KURMASANA ~ TORTOISE POSE

Now here's a real forward bend, one that will make you respect what being a turtle is all about. Kurmasana strongly stretches the spine, back muscles and inner thighs, opens the hips, stimulates the abdominal organs, and calms the nervous system, so the mind becomes clear and free of emotion. In fact, Light on Yoga says a tortoise drawing itself into its shell is used in the Bhagavad Gita to represent pratyahara, the withdrawing from external sensations. And the pose is named for the Tortoise Incarnation of Vishnu in which he dives to the bottom of the ocean (think of your inner depths) to find the lost nectar of the gods. So kurmasana helps to prepare one for meditation. Because the legs pull down on the arms in this pose, the spine is stretched more strongly than in other forward bends, creating more space between the vertebrae, increasing circulation and improving metabolism in the vertebral discs. The result is a refreshing release of tension that eliminates fatigue and boosts energy. So when you do decide to come out of your shell, you'll be ready for anything.

Practice Tips:

Because kurmasana gives the back, especially in the lumbar area, such a strong stretch, you may want to take a pass on it if you have disc problems or find less intense forward bends, such as paschimottasana, difficult. But if your back is healthy, this pose can help keep it that way, increase flexibility, and produce all the benefits mentioned above.

Start by sitting on the floor with your legs a couple of feet apart and your knees slightly bent. Take your hands down between the legs and slide them out under your calves. As you do this, work the arms under the back of the knees. If you're new to this pose, you might want to start with half tortoise, in which you reach forward to grab the soles of the feet from the outside. Roll the thighs in to get the knees pointing straight up. Then gently push your feet forward as you pull on them to elongate the spine and stretch forward.

As you stretch, be sure to keep pushing the groins down and lifting the lower abs in and up to prevent straining your lower back. Also, gaze several feet ahead and elongate your neck as you rotate in the hips to deepen the forward bend. Go out, not just down, as if you were taking your sternum (breastbone) across the room. Hold for eight to ten calm and deep breaths, then slowly come up out of the pose.

If this seemed ok for your back, you might want to go into the full pose by pushing the arms out to the side under your knees, then back at an angle (this helps prevent strain on the elbows and shoulders) with your palms down as you bend forward and work the back of the knees up the arms toward your shoulders. Be careful not to have the backs of the knees over the elbows, because the pressure of your legs there can hurt them.

Start to push forward through your heels to extend the legs. Keep extending the spine and performing the other actions describe above. But instead of pulling on your feet, push the arms back against your thighs to help elongate the spine. You might also want to pulsate in the pose as Dona Holleman's suggests: Elongate the spine from the groins while you inhale and activate mula bandha. Then elongate the legs to bring the spine further down as you exhale, eventually getting your forehead, then your chin and finally your chest to the floor. Remember to roll the inner thighs down and try to loop the shoulders back (they'll come forward, but looping will help stretch the spine and prevent over stretching the shoulders or crunching the collar bones). Also, keep the arm muscles toned and pulling in towards the shoulders to prevent straining the elbows. Instead of pushing into the pose, stretch gently and mindfully into it. After all, there's really no place to go except where you are. After eight to ten breaths, come out slowly.

If you want an even stronger stretch, you can try the more intense version of the pose known as supta kurmasana or sleeping turtle. Start as before, but after extending the arms out to the side, turn the palms up and push the arms back so they are along your hips. (To do this, I find it's helpful to bend the knees a bit and rock from side to side as you wriggle the arms back.)

Work the shoulders further under the knees and the feet toward each other as you bend the elbows and (ideally) clasp the hands over your lower back. If that doesn't happen , hold onto a strap or towel and try to work the hands closer to each other behind the back. Then cross one ankle over the other and lower your forehead to the floor between your shins * or perhaps just to your ankles, if the full pose is not possible or too intense. As those of you who take Ashtanga classes know, it can be very helpful to have a teacher or partner assist you in clasping the hands and crossing the feet in this pose.

