Problems deepening into this pose.

Hi BL

With head to knee pose it is definitely no problem at all to have your leg bent up. This pose will only work if you have the forehead pushing down on the knee PLUS the strongly interlaced fingers which have to pull back on the ball of the foot WHILE the heel is pushing away from you and the elbows are pointing in and down. All these elements combine well to create this wonderful dynamic tension. It feels fantastic.

And it may surprise you to know that most people DON’T get their legs straight. Most of them have a slight bend in their legs. So just work on creating that lovely roundness and that active stretching and traction.

Re leg set-up: When you set up place your hips square to the mirror. Extend your straight leg out (at 45 degrees) and bend your other leg in at 45 degrees. When you look down at your legs you can see a right angle (90 degree angle) that your legs make with each other. Any more or less and it is not ideal and should be adjusted. So rather than think 45 degrees I like to stress hips square and set up legs at 90 degrees to each other.

Re sitting vertically: This also happened to me but was no longer a problem after several months. I found it particularly difficult when I was switching sides. My back would be rounded over and I couldn’t sit forward on my sit-bones. For a while I actually had to bring my hands to the floor to swap my legs over so I wasn’t thrashing them around! If I kept my arms over my head I found I had to shift my heavily resistant leg in a second movement to reach the correct position, or I had to move both legs in ‘jerky’ stages. There is really nothing you can do but work on symmetry of hip placement in the pose and the right traction forces. Naturally progress in other parts of the series will bring you results here over time. Ahh, patience, grasshopper.

Re intense stretch pose: Your mission here (if you choose to accept it) is always and without fail to work on a straight back. These 2 poses are grouped here for expediency. They are not the same pose but almost completely opposite in their intent, results and benefits.

If your spine rounds then bend up your legs so that you can lift your breastbone, straighten your spine – even arching it – to lengthen it with every breath. Pull back on the toes and push the heels away with BENT LEGS. I guarantee (yes guarantee!) that you will feel this pose work more deeply this way. Hang off your toes (if you can imagine that) by keeping the arms straight and relaxed using the grip of the fingers for strength.

ONLY when you have straight legs (in addition to your straight back) are you supposed to bend your arms at all. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood poses of the whole series.

Namaste oh curious one!
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi blue

FABULOUS question! Thanks.

My preference is to always, Always, ALWAYS try for a straight back. My instruction is literally to check into your body and the moment you feel your back round you back off and stretch again. For some people it will mean bending up their legs again. For you it is to lift out a little, and continue to work on the extension.

It is what your body is telling you that counts. Forehead to toes at any expense is more to do with ego than yoga. 😉

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

So this was one of my least favorite positions and I knew it was about needing a technique unlook. After reading the MasterClass last night and this forum I realized the two big issues were (1) looking at my foot in Janushirasana and (2) rounding down in Paschimottanasana. Hmmmmm. Rounding when I shouldn’t and not rounding enough. Funny how that is. Ok the third issue was not really pulling on my foot.

Well this morning I corrected both of those issues and I think I’m gonna love this position!!! The opening with both of them and the comfort was so demonstrably different. Amazingly better.

Thanks so much.

Hello all,

I have some issues keeping my back straight too. This is actually quite embarrassing… It doesn’t matter how much I bend my legs, I can not touch my toes without rounding my shoulders… I have tried to sit better on my sit bones but still, the lengthening ain’t happening for me.

I have been wondering if there is an alternate way to do this until I further open my chest. I have accomplished a good opening on my shoulders (thanks to standing bow and camel:))and my hips (thanks to triangle, fixed firm and tree). My chest still quite closed. Although it opens nicely during camel, when I get to the intense stretch I am reminded of how tight my upper chest is.

Any thoughts on how to treat this?

Thanks!!

Liliana

Hi Gabrielle,

Separating the knees does help a bit however, I’ve been noticing that at the end of the sit up I can keep my back straight. The problem begins when I grab on to the big toes. Not sure what is going on. Just wondering if I could grab on to my toes as I come up on my sit up? or maybe I can hold on to my shins… that seems doable for me. Not sure if any of this modifications would compromise the pose.

Thanks a bunch!

I mean when I come up I flex my knees so I can reach my toes. I think my back is straight…

I guess some of the difficulty I have grabbing my big toes is because I feel my breasts get on the way. That’s why I sometimes wonder about holding on to something else like the ankles or something.

when you say separating the feet and knees, should I keep my arms in the middle or besides my legs?

thank you!