Sách dạy yoga the art of adjusting complete OCR

URDHVA MUKHA PASCHIMOTTANASANA Foundation Legs are straight and heels extended Balance on the sit bones, not the tall bone What to do Lift the sternum towards the legs Lengthen out of

AsouT THE AuTHOR

Brian Cooper has been practicing Hatha Yoga since

1970 and teaching full time since 1990 His first formal studies were at Yoga Niketan in Rishikesh in 1972 He holds

a doctorate in Bio-Engineering and an advanced diploma

in Thai Massage These strands have come together to produce this manual He was co-founder of the Edinburgh Yoga Centre and director of Union Yoga in Edinburgh

He is director of Teacher Training for Union Yoga, and executive consultant for Yoga Alliance UK He is the founder of the eco-aware Shanti Griha Retreat Centre in the secluded north west of Scotland

Brian runs teacher training and yoga classes all over the world You can find more information at:

• www.briancooper.eu

• www.unionyoga.co.uk

RESOURCES

Other Harmony Classics

Yoga: The Art of Adjusting 2nd Edition

Hatha Yoga- The Report of a Personal Experience

Penthouse Of The Gods

Pranayama- The Yoga of Breathing

Yoga and Health

Yoga Week By Week

Autobiography of a Yogi

Union Yoga Publishings

Yoga Asanas- A Natural Method of Physical & Mental Training

Hatha Yoga -The Yogi Philosophy of Physical Well-Being

Advanced Course In Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism

COOPER, Brian BERNARD, Theos BERNARD, Theos LYSEBETH, Andre Van YESUDIAN, Selvarajan and HAICH, Elisabeth YESUDIAN, Selvarajan

YOGANANDA, Paramahansa

FREDERIC, louis RAMACHARAKA, Yogi RAMACHARAKA, Yogi

www.harmonypublishing.org

CoNCLUSION

This manual has shown the many ways to use adjusting to enhance asana practice Whatever the adjustment you choose, you should always use the correct approaches and techniques as discussed in these pages The adjustments shown are only a cross-section of what is possible Provided you carry them out properly, there is really no limit to ways of adjusting, and the forms these can take is limited only by the imagination I hope this manual will give you the confidence, not only to practise, but to experiment and develop your own approach to this skill Adjusting can be greatly enhanced by studying Traditional Thai Massage Thai Massage teaches sensitivity, awareness and understanding of the body like few other therapies can And of course the ultimate way of learning is through your own body Do your asana practice with the same mindfulness as you would carry out adjusting

BACK B END I N G I Adjustments

To ensure correct shoulder opening,

keep your student's arms approximately

shoulder-width apart while the student lifts

off the floor and also when they come back

to the floor Do this by pressing against their

forearms using your hands or forearms If a

student has poor shoulder flexibility they

will find this very challenging In this case

you can allow their arms to come a little

To help students lift from the floor, have them grab the adjuster's ankles.They can use this to push and get more lift You can then assist them further by holding around their shoulders and pulling them up and towards you The same adjustment can be done using

a wall The student places her wrists against the wall and uses this contact to push into theasana

The actions using the wall can also be

done using adjustments Using a belt

provides better and safer control compared

to holding the student directly The belt

Is placed around the lower back just on

the rim of the sacrum The student starts

dropping back as you hold the pelvis

and check that the student's legs are working strongly Make sure they are breathing in the position and then instruct them to come back up under their own effort, only using the belt to prevent them falling back

Gradually take the student deeper, allowing some movement in the pelvis The adjuster can also stand on the student's toes to prevent the heels lifting as they come up

B A C K B E N D I N G I Self Adjustments

This set of photographs shows how to

work towards Urdhva Dhanurasana using

a wall The principle is to push evenly into

the wall to open the shoulders and lift

the pelvis away from the ground The legs

must work strongly and the breath must

be smooth

Stay In the first position until there is

no effort to hold it for at least twenty even breaths, then move onto the next position, gradually moving further down the wall

In each position you should be able to come back up by moving the pelvis away from the wall without pushing through the hands

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URDHVA MUKHA PASCHIMOTTANASANA

