#Parsva Upavista Konasana

[fitabouts]

Parsva Upavistha Konasana, also known as Side Seated Angle Pose, is an intensive lateral stretching posture that equalizes the sacroiliac joints, releases the quadratus lumborum muscles, and tones the abdominal muscles.

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🧘‍♂️ Information:👉 

1️⃣ Know as:👉 Parsva Upavistha Konasana, Parsva Upavista Konasana, Sideways seated angle pose, Side Seated Angle Pose, Seated Side Stretch Pose, Side open angle pose

2️⃣ Sanskrit name:👉 पार्श्व उपविष्ठ कोणासन

3️⃣ IAST:👉 Pārśva Upaviṣṭa Koṇāsana

4️⃣ Pronunciation:👉 PA-AAr-svA oo-pah-VEESH-tah cone-AHS-ah-nah

5️⃣ Level:👉 Intermediate

6️⃣ Type:👉 Forward-Bend, Seated Pose, Hip opener, twist

7️⃣ Total time:👉 30 to 60 seconds

8️⃣ Drishti:👉 Forward; At knee or shin

9️⃣ Chakra:👉 Manipura Chakra, Swadisthana Chakra

🔟 Focus:👉 Spine, legs

💡 Indications:👉 Insomnia, headache, exhaustion; liver and kidney function, improve digestion, backache

💡 Counterpose:👉 Knees-to-Chest Pose, Supported fish pose

💡 Preparatory poses:👉 Baddha Konasana, Supta Padangusthasana, Uttanasana, Janu Sirsasana, Upavistha Konasana

💡 Follow-up poses:👉 Paschimottanasana, Wide-angle seated forward bend pose, Vrksasana

💡 Contraindications:👉 Low back injury, Low blood pressure

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Learn more:👉 Parsva Upavistha Konasana or  Side Seated Angle Pose

[yogaadvise]

5 Hip Openers That Release Tension

There's a typical saying in yoga, "we carry our concerns in our tissues." As well as those concerns usually materialize as tightness in the hips as well as shoulders.

You have actually possibly noticed that when you feel overwhelmed or worried, your body is extra constricted, similar to your mind. Psychological stress and anxiety does materialize in the body, and you can launch it via normal meditation.

Yoga positions can enhance your reflection technique and also help sustain launching tension in the body. Practice these five hip openers before your reflection for some relief.

Supta Baddhakonasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose)  

Lie down on your back with the soles of your feet together and your knees large apart and afterwards lengthen your inner upper legs. Move a cushion or block under each knee for support. Enable your legs to hinge on the blocks or pillows.

Extend your arms into a T-shape or overhead. Ensure the rear of your head is relaxing on the mat and you can discover some comfort in this posture. Stay for regarding three mins, taking a breath deeply. Notification if you're keeping any tension, especially around the hips or buttocks as well as enable on your own to surrender into this posture.

Parsva Balasana  (Thread the Needle Pose)  

Slowly draw the knees in towards your upper body and rock side to side. Cross your right ankle over your left knee. Put your left foot flat onto the flooring and also launch your arms down by your side. Notice the feeling in your right outer hip. Stay right here or hug your left knee in towards your chest as well as interlace your fingers behind your left thigh.

If your head begins to take off the mat, release the left leg and also maintain the left foot on the flooring. Beginning to arch the reduced back a bit to really feel more sensation in the external right hip. Remain for around 10 to 15 breaths as well as repeat on the various other side.

Ananda Balasana (Happy Baby Pose)  

From Parsva Balasana, decipher both legs as well as take your knees towards the beyond your ribcage. Notification if your lower back is lifting off the mat. Maintain your sacrum-- the big, triangular bone at the base of the spine-- on the floor covering as you extend your adductors (the inner thigh muscular tissues). If you're comfortable, realize the outside of both feet with your hands and also carefully take down onto your feet to deepen the sensation of the internal upper legs. Keep for about 10 to 20 breaths.  

Ardha Matsyendrasana (Seated Twist)  

Come to a seated position on your floor covering with both legs prolonged in front of you. Make certain your weight is ahead on your rest bones as opposed to towards your tailbone. Otherwise, position a towel, block, or reinforce underneath your butt.

