The Secret of Advanced Yoga Poses
You’ve been on the mat, you’ve felt the exhilaration of achieving new postures and practices, but can it last? The Yogis say that magic can last, but it changes, as all things do. You might remember when you could first do Half Moon Pose well for the first time and how great it felt. It’s these accomplishments that keep us motivated and moving forward in our yoga as well as helping us build up to bigger challenges.
Yoga eventually gets very subtle and the practice goes deep and internal, but most of us are still trying to conquer those elusive asanas such as arm balances, handstands, headstands and the like. Inversions and arm balances are some of the most common ‘peak poses’ in yoga, the poses we spend most of our practice building up to. Even approaching them can be difficult, like trying to get to the top of a mountain but realizing just getting out of the woods is hard.
Rewards come with effort, however, and eventually we can get to where we are comfortable and confident in Crow Pose or Sirsasasana (Headstand) or Elbow Balance (Pincha Mayurasana). If we can’t do them today, we have to build up to them… but how? After 20 years of teaching yoga, I have developed effective ways of getting even beginning students into the postures through the right approach. In this world of instant gratification, I’m sorry to tell you that the secret is…
PATIENCE
Well, patience and persistence. I know it’s not the answer you want to hear. Maybe there is a sticky mat that will allow you to do the pose, or an herbal formula, or special gloves. Maybe. But the real solution is both simpler and cheaper: Patience and Persistence.
If you really want something and are willing to work to get it, it’s more likely you will actually get it if you are also patient. Many of the postures are beyond us because we are physically not ready. For example, to be able to balance on the hands in Crow Pose, you need arm and shoulder power, bandhas and breath. You cannot get them in a day, but you have to work a little bit every day to get stronger. The same goes for flexibility. If you are not flexible in the hips and back, you will not be able to do Crow Pose, so you must crack away at it, day after day.
Eventually all the pieces of the pose will come together and that memorable day will come when you actually go up and balance all on your own!
Actually, the bigger lessons and triumphs of working towards Crow or other challenging poses is not the attainment of the pose itself, it’s the wisdom that you gain about patience and persistence in life. If you can’t do it today, keep trying. Don’t get frustrated that you can’t do it today, because you are not ready. When you are actually and truly ready, the pose will come. Not before. So, impatience is a sign of a beginner. Advanced yoga only comes when patience and persistence are permanent features of your approach to yoga, and to life.
It’s yet another example of how working with the postures helps us become better at life because yoga is a tough but loving teacher of wisdom.
If you want to learn more about the essence of advanced yoga practice, join us on a 200 Hour Foundations of Swara Yoga Course or earn your 300 Hour Certificate with our Advanced Modules on Prana and Pranayama or Yin Yoga and Meditation. Your yoga will never be the same again! We take you through all the essential steps so that you can practice poses such as Crow, Headstand, Wheel, Feet Behind the Head, Warrior III, Elbow Balance and most other major poses. If you can’t do it now, our course will teach you how to prepare yourself with strength and flexibility so you can eventually conquer the unconquerable!
See You On the Mat!