After you come out of any version of kurmasana, you might want to sit cross-legged and gently arch and flex the spine a few times and twist gently to each side to relieve any tension there. Then take a moment to notice how calm, centered and at ease you feel, like a turtle on a log sunning happily in a quiet pond.

Natarajasana ~ The Lord of Dance Pose

When done full-out, this is an very demanding asana, requiring great flexibility in the shoulders and spine, tremendous openness in the chest, groins and front of the thighs, and great strength in the standing leg. So it’s not surprising that of the 200 asanas B.K.S. Iyengar talks about in Light on Yoga, this is number 199, followed only by savansana. The very name of this pose signals that it has to do with something lofty and noble. Nataraja, which means Lord of Dance, refers to Shiva, the all pervasive Supreme Consciousness, whose dances both create the world and destroy it in the eternal rhythm of life.* But don‘t let all this keep you from practicing this exhilarating combination of balance and backbend. There are less intense versions that everyone can do to some degree and experience the wonders of the Dance -- as well as the many physical and mental benefits of this beautiful pose. These include opening the shoulders, spine and chest, strengthening the upper back, stretching and strengthening the legs, increasing lung capacity, and improving concentration and poise. So -- shall we dance?

Practice Tips:

Like any good dancer, make sure you warm up before attempting this pose. Sun salutations, shoulder openers, and backbends such as setu banda sarvangasana (bridge), ustrasana (camel) or eka pada rajakapotasana (pigeon) are good ways to get ready for Natarajasana, which in its most advanced version is like another intense backbend, ekapada viparita dandasana, done standing up. And unless you’re blessed with great flexibility, it helps to work into the full pose gradually. Here are some steps to follow in mastering this awesome dance.

First, easy dancer. Start by standing tall in tadasana (mountain pose) with your legs firmed up. Shift the weight to your left foot, bend your right knee, and reach behind with your right hand to grab the top of your right foot. If you can’t reach your foot, put a strap around it and hold the strap. And if balance is a problem, be near a wall so you can support yourself with your left hand. Once you‘ve found your balance, rest your left hand on your hip (or against a wall) and take inventory of your alignment. Keep your heart lifting, your shoulders looping up and back, your tail down and in, and your shoulders and hips square to the front as you gaze at a fixed point in front of you. Stay here for a few breaths as you stretch your right knee straight down out of the pelvis to open the front of the thigh.

If you want to go further, energize your left arm as you inhale, loop your left shoulder up and back, and stretch your arm up, keeping the top of the arm bone anchored in the shoulder socket. (Alternatively, you can stretch the left arm straight ahead, parallel to the floor.) With an exhale, scoop your lower abs in and up, and push your right foot back against your right hand as you stretch up and forward with your heart. As you push the foot back, work your right hip and shoulder forward to keep your hips and shoulders square and the knee under your right sitting bone, not flaring out to the side. Hold the pose for five to eight breaths, drawing energy in and stretching up as you inhale, and pushing your foot back more and expanding your heart forward more as you exhale. Max out the pose with one more inhale, then with an exhale release the right foot and go back into tadasana. Pause for a breath or two and notice how you feel, then do the other side.

If you were steady and comfortable holding your foot with one hand in easy dancer, you might want to try holding it with two hands as you stand tall, extend the arms behind you, and push the foot back and up against both hands. This version helps to open the chest more and work the lifted leg more. As before, make sure you keep the hips and shoulders square, the knee of the raised leg in line with the sitting bone, and the standing leg straight and strong.

In the full-out version of Natarajasana, you’ll want to have your arms stretching up and back, rather than back and down, to hold your foot, first with one, and eventually with both hands. This is extremely difficult for most people to do, even with one hand. To start working toward this version, loop the end of a long strap around your right foot and hold the strap with your right hand two or three feet up from the foot. As you bend your right knee and raise the right foot up, stretch your right arm out a bit to the right, then rotate the shoulder externally (up and back) as you bring the elbow forward, in towards your torso and then up past your ear while you push back with your right foot to extend the raised arm behind you.

