The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Ardha Chandrasana › Deepening back bend, where should weight be?
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Ardha Chandrasana › Deepening back bend, where should weight be?
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Hello. I have been practicing for a about 3 years (about 1 year now 4-6 days a week) and really am trying to work on deepening my back bend because I know I have the flexibility. I feel like I just don’t really “get” how to do the posture if you know what I mean. A lot of the other postures took me awhile to really “get” and fully understand what muscles to work and how it is suppose to feel. Once I really understood, I progressed and continue to get better at them.
Half moon back bending is one that is still confusing to me. The teachers say weight should be in your heels, so I have been trying to do that. When I watch videos of the competitors doing it and demonstrations, it always looks as though the weight is on the balls of their feet as they push their hips and legs forward. I am wondering where exactly I should put the weight an what muscles in my back I should engage and which I should relax and stretch. Can you give me any tips as to where in my body I will feel it and if I should contract my glutes or not?
Thank you!
Hello becka (can I assume that’s a name you are happy I use given your forum moniker?)
It would be remiss of me to not ask questions regarding your current abilities in backbend. So here goes! 😉
How relaxed are you in this pose? Of course you will feel challenge in this position, but are there any parts of your body that feel any strain at all? The common areas of concern are how far people are able to get their arms back (with the head); shoulders may feel tight and unyielding; there may be some strain in the neck; maybe something you feel in your upper back or mid back (or?).
I also need you to try to work out where you happen to look. You may find that you have a particular place you look (eg floor, your mat, the wall behind you, the ceiling above you, where the ceiling and back wall meet – something like that) or you may find there is no particular place that you look or aim for with your eyes and this is the first time I am making it super conscious for you.
I would like to know if your ankles are touching because you have your ‘toes and heels together’.
Would you please tell me if you are squeezing your bottom? When do you start the squeeze?
I have another thing for you to recount but I will await the responses to this post first!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello, yes that is my name :). Thank you so much for your help! I waited until after class this morning so I could really think about my backbend while I was doing it and answer your questions.
Right now my backbend looks like this here. I can go a bit farther, but to do so I am crunching into my low back which is not good. At that point I do not feel anything, but when I try to go farther, I feel tightness in my chest and shoulders like they just wont go back. I try to tighten my upper back, but maybe this isn’t helping. I also feel an intense stretch feeling in my stomach that makes me want to “push” it out, but I try to keep it in.
I have a lot of trouble getting my head more close to my body, so I am assuming this is upper back bend I need to work on? Should I be engaging or relaxing any different parts?
I look up to the top of my eyes and when I am in my full expression, I look at the floor behind me. My ankles are touching. Before I begin to go back I have my thighs contracted and then as soon as I begin going back I engage the glutes. Right now I have been putting the weight on my heels because that is what the teachers say. When I am in full expression trying to go farther I actually feel a lot in my legs. Not uncomfortable or a stretch strain, but a “I’m working hard” strain.
Sorry this is so much information, I hope you understand my ramblings! I appreciate your help so much.
Hello Becka
Thank you so much for all the details. They are very helpful and not overdoing it at all! I will get to this response tomorrow. Just have been so busy and wanted to let you know that I’m on it.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello Becka
Your backbend looks very decent. 🙂 So let’s try a few tweaks to get the struggle and tightness out and bring ease with challenge back in! I am going to start by deconstructing what you wrote me because there are some great clues in there.
when I try to go farther, I feel tightness in my chest and shoulders like they just wont go back. I try to tighten my upper back, but maybe this isn’t helping.
The clue here is that you’re trying to tighten your muscles. What they need is release. Here is some counter intuitive to try.
> Come out of left side Half Moon.
> Just before you drop your head back, just bend the arms a little and notice how you can release your shoulders and neck so that they feel loose.
> Stay upright and drop the head back. Feel how you can maintain that loose feeling.
> Squeeze your bottom and lock your knees but as you inhale stretch up and allow your lower back to release a little to get maximum elongation.
> As you do that also straighten your arms without letting tightness return to your shoulders and neck.
THEN > as you exhale, go back into your back bend. Notice how you can recommit the tightening of your bottom here (as certain muscles release on the stretch up – which you should allow to occur).Here’s the thing you may think sounds strange to do. When you are in your back bend, try bending your arms ever so slightly and notice how you can re-release your neck and shoulder muscles. Also notice how your backbend improves. Especially as you re-elongate the arms to straight. Repeat that as often as you need to while in the pose and even check that your neck is relaxed sometimes by moving your head. Once you know how it feels to relax and match that with the right physiology you will be able to create more focus and less movement. For the moment you need to test.
One of the problems with this pose is that people lock their arms into position and try to clamp them to the sides of their head. This is what is causing the problem. And in true Bikram style, we do love the feeling of the yoga (afterwards for most) and that seems to cloud or obscure the problems in the execution of the poses. So try that for me. Loosen the arms, drop the head back, look back and down, and re-elongate the arms – all while you are actually IN the pose. More than once if required.
I also feel an intense stretch feeling in my stomach that makes me want to “push” it out, but I try to keep it in.
Here is another thing to challenge your beliefs about what should be going on here. When you have your arms up over your head you can’t help but elongate your torso. You’re told you should suck in your stomach in poses such as Pranayama Breathing (on the inhale and the exhale) (and in Half Moon and more) and you’re told to suck in your stomach and supposed to push your belly out on the inhale… all when your body is long and stretched out. That’s right stick the belly out in abdomino-diaphragmatic breath… and suck it in. Wait a minute. What? Can you see that there are some contradictions in there. Hmmm. If you break it down, you’re being instructed to stretch out your body and also to forcefully limiting your inhale movement on the inhale by sucking in your stomach.
I am curious to find out if your breathing changes when you simply breathe without a formula while in the backbend. No 80/20 and no trying to push the belly out, or trying to do anything except feel as deep a breath as your body will allow whilst remaining calm and focused on a smooth breath and a relaxed neck and shoulders (see above) in this pose. Please don’t TRY to keep your belly in. It’s naturally going to be stretched. So breathe and notice that although the abdomen may move in and out a bit, but also check in to the expansion and contraction of your ribs and especially the lowest ribs where your diaphragm attaches.
Before I go on I believe it’s your go to test out the tweaks. Come back and report. If you need more instruction or need me to explain something differently then please ask.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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