Chapter 14

In This Chapter

>- The health benefits of backbends

Backbends help you laugh more

>- Lots of great backbending postures to try: cobra, bow, upward facing dog, fish, camel, and wheel

>- Modifications, challenges, and other tips to improve your yoga practice

A few people have naturally flexible spines and find backbends easy, but for most people, backbends are a challenge. We tend to spend more of our lives bent slightly forward, and our spines just aren't used to bending the other way. All the more reason to practice backbends—for the sake of balance.

Whether or not you are naturally flexible, bending poses are extremely beneficial for improving your spine and toning your internal organs. The movement into and the holding of backbends releases your chakras, or the energy centers in your body, so energy and joy can flow through you unimpeded. (See Chapter 20, "Chakras, Mudras, Mantras, and Mandalas.") After a few good backbends, you may just laugh out loud.

Start by performing a simple stretch to open your neck, shoulders, and chest. Just like the figure in the following drawing, sit up straight in a chair and begin to arch your neck back. Inhale as you do it. Focus your gaze upward. Feel that openness in the

Open Up and Laugh More

center of your chest? It's as if you're lifting your heart—and your spirits as well! It's important to arch your neck only as far as you can support it, as in the first window in the drawing. Try forcing your lower lip over your upper lip, as you see in the second window. It's hard to frown in a backbending posture! Again, in backbends, you always want to be supported; avoid the impulse to crunch your neck back as the figure is doing in the third window of the drawing. A crunched neck (a crunched anything, for that matter) is very anti-yoga and can lead to discomfort and injury. Now smile. Doesn't it feel good?

Let's get bent!

Bhujangasana: Cobra Pose

Bhujanga means "serpent," and the cobra is a sacred and revered serpent in India. But what is a serpent? Basically, one big spine! In the cobra pose, bhujangasana (pronounced BOO-jhan-GAH-sah-nah), concentrate on allowing the strength of your spine to move you. The cobra pose helps to align your spinal disks, open up your heart chakra, and strengthen your back. It also strengthens your nervous system and your eyes.

When practicing the cobra pose, keep your elbows in toward the body. As your shoulders rise off the floor, don't scrunch them up around your neck. Keep your eyes open and peering up to tone your peripheral vision (typically the first part of the eyesight to degenerate).

1. Lie on your stomach, flat on the floor, with your heels and toes together. Place your hands on the floor on either side of your chest. Rest your forehead on the floor (you might want to use a mat for this one).

2. Inhale and lift your forehead, then chin, then shoulders, then chest off the floor. Keep your hips pressed against the floor.

3. Look upward and breathe. Try sticking out your tongue and opening your mouth wide to help release your face. Then return to the starting position.

4. Yoga Adventure: Does a snake have arms? Of course not! You shouldn't rely on your arms for this pose. To see how much you are using your arms as a support, lift your palms off the floor, as you see in the second figure in the drawing. How much of your body comes down? If it's a lot, your arms are doing a good portion of the work. Don't go up so high just yet. Let your spine do the work.

Dhanurasana: Bow Pose

Dhanurasana (pronounced DAH-noo-RAH-sah-nah), a.k.a., the bow pose, is a high-energy pose. Imagine your body is like an archer's bow ready to launch an arrow. This pose keeps your spine supple, tones your abdomen, massages your back muscles, strengthens your concentration, and decreases laziness.

When in the bow pose, be sure to grab your ankles, not your toes or feet. If you can't grab your ankles, simply bring your hands back as far as you can alongside your body. Move your hands toward your ankles, not your ankles toward your hands. Keep your elbows straight, not bent, and don't lift your shoulders up to your ears—keep them pressed down.

The bow pose.

1. Lie on your stomach. Bring both arms behind you and bend both knees.

2. Grasp your ankles with your hands.

3. Pull your body so it lengthens like a bow, and look up. Hold for two or three breaths.

Half Bow

In the half bow, the bow is strung one string at a time. When in the half bow, be careful not to lean over to the side that is held straight. Balance both sides of your body. Be sure to breathe. You'll be able to tell how much caffeine you've had lately by how much your straight hand shakes!