Hug your right knee in towards your breast as well as cross it over your left leg. Notification if you're rounding your lower back. Maintain extending your spine.

Keep the left leg extended, or you can bend the left leg as well as location it underneath the right. See to it both rest bones are still on the mat. Otherwise, keep the left leg extended.

On your inhale, reach your left arm up towards the skies, expanding via your waist. Exhale and wrap your left arm around your right knee as you position your ideal fingertips down behind your sacrum. Utilize your core stamina to preserve security in the pelvis instead of leaning onto your right-hand man. Try to stay on your fingertips and maintain much less weight there. With each inhale, have the objective to extend your spinal column, and with each exhale, have the intention to deepen the twist. Keep your chin right on top of your sternum to prevent overextending the cervical spinal column. Keep for about five deep cycles of breath and also repeat on the other side.

Upavista Konasana (Seated with Legs Extended)  

From Ardha Matsyendrasana, unwind your legs and also expand them out right into a V-shape, or larger, if comfortable. Be conscious if you feel any type of sensation around the knees. If so, bring the legs in closer in the direction of each other. You do not desire to feel any stress around the knees.

Shift your body weight precisely top of your rest bones. If your reduced back is rounding, put a block or towel below you. Tilt your hips slightly forward and also lengthen your spine. If you're sitting on a block or towel, remain there with your back upright. If you are resting right on the mat as well as require some even more feeling in your inner thighs, walk your hands forward and move into an onward fold. Take your time when growing right into a pose. Move with your breath and also allow your muscular tissues to relax. Stay for around 10 to 20 breaths.

[bintaeran]

My Tips for Learning the Sanskrit Names of Poses, Part 3

My Tips for Learning the Sanskrit Names of Poses, Part 3 Nina Zolotow by Nina

So far, in Part 1 we learned about how English and Sanskrit are related, so some of those mysterious words you’ve been hearing will actually easy to remember if you connect them with the corresponding English words (for example, supta for supine and kona for corner/angle). Then in  Part 2 we learned some of the Sanskirt words for different body parts that commonly appear in pose names (for example, pada for foot and mukha for face). 

Today we’re going to look at modifiers that frequently appear either at the end or beginning pose names. We’ll start with the ones at the end because there are only two (that I could think of, anyway) and they’re both very important. Then we’ll look at the ones that come at the beginning.

Ending Modifiers

Asana/Pose or Seat: This originally meant “seat” because all the most ancient poses (or maybe all?) were seated poses for meditation. However, eventually it came to mean “pose” as in any yoga pose or, as we often still say, asana. And you probably have noticed by now that almost every Sanskrit pose name ends with “asana.” Some pose names we have already translated include:

Paschimottanasana

Trikonasana

Utthita Parsvakonasana

Padanguthasana 

Gomukasana

But most of the ones we haven’t translated because they are based on animal or plant names or the names of a yoga sage also include “asana.”

Vrksasana = Tree pose

Salabasana = Locust pose

Padmasana = Lotus pose

Marichyasana = Marichi’s pose

Hanumanasana = Hanuman's pose

So one way to make a pose name easier to understand is just to translate the asana part first.

There are a few exceptions of poses that don’t include the word “asana,” such as Viparita Karani, which means Inverted Lake. (I do not have an explanation for why that is.)

Uttana/Intense Stretch: When “uttana” is combined with “asana” there is a contraction so instead of two a’s, there is just one. The most obvious case of this is in the pose name “Uttanasana,” which means “Intense Stretch Pose.” 

But then you’re going to see the whole word “uttanasana” added on to a whole lot of other pose names, where there is another contraction and the “u” is removed.

Paschimottanasana = Back Body Intense Stretch Pose

Parsvottanasana = Side Body Intense Stretch Pose

Purvottanasana = Front Body Intense Stretch Pose

Prasarita Paddottanasa = Widespread Legs Intense Stretch Pose

Paschimottanasana

Beginning Modifiers

Now we’re going to go through the words that often appear at the beginning of pose names. Some will sound familiar to you from previous lessons but we’ll go through those again so you can see how they relate to other terms and to help them sink in.

