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| HI all
I've been practising yoga for a couple of years and have tried to get into the Ashtanga primary series, but once we move from the floor onto the mat with all of the postures that require flexibility in the hips, knees, and ankles . . .I can barely do any of the postures. And if you modifiy to a simple Janu Sirsasana, for example, it just gets boring.
Any suggestions? What is the "protocol" here?? |
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| that was my problem with ashtanga yoga. i loved the standing poses, but couldn't do anything on the floor.
i switched to iyengar yoga for other reasons, but i found that the pace and the props allowed me to actually do something in my seated poses and forward bends.
if you get some blankets and elevate yourself a little bit, you might be surprised how much more accessible those postures become.
good luck!
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Veteran
Posts: 243
 
| wow, I thought I was the only one who had that- I also really like the standing but am hopeless on most of the sitting- was horribly surprised in one class to learn that janu sirsasana has 4 variations! And then to top that with 4 maryichana variations- yikes!
what I do at home at least is the full standing and then I mix it up a bit- try to do at least 3 of the postures that I don't like and then I'll do also the postures that I do like. Or add a few postures from the bikram series. Or just stop and do savasana after the standing series.
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| Why does a simple Janu Sirsasana get boring?
If your hips aren't open enough to approach the more complicated seated poses, I imagine there is a ton of sensation in Janu-A. Move into sensation and work with the breath and find workable versions of each pose. Ashtanga does not have to practiced to the full extent of the poses. They are all modifiable and certain poses can be skipped if you feel it is appropriate. |
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| Janu isn't generally boring, but since there are 4 variations, going through it four times is repetitive . . .
thanks for the feedback! |
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| I could not understand this term "but once we move from the floor onto the mat".
???? |
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| From Standing poses to seated poses is my understanding. |
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| Hi,
The formal protocol would be to stop at the first pose that causes a moderate amount of trouble. Then, with time, as you become more open in that pose you move onto the next. Try working on the hip opening in the standing poses - there's a lot more hip work there than meets the eye. How do you find ardha baddha padmottasana? That's quite a strong one for the hips. Parsvakonasana and the warrior poses also stretch the hips.
Just out of curiosity - I have learned 3 janu sirsasanas in the primary series - what's the fourth? I also find all the janu sirsasanas to present quite different challenges - same for the marichyasanas. There's also a logic to them in the order they're practised - a successive opening in both hips and ankles.
Sitting up on a blanket is something I've seen in my studio (yes, even in mysore classes), as has been suggested. You might also try, outside of ashtanga classes, poses that target some of your tighter areas - pigeon pose, firelog pose, lunges, baddha konasana, etc, that might help you prepare for the seated poses in the ashtanga primary series. A few poses, held for long stretches (yin style) might be just the ticket.
I guess I can understand the boredom factor; when I first started ashtanga, I really didn't like the primary series, so rarely practised it. I mostly went to improvised classes (so, not really ashtranga!). It has only been in my current yoga practice that I have come back to the traditional method, and It has taken quite a bit of time, and even more humility, to discover the wisdom of the system. Yes, it is rigid and repetitive, but I am now far more focussed and disciplined, helped largely by the invariance of the sequence.
namaste,
lisa |
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where to stop