This is the balance version of Paschimottanasana It emphasizes the lifting and

lengthening of the back and the forward movement of the sternum which

was explored in Paschimottanasana Without this action the asana is impossible

because a rounded back will drag the body backwards

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• The left hand pulls the feet towards the head

• Use a closing action between both your hands to bring the chest forward and lifted

URDHVA MUKHA PASCHIMOTTANASANA

Foundation

Legs are straight and heels extended

Balance on the sit bones, not the tall bone

What to do

Lift the sternum towards the legs Lengthen out of the lower back Either hold the outside edges of the feet or take a wrist Pull strongly through the arms to bring chest to legs Gaze to the toes

action of the raised leg by fixing the hamstrings near their insertion

the raised leg from lifting from the floor

SUPTA PADANGUSTHASANA C

Foundation

Raised leg stays close to the ear Top of the foot of raised leg goes to floor and toes extend

What to do

Extend through the front leg Move back of the knee to the floor

SUPTA PADANGUSTHASANA B

Foundation

Both legs straight and heels extended Hold the big toe with the thumb and forefinger Hips remain level to each other and on the floor Sitting bones remain grounded

Shoulders and shoulder blades remain in contact with the floor

What to do

Extend strongly through the other leg Gaze to the side

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OBSERVE

• The student does not have sufficient

AcTIvE ADJUSTMENT

• Place one foot gently on the thigh of the leg on the floor to keep it down

• Take hold ofthe foot ofthe upraised leg

• Pull the leg towards you and ask the student to raise her head as close to the leg as possible

AcTivE ADJUSTMENT

• You can now slowly let go of the foot while asking your student to keep lifting the head to the leg

SUPTA PADANGUSTHASANA A

Foundation

What to do

Extend the leg on the floor forward to bring back of the knee towards the floor

Keep both legs very active with heels extending and quadriceps engaged

UPAVISHTA KONASANA

This is similar to Badha Konasana except the legs are now straight and wide apart Good adductor flexibility is required, and if it is present, the pelvis can tilt forward through its full range of movement without the thighs getting

in the way At this stage the hamstrings actually relax and the full expression

of the a sana is achieved

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OBSERVE

• The student's feet are falling in

• The student is allowing her legs to rotate

inwards because she is letting her tailbone lift

• This will prevent correct lengthening

through the spine

• The tailbone will now be prevented from lifting

• Use both hands on the mid-back to push

BADDHA KONASANA

A forward bend which stretches the adductors but does not involve the hamstrings

To bring the knees to the floor in the upright position requires contraction of the external rotators- the Piriformis and the Quadratus Femoris and relaxation of their antagonists, the adductors Some of the adductors have a very similar action to the hamstrings and can limit anterior tilting of the pelvis This will show in the same way

as tight hamstrings in Paschimottanasana The back will be rounded due to forcing spinal flexion at the expense of hip flexion Students showing a rounded back should not be pushed deeper into the forward bend as this will place undue strain on the lumbar region

• The student's knees are on the floor

showing good abductor flexibility

• She can be helped to lift and lengthen out

of her pelvis and move closer to the floor

PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT

• Hold the knees down gently using your legs

• The left hand pushes down and forward while the right hand pushes back and down on the tailbone

PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT

• If the knees do not come easily to the floor do not press on them

BADDHA KONASANA

Foundation

Soles of the feet together Shoulders away from the ears Neck Is relaxed

What to do

Bring the knees towards the floor

Lift and lengthen through the spine Hold the tailbone back and down Move the shoulders away from the ears Press the feet together to activate the external rotators Gaze to the nose

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PAss 1 v E AoJus THE NT

• Pull the shoulder while pulling on the wrist

• This is safer than only pulling on the wrist

• Use your legs to support the student from falling out of the asana

• You can also stand behind and push the shoulders to bring the arms further

What to do

• Work shoulders under legs by pushing

down on the shoulders

PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT

• Squeeze upper arms towards each other

• Keep lengthening through the spine

PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT

• Place left leg behind head first and fix

it with your foot before taking the right leg across

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PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT

• Fix your knees against her shoulders

• Put your hands just above the rim of the

pelvis

• lift the hips high and encourage the

student to pull her knees towards her armpits

PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT

You can assist to lift into Handstand

• Continue the pull at the waist until her hips are above her shoulders

PASSIvE ADJUSTMENT

• Ask her to straighten her legs and push strongly through the hands to straighten the arms