1. Begin on your stomach as with the bow pose, but extend your left arm straight over your head, palm down.

2. Bend your right knee and bring your right arm back toward your right ankle.

3. Push your stomach into the floor with your tailbone tipped toward the floor. Lift your head and chest. Keep your focus on the outstretched arm.

4. Getting Started: This pose may look easier than the full bow pose, but don't be fooled. You need the same concentration as with the bow pose. This pose is a preparation for the bow pose, so hold it for only a few breaths on each side. Then try going into full bow pose for a longer sail!

The rocking bow is the full bow plus! It aids digestion, relieves constipation, and tones the intestines. The fuller the bow, the easier it is to rock and roll!

1. Get into the bow pose.

2. Using your breath, rock your body back and forth. Inhale as the body rocks back, exhale forward. Keep your arms straight.

Rocking Bow

3. Yoga Adventure: This high-energy, aerobic pose-in-motion is great for your whole body. Pick your favorite song with a medium-to-slow beat and see if you can rock and roll through the whole thing. If not, you can work up to it as you get fitter.

Wise Yogi Tells Us

Swami Vishnu Devananda says, "OM is a bow, the a rrow is the Soul, Brahman is the arrow's goal." Backbends are so good at making it easier to breathe deeply—by opening up the chest and abdomen—that many people crave backbends! The deep breathing gets more oxygen to the brain. As a result, you feel stimulated, refreshed, and energized. Get a double benefit by completing your yoga backbends with a few balancing forward bends to relax the spine, along with a few moments of meditation on the swami's words.

Urdhvamukha Shvanasana: Upward Facing Dog

Urdhva means "upward," and mukha means "mouth" or "face." Shvan means "dog." Urdhvamukha Shvanasana (pronounced OORD-vah-MOOK-hah shvah-NAH-sahn-ah) looks like a dog stretching upward. (Yoga shows great respect for dog poses—after all, what is "dog" spelled backward?) Upward facing dog is great for a stiff back. It strengthens the spine, alleviates backaches, increases respiration and circulation (especially to the pelvic area), and strengthens the eyes.

1. Go into the cobra pose, then inhale further and straighten your arms, keeping your back legs strong (this takes the pressure off your back).

2. Inhale and lift the front of your body off the floor as you look up. Continue to lift so your hips and legs are held just slightly off the floor, too. Your hands and the tops of your feet are the only parts of your body making contact with the floor in this advanced version. Let your arms do much of the work, not just your spine (as in the cobra pose).

3. Exhale as you come back down to the floor.

Matsyasana: Go Fish

A fish must open its gills to breathe; matsyasana (pronounced mahtz-YAH-sah-nah) fills the lungs with air, improving the yogi's ability to float in water (try it!). The fish pose energizes the calcium-regulating parathyroid gland (located in your neck), strengthens the abdomen, improves the voice by opening the Mercury chakra located in the throat (see Chapter 20), and relieves mental tension.

Half Fish Pose

The half fish pose is a simpler version of the full fish pose that follows. Start with this pose and work your way up to the full fish!

In the half fish pose, don't let your feet fall to the side. Keep your knees straight. Make sure the top of your head, not the back of your head, rests on the floor. Keep your elbows in, breathe regularly, and don't put your weight on your head. Let your elbows and arms support your weight.

1. Lie flat on your back with your feet together and your knees straight.

2. Place your palms facing down under your tailbone with your thumbs touching.

3. Inhale, then lift your upper chest and arch your back, supporting your weight with your arms and elbows. Allow your head to tilt back.

4. Rest the top of your head lightly on the floor. Feel the strength of the lift in your arms and chest. Hold for three breaths, then exhale as you come down.

5. Getting Started: If you have a stiff neck, jaw, or upper back, or if you feel uncomfortable resting your head in this position for any reason, place a folded towel, blanket, or bolster-type pillow under your neck and gently look up and

back, to accustom your neck and head to this position. No need to rush into the full tilt before you feel ready!

Full Fish Pose

This pose is the same as the half fish pose, except your legs and feet are in the full lotus position (see Chapter 17, "Are You Sitting Down?") and your hands hold your feet. If you cannot do the full lotus, simply cross your legs. Your hands do not need to hold your feet if you aren't in full lotus position. This variation further opens the pelvis and promotes energy flow through all your chakras.

