated, for us, at a completely unreasonable 4; for comparison, Triangle Pose (trikonasana) is a 3. Speculation was that since the book first appeared in 1966, Mr Iyengar wasn’t yet familiar with some of his Western students more severe limitations caused by chair sitting. 

Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Hanumanasana

HANUMANASANA

Hanuman* is the name of a monkey-chief, leader of a large troop of monkey-like creatures. His adventures are recounted in detail in one of the two great Indian epics, the Ramayana (pronounced rah-MY-uh-nuh, the other being the Mahabharata), in which he’s an ally of the hero Rama in his war against the demon-king of Lanka, Ravana. The shape of the pose is said to emulate the gigantic leap taken by Hanuman from India to the island of Sri Lanka, where he went to search for Rama’s wife Sita, kidnapped by Ravana. 

His name means “heavy” or “large jaw.” Legend has it that as a baby, he tried to rise up and grab the Sun, which he mistook for a fruit. To prevent this Indra, king of the gods, whacked him on the jaw (hanu) with a thunderbolt, hence the name.

Hanumanasana isn’t a traditional pose. If it looks familiar, that’s because it’s based on what gymnasts call “the splits.” Generally pictures of it show the performer with the back of the front leg and the front of the back leg fully on the floor, which is quite challenging (and possibly injurious if performed improperly or without adequate preparation) for the average student. Fortunately, there are ways to perform the pose after an adequate preparation and using props that make it reasonably accessible to most students.

Here are two basic exercises to help prepare the backs of the legs for the pose. 

1. There are many ways to stretch out the back of the legs, I prefer a kind of modified reclining big toe pose (supta padangushthasana). Make your strap into a large loop, slip it over your torso and snug it into your back armpits. Lie on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor, and with an exhale bring your right thigh into your torso. Hold the shin and press the thigh against your belly, release your lower back to the floor.

2. Slip the loop over the right sole, inhale, and press up through the heel, stop with the knee slightly bent. Snug the belt and clasp your hands on the back of the thigh, just above the sit bone. With your hands, resist the thigh toward the torso, and with an inhale, press your thigh against the resistance of your hands and carefully straighten your knee. Be sure you draw the knee cap toward the hip by contracting the quadriceps, don’t push it into the knee joint. Every time you want to stretch the back thigh a bit more, bend the knee, snug the belt, resist the hands and with an inhale, push into the hands. The head of the thigh bone ideally does (or feels like it does) two things: it sinks deeper into the hip socket (toward the floor), and moves away from the pelvis, deepening the front groin. Essentially you want to straighten the knee by moving its two ends, the femur head and the heel, farther apart.

3. You can keep the left knee bent or straighten the leg. Inhale and push out through the left heel, hold the heel slightly off the floor, turn the thigh inward (so the left toes point slightly right), and press the leg down against the floor. Continue to press actively through the back of the left heel and the base of the big tow. Hold the pose anywhere from 2-3 minutes. Then bend the right knee slightly, remove the right foot from and slip the left foot into the loop and repeat the instructions on the left side.

4. Next stand and go to a wall. Wedge the sides of a block (the middle width) between the topmost back thighs and the wall. The block must be placed precisely at the very top back thighs if this exercise is to be effective. Step your feet away from the wall 8-10 inches so that you’re slightly leaning against the block. Exhale and bend forward into standing forward bend (uttanasana), if the block slips down slightly (or falls), return it to the topmost thighs. Make sure you’re pressing the the top thighs into the block, not simply locking the knees. You can burrow your thumbs into the front hip creases and push back on the femur heads. Every now and then, lift your torso slightly with an inhale, lengthen the front torso, especially between the pubis and navel, and lower back to the full forward bend. Stay 2-3 minutes, then lift up on an inhale with a long front torso.

5. It’s quite possible you’ll need a bit more stretching. You can do Triangle Pose (trikonasana), Intense Side Pose (parshvottanasana), Standing One Leg Raised Pose (urdhva prasarita eka padasana), Wide Leg Standing Forward Bend (prasarita padottanasana), and any of the sitting forward bends you favor.

