My early relationship with Light on Yoga, like most people's, was as a kind of reference book. I didn't view it as a whole, as an ordered development of poses with a beginning, middle, and end. In fact, in some ways, it seemed entirely without order. When I had a question or curiosity about some particular posture, I would pick it up and flip right to the index. Then I would go to the page for that pose to look at its pictures and read its instructions, and that's it. It didn't occur to me to look at the pose(s) before or after. It didn't occur to me to look for patterns or sequences or to think of it as a self-contained practice. Instead it was almost like a phonebook of asana -- you don't read the phonebook from beginning to end; you go right to the information which is most relevant in that moment. In that way, LoY helped me connect to individual poses. I loved it for that. It wasn't until years later -- and over the slow course of several year's worth of time -- that I realized there was something much more deliberate and noteworthy in its organization. And that made me love it even more.
If you look closely there is a decipherable sequence within the book as a whole, but one that is only fully accessible to very experienced practitioners. In other words, one could use the book as a manual for a full-spectrum practice beginning with Tadasana and ending with Savasana with all of the asana from basics to advanced in between. But if you are not a very experienced practitioner capable of full-spectrum advanced postures, please do not discount the value of this book. There is a wealth of information in its pages -- some of it sits lightly on the surface ready to be known as soon as you crack it open while other parts are more deeply buried and are only discoverable to those who invest the effort and patience necessary to shine light on them.
Something accessible to all students, regardless of experience level or postural capacities, is the mini-sequences found throughout the text. They may not be immediately visible upon simply turning the pages. But they are there, and they're worth noticing.
There are lots of these so-called mini-sequences in the book, and I think the set of poses immediately prior to Padmasana (Lotus pose, 129-32) is particularly interesting. My experience as both a student and a teacher has often included lots of external rotation and abduction work as direct preparation for Lotus -- essentially all kinds of poses and variations of poses that encourage the inner thighs to stretch and widen; poses that mimic the basic form of Lotus's pretzel-y legs without the full intensity of that difficult position. That's a typical approach, and a reasonable one, as well.
However, that is not exactly the way it is presented in LoY. The sequence of poses preceding Lotus in the book includes a combination of core-strength and hip-opening. The hip-opening, though, isn't what you would expect. It is mostly internal rotation and adduction. Why would core-strength, internal thigh rotation, and adduction be placed just before Lotus pose? This is one of the reasons why the text sometimes seems disorderly rather than methodical. It is true that the sequence is unconventional, but it is not disorderly. There is a method embedded in the madness.
Let's consider this particular mini-sequence as starting with Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-facing Dog pose, 109) and ending with Padmasana. It would be as follows:
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-facing Dog pose, "UMS")
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-facing Dog pose, "AMS", 110)
Dandasana (Staff pose, 112)
Paripurna Navasana (Full Boat pose, 113)
Ardha Navasana (Half Boat pose, 113)
Gomukhasana (Cow-face pose, 115)
Lolasana (Pendant pose, 117)
Siddhasana (Adept's Seat pose, 120)
Virasana (Hero pose, 121-23)
Supta Virasana (Reclined Hero pose, 124)
Paryankasana (Couch pose, 125)
Bhekasana (Frog pose, 126-27)
Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle pose, 128-30)
Padmasana (Lotus pose)
In short, what is happening here is this set of poses is providing lower-body mobility (opening and loosening for the ankles, knees, and hips) while simultaneously creating torso strength and stability via the back bends and abdominal poses. Lotus pose, keep in mind, is meant to be used as a stable seated position for practicing pranayama (breath exercise) and meditation techniques. If the muscles of the torso, either along the belly or the spine, are weak, you will not be able to sit for any kind of prolonged practice period. And, of course, if your ankles, knees, or hips lack suppleness, you won't be able to get into the pose at all, let alone sustain it. Therefore, the poses immediately preceding Lotus pose provide the stability and mobility needed to be in the pose.
In case it still isn't entirely clear as to how all of that is happening here, I'll highlight a few specific points.