Supta/Supine: This is used for poses that are the reclined version of another pose. Examples:

Supta Baddha Konasana = Supine Bound Angle Pose

Supta Padangusthasana = Supine Big Toe Pose

Supta Virasana = Supine Hero Pose

Supta Konasana = Supine Angle Pose

Paripurna/Full: For some poses there are both “full” and “half” versions. So this modifier tells you which of the two the pose is. Examples:

Paripurna Navasana = Full Boat Pose

Paripurna Matsyendrasana = Full Matsyendra’s pose (yes, it exists, I did it a few times back in the day)

Paripurna Ustrasana = Full Camel Pose. Haha, you thought you were doing full Camel pose already? Nah, that’s Half Camel pose. In Full Camel pose, your head is all the way down and touching your feet, while your hands are on your knees (it’s a lot like Pigeon Pose). 

Arda/Half: We see this more often than full because sometimes the full pose doesn’t have that modifier, but the “half” version does. Or, as in the case of Arda Chandrasana, maybe there is no full version. Examples:

Arda Navasana = Half Boat Pose

Ardha Chandrasana = Half Moon Pose

Ardha Adho Mukha Svanasana = Half Downward-Facing Dog Pose

Arda Halasana pose = Half Plow Pose

Arda Padmasana = Half Lotus Pose

Arda Matsyendrasana = Half Matsyendra's Pose

Salamba/Supported: This means using your hands to support your body, rather than using a prop. So a propped version of a pose is NOT salamba. Examples:

Salamba Sarvangasana = Supported Shoulderstand Pose. This is the way most of us practice the pose, with our hands supporting our backs. 

Salamba Sirsasana = Supported Headstand Pose. This is the way most of us practice the pose, with forearms on the ground or just hands (Tripod Headstand).

Salamba Bhujangasa = Sphinx Pose. You are supporting Cobra pose by putting your forearms on the ground.

Salamba Sarvangasana

Nirlamba/Usupported: This is the version of the pose with no hands! 

Nirlamba Parsvakonasana = Unsupported Side Angle Pose. This is the version of the pose where you clasp your hands behind your back rather than putting one hand on the ground (or block). 

Nirlamba Sarvangasana = Unsupported Shoulderstand Pose. In this version you either have your hands on the ground over head or on the fronts of your legs. 

Nirlamba Sirsasana = Unsupported Headstand Pose. In this version you balance on your head only with your arms along the sides of your body.

Eka/One: This is usually used with “pada” for a one-footed or one-legged version of a pose or with "hasta" for one hand.

Eka Pada Bakasana = One Legged Crane Pose

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana = One Legged King Pigeon Pose

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana = Upward Widespread One Foot Pose aka Standing Splits

Eka Hasta Bujasana = One Hand Arms pose aka Elephant Trunk pose (a common arm balance)

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana = Upward Widespread One Foot Pose aka Standing Splits

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

Dwi/Two: This is usually used with “pada” for a two-footed or two-legged version of a pose or with "hasta" for two hands. Examples:

Dwi Hasta Bhujasana = Two Hands Arm pose aka Two Legs Over Arms pose (a common arm balance)

Dwikonasana = Two Angle pose or Double Angle pose. This is the standing orward bend with clasped hands brought overhead—great shoulder opener!

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana = Two Footed Inverted Staff pose

Dwi Hasta Bhujasana

Parivrtta/Turned Around or Revolved. We often see this one as the “twisting” version of a common pose.

Parivrtta Parsvakonasana = Revolved Side Angle Pose

Parivritta Trikonasana = Revolved Triangle Pose

Parivritta Arda Chandrasana = Revolved Half Moon Pose

Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana = Revolved Head to Knee Pose

Parivrtta Parsvakonasana

Parsva/Sideways or Side of the Body: As opposed to a twist, this has to do with doing the pose to the side or stretching the side of the body.  