Now for the front groins. 

6. Take a lunge, right foot forward, knee fixed directly over the heel, left knee on the floor (padded with a blanket), stretched back as far as you like. Keep your torso upright, hands resting on the right thigh. You might want to straighten the right knee slightly, press your right thumb into the hip crease, releasing the outer hip downward, the re-bend the right knee, keep the groin deep.

7. It’s essential, not only for the pose but your own safety, to draw up on the pubic bone and lengthen the tail bone downward. As you slide the left knee back, you’ll feel a tug on your front thigh and groin. The front pelvis may be drawn down, which will compress the lower back. If you feel that happening, back off the lunge, lift the pubis strongly toward the navel, then re-bend keeping the low back long. Stay for 2-3 minutes, if you want a little more, draw the left heel toward the buttock, take hold of the left ankle and pull the heel even closer. Hold 30 seconds to a minute. 

8. Release, press your hands to the floor, right arm outside the leg, and lay the weight of your torso on the right thigh. Inhale, and as you continue to drop the right thigh floor-ward under the torso’s weight, straighten the back knee. Inhale again and straighten the right knee just slightly. Reach the left heel toward the floor, hold the thigh away from the floor, and re-bend the right knee. As you continue to reach through the left heel, lift through the top sternum in the opposite direction. Hold for a minute, then bend the back knee to the floor, and reverse.

9. If you need to stretch more in the front thighs and groins. You can try Side Angle Stretch (parshvakonasana) and virabhadrasana 1. 

Now at last the final pose.

10. You’ll need two firm blankets and depending on your flexibility, a support of some kind, such as a block or bolster. Kneel down on one of the blankets with the other in front of you, whatever support you’re using positioned between the two blankets. Step your right heel forward onto the second blanket (you may have to brace your hands on the floor or on blocks), and VERY SLOWLY begin to slide the left knee back and the right heel forward. Take as much support as you may need, position it right under the topmost right thigh, just where the block was in (4). Do here just what you did at the wall in (4). Press the femur actively against the block and pull up strongly on the pubis toward the navel as you did in (7). Stay for 30 seconds to a minute. 

11. You can press your palms together and rest your thumbs on the sternum in anjali mudra, or you can stretch your arms straight up. When you’re eady to exit, again bring your hands to the floor/blocks, and VERY CAREFULLY slide the left knee forward and the right heel back. Reverse the legs for the same length of time. 

*The proper spellling of the name is Hanumat. The final “t” transforms into an “n” (by the rules of Sanskrit junction) when combined with “asana.” Since most everyone is used to the final-n spelling, we’ll leave it at that to avoid confusion.         

TIP

When you bring the front heel forward, rest the outer edge on the floor with a strong outward rotation of the thigh. This will help release the outer hip of the front leg downward, providing more length along the right side of the torso. When straightening the knee, maintain the release of the outer hip and turn the leg back to neutral by rotating the femur head in the hip socket. Be sure the center (not the inner edge) of the back knee is touching the floor.    

If you want to read an account of Hanuman’s great leap, go here, Book 5, chapter 1:

https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-ramayana-of-valmiki/d/doc424560.html 

BELIEVE

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” George Eliot

To paraphrase Mary Oliver, what might do with this precious thing, life? At my age, many friends are grappling with this. Last week, a conversation with one of them hit me hard. After moving through a challenging few years, she is now looking for a purpose, fulfillment… that spark. But where, and how... And what?

Whatever, wherever, however you envision this ‘life’, the message this month is to Believe it can be. Maybe you want to ‘be’ peaceful, more present, more rested. Maybe you want to ‘be’ a teacher, an artist, a volunteer in a country (or neighborhood) torn by strife. Or maybe you want to be exactly what you are, right here and right now.

Maybe you want to ‘be’ in a world that is more loving and inclusive of others? I do.