First, UMS, AMS, Staff pose, and Full Boat pose are strikingly similar when the form of the upper-body is considered. Look at them side by side:
Notice the shape of the chest in particular. With only a minimal repositioning of the arms and head along with a change in the relationship to gravity, these four poses have a lot in common. UMS and Staff pose are essentially identical with the exception that UMS places the legs in extension which makes the pose a back bend while the legs are flexed into a forward bend for Staff pose.
AMS, Staff pose, and Boat pose are essentially a single physical form interpreted three different ways relative to gravity.
These four poses (UMS, AMS, Staff, and Boat) are presented sequentially in the text, at least in part, because they are clearly related to one another in physical form. Each one provides a preparation or compliment for the one following. And they can easily be practiced in a continuous flow-style movement: from UMS, the hips lift and the chest presses back into AMS; from AMS, the legs jump through the arms to sit for Staff pose; from Staff pose, the body rocks back to balance on the buttocks for Boat pose; from Boat pose, the hands press into the floor next to the hips, the legs swing back through the arms, and the chest lifts for UMS; and so on. In other words, not only are these poses really important individually, but this mini-sequence is also the beginning of the Sun Salutation components. This is the first place that LoY presents a kind of "vinyasa."
The next pose is Ardha Navasana (Half Boat pose) which provides additional core strengthening. It is a more intense version of Full Boat. What make it more difficult is the clasp of the arms behind the head plus the repositioning of the torso and legs much closer to the ground. But those characteristics are what makes it so effective -- they challenge the muscle groups in a different way than Full Boat. Also the abdominal strengthening postures are included here to prepare you, in part, for the inversions that are not far away when the sequence is viewed as a whole.
Gomukhasana (Cow-face pose) takes a break from the strong core work, but not for long. Here is the beginning of more focused attention on the mobility of the hips, knees, and ankles. The standing poses, belly-down back bends, and core work that precede this pose emphasize generating heat and stability. This is something a little different: it highlights stretching and flexibility more so than strength. And it serves as a transition pose between what has already happened and what is about to happen. By combining the stability of the UMS arms and Staff pose spine with the strength of the Boat pose abdomen and the bendy Cow-face legs, you get the next pose: Lolasana (Pendant pose).
Pendant pose is the first of many arm-balances presented in the text. And, not only is it the peak at the end of its own mini-sequence (UMS + Staff + Boat + Cow-face = Pendant), it is also another component of the traditional Sun Salutation insofar as it prepares you to jump and swing the legs either forward or backward through the arms.
Mobility in the hips, knees, and ankles continues to be the primary focus in the next pose which is Siddhasana (Adept's Seat pose). But, different from the previous poses, now we see the first posture which utilizes external rotation and abduction at the hips. In this way, it is both a kind of counter-pose to what preceded it (Cow-face and Pendant both position the legs in internal rotation and adduction) as well as a sneak-peak into what is developing.
After that brief break, we go back to the internal rotation and adduction position of the hips and legs to practice several different stages of Virasana (Hero pose), and the focus is still on mobility in the hips, knees, and ankles. The deep flexion of the knees, the stretch for the ankles, and the upper-body seated on the feet in this way make Hero pose similar to Cow-face pose.
But the adduction of the thighs is lessened in Hero pose making it less intense for the hips. Notice that in Cow-face the legs are crossed above the knees so that the thighs move beyond the midline whereas in Hero pose the thighs are joined at the midline. In some ways, it would make sense to place Cow-face after Hero pose as it is a more difficult position for the legs, and therefore Hero could serve as a preparation for Cow-face. You certainly could do that. However, the advantage of practicing Cow-face first is that the challenge of Hero pose is greatly dissipated if you have already prepared the hips in the more extreme form; that is to say, if you can comfortably practice Cow-face legs, then you can surely practice Hero legs as the latter is less demanding. And, if by the time you enter Hero pose, your hips and knees are adequately prepared, you can focus your attention on other important components of the posture, such as the feet and upper-body.