Parsva Upavista Konasana = Sideways Seated Angle Pose (Parivrtti Upavista Konasana is a different pose—it is a twist not a turn to the side)

Pasva Bakasana = Sideways Crane Pose

Parsva Sukasana = Side-bending Easy Sitting Pose

Parsva Bakasana

Utthita/Extended: Because this word doesn’t really add that much to a pose name, many teachers (guilty as charged) leave it off the Sanskrit name.

Utthita Trikonasana = Extended Triangle Pose

Utthita Parsvakonasana = Extended Side Angle Pose

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana = Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose

Utthita Hasta Padasana = Extended Arms and Legs Pose. Hey, this is the name for the prep pose you do before moving into Triangle, Extended Side Angle, and so on. And in this case including utthita is pretty important for the name.

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana

Prasarita/Expanded or Widespread. This usually means to body parts are spread away from each other.

Prasarita Padottanasana = Widespread Legs Intense Stretch pose aka Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana = Upward Widespread One Foot Pose aka Standing Splits

Urdhva Prasarita Padottanasana = Upward Extended Legs Intense Stretch Pose

Urdva Prasarita Eka Padasana

Urdva/Up or Upward: We see this used alone as well as with mukha for face. Examples:

Urdva Dhanurasana = Upward Bow Pose

Urdhva Hastasana = Upward Hands Pose

Urdva Mukha Svanasana = Upward-Facing Dog Pose 

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

Hey remember I talked about how knowing the Sanskrit helps eliminate confusion? I saw Urdhva Prasarita Padottanasana (on your back with legs up) translated four different ways:

Upward Extended Feet Pose

Raised Stretched-Out Foot Pose

Upward Stretched Legs

Upward Extended Legs

Adho/Down or Downward. So far, I've only seen this with "face." Examples:

Adho Mukha Svanasana = Downward-Facing Dog Pose

Adho Mukha Virasana = Downward-Facing Hero Pose (with your arms along the floor)

Adho Mukha Vrksasana = Downward-Facing Tree Pose aka Handstand

Adho Mukha Dandasana = Downward-Facing Staff pose aka Plank Pose

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

Wow, this turned out to be a long post! And you now have quite a long list of common Sanskrit words to remember. However, even if you remember only a few of them, I hope at least you will be less afraid of the language. Because, as I hope you've learned, the vocabulary in the pose names is actually very limited and the pose names are all very logical. 

CHALLENGE:  Translate this pose name into English and see if you can figure out which pose it is (I bet you've done it). See here for the answer and a photo.

Parivritta Prasarita Paddotanasana

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[bintaeran]

Nina's Tips for Learning Sanskrit Pose Names, Part 2

Nina's Tips for Learning Sanskrit Pose Names, Part 2 Nina Zolotow Nina

Although I didn’t explain this yet, you may have already realized from part 1 that many pose names are compound terms made up of two or more common Sanskrit words, for example, Baddha Konasana for Bound Angle pose. And many of these contain one or more words that refers to a part of the body, for example, Urdhva Baddha Hastana for Upward Bound Hands pose. 

So today I thought we look at the some of the most commonly used body parts in the Sanskirt pose names because those appear within pose names quite often. In introduced you to two of these already, but I’ll include them again here for completeness (and also to help them sink in). 

Note: One of the issues that will come up today is why we (that means both us here at YFHA and most of the teachers out there in the English-speaking world) don’t use the literal translations of all the pose names. One of the reasons is because so may poses have similar terms in them that after the names sound really close to each other. I’ll write about this more in the future. 

For now, let’s have a look at the most commonly used body part names. This will be followed by a challenge to see if you can translate a pose name yourself. 

SANSKRIT BODY PARTS 

(I borrowed several photos from http://ift.tt/2tbUi1i.)

Hasta/Hand: We had some examples of other pose names with hand in them last week. Another example of “hasta” in a common pose name is “Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana,” which means “Extended Hand to Big Toe pose.”

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana

Pada/Foot: We had some examples of other pose names with foot in them last week. And remember, adding “eka” on to “pada” means “one foot. A new example of this Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (Upward Widespread One Foot pose aka Standing Splits). 

