How many times have you quickly gone up into sarvangasana? Do you remember to pull the shoulders back, open the chest, activate the thighs and lift the tailbone up? Seemingly small modifications can change the entire posture.
Perhaps it was nervous excitement or maybe anticipation, but my first class was amazing. By the end of the class my blood was singing and my body felt like it was thrumming (to the beat of my blood?).
I am a sucker for simple classes. I believe if you focus on the simple stuff everything else falls into place. This class focused on the tailbone and sacrum region. We started the class with adhomukha virasana. Rajalakshmi asked us to continue to extend the arms. “This extension isn’t because you are lengthening your bones!!!” she boomed into the mike.
“The bones never extend!!! It’s impossible for you to extend any of your bones!!!” she continued. “Pay close attention to the parts of your body that make the extension possible!” she said.
She encouraged us to pay close attention to the tailbone-sacrum region and observe how it participates in forward bends and twists.
The most interesting part of the class was dissecting the parivritta trikonasana or the revolved triangle posture. There are three movements that make this asana possible: the extension of the side, the bending forward keeping that extension intact and finally, the opening of the chest. And once we were in the final posture we were asked to pull the tailbone and sacrum in to the body.
At one point Rajalakshmi caught me looking at my hip. I realize I do this unconsciously every time I practice this asana. I use my eyes to ensure that my hip is pushed back, which detracts from the overall experience of the asana. “Your side is compressing and you’re becoming a ball,” Rajalakshmi explained patiently. “Extend your chin forward and away from the sacrum. Open the sacrum and lengthen the side!” she boomed again.
This is the magic of the annual pilgrimage to RIMYI.