TO THE CORE

"The importance of having a healthy lower back can be realised if we watch old people when they sit down, get up and walk, for consciously or unconsciously they support their backs with their hands. This indicates that the back is weak and cannot withstand the strain. As long as it is strong and needs no support, one feels young though advanced in age. [Core strengthening] āsanas bring life and vigour to the back and enable us to grow old gracefully and comfortably." (LoY 114)

It has just occurred to me that I have been teaching a lot of core-focused classes recently. It’s not been on purpose or part of a plan, just coincidence. Our DK classes on Sunday mornings have included a lot of core work in light of introducing Salamba Sarvangasana II (Supported Shoulderstand II) into our sequence. The newer-to-yoga students who attend my basics class have been working on understanding “core strength” as being more than just hard abs, while the more experienced students took on the challenge of Navasana (Boat) and Lolasana (Pendant) variations as preparation for jump-backs in the most recent level-two practice. Similar material was also a main point in this last weekend’s teacher training session where we talked about the correlation between mid-section stability and successful hip-opening.

Anatomically speaking, the core is the section of bones, tissues, and muscles which wrap like a corset all the way around the body (front, back, and sides) just beneath the floating ribs and just above the pubis/pelvic crests/sacrum. More generally yet still grossly speaking, core means the middle or innermost of something. And more figuratively, it is the heart (coeur in French) or essence of one’s being, the point of concentration for all that is most important.

Following the vigorous nature of that recent level two class, we were wrapping up with a few front-body openers to counter-stretch all the deep abdominal contraction before heading into Savasana. It felt good to stretch and then soften that part of the body which had worked so hard throughout practice. I commented something along the lines of now that you’ve established and felt the strong supportiveness of your core, you will know how to find it more easily in the future, but, for now, rest contentedly in the release of its grip knowing it’s there when you need it. I meant both the strength of the actual core muscles which physically support our uprightness as well as the erectness of our inner posture, one which is more attitudinal than physical.

There are so many times like that, in fact, when we have just a brief encounter within the scope of a yoga practice with some component of character development. We experience it through the embodiment of external postures, of āsana, and then internalize it and draw on it at a later time. To me, that seems analogous to the difference between knowledge and understanding. To be knowledgeable is something a little more superficial; it is the state of being acquainted with information. Information is obviously important, but by itself isn’t necessarily significant. Understanding, on the other hand, is a thorough comprehension of the information in a way that makes it useful and meaningful.

The roots of the word understand can actually be traced back to Sanskrit wherein the word antarasthā means “situated inside of”. The word antar, which means either “external to” or “inside of” depending on the accent mark, morphed through Latin, then Greek, then German, and finally into English where it became the prefix inter- (among, between, within). The word sthā means “to stand”. In this sense, to stand doesn’t just mean on one’s literal feet, although that is part of it. Here, to stand also means to hold one’s own figurative ground; to abide, to be substantive, to exist. Thus, to understand means to be among that which exists, not just to know information. It means to perceive, to comprehend, through the vantage point of your establishment, the significance of what is real and true. And to be surrounded by truth and to feel the firm supportiveness of that truth is what it means to bring yoga to the core of your being.

The whole standing pose syllabus, for example, with its various positions of bending, folding, twisting, reaching, gazing, and shifting, reminds us that we can confidently stand on our own two feet, even in the midst of frequently changing circumstances. From poses such as Vrksasana (Tree) and Sirsasana (Headstand) we know ourselves to be capable of staying focused while trying to remain balanced, even when we feel a little uncertain. Inversions teach us the value of altering our perspective in order to see our world from a different angle. Forward bends and back bends can each be instances of embracing vulnerability, either through the quietly private introspection of the former or the bold openness of the latter. And twists train us to occasionally look over our shoulder, not with discontent or paranoia, but rather in an act of eye-opening awareness. Through our time on the mat, we also come to understand things like patience, compassion, sensitivity, courage, insightfulness, and self-preservation, first by physically acquainting ourselves with their contributions to our postural practice, and then by carrying them with us in service to our attitudinal essence.

In these brief snippets of time, an hour here, an hour there, mere momentary blinks in the span of a life, in which we are conditioning outward well-being, we are also stockpiling a catalog of intrinsic capacities which can be called upon off-the-mat. Through our practice, we come to hold at the core of ourselves experiential understanding of those things which are essential to our inner well-being. We have served as witness to our very own moments of extraordinariness, and that cannot be taken away. In fact, it only begets more of the same.

The following is a sequence whose opening poses should provide suitable preparation for the Shoulderstand Cycle, and the sequence as a whole should set you up for decent seated forward bends nearer the end. Of course, exclude or modify anything as is necessary to fit your needs, even add additional poses if you like. Each of these poses is in Light on Yoga, so if something is unfamiliar to you, look it up.