If you’re holding the strap too far up to get much stretch in the arm or leg, release and try the pose again, holding the strap closer to your foot. If you’re holding it too close to comfortably get into the pose, hold it farther away. Once you get the strap right, square off the hips and shoulders, and push your right foot back against the strap as you pull against it with your right hand. Extend the left arm up (or forward), keeping your tail in and performing the other actions described above for easy dancer. Your goal is to get your right thigh parallel to the floor with your right shin straight up and down (ankle directly over the knee). After holding for five to eight breaths, release and do the other side.

Once you can comfortably hold the strap close to the foot, you can try doing this one-handed version without a strap. To do so, bend your right knee, lift your right foot up and turn it slightly out. Rotate your right shoulder, arm and hand externally so the palm faces up. Reach back and loop your middle and index fingers around the top of your right big toe (the fingers will go to the inside of the big toe, with the thumb to the outside of it). Bend the knee more so the foot comes in near your hips. Then, lifting the right leg higher, rotate your right shoulder externally and bring the elbow forward, in towards your torso and then up past your ear as you as you push back with your right foot to help extend the raised arm behind you. Your fingers will roll more around the top of the toe as you do this. Square off and perform the actions described for the previous version.

If holding the big toe seems too difficult, try holding the top of the foot with your right hand. To do this, lift your right foot and rotate your arm and hand as above. But instead of looping the big toe, rotate the palm externally even more so you can bring the fingers from the outside of the foot around the top of the foot, with your thumb on the sole. Then, lifting the leg higher and pushing back with the foot, rotate the shoulder externally more and bring the elbow forward, in and up, as you slide your fingers more around the top of the foot so they curve around to reach the inner arch. Square off and complete the pose as described above.

Once you’ve mastered this one-handed version of the full-out pose, work on holding the foot with two arms extended up and back. Again, it helps to start by using a strap, gradually working the hands down toward the feet until you can hold the top of the foot with both hands, keeping the lifted thigh parallel to ground and the shin perpendicular to it, with the knee and ankle in line with your right sitting bone. Then, if you want to go all the way, tilt your head back and bring the raised foot in to touch the top of your head.

After this strong backbend, which, like all other backbends opens the nadis on the front of the body and really makes the energies dance around within you, it’s a good idea to do a forward bend as a counterpose and perhaps lie a while in savansana to let things settle and balance out. As you do, reflect on the miracle of the Cosmic Dance, in which you play a small yet infinitely important part.

In her book Dancing the Body of Light, Dona Holleman (who also ends her discussion of asanas with Natarajasana) notes that the full two-handed version of this pose looks from the side like a wine glass ready to be filled with the Universal Force. And when the foot is placed on the back of the head, with an empty and transparent mind, the human embraces the Divine in the ecstasy of enlightenment. Sounds like a dance worth doing, doesn’t it?

Pashaasana ~ Noose Pose 

Ever wonder what it would be like to do a squat, forward bend and twist at the same time? Well, here's your chance. Pashasana gives you an awesome twist because it's done in a squat, which allows the pelvis to drop lower than it does when you?re seated, enabling the lumbar spine to stretch more and therefore twist more. By stretching the muscles connecting the vertebrae vertically as well as laterally, this pose increases flexibility in the torso and stimulates circulation in and around the spine, promoting the health of the many nerves that connect with it. Plus, because in the finished pose the abdomen is against the thighs, as in a forward bend, there's strong compression in the abdominal area, thereby intensifying the effects of the twist on the liver, kidneys and intestines.

The benefits of putting yourself in this noose are many. Like other twists, pashasana wrings out the body, releasing tension and thereby increasing circulation and beneficial energy flow. When the compressed area is released, blood rushes back in, cleansing and nourishing tissues and organs. So you feel refreshed, relaxed and more alive. Noose pose also stretches the Achilles tendon and back of the calves, and makes the ankles more flexible. It frees the shoulders, opens the chest, tones the spine and abdominal organs, rejuvenates tired legs, and improves digestion. And if that's not enough reason to do this pose, it also reduces fat around the abdomen and waist. So come on baby, let's do the twist!

