Ashtanga yoga - back bending - kapotasana

Today I dropped back from a kneeling position into kapotasana. For a long time this vinyasa was no longer part of my practice. I used to drop against a wall to stretch my upper body. I never walked my hands down the the wall till the floor. Today I wanted to see if my stretching exercises brought at least a tiny success. They did.

When it’s easier to get into urdhva dhanursana from a lying position, it might also be easier to get into kapotasana from a lying position. I’ll explore this next time.

This asana challenges me. If it weren’t challenging, it would be boring. I learn how to learn. The understanding of back bending asanas deepens.

I’m staring at my pictures in order to get ideas what I can do to improve this pose. The upper body could get stretched. The hips could get stretched. I do this already. It makes sense to keep stretching these areas of the body.

What counts today: I practiced. This is goal no 1 this month. The frequency of the yoga practice makes the difference. Long breaks mean set backs and often overstretching and frustration.

I found out that simply starting the timer on my habit app gets me going easily. I usually start with a forward bending asana before practicing the sun salutations. A lousy start needn’t to mean that the entire practice will be lousy. The opposite is true, too. Every practice has surprises in all different directions.

On picture three I can see how much wrist flexibility is necessary. To stretch the wrists regularly makes sense. Strong fingers are necessary to keep the body in that position and to walk them closer to the feet. A wall is surely a good prop but one day one must leave the wall.

Thank you for the ‘likes’. Keep practicing.