EMBRYO-IN-THE-WOMBPOSTURE
Drishti Nose
Prerequisites: All postures covered so far, especially Marichyasana D.
Vinyasa Seven
Inhaling, jump through and straighten your legs into Dandasana.
Vinyasa Eight
Exhaling, fold into Garbha Pindasana. Seasoned prac-titioners may do this on one exhalation; others may prefer to break it down into stages. Padmasana and its variations in Western circles have a reputation for causing knee problems. If our hip joints are stiff from a lifetime of sitting in chairs, we cannot expect to learn this posture in a week. It has been men-tioned already that Indians traditionally sat on Mother Earth, which opens the hip joints for Padmasana. If the hip joints are stiff and we force ourselves into Padmasana, the knees may be injured.
The solution is to open the hip joints first (if nec-essary through years of work), and then attempt this posture. If you are not proficient in Marichyasana D, do not attempt Garbha Pindasana.
PHASE1
From Dandasana place the right leg into half lotus, precisely following the instructions under Ardha Baddha Padma Pashimottanasana (page 73). In short:
• Point and invert the right foot.16
• Draw the right knee far out to the right.
• Close the knee joint completely by drawing the right heel into the right groin.
• From here, draw the heel into the navel.
Keeping the heel in the navel, place the right foot into the left groin.
Note: If your right foot rests on the opposite thigh rather than in the groin, and your right heel has lost contact with the navel, do not proceed any further.
In this case the flexibility needed to perform the pos-ture is insufficient.
95 AS A N A: TH E PR I M A R Y SE R I E S
Garbha Pindasana
16. For the question as to why we sit only with the right leg first in lotus, refer to Padmasana at the end of the sequence.
PHASE2
Only if the right leg is snugly in the left groin should one proceed further. Most mishaps in lotus posture happen when the second leg, here the left leg, is forced into position. The most precarious way to place the second foot is to bend the leg only to 90°
and transit the foot over the right knee to bring it into position. Even flexible students damage their knees with this method.
To protect the knees in lotus and half-lotus pos-tures, first close the knee joint completely, bringing tibia and femur close together. Then move them both as one unit. This method eliminates lateral movement in the knee, which is responsible for meniscus injuries.
To protect the knee of the second leg, visualize Padmasana as being two half-lotus postures united.
This means that we follow the same steps for the half-lotus posture with the second leg, completely ignoring the fact that the right leg is already in half lotus. Try the following steps:
• Point and invert the left foot.
• Draw the left heel toward the left groin, closing the knee joint completely.
• In therapy situations, first place the left foot under the right ankle. Only proceed further if this position is comfortable. Still keeping the knee joint closed, draw the left knee as far out to the side as possible without moving the sit bones.
Gently lift your foot over the right ankle toward the navel.
• From here, draw the foot across into the right groin.
If the movement is performed in this way, the knee joint is completely closed at all times, which means that, on the left side also, the tibia and femur move as a unity. If you experience pain in the knees at any point, reverse the movement to a point were you are pain free and proceed more slowly, paying attention to detail.
Practice the other postures until you have gained the necessary flexibility.
AS H T A N G A YO G A
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Garbha Pindasana: incorrect (left) and correct method of going into lotus
PHASE3
To prepare for Garbha Pindasana, medially rotate the femurs until the front edges of the tibias point down to the floor and the soles and heels face upward and not toward the torso. (Refer to “The Buddha’s Lotus” in Janushirshasana A, page 79.)
Gently bring the knees close together, to a point where the thighs are almost parallel. This will create the necessary space to insert the arms between thighs and calves. Insert the right hand, with the palm facing toward you, below the calf muscle where the leg is thinnest.
Once you have inserted your right hand between thigh and calf, invert the hand until the palm faces away from you. This will help the elbow to glide through. Do not apply excessive force. Insert the second palm facing toward you and again turn it to allow the elbow to come through. After both elbows are through, bend your arms, place your hands on the chin, and touch your fingertips to your earlobes.
Inability to do this often points to weak abdominal muscles, since a significant amount of trunk flexion is needed here. Lift the head and sit as upright as possible, balancing on the sit bones.
You are now in the state of Garbha Pindasana, which resembles the curled-up position of an embryo in the womb. Stay for five breaths.
For the second part of the posture, bend the head forward and ideally place the hands on the crown of the head. This rounds the back in anticipation of rolling onto the back.
Exhaling, roll down on the back and perform a movement similar to that of a rocking chair. When the buttocks are in the air swivel them slightly to the right. This action will turn you, on the spot, in a clockwise direction. Rock nine times, representing the nine months of gestation. Use the inhalation to rock up and the exhalation to roll down. If possible
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Going into Garbha Pindasana
Garbha Pindasana, vinyasa eight, hands on chin
Garbha Pindasana, vinyasa eight, hands on crown of head
keep hold of your head with your hands. Let the movement come out of the connection of breath and bandhas.
On the last inhalation, use more momentum and rock up to Kukkutasana.
Kukkutasana
ROOSTERPOSTURE
Drishti Nose
Inhaling, roll all the way up until you balance on your hands. As soon as the hands are on the floor, lift the head to fade out the movement and begin to balance. You are now in Kukkutasana, rooster pos-ture, in which your two hands resemble the feet of the rooster. Garbha Pindasana and Kukkutasana are very effective in opening the hip joints farther and, if performed correctly, they are therapy for the knees. They strongly improve the quality of one’s Padmasana. They create support strength, exercise the abdominals, and invigorate the spine; and they are, together with Kurmasana, the prime prep -aration and counterposture for backbending at the end of the series. Stay in the state of Kukkutasana for five breaths.
Exhaling, sit down, pull the arms out, and place the hands down.
Vinyasa Nine
Bring the knees as close together as possible, so that they will fit through your arms. Inhaling, swing your legs to the front, and lift your knees high. Suck your thighs into your chest and swing your sit bones through your arms to gain momentum.
Vinyasa Ten
Exhaling, swing back and lift your sit bones high behind you. Keep the legs folded into the chest until the sit bones have reached their highest point. The spine needs to be parallel to the floor or the sit bones even higher than that. Only now let your legs, which are still in lotus, swing through. After your thighs have come parallel to the floor, flick your legs out to land in Chaturanga Dandasana.
Note:
• When swinging through, lift your sit bones really high, so that your knees can swing through without knocking the floor.
• If you want to build strength, do the movement slowly, using less and less momentum.
AS H T A N G A YO G A
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Garbha Pindasana, rolling 1 and 2
Opposite top, Kukkutasana
Opposite lower, jump back from lotus, phases 1, 2, and 3
Kukkutasana
• If you have not yet developed sufficient bandha control, or you experience discomfort in your knees, fold out of Padmasana one leg at a time. Straighten your legs into Dandasana and jump back from there.
Vinyasa Eleven Inhale into Upward Dog.
Vinyasa Twelve Exhale into Downward Dog.