Whatever it may be, as Ted Lasso tells us, just believe it can be. “I think that’s what it’s all about – embracing change, being brave, doing whatever you have to …”

My 57 yr old sister just finished her master’s in Education, during Covid, toiling over the kitchen table at night while working as an aide in the local school (on Zoom) and raising her teenage daughter as a single mom. Now she is pursuing a career as a 2nd grade teacher. “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” (George Eliot)

So, what’s it gonna be? While this sounds stupidly simple, it’s actually painfully hard. About 8 years ago, I went through this without knowing I was going through this. If this sounds like a riddle, it is - I was truly puzzled.

I broke out in 9 months of unexplained hives that every professional told me was ‘stress’ - but me? Why should I be stressed?

It was in yoga, likely a SmartFLOW class, that I could be still and listen to what my heart was seeking. From there, I needed to strip out the underlying expectations and unwritten do’s and don’ts of my happy life - and take some unconventional steps (bless my husband Bob- he did his share of eye rolling, but he hasn’t given up on me...yet). The most important thing I learned? It is actually the journey, each seemingly insignificant step along the way that even for a moment fills your cup, and not the destination, that brings contentment. Because, what is the ultimate ‘destination’ anyway? I daresay contentment?

So, I invite you to zero in on whatever it is that lights you up (or calms you down)... and dip in your toe. Is it painting? Growing vegetables? Learning anatomy? Spoiler alert, it may not be popular with those around you. You may need to do less of something (for me it was cooking dinner..) or more of something else - and over time, you risk leaving some of the current regulars in your life behind. The first step, while scary, is actually harmless - my whole family laughed when I brought home my first crystal and put it out under the full moon.

But don’t give up... as Mark Twain said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” Yes, it’s scary! But that first trip to the crystal shop is not that awful, trust me.

Sit down, maybe turn on some music, be still. And take a look deep inside...maybe write about it, think on it… but notice it. And trust it. Believe in it. Because, the first step is believing in yourself.

_____________________

Rebecca: “Oh, do you believe in ghosts, Ted?”

Ted Lasso: “I do. But more importantly, I believe they need to believe in themselves.”

Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Sālamba Śīrşāsana 1

Sālamba Śīrşāsana 1 (Supported Headstand)

sa = with 

alamba = support

śīrşa = head

asana = literally, seat, but usually interpreted as pose or posture

Headstand is one of the most iconic of all the yoga postures. But if performed improperly, it’s potentially one of the most dangerous. In fact, there’s a good deal of controversy surrounding both Headstand and Shoulderstand. There are a number of teachers who refuse to teach these poses, maintaining the vertebrae of the neck aren’t meant to support the weight of the body. If you’re just beginning to practice this posture, we strongly advise you to follow our directions carefully, and be sure not to cut corners. If performed properly, Headstand is an exhilarating, invigorating pose. This breakdown provides instructions for beginning Headstanders. 

Headstand is a pose that needs regular practice, at least 4 to 5 times a week. If you don’t think you can manage that, it would be better then to buy a U-shaped, padded Headstand bench, which runs anywhere from about $35 to $90. With the bench, the weight of your body is supported on your shoulders while your head hangs free. That will take any pressure off the neck and approximate the benefits of the full pose.

PROPS

Beginning Headstanders should practice against a wall. Learning how to balance in this pose usually takes some time, so at first the wall will provide support. Be sure the area of the wall you intend to use is free of hanging pictures and other objects. You’ll also need a firm blanket, preferably made of cotton, wool, or wool-like synthetic material, to pad your crown and forearms. Fold this blanket into a rectangle about 2 feet by 3 feet and position one of the long edges against the wall. You might cover the half-blanket away from the wall with a sticky mat, that will help prevent the elbows from sliding apart. Finally you’ll need a watch or clock to time your stay in the pose.

1. Interlace your fingers and tuck the bottom-most pinky into the other hand’s palm. You might make a habit of alternating the lacing of the fingers day by day. For the beginning practice press the bases of the palms together. 

2. Kneel on the floor and press your forearms onto the blanket, knuckles an inch or two away from the wall, inner wrists perpendicular to the floor. Start with the elbows a few inches apart, then scrub them away from each other to shoulder width. Keep the inner wrists perpendicular and press down firmly through the inner elbows. At this point, your head is off the floor.

