eva k

I am also having trouble with this posture. Years ago, I could do it just fine, so I know it can be done. I am carrying 60 lbs of extra weight on my front side (look preg-o with twins!)–something I did not have in my first years of doing the yoga. I also have a herniated disk in my low back, which makes forward bends of any kind very scary. Another reason I may be having issues with this posture is that a few months ago, I badly sprained my left ankle while hiking and spent 5 weeks in a plaster. The yoga has helped immensely with healing the ankle, but I am still a bit dodgy when it comes to balancing. It takes a lot of focus to make sure I am standing with weight distributed equally rather than on the outside of the foot.
When it comes to standing head to knee—most days I cannot pick up the foot at all.
I remember when I first started the yoga, the teachers used to give a mod in this pose to just start with holding the knee while building the “locked” standing leg. There was not a big push to get a curve in the spine, so I remember seeing people standing with their leg bent at an upside down L and their spine straight. Apparently the new dialog has abandoned this mod, and now everyone is supposed to get a round spine?
So, this is where I am stuck. Even if I could pick up the foot, I am still a ways from maintaining a standing locked leg, partially because the quads are not that strong yet, but also because I cannot keep my abs tight for the entire posture, so I always come out early because I am afraid of hurting my back if my abs go slack.