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana

Padangustha/Big Toe: We just saw this word in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, which means “Extended Hand to Big Toe pose.” Of course we also see it commonly in Supta Padangusthasa, which actually means Supine Big Toe pose. (Why we don’t call it that has to do with the fact that most people can’t actually hold their big toes in this pose—even this guy—so we use a strap.)

Supta Padangusthasana

The simplest big toe pose name is Padangusthasa (the standing forward bend where you hold your big toes). 

Padangusthasana

Parsva/Side of the Body or Flank: Some common examples where we see this word include Parsvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch pose aka Pyramind pose), Utthita Parsvokonasana (Extended Side Angle pose—you are extending the side of your body), and Parsvasana (Standing Side Stretch aka Crescent Moon pose).

Utthita Parsvokanasana

This is also used to mean the sideways version of a pose. There are many examples, but two are Parsva Upavista Konasana (Sideways Seated Angle pose) and Parsva Bakasana (Sideways Crane pose).

Parsva Upavista Konasana

Paschima/Back of the Body: This also means the west-facing side of the body (where the sun sets). Examples include Paschimottanasana (Intense Stretch of the Back Body) and Paschim Namaskarasana (Reverse Namaste or Namaste on the Back Body). 

Paschimottanasana

Purva/Front of the Body: This also means the east-facing side of the body (where the sun rises). For now, the only example I have is Purvottanasana (Intense Stretch of the Front body aka Upward Plank pose). 

Purvottanasana

Mukha/Face: Usually we see this word with the modifiers upward or downward, but Gomukhasana it means “cow face” because “go” is “cow” and “mukha is “face.” See the cow face? (Try thinking of the legs as the saggy neck skin.)

Gomukasana

Here are some other common poses that contain “mukha”: 

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog pose), (Downward-Facing Tree pose—Handstand), and Adho Mukha Virasana (Downward-Facing Hero pose—Forward Bend version of Hero pose).

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Urdva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog pose), Urdva Mukha Paschimottanasa (Upward-Facing Intense Stretch of the Back Body pose), Urdva Mukha Uttanasana (Upward-Facing Intense Stretch pose).

Urdva Mukha Svanasana

Janu/Knee: Examples include Janu Sirsasana, which is either translated as “Head to Knee pose” or “Head of the Knee pose.” (Head to Knee because you bring your head to the knee of your straight leg, but Head of Knee because in the classic pose you roll your bent leg onto the "head" of the knee. Confusing, I know—and I'm not going to take sides on this one. )

Janu Sirsasana

We also see it in the variations of Janu Sirsanana, including Parivritta (Revolved) Janu Sirsansana 1, 2, and 3, and in the pose name Dandayamana Janusirasana, which is the standing version of a one-legged “head to knee” forward bend. 

Sirsa/Head: We see this word commonly, of course, in Sirsasana (Headstand) and in its many variations, such as Eka Pada Sirsasana (hope you can guess what that means by now). We also see it in Janu Sirsasana, which we described above. 

Sirsana

Jathara/Abdomen or Belly: We see this most commonly in Jathara Parivartanasana (Abdomen Revolving pose or Belly Turning pose) and Jathara Parivartanasana Swastikasana (Abdomen Revolving pose with Swastikasana Legs). 

Jathara Parivartasana

NOW, ARE YOU READY FOR A CHALLENGE? 

I found this weird pose name that I never heard before, but I think I can figure out what it means just from the words. Maybe you can, too. 

Jathara Urdhva Mukha Pashchimottanasana 

Using Google before you try to translate it yourself is cheating! But after you come up with something—even just a partial translation using today’s post—you can click here here to find the correct answer and a picture of the pose. 

The funny thing is that after I translated the name (I was correct) I still didn’t know what pose it was. But after I looked up an image of the pose, I discovered that I had actually done the pose before, both in class with Donald Moyer and at home, but I just didn’t know the name. Lately, I’ve found it’s a nice way to stretch your lower back without the strain of a seated forward bend. 

