Stand in Tadasana. Then bring the arms to Gomukasana, first holding the palms with the fingers pointing downwards. Stay there. Keep the shoulder bones relaxed and rolling forward, the elbows relaxed for now. Press the palms together evenly and spread the wrists, lengthen the thumbs. After a few minutes bring the palms to the finished pose. Continue to press the palms together evenly and spread the wrists and lengthen the thumbs. Make the hands and wrists as even as possible.
“Asana means posture, which is the art of positioning the body as a whole with physical, mental, and spiritual attitude. Posture has two aspects, namely posing and reposing. Posing means action. Pose is assuming a fixed position of the limbs and body as represented by the particular asana being performed. Reposing means reflection on the pose. The pose is re-thought and readjusted so that the various limbs and parts of the body are positioned in their places in a proper order and feel rested and soothed, and the mind experiences the tranquility and calmness of bones, joints, muscles, fibres and cells.”
B.K.S. Iyengar – The Tree of Yoga – p. 54 – 55
“The brain may dream of doing a difficult back bend today, but it cannot force the impossible even onto a willing body. We are always trying to progress, but inner cooperation is essential.”
B.K.S. Iyengar – Light on Life – p. 29
As you perform the pose consider the quotes. This pose is difficult for most of us, it challenges us in places that we often prefer not to be challenged. When in a class we want to perform, to do what we are told, but often our shoulders are sending a different message. It is important to listen to that message, not because we shouldn’t refrain from doing this pose or other difficult poses, but because we must listen to our bodies about how we should approach the pose and how we adjust it. Often the message or feedback we get from difficult poses means we should do the pose more often, not less. As one of my teachers from years ago used to say, we should make the pose our friend. The difficult poses should be regarded as our best friends actually because they will become those which give the biggest rewards if we practice them until we understand how we integrate them into our bodies. It is these positions that will help make the changes at our core that are most needed.
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