In sitting head-to-knee or pascimottanasana, we have the opposite of crow (see below, April 2015). Whereas crow looks difficult but is actually playful and springy, sitting head-to-knee looks like an ordinary forward bend but really it's an advanced asana when the top half of the body correctly leans over the legs.
Rushing down misses the point. Succumbing to gravity, with the forehead immediately touching knees and the hands racing down to the feet or legs is absolutely not the point. Rather, as we lean forwards we lift up the midsection; raising the spine through the lumbar and thoracic to avoid rounding the back as much as possible. In the front of the body, we want to keep the solar plexus open and active, not cramped and constrained. This takes a lot of concentration and application, not a term you hear much in the Spiritual Industrial Complex of lotus flowers and unicorns. Application. And I am not talking about a computer program or 'app'. Application is the ability to observe in the face of resistance and, from that, an ability to master matter -- in this case our meat dresses, these meat machines, our bodies. It is the picture of work.
Being super-bendy or flexible doesn't necessarily help. In fact, this pose, when performed by really flexible people, can contribute to the idea that this is an easy pose. For flexible students, particular emphasis needs to be taken to lengthen up in the middle, become more active, and not slip into habitual habits and merely pleasant feelings of well-being.
I am not a fan of props, but for this one, I recommend sitting on top a block or cushion, especially for beginners. This will help lift your centre and bring the spine into alignment. Out-stretch your legs. I'm not hung up about straight legs for beginners or if you're feeling tight in the legs. In fact, there are arguments that bent knees are actually more beneficial in this pose. So bend knees slightly, raise arms overhead, and slowly come forward. You should feel like you're hitting a wall of resistance. If you don't, then you're not doing this correctly. You should come -- smack! -- into resistance. If you don't, then you are rushing to get further down. No! Meet the resistance and from there grow up and out. Then come forward. Again, you should meet another level of resistance. Do a third time. Then place hands on your feet, ankles or calves. In working through resistances, not rushing through them, we get to know the nature of matter.
Rushing down misses the point. Succumbing to gravity, with the forehead immediately touching knees and the hands racing down to the feet or legs is absolutely not the point. Rather, as we lean forwards we lift up the midsection; raising the spine through the lumbar and thoracic to avoid rounding the back as much as possible. In the front of the body, we want to keep the solar plexus open and active, not cramped and constrained. This takes a lot of concentration and application, not a term you hear much in the Spiritual Industrial Complex of lotus flowers and unicorns. Application. And I am not talking about a computer program or 'app'. Application is the ability to observe in the face of resistance and, from that, an ability to master matter -- in this case our meat dresses, these meat machines, our bodies. It is the picture of work.
Being super-bendy or flexible doesn't necessarily help. In fact, this pose, when performed by really flexible people, can contribute to the idea that this is an easy pose. For flexible students, particular emphasis needs to be taken to lengthen up in the middle, become more active, and not slip into habitual habits and merely pleasant feelings of well-being.
I am not a fan of props, but for this one, I recommend sitting on top a block or cushion, especially for beginners. This will help lift your centre and bring the spine into alignment. Out-stretch your legs. I'm not hung up about straight legs for beginners or if you're feeling tight in the legs. In fact, there are arguments that bent knees are actually more beneficial in this pose. So bend knees slightly, raise arms overhead, and slowly come forward. You should feel like you're hitting a wall of resistance. If you don't, then you're not doing this correctly. You should come -- smack! -- into resistance. If you don't, then you are rushing to get further down. No! Meet the resistance and from there grow up and out. Then come forward. Again, you should meet another level of resistance. Do a third time. Then place hands on your feet, ankles or calves. In working through resistances, not rushing through them, we get to know the nature of matter.
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