There are four different positions for the feet in Hero pose, and each one provides a slightly different stretch for the lower legs, particularly the ankles. The final form is when the feet rest on either side of the hips (rather than underneath them) and are pointed straight back so that the inner and outer ankles are equally extended. At this point the upper-body experiences four additional stages of Hero pose.
After the forward folded stages of Hero pose come the supine stages known as Supta Virasana (Reclined Hero pose) and Paryankasana (Couch pose). These two poses continue the theme of ankle, knee, and hip mobility, and they add a focus of stretching the hip-flexor muscles along the front of the thighs and into the lower abdomen. Tightness in the hip-flexors will prevent the femur bone from sitting properly inside the hip-socket. If the femur bone is improperly positioned, it will limit your ability to fold the legs into Lotus pose. So even though these poses don't much resemble Lotus in their physical form, practicing them first is a huge part of preparing for it.
Then, you simply flip over to a prone position and repeat the same basic form while on your belly for Bhekasana (Frog pose). It continues to open the hip-flexors and strengthen the spine, and the contact of the hands against the top of the feet further stretches the ankles in cotninued preparation for Lotus pose.
Similar to Siddhasana seen earlier in this sequence, Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle pose) serves as both a counter-pose to what has just taken place (the deep internal rotation, adduction, and hip-flexion of the Hero pose variations) as well as a sneak-peak at what follows (Lotus pose is next). All of the preceding attention to the hips, knees, and ankles has presumably prepared the body to achieve this mild hip-opener with relative ease. At this point, the lower body is quite supple, any pressure otherwise experienced in the ankles or knees has likely been relieved, and, not only do the thighs open easily now that they are properly positioned within the hip-socket, it probably feels very good to allow them to do so. Of course, if you got to this point and didn't feel supple in the hips, knees, or ankles, then you probably would not want to proceed into Lotus pose.
The only posture left is the peak of our mini-sequence: Padmasana. Utilizing everything we have covered up to this point -- stable spine, uplifted chest and upper-back, strong belly, open hips, bendy knees, and mobile ankles -- each foot is carefully positioned over the top of the opposite thigh to create Lotus pose.
You can certainly see the similarities between Siddhasana, Baddha Konasana, and Padmasana, and why they would commonly be used as preparations for each other.
And it is understandable that the direct correlation between Hero pose and Lotus pose is often overlooked. They don't appear at first to have that much in common. But if you look closely, you can see traces of Hero legs in Lotus legs. And, of course, their relationship makes much more sense when viewed from the context of the particular sequences of events we just explored.
Again, this is definitely not the most conventional means of sequencing Lotus pose. And it probably isn't the best way to initially learn the pose. This particular sequence is probably most effective for those people for whom these poses are already well-established. They can each be broken down and their component parts better understood by placing them in other postural arrangements. Then this unique mini-sequence can be explored and experimented with.
As I mentioned earlier, Lotus pose is often used during pranayama and meditation practice, and for that you want the body to be as comfortable and stress-free as possible. That makes a build-up to Lotus itself a fantastic peak-pose sequence. But, of course, this isn't the end of sequencing in the book. Now that Lotus pose has entered the practice, it plays a major role in many of the subsequent asana. The next section of the book revisits most of the basic forms we were just introduced to but now with Lotus legs -- arm-balancing (Tolasana and Kukkutasana), back bending (Simhasana and Matsyasana), forward folding (Baddha Padmasana), etc. Then, all of that hip-opening is utilized in a series of poses focused on basic forward folding techniques. Following that, Lotus legs shows up again in several variations of inversions, more challenging arm-balances, and deeper forward bends later on, all of which have their own mini-sequences embedded within.
This short thirty-page section alone is rich and deep with work that could keep us studying for a very long time. As you see, not only are the individual poses essential for their own sakes, there are sequences inside of sequences which have the potential to unlock all new avenues of understanding and awareness and experiences.
Barring any limitations which would prevent a safe practice, I encourage you to try this mini-sequence and see how your body responds to it. Or find your own mini-sequence to play with. As a whole, LoY may not be conventional in its sequential presentation, but it does have order. And sometimes the unconventional approach takes you exactly where you wanted to go all along, just in a brand new way.
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