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[bintaeran]

The Reality of Grief

The Reality of Grief Nina Zolotow by Lisa Wendell

Love and Grief by John Holland*

I will be 65 in August. I started doing yoga when I was 18 in 1970 using the black and white pictures in an old paperback copy of Richard Hittleman's book as a guide. Even given lengthy breaks, I have practiced yoga for more than 40 years, mostly on my own, supplemented periodically with classes and several private sessions. And I practiced yoga two to three times a week with a wonderful teacher throughout my second pregnancy in 1986 with my son, Maxx. He was my "yoga baby." 

The shock and trauma of Maxx’s diagnosis, illness, and ultimate death from T-Cell Lymphoma in 2007 at the age of 21 was completely unexpected, swift, and utterly annihilating to all of us. Diagnosed on July 11, dead on December 6th—one day a healthy, vibrant, funny, intelligent college junior looking forward to the rest of his life and just 17 weeks later, after physically and emotionally undergoing grueling treatment, gone from this world.

I felt that my life was over. Being on this planet without my son was unimaginable. I wanted no part of it. I continued to work full time only because I had to, but beyond basic household tasks and the rare outing to a movie or a visit with my daughter, I was psychologically immobilized by anxiety, remorse, guilt, and fear. A full year passed before I was able to return to intentional physical movement in the form of deliberate exercise, something I had done regularly all my life and an interest that Maxx and I had shared and enjoyed together. My first effort was to return to my stationary bike. Pedaling and often crying, I started with 10 minutes a night. Soon thereafter, I was able to lie on my back, legs propped up against the wall, arms stretched out to either side. Slowly, I began to add back some of the familiar poses I had practiced several evenings a week before he became ill. 

My practice was halting, abbreviated, a haphazard mix of soothing, improperly aligned poses. My body was stiff with sorrow and non-use, any former flexibility gone. My spirit so flattened, sometimes I couldn't even bring myself to the mat unless I'd had a glass or two of wine—an approach I called "Drunk Yoga." But my practice was becoming more consistent and I continued.

I was unable to sit for any form of breathing meditation because quietly focusing on the sound of my breath was an excruciating trigger for a panic attack. We had watched Maxx struggling for air just before he had been intubated only hours before he died. The memory of him lying in a coma, a ventilator down his throat, precluded me from taking a conscious cleansing breath for the next eight years. 

Now, ten years later, I still practice yoga, though much has changed in my approach. Early on in my grief, I mistakenly believed yoga would prove to be a way "out" or "through." The only time I was ever able to find a few moments of respite was when I was moving or resting in a yoga pose. I developed a short series of floor poses that seemed to calm me—all were essentially restorative in nature. 

During this time I also took medication for anxiety and depression (still do), was in various forms of talk therapy, read, wrote, and tried in whatever fashion I could to find a life of some sort after losing my son. Yoga played its part, but yoga was not—could never be—a panacea for either the grief or intense anger I felt. In fact, I feel that the current emphasis on yoga for grief—meaning in the past decade—is misleading and ultimately deeply disappointing for anyone encouraged to think it is a way “out.” Grief for a lost child or a beloved other is a pain that one carries for a lifetime. There is no "out." There is no "through." We ultimately learn ways to shoulder the burden, to live with the weight of our sorrow. A regular practice seems to allow time and space for that lesson.

As with most ideas or concepts that "trend" in our popular culture, yoga in the mainstream has become a particularly lucrative market for studios, teachers, fashion, authors, businesses, and health-care entrepreneurs of every type. It is touted as solution for everything from alleviating back pain to promoting world peace. In many ways, yoga has become a snake oil for our time. Caveat Emptor. My point being that the bereaved are an extremely vulnerable population. 

We are prone to reach for anything we think will give us some momentary respite from the agony of loss. Yoga can, and does, help. For some, practice can become an entire lifestyle with far reaching effects. In my own experience, however, yoga was not the only approach to finding a life after losing my son. Rather, it is one of many choices for activity that I have attempted to cobble together in the last nine years. find that both practicing and learning about yoga is more beneficial in smaller, more digestible doses. Too much of anything, too quickly, is counterproductive and anxiety provoking.

So it is important to remember that the experience of grief and the manifestation of sorrow are unique to the person, specific to circumstances, and dependent upon so many variables as to be impossible to categorize or mitigate. 

