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Member
Posts: 37
| Sun Salutation - my teacher tought that sun salutation should be flowing - through all 12 asanas with right breath and trying to reach the maximum point in each asana. If I try to do it as good as I can, each asana takes me about 2 minutes and I inhale, exhale for couple of times in each of them. as a result - it's not flowing anymore - i fix my body in each of them for too long time! If I do it flowing and let my body go to next asana without reaching the maximum what I can do in previous asana - i feel like doing fitness, not yoga!
Could you help me please????
Thank you! |
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| 1. Really, this question should be asked of that same teacher.
2. But, in this case, I wish to answer it. Reaching max in each asana does not mean you stay maximum time in each asana. There may be some people who can stay in each asana 20 min with breathing in and out. It means that when you go from Asana A to Asana B, with breathing out for example, try to reach the best form of Asana B possible for you, and then same to Asana C with breath in, etc.
3. In one variation, which depends on the student, which I can not recommend without seeing you, one holds the particular asana with breath held IN or held OUT, for as long as they can.
Best Luck.
Biaba - 2007-11-26 2:31 PM
Sun Salutation - my teacher tought that sun salutation should be flowing - through all 12 asanas with right breath and trying to reach the maximum point in each asana. If I try to do it as good as I can, each asana takes me about 2 minutes and I inhale, exhale for couple of times in each of them. as a result - it's not flowing anymore - i fix my body in each of them for too long time! If I do it flowing and let my body go to next asana without reaching the maximum what I can do in previous asana - i feel like doing fitness, not yoga!
Could you help me please????
Thank you! |
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| You have a minimum and a maximum edge. Your minimum edge is when you first start to feel the muscles stretching. Your maximum edge is when the feeling is intense, but before you feel actual pain. Yoga is done between these two edges. If you want to flow faster, go only to your minimum edge. If you want to go slower and deeper, go to your maximum edge. You can do it differently every day, depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Your breathing should go together with your movement, but not necessarily in a one to one ratio.
The breath is also important while you are in a pose. You should extend your spine and extremities with each inhale, opening your body and soften and surrender with each exhale, sinking deeper into the pose through relaxation rather than muscular effort.
Why are you doing Sun Salutations? If you are doing them as a warm-up or between sets of other poses as a general re-alignment, a faster flow without maximums is fine, as long as you are not going so fast that your alignment or focus are poor or your breathing is shallow. If you are doing them as a set of poses where you go to your maximum, you can easily take five or ten breaths in each pose. I think that the coordination of breath and movement is extremely important, but it should be natural. To me, unless you are working on a particular pose, all asana practice should have a graceful flow between poses like slow motion dance, Taekwondo poomse, or Karate kata. That flow should be smooth and controlled yet effortless, riding on the breath like an eagle gliding on the wind. Each pose should be entered into with quiet respect, held as you would hold your lover, and exited as though you were saying goodbye to a close friend.
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| It is merely the balance of effort (in the pose) in the time alloted (in this case the duration of a breath cycle. |
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| personally, i see it as no harm to add breaths until you get the feel for all of the postures, all of the transitions between postures, the sequence, and the breathing itself.
it will all come together with practice. |
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Member
Posts: 37
| Thank you! I prefer slow movments with deep breath, trying to reach maximum I can in each asana. But my problem was, that it was contradictory to what i have seen in my class and on videos. I dont' feel my body if i doo it quickly! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
   
| Different ways of doing have different results. You will learn what you need to learn by practicing the way you practice. Maybe.  Or maybe you will learn that you need to do something else. |
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| I go by how I feel. I start out my practice doing the sun salutations, and usually take 8-10 breaths through each move just to warm myself up and help with stiffness. After the first couple I then go to 5 breaths. |
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Sun Salutation