• You can also assist in bringing her from handstand into Bakasana, placing the knees high on the arms

Knees high on the arms

"' ,, "!::1"• tne stuaent wm e1tner nave oent legs or straight legs and a rounded back Until the hamstrings have stretched, the student should be encouraged to lift and lengthen the back with the legs slightly bent, so the abdominals are still being worked More flexible students should work on moving to the front edges of the sit bones

OBSERVE

• The student is not working to lift her sternum

and maintain the lordosis in her back

AcTivE ADJUSTMENT

• Place your hands on her feet and push

• Ask her to actively lift her sternum towards you

• The reaction from pushing the feet provides the force to lift the back

The back retains its natural curve

What to do

• Torso is upright

What to do

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Torso upright _ _

What to do

outstretched leg

What to do

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• Torso is level over the outstretched leg

What to do

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• Heel of straight leg is extended

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What to do

Widen the shoulders away from the ears

The role of the breath In forward bending:

The interaction between breath and movement is especially clear in forward bending: On the inhale, the spine lifts and lengthens, and

the pelvis tips slightly back, which puts increased tension on the back muscles On the exhale, the pelvis tips forward, flattens the spine

and relaxes the back muscles The diaphragm lifts, which compresses the heart and reduces the heart rate These responses can be

ex loited during adjusting The adjustments are more effective when carried out on the student's exhale_

Sit bones are spread with the weight slightly towards the front

What to do

to do

the internal and external rotators of the hip

Torso and collar bones face front

What to do

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are worked strongly, and can be worked even harder by squatting down still further

It is sometimes advised to tuck the tailbone under, but this is not necessary ; ( I

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leg straight and the chest open The lifted leg can be bent to achieve this and

straightened out over time If the standing leg weakens or bends, all energy is lost

and the asana collapses

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Grab the big toe with thumb and first two fingers

What to do

should feel evenly grounded The hands press evenly together and are moved towards the neck which helps to lift and broaden the shoulders The back should not round, but lengthen over the front leg

What to do _]

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What to do

bent leg gives more leverage to rotate the torso Placing the arm outside the bent leg works

to fingertips

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• Head is above front leg, lower shoulder is directly above hand on the floor

What to do

can be bent just enough to take strain off the back and allow the pelvis to tilt forward The student then has to work towards straightening the legs without losing length in the spine or straining the back Taking the elbows out as shown flattens the upper back and allows the shoulders to lift

• If the student is holding her toes but has

to bend her legs, encourage her to

straighten her legs without rounding her

spine (see inset)

• There is nothing to be gained from

adjusting in this position

For more flexible students:

• Stabilize using your hand on the sacrum Push forward and down on the mid-back

• Use your leg or knee to push into your hand Lean in to use your weight to full advantage

• Place your hands on the student's elbows and slowly start to push

• The student pushes her elbows against your resistance

• Carefully match your push with the your student's

• Pull just below the lower rim of the pelvis

• Ask the student to work her hands forward on the mat

• Lean back using your bodyweight

PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT

• Clasp your hands on the lower back

• Squeeze the arms to the buttocks

• Shift your weight back

the heels are almost on the floor

What to do

• legs begin hip-width apart

• The neck Is comfortable and not forced past its natural extension

What to do

CHATURANGA 0ANDASANA

This asana means 'four-limbed stick posture' and the aim is to make the body as rigid as a stick, without

collapsing In any area This makes It a highly active asana where opposing forces must be used intelligently

to counteract gravity If you turn the page through ninety degrees you can see it is like Tadasana The line

shown in the photograph runs through the centre of mass of the body, keeping the weight of the torso,

hips and legs evenly distributed In Tadasana, the reaction from the floor keeps the body upright and allows

the student to find correct alignment In Chaturanga Dandasana, the student has to achieve this against the

pull of gravity To do this the body must be held rigidly, the pelvis must find Its neutral position, and the body

has to be stretched out from a central point at the navel, with the upper body held steady while the heels

are stretched in the opposite direction This is what provides the necessary tension - like pulling on a

rope- to maintain the body firm and steady

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