AMS (Down-dog) to Plank x3

Salabhasana with hands clasped behind the back x2

Surya Namaskar A x2

Surya Namaskar B variations which include Parsvottanasana with clasped hands and Prasarita Padottanasana with clasped hands after each Warrior I

Supta Padangusthasana I & II (II = forehead to shin stage); then practice 3-5 rounds of U.P.P. and Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana before repeating each of these poses a second time

Salamba Sarvangasana I

Salamba Sarvangasana II

Halasana

Karnapidasana

Supta Konasana

Parsva Halasana

Ekapada Sarvangasana

Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana

Matsyasana with straight legs

Janu Sirsasana

Triangmukhaikapada Paschimottanasana

Paschimottanasana

Purvottanasana

Succirandhrasana (Eye-of-the-Needle)

Garuda’s twist (Eagle-legs twist)

hug both your knees

Savasana

EXPANSION FROM CORE TO PERIPHERY, or AN INTRODUCTION TO SEATED FORWARD BENDS

There are two separate groupings of postures specifically focused on seated forward bends in Light on Yoga. The first is on pages 148-79, and herein are the most basic (and most commonly practiced) poses within this category including Janu Sirsasana (Head-toward-knee, 148-51), Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana (Half Bound Lotus Forward fold, 153-56), and Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward fold, 166-70), among others. The second (more advanced) set of seated forward bends is on pages 288-308. It begins with Kurmasana (Tortoise, 288-92), and grows increasingly more difficult as it proceeds through a series of poses in which one or both legs is hooked behind the head.

When we start to practice seated forward bends in class next week, it will be based on the poses presented in and around the first section, the more basic ones. I mention the more advanced set just to highlight a point. If you look closely, there exists an interesting (and I think significant) pattern and repetition of shape within the sections of poses preceding both sets of seated forward bends. The pattern is noteworthy because it both directly and indirectly informs the work of the seated forward bends. Let’s look at it.

The sequence opens with a very long series of standing poses in which the major joints of the body (namely shoulders, spine, and hips) are taken through a full range of motion all with the feet and legs as the primary point of foundation (pages 61-99). The next section is an introduction to basic back bends (100-09). That is followed by a section of poses with two simultaneous agendas taking place: (1) creating stability in the core and the arms, and (2) creating mobility in the hips, knees, and ankles (110-148). Postures found here include Navasana (Boat, 113), Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-facing dog, 110-11), Virasana (Hero, 120-23), and Padmasana (Lotus, 129-32). Notice that these poses are nearly exclusively performed with the body seated upright and no more than 90-degrees of flexion at the hips. After that is the first of the two sets of seated forward bends (149-79).

Then all of that (or something strikingly similar to it) is repeated.

Standing poses aren’t seen again in a concentrated way. However, their primary function—taking the major joints of the body through a full range of motion utilizing a central, stable point of foundation—is. In a lot of ways, the Sirsasana and Sarvangasana cycles (Headstand and Shoulderstand, 179-237) are the inverse of the standing poses section. They repeat nearly every form which was introduced to the body in the very first section of postures, but here the foundation is the head or shoulders rather than the feet. For example, Salamba Sirsasana I (Supported Headstand I, 183) is the inversion of Tadasana (Mountain, 61), Parsvaikapada Sirsasana (Side One-legged Headstand, 202) is the inversion of Trikonasana (Triangle, 64), Halasana (Plow, 217) is the inversion of Uttanasana (Standing forward fold, 93), and Supta Konasana (Reclined Angle, 222) is the inversion of Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-legged Forward fold, 83). And there’s more if you look carefully. Do you see the repetition of shape here; can you find a shape like Revolved Triangle in the inversions section? These sets of postures (standing, Headstand, and Shoulderstand), and their repetition of shapes, share a common and important purpose: to cultivate balance and stamina while conditioning the central axis of the body.

Following the original standing poses is a section of basic back bends. Many of those shapes are likewise repeated during the inversions section. The most explicit relationship is the similarities between Ustrasana (Camel, 88 [technically in the standing pose section]), Dhanurasana (Bow, 102) and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge, 229), but you can find components of the basic back bends in a couple of other places throughout the inversions section if you pay close attention. Of course, gravity plays a different (more demanding) role here, and, therefore, the back bending postures within the inversions section are more challenging than those within the basic back bends section even though the shapes of the body are essentially the same. These poses are designed to make the spine strong. The spine must be strong before it can be flexible or you risk overstretching tissues and/or damaging joints.

After the inverted back bends is another round of focused-attention on simultaneously developing upper-body stability and lower-body mobility just like in the first half. Postures such as “UPP” (Leg-lifts, 240-42) and Vasisthasana (Side Plank, 309-11), for example, are the more challenging versions of postures seen earlier such as Navasana and Lolasana (Pendant, 116-17), each of which are designed to create strength and stability in the trunk and/or arms. Also here, the hips, knees, and ankles are taken into deeper ranges of flexibility with poses such as Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half-lord-of-the-fishes, 259-62) and Malasana (Garland, 262-66) which are similar to, but more challenging than, poses seen earlier such as Gomukhasana (Cow-face, 115) and Marichyasana I (Marichi’s twist, 160). Notice again that these poses are also nearly exclusively performed with the body seated upright and no more than 90-degrees of flexion at the hips. These shapes are direct preparation for the forward bends without the added stress which folding forward entails.