Practice Tips
Pashasana demands great flexibility in the ankles, hips, spine and shoulders, as well as stretch in the hamstring and buttock muscles. (I think that's one reason why it's in the Ashtanga intermediate rather than primary series.) So you'll find it helpful to loosen up those areas with squats, twists and forward bends before working on noose pose. Squats like Malasana, twists like Maricyasana C or Ardha Matseyendrasana, and forward bends like Marciyasana A or even Pascimottasana can all help to make Pashasana easier. It also helps to warm up with a sun salutation or some standing poses before you try to put yourself in The Noose. And you might want to skip this pose or not go fully into it if you have bad shoulders, ankles or knees, or spinal problems.

If you have the required flexibility, the pose itself is relatively simple. You squat down with feet and legs together, with your torso against your thighs and your pelvis close to the heels (but not on the floor). Then twist from your belly to the right, extend your left arm, and bring the upper arm to the outside of your right knee, with the armpit into the thigh. Turning the palm down, bend the elbow and wrap the forearm down around the right shin. Extend your right arm up and sweep it around in back so you can grab the right wrist with your left hand. (It helps to look to the right as you do this to allow the right shoulder to open back more. If you can't grab the wrist, hook the fingers or use a strap to close the gap.)

You're now in the noose. To deepen the pose, use the arm against the knee as a lever to twist more to the right, turning your gaze (drishti) infinitely to the right. As you do, pull your shoulder blades towards each other and down the back, keep the outer hips firm (mula bandha helps this), and keep pressing the heels more into the floor as you descend the sitting bones toward them. On the inhale, lift the sternum and lengthen out through the top of you head. On the exhale, twist a little more, leading with the left ribs. After five deep breaths or so, untwist and do the other side.

But if you're like most of us, you won't have all the required flexibility, and Pashasana will be a real struggle. So you might want to approach in stages, using props to compensate for stiffness in ankles, hips or shoulders.

For starters, you might want to just go into a shallow squat, with your hips a foot or more above the floor, and, twisting right, take your left arm to the outside of your right knee and place your fingertips or palm on the floor to the outside of the right foot. Use your arm as a lever to deepen the twist, perhaps reaching the right arm up and around to catch the left hip or inner thigh for more leverage. Keep looping the shoulders open, lengthening the spine and descending the sitting bones toward the heels (try to get them at least parallel to the floor) as you do this prep.

If you're trying to go further in the pose but your heels don't come to the floor when you squat fully (back of thighs into your calves), or they barely touch and you fall down to sit as soon as you try to twist, place a folded blanket, a block or a rolled mat under your heels for support. Or let the heels stay up and keep both hands on the floor as you twist to the right, perhaps again stretching the right arm up and back to catch the left hip or inner thigh as a lever point to open the shoulders and deepen the twist.

If the heels are grounded on the floor or some support but you can't wrap the arms and clasp the hands, you can take the left elbow to the outside of the right knee and press the palms together to deepen the twist. Or try taking the left arm between the legs to the inside of the left knee and wrap and clasp in what you could call 'half noose' pose.

You can also work with your right hip near a wall so you can twist to the right and place the hands on the wall with your left elbow against the right thigh, and use the elbow and wall as fulcrums to lever yourself more into the twist. Then, using your right hand on the wall for support, you can begin to wrap the left arm down around your right shin. And if you rest your buttocks on a block to help balance (either near a wall or not), you might be able to swing the right arm behind and clasp. Of course, having a teacher or practice partner to help you with the pose can enable you to go much farther into it than you might by yourself.

Even though I still can't do Pashasana full out, it's one of my favorite twists, because it works the body in so many ways at once to release tension, stimulate energy flow, open tight areas and rejuvenate you both physically and mentally. The Noose is definitely a pose to hang out in often.