Despite my reservations, I can say that yoga (asanas and breath work) has had a positive effect on my state of mind. This takes different forms and can occur both during the practice and on my moods long after. I am a realist. My practice is what works for me given my own temperament and my own experience. I offer these few suggestions in the hope that others may benefit.

My poses are primarily seated and I emphasize any hip-openers as well as shoulder and back stretching, as that is where I hold my tension. I move very slowly, breathing as deeply as possible. I do not force or push my body, and my motions are never vigorous. Powerful, yang-type asanas make me anxious and seem counter-intuitive to my needs, which are for extended, calming movement and breath. My flow is ad hoc, extemporaneous, flexible. I try to follow the sensations in my body, which will let me know what to try first and what comes next. 

In addition to these yoga movements, I also ride a stationary bike every evening for 30 minutes and do light hand weights to strengthen my upper back muscles and improve my posture. The bereaved tend to hunch imperceptibly forward (over their hearts) as the years pass in an unconscious broken posture of self-defeat. 

The combination of all three kinds of movement has admittedly been very helpful when I am experiencing some of my deepest sorrow. I did the same few poses over and over again with little variation. The sameness of the routine itself was comforting. Now, I am able to more easily change the sequences, add new poses, and remove others. Essentially, I do what feels best in no particular recommended order, but according to what my body seems to be requesting at the time.

Cat/Cow Pose: Breathing appropriately and very slowly (several times to loosen low back). See Featured Pose: Dynamic Cat-Cow Pose.

Dynamic Downward-Facing Dog: Moving in and out of Downward-Facing Dog pose with my breath from the all-fours position or from Cat pose, repeating a few times.

Lunge Pose (Vanarasana): Both high version and low version, with back knee on the ground. See Featured Pose: Lunge Pose.

Child's Pose (Balasana), with arms extended: Hold for several seconds. See Featured Pose: Child's Pose.

Reclined Arms Overhead pose (Supta Urdva Hastasana): Breathing slowly in three-part breath, stretching as much as I can into shoulders.

Thread the Needle Hip Stretch: See Opening Your Hips Without Knee Pain. Friday Q&A: Opening Your Hips without Knee Pain.

Reclined Leg Stretch (Supta Padangusthasana), all three versions: Leg straight up, out to the side, and twisting. See Featured Pose: Reclined Leg Stretch.

Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavista Konasana) and Sideways Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend (Parsva Upavista Konasana).

Frog Pose (Mandukasana): For an inner thigh stretch.

Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani), with no support. See Featured Pose: Legs Up the Wall Pose.

Gentle Twists: Any kind, seated or reclined. 

For breath practices, because sitting cross-legged for any length of time is not comfortable, I sit in Hero pose (Virasana) on a bolster, hands resting in my lap or on either leg. See Featured Pose: Hero Pose.

I will also practice in a reclined position once in awhile. In both poses I will occasionally place one hand on my heart and one on my belly. This calms me and helps me to concentrate on breathing in and out slowly. It feels reassuring to feel pressure in these two areas. Frequently, I listen to tonal meditative music. I am easily aroused and agitated by any noise, and find that listening to this type of music helps greatly in facilitating concentration.

I believe that people who are grieving, or suffering from any intense emotional distress can eventually be open to, and will try, in small steps and with gentle persuasive nudges to move in the direction of something that offers a non-competitive, non-judgmental, accepting opportunity to turn down the volume of despair. I think yoga allows for this flexible, individual approach.

Though I am not a teacher, a celebrity, or an expert, it is likely that I am representative of the majority of grievers who simply must find ways to survive after suffering great loss. I am a proletariat practitioner in the front line trenches and as such, I believe my own experience to be as valid as any "grief expert"—possibly more so. 

Lisa Wendell is originally from Southern California, and she moved with her husband, Steve, and their children, Megan and Maxx, to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986. Recently retired from her position as the Acquisitions Director in the library of a private university, she is hoping to take more time to write, exercise, read, garden and develop her yoga practice. Since the death of her son in 2007, she has devoted singular and concentrated effort toward accepting, understanding, and living with the significance of her loss.

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