And, as I mentioned earlier, the second section of seated forward bends begins with Kurmasana, and is, overall, more challenging than the introduction to seated forward bends seen earlier in the sequence. However, the additional challenge is essentially proportionate to the difference between the standing shapes and the inverted shapes, or between the first set of hip-openers and the second.

So there’s the pattern. What does it mean?

Well, I think one way (not the only way, not the best way, just one way) to look at this pattern of events is as a deliberately gradual expansion of physical conditioning from the core of the body (i.e. the trunk or axial skeleton) to the periphery (i.e. the limbs or appendicular skeleton), and also from those poses which are the least to the most stressful.

Many of the seated forward bends target the most peripheral parts of the body—they require fine-tuned use of feet, ankles, knees, hands, wrists, and vertebrae (I don’t consider the spinal column to be part of the peripheral body, but the joints of the spinal column are vulnerable here in a way which is similar to the peripheral joints). So these distal, oft overlooked, and sensitive body parts are first placed into positions of atypical tension (bent, stretched, tucked, folded, rotated, clasped, etc.), and then the heavy trunk of the body is laid down on them to create additional compression. In other words, you compact and then you smoosh. That is a lot of physical stress for the body to undertake without diligent preliminary work. That is why seated forward bends come at the end of the pattern of sections within the sequence. They are poses designed to target the most peripheral parts of the body with the most amount of compressive stress.

On the other hand, standing poses (and their inverted cousins as well), target the most centrally-positioned parts at the core of the body. These poses help us understand the relationship between our body as a whole and space around us. They focus on big, “easy” to manipulate, “easy” to palpate parts in the middle of the body—stomach, ribs, chest, shoulders, and pelvis, for instance. They utilize fairly big and overt movements, and rely less on the more fine-tuned actions which show up in later postures. And, comparatively speaking, they include much less compressive stress on the peripheral body. They come first because we are naturally better equipped to access them in the early stages of practice.

The sections of postures which follow standing/inverting seem to gradually expand toward more and more acutely focused movements—broad areas of the trunk, then specific areas of the spine, then shoulders and arms, hips and thighs, and outward into the extremities. Along the way, more and more weight-bearing and joint-compression are being implemented. The body is slowly developing strength, stamina, mobility, suppleness, balance, and control in more and more localized places and particular ways. With each section of postures, you are learning more how to come into yourself, both physically and energetically, which is a necessary element of safe and effective seated forward bends. And how that happens is by conditioning the body from most-core/least-stressful to most-periphery/most-stressful until you have something like Vrksasana (Tree, 63) transformed into Marichyasana II (163), or Shoulderstand into Yoganidrasana (Sleeping Yogi, 306).

The sequence of events happens twice because you need the whole first set of postures as a solid foundation of physical conditioning for the body before you can move into the more challenging (although similarly shaped) variations which is the second set. You need each of the poses within their particular sections in that particular series of events. It’s like learning to play music—you learn individual notes, then you learn chords, then you learn a song, and each step along the way has its own patterns and purposes. Or how a child learns numbers and then learns how to multiply them. She learns 1, 2, 3, 4… first, and then 7, 14, 21, 28… She doesn’t have to learn all new numbers, only a different kind of pattern within the ones she already knows. You can’t multiply before you can count, and you can’t harmonize before you can pluck. Likewise, you can’t sit and fold before you can stand on your own two feet.

More on this soon…

The pattern summarized:

     1. standing poses (61-99, cultivate balance and stamina while conditioning the core axis of the body with the feet/legs serving as the foundation)

     2. basic back bends (99-109, stabilize and mobilize the body’s posterior chain of muscles)

     3. basic core- and arm-strengtheners plus basic hip-openers (110-47, develop strength in the upper-body and flexibility in the lower-body)

     4. first section of seated forward bends (147-79)

     5. inversions (179-237, cultivate balance and stamina while conditioning the core axis of the body with the head or shoulders serving as the foundation)
          *Sirsasana cycle: 179-205; Sarvangasana cycle: 205-37

     6. inverted back bends (continue to develop strength and flexibility in the body’s posterior chain of muscles via a shift in the relationship to gravity)
          *found throughout Sirsasana and Sarvangasana sections

     7. more challenging core- and arm-strengtheners plus deeper hip-openers (237-88, increase strength in the upper-body and flexibility in the lower-body)
          * two separate sections: (1) core-strength, leg- and hip-openers, and seated twists (237-76), and (2) arm-balances (277-88)

     8. second section of seated forward bends (288-308)

Can you see any repetition of shapes in these poses, and, therefore, how they could be part of a logical sequence of events?

Vrksasana to Marichyasana II

Salamba Sarvangasana I to Yoganidrasana