Continuing with my recent theme of getting it up in Karandavasana, I just read a great post on Paul Gold's blog about coming back up in this posture. There is a great video of him doing this posture in the post; be sure to check it out. Here's what Paul has to say about coming back up in Karandavasana:
"First of all, it’s only men that are required to lift back up. There are some women that have the strength to do it, but it’s not a pre-requisite for women to learn subsequent asanas. Lifting back up is a real hurdle for men making their way through this series. [Nobel: Tell me about it...] It’s not uncommon for gents to have to spend a little time sorting out this pose before advancing."
This is really interesting. I did not know lifting back up is not a requirement for women in order to "pass" Karandavasana. I wonder what the rationale behind this is: Is it simply because women tend, on the whole, to have less upper body strength than men? Or is it because women simply have nothing to get up? :-)
Anyway... I probably should quit making double entendres about Karandavasana, and just, well, get it up already (couldn't resist making that last one either...). Paul continues his post by elaborating on the technical aspects of coming back up in much detail:
It’s important to have strong bandhas and good breathing in this asana. In order to get the legs into lotus and lower down, one has to have a good strong waist to maintain balance, especially bringing the second leg into lotus.
The big problem when lifting back up is there’s a tendency to let the hips and seat sag and drop once one’s lowered onto the arms. It’s important to resist gravity and try to keep the hips and seat as elevated as possible. With each of the 5 breaths taken on the arms, fatigue increases and the hips and seat will want to drop. If the hips and seat get too low, it’s very hard to lift back up.
When it’s time to lift up, engage the bandhas strongly, take the weight forward and press the forearms straight down into the floor while pulling the hips and seat upward. All of this occurs on a long, full inhale. There is also a swinging movement bringing the knees up towards the ceiling as well, but the hips and seat lead the knees...
Don’t worry about ‘style points’ at first. It’s the mechanics of using the breath, engaging the bandhas and taking the weight forward and upwards that’s most important. Try not to get discouraged if it takes some time. Keep practicing and it will come."
Three things are key here: Bandhas, breath, and resisting gravity. I'll work on this. Well, I hope at least some of you out there will find all this useful as much as I do. More later.
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