3. Straighten your legs and step one foot closer to the elbows (for this instruction, we’ll say the bent-knee leg is the right). To lift up into the pose, keep the left leg very straight, and with an exhale, swing the long left leg up and kick off the right with a sharp exhalation. Be prepared for one of two possibilities. 1) The swing and the kick aren’t enough to launch you up against the wall, and you drop back to the floor. Be sure to keep the swinging leg very strong, try not to let it bend. It may take some time before you get the hang of it and can kick up successfully. 2) The swing and the kick are overly strong and you thump heavily against the wall, alarming anyone on the other side of the wall. You’ll then have to learn how to moderate your swing and kick. But at least you’re up. 

4. THIS IS INSTRUCTION IS CRUCIAL. Beginning headstanders SHOULD NOT have their head on the floor when kicking up. This will prevent any sudden and/or unequal pressure on the neck. Once you’re vertical and your heels are against the wall, then you can lower your crown LIGHTLY to the floor, but most of your weight should be borne by your shoulders and arms. 

5. Press your heels strongly up along the wall, thighs turned slightly in. Ideally your tail bone is lifting to the heels to help lengthen the lower back. Firm your shoulder blades against and widen them across your back. Continue pressing down with the inner elbows, and try to distribute the weight on the forearms evenly from elbows to wrists. 

6. To start, stay in the pose for about 20 to 30 seconds. VERY GRADUALLY increase your stay by 5 to 10 seconds a week, aiming for a total stay of about 3 minutes. Simultaneously, allow a little more weight to rest on your head and neck, but continue to bear the most weight on your shoulders and arms. 

7. When coming out of the pose, LIFT YOUR HEAD OFF THE FLOOR. Just as you went into the pose with your head elevated, so should you exit. Be sure you have enough strength to do this. If you stay, for example, 30 seconds at first but can’t lift your head, for the next practice stay a shorter time, maybe 20 to 25 seconds. When coming down, you can lean your buttocks on the wall, bend your knees and roll down with an exhalation. Assume Child’s Pose for 30 seconds to a minute. 

CONTRA-INDICATIONS

Obviously, if you have physical issues with your neck, the full pose will probably not be for you. It’s best if you practice then on a Headstand bench. The pose is also not recommended for people with high blood pressure, glaucoma, and women who are menstruating. 

PRACTICE TIP

When you can lift into the pose smoothly and can safely bear a little more weight on your head, you can begin to learn how to balance. Position your head the length of your foreleg (or shin) away from the wall. Exhale, kick up, and immediately touch your feet to the wall, forelegs more or less parallel to the floor. If you’ve placed your head properly, your torso and thighs will be perpendicular to the floor, so your thighs and forelegs make a right angle. Now take one foot off the wall and stretch up through the heel. Hold for a few seconds, then return the foot to the wall and repeat with the other foot. Finally, if you’re feeling adventurous, take both feet off and strengthen your legs through the heels.

With Headstand, always remember the 3 P’s: practice, perseverance, and patience. Don’t be in a hurry to reach the 3-minute mark. You might let your regular teacher know you’ve embarked on the Headstand journey, and check in with her/him periodically with any issues or concerns.

Richard Rosen's Asana Breakdown: Bakasana

It’s been a difficult two years for most everyone, some more than others. This is the season when it’s customary to give our thanks for being alive in this beautiful world, and we’ll be excused if our Thank You lists are rather shorter than usual. But I think we can all agree there’s one thing we can all be enormously thankful for, and that’s the far-beyond-the-call-of-duty efforts made by Kim, her staff (especially her right-hand person, Laura, every studio owner’s dream manager), and the great faculty at Nest Yoga for keeping the place going and thriving when so many other schools threw in their sweaty towels. If you get the chance, be sure to let whoever you run across how thankful you are for their invaluable contributions to our Nest community. Oh, and if any teachers are reading this, be sure to thank all your wonderful students for sticky matting with us through thin and thinner.