1. Lie down on your back and bring your knees up, then cross your legs into the lotus pose, with each foot lying sole-up on top of the opposite thigh (see Chapter 17). Or, if you haven't worked up to this pose yet, simply cross your

legs.

2. As you bring your crossed legs down to the ground, arch your back up. Let your head relax backward; the top of your head just brushes the ground or floor.

3. Reach your hands toward your feet, and if you can, hold your feet. If you can't reach your feet, place your palms on your thighs. The body is fully balanced in this position and does not need the additional arm strength as in half-fish pose.

4. Breathe deeply in this position as your lungs are fully expanded.

5. Bring your knees and head up, uncross your legs, and straighten them out. Lift your head up and release the arch in your back. Lie with a flat back. Rest on your back for a few minutes.

6. Getting Started: This pose is difficult because your arms don't support your body weight. If you don't feel comfortable about resting the top of your head against the floor without your arms for support (in other words, if you don't feel your back and neck are strong enough to support you), use your arms as you did in the half fish, while still keeping your legs crossed.

Ustrasana: Camel

Ustra means "camel," and ustrasana (pronounced oohs-TRAH-sah-nah) imitates the hump of a camel. Your shoulders and chest become more open and mobile through the camel pose. Your abdomen is stretched, digestion is improved, rib muscles are strengthened, and the pose can also help sciatica (a painful condition felt in the hip or thigh, resulting from inflammation of the sciatic nerve—a long nerve that starts in the hip and runs down the back of the leg).

When practicing the camel pose, pretend there is a wall in front of you and you are pressing your thighs toward it. Bend only as far backward as you can while keeping your neck properly supported by your neck muscles.

1. Begin on your knees with your feet behind you, legs and feet together or slightly apart.

2. Stretch your hips and thighs forward as you reach behind you with your arms. Pretend there is a wall in front of you and your thighs stay pressed against the wall. The spine extends and lifts up as you lean back.

3. Let your body bend backward and your head tilt back. Look up. If you can't reach your heels, eventually you will. Take it gradually.

4. Take several deep breaths in the pose, then exhale as you release and come forward to the beginning position.

5. Getting Started: If this pose is too difficult, you can place a chair or a footstool behind you and use it to support your elbows or hands (depending on the height of your support) behind you. Remember not to let your head hang loosely, but to support it with your neck muscles as you look up.

Cakrasana (pronounced chah-KRAH-sah-nah) makes your body strong and mobile, like a wheel. It stretches and strengthens the stomach, improves the concentration by bringing blood to the head, and gives greater control over the body. It also prevents bad posture, tones the extremities, improves the memory, heightens energy and vitality, brings a feeling of lightness to the body, and improves circulation to the trachea and larynx. (The trachea—also known as the windpipe—is the passageway between the larynx and the lungs, and the larynx is the area of the throat that contains the vocal cords.)

In the wheel pose, your hips may feel too tight to lengthen sufficiently. If your shoulders are tight or your arms are weak, you may be unable to push yourself up into position. Just keep working at it, and one day ... POW! There it is.

Cakrasana: Doin' Wheelies!

Backbends can help you laugh more ... and better! Don't we all need more and better laughs?

3. Lift your navel (think of lifting your Mars chakra, located behind your navel), and push your torso up into an arch using your arms and legs. Your body will form an arch shape, and your head should be off the floor, your arms and legs almost straight.

4. Hold for as long as is comfortable, then gently come back down.

5. Getting Started: If the full wheel pose is too difficult, you can modify the position. In this variation, the stomach remains flat and the elbows and knees stay bent, so you aren't pushing yourself all the way up. You can leave your head resting on the floor between your hands.

1. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor.

2. Bend your elbows toward the sky and bring your palms to the floor next to your ears, fingers facing your feet.

The Least You Need to Know

Backbending poses are important for increasing flexibility, as well as keeping various internal organs open and free.

>- Open, toned organs result in open chakras and a free flow of energy throughout the body.

>- Backbends are great for people who work at desks or computers all day; they correct that hunched-over posture.

>- Backbends make it easier to breathe deeply and fully; they stimulate the body and get more oxygen to the brain.