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Veteran
Posts: 163
 
| First off, let me say that I am so glad that found this site. I've only been a member for a few days and am getting great answers to my questions. Thanks to all of you who have responded. So now for one more question:
I have rather short arms and have a teacher with rather long arms (both proportional  ). She loves binding and I would love to bind too but I just can't reach. So I use a strap and (I think) get the benefit of the poses. Has anyone else had the experience that, over time, they were able to open their shoulders more fully and bind when they previously had not been able to? I am not sure if I am experiencing a physical limitation or if this is something that I can work toward in my practice over time. I would love to hear other's experiences. Thanks. |
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| Yeah. You don't bind automatically, it's something you work your way up to doing. Somtimes I can bind, sometimes I can't. |
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| Several questions to your question, if you don't mind.
Why is it you want to "bind"? Do you equate "loving to bind" with something other than a personal affectation or preference? In yoga practice, modern yoga practice, the practice we are encountering here in the West it seems quite important to comprehend purpose over preference. So I am feeling you out as a student to see what is directing you.
If you merely want to bind, in the same way you "like" playing music, or prefer a practice space with an altar, or attach to sweat - because you simply like it....and using a strap is necessary to do so...then what is it you like about binding? Is it the challenge?
Pragmatically speaking the purpose of asana is asana of purpose. In some cases that may fit preferences in other cases it may not.
The humerus can be taken out of joint (shoulder), as is quite common in various practices that do not emphasize safety and one can thus "bind" quite easily. But I hope the benefits are enormous because the risks certainly are.
The shoulders (humerus in the shoulder joint) can be retained in joint AND opened safely over time but that is not typically a mantra of the faster-paced asana styles. But your question is "can the shoulders be opened" and the answer is yes. Of course, of course, of course a student will likely have anatomical limits. Just as persons from certain countries have shorter spines persons with shorter arms have, well, shorter arms. Big bodies and shorter arms does not facilitate binding, right? We are what we are.
Edited by purnayoga 2008-02-20 3:59 PM
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| yes. binding refers to clasping the hands behind the back.
you can either clasp your fingers together (as in gomukhasana arms), or if you have more flexibility, hold the wrist behind you.
this is often done in twisting, but i have also seen it in parsvakonasana and other standing poses.
as Purna said, it is imperative to keep the head of the humerus located in the shoulder socket (glenohumeral cavity?), as opposed to letting the humerus and shoulder blade dislocate just to bind.
the integrity of the pose should not be compromised just so you can bind, you know? |
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Veteran
Posts: 163
| My interest in binding is more about getting into a deeper pose. I am working on getting my heart open in certain poses like Utthita Parsvakonasana and it seems to me that students who can bind have a more open twist. However it may be like the chicken versus the egg...I can bind because heart is more open rather than my heart is more open because I can bind.
I certainly take your point about safety and integrity in the pose and agree that this is the more important issue. When I first started my practice, I didn't understand my teacher's direction to open my heart in trikonasana, but now it makes lots of sense to me. So I was assuming that binding is a similar thing but I know that I have physical limitations due to my short arms, etc. So I guess my question is more in the context of exploring how important binding might be to attaining a full pose. Thanks
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| Seeker101 - 2008-02-22 11:22 PM
it seems to me that students who can bind have a more open twist.
It's not so much that students who can bind have a more open twist, it's more a case of because they have a more open twist, they can bind.
In all the asana that binding is possible, it should always be the viewed as the last level of the asana and NEVER attempted just for the sake of binding if it involves losing the alignment of the asana.
Jonathon
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| Seeker101,
I used to be able not to bind either, like in the Marichyasanas and Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, but now I can. I still can't bind in Supta Kurmasana or Malasana. I look forward to the day that I can, just for the quiet joy of it. |
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Binding