Now in honor of the looming holiday, our bird pose of the month, Bakasana. A baka is a heron or crane (we’ll use the latter name), and according to my Sanskrit-English dictionary, also a “hypocrite, cheat, rogue, the crane being regarded as a bird of great cunning and deceit.” The pose is quite challenging, most beginning cranes have a hard time taking flight. But once you get the hang of it, like all balancing poses, it’s tremendously exhilarating.

It would be useful before launch if you did a few simple groin openers: a bent-knee lunge, perhaps, Bound Angle (baddha konasana), wide leg sitting forward bend (upavishtha konasana) and its standing cousin (prasarita padottanasana), and the squat known as the Rosary (malasana). You might also do a rounded back exercise, like the Ball Pose (kandukasana), in which you lie on your back, hug your thighs to your torso, and lift your nose to your knees, firming your belly. That done, ready?

1. Squat down, feet slightly apart and inner feet parallel, heels elevated on a thickly folded blanket or sand bag if they don’t rest easily on the floor. If this is your first attempt at this pose, or have crash landed with previous attempts, put a block on the floor maybe a foot or 18 inches in front of you, either on one of its ends (so it’s at its tallest height) or one of its sides (at middle height). You’ll get a better sense where to position the block and at what height as you move toward the pose. We’ll call this variation Tofu Crane so our vegetarians don’t feel left out.

2. Work your torso down onto your inner thighs and your shins into your armpits. THIS NEXT IS CRUCIAL. You must have your hands as wide as the narrow width of your sticky mat and your elbows stuck sharply out to the sides, wider than your shins.

3. Lean forward and rest your head on the block. If it feels too high, back off and lower it, too low the same and raise it. Now lift your buttocks away from your heels. Yes, I know, you Iyengar people relax, we’ll get to the buttocks and the heels shortly. Be sure you round your back as you did in Ball Pose, belly contracted, very wide between the shoulder blades, tail bone releasing down.

4. Once in this position, hold for 20-30 seconds or as long as you can comfortably. Then release your buttocks back to your heels and consider yourself an honorary Crane. Stretch your arms out to the sides and flap them like wings, but resist the temptation to wade into the Bay hunting for fish. However, if you do feel confident that you can go to the next level, return to the previous position, and this time pick your feet slightly off the floor, drawing your heels toward your sitting bones. Again hold 20-30 seconds, or as long as you can comfortably, and release your feet to the floor. Flap your wings again.

5. If you feel like you’ve reached your limit for the time being, see the suggestion at the end of this breakdown (or is it a “beak down”?). But if you feel you’re like you’re ready to leave the nest (figuratively speaking, of course) and soar into the firmament, remove the block and squat down. To be on the safe side, you might want to position a bolster or thickly folded blanket in front, just to use to pad your face and nose if things don’t work out as we’re both hoping they will, you probably more than me.

6. Now lean forward again, head neutral (that is, looking down at the floor), and do what you did in step 4 above, lift your buttocks first, then your feet as high as you can. Round your back, firm your belly, hold 20-30 seconds or however long you can comfortably, then release. Flap.

7. Now for what is considered the full pose among Nest Iyengar veterans (and I’m talking decades here), like our own Mary Paffard (she’s back 20 November), Leslie Howard, and treasured friend Patricia Sullivan. This time when you come up, DON’T lift your buttocks away from your heels, lift the buttocks and heels as a unit. Since you’re copying an Iyengar student, imagine a teacher hollering at you to “Tuck up those heels.” And hey, no cheating! Then press your inner legs against the outer arms and straighten your elbows. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute, and release. If you come down before that time, but you’re feeling good that you got as far as you did, the imaginary teacher will scold, “Nobody told you to come down.” Needless to say, if you want to flap, be sure your arms are equi-distant from the floor with the elbows fully extended. And don’t forget, today’s maximum is tomorrow’s minimum. 

You might want to do a reclining twist either with knees bent or legs straight to release your back (jatharaparivartanasana). Happy Thanksgiving (I’m especially grateful for my models, Alice, Lynn, Katherine, and Kirsten).