I have the least range of motion in floor bow, in part due to a recalcitrant injury. I am also often very tired by that point in the practice, and lying down tempts me to rest. So bow has often been an unhappy or motionless moment. Then I discovered a new and sensual way to arc into it, and now it’s a completely different gig.
The trick for me is to do every aspect of the pose all together, in synchronicity and perfect alignment. Previously, I did the components in a sequence: first kick legs back, then raise thighs, then lift chest, then roll chin up, then press belly button down, then roll forward. So many steps, and all tiny.
Now, I do everything at once: while kicking my heels away from my butt I am also lifting the thighs and upper chest, pressing my belly button to the floor, and stretching my nose to my toes. It’s a lot to think about but that’s what practice is for. When done this way, bow reminds me of a flower blooming in one of those time-lapse films. I open into the pose. And I feel I am doing more.
What adds to the sensation is doing it, as the dialogue says, while imagining “two wheels in one base.” The wheel evokes the rounded body of the pose’s final expression, and the image implies two smooth and perfectly parallel entities. Thus, when I go for the fluid blooming motion, I point my toes so they do not curl away from the main curve, I keep my wrists flat so they don’t poke out sideways, I keep my knees a strict six inches apart so as to align with my hips, I roll my shoulders back so that my arms are directly above my legs, and my chin reaches upward like a light-loving seedling.
So while my floor bow is not beautiful and certainly not impressive, the feeling I get doing it is. And that’s plenty.
Namaste,
Yoga Lily
It’s great to hear from another yogi about how you are NOT sacrificing quality for depth in the postures. Love it! A beautiful reminder.
Two wheels in one base- I really heard that for the first time in class this morning, after more than 4 years! ( and the instructor eerily repeated it in the second set, like she new what I was thinking)
Hey Gina – it’s such a powerful image isn’t it? And so many people separate their knees to go for the glory of a bigger arch. But if you really manage to stay parallel, it’s a much better stretch and strengthen in the lower back. I guess you also like results more than glory. Namaste, Yoga Lily
Hey Rachel, at a certain point I get confused between “quality” and “depth”. I mean in tree, for example, if I let myself have a duck butt, I can do prayer hands. But if I really push for a strictly straight lower spine, I can’t pin my ankle to my thigh. So do I go for the glamour of hands in prayer, or do I go for the real, deep, subtle work of “hips forward”? Some days I want to feel the lightness of both hands in prayer, some days I want to push into opening my hips more. So sometimes it depends on whether the teadher pushes me or not. What I know for sure is that I don’t do things out of ego — ie, I can hold my hands in prayer in tree and you can’t. When I do it, even in less than perfect form (ie, duck butt), it is because i want that floating feeling. Like they say, every day is different. Namaste, Yoga Lily
“So while my floor bow is not beautiful and certainly not impressive, the feeling I get doing it is. And that’s plenty.”
Fabulous. And that’s what is the most meaningful, right? People tend to spend so much time focusing, almost to a tunnel-vision extent, on just the outcome, but it takes real insight to look beyond the final result or the reward and be present in the process. This is definitely true in the yoga room, and you reflect on it so beautifully in this post. So thank you – thank you for sharing, and for inspiring us all to just simply try. Try the right way.
Dear LZ – thanks for understanding what I was saying. I read your blog. Congrats on doing that 101 day challenge. Also, your writing is lovely. Namaste, Yoga Lily
Great post. I feel the same way. I’m often so tired by the time we hit the Floor series but I’m also relieved to know that I’m half way through!
I find that I do much better when I just go for it all at once. Tightening up my arms and my butt helps as well. I still don’t go very far though but what matters is that I’m doing it, right?