Stretching into Spring: Seated Pigeon/Eka Pada Sirsasana/Buddhasana

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Today I'm tackling another tough pose, but I'll break it down into three versions. Even the first version can be extremely challenging if someone has a really tight lower back or tight IT bands. *Legalities: I'm not a professional. Anything you do is at your own risk.

The first version is seated pigeon. In this posture sit up straight (feel free to lean against a wall or piece of furniture). Bring one leg up and cradle it as close to the chest as possible as demonstrated below. Look for a deep stretch. This should not hurt, but this may cause a deeper stretch than many postures especially if you have never stretched your IT bands before. Side note, the IT band is the iliotibial ligament that connects at the hip joint and the knee. I'm sure all my runners on here are familiar this this body part! Back to the stretch. I have demonstrated below. Make sure that you do not push to the point of pinching or pain!

The second version is Eka Pada Sirsasana or one leg behind the head. This posture first appears in Ashtanga during second series (intermediate). This posture is far from an "intermediate" yoga posture. The majority of people will never in their lifetime do this. There is not rule in stone that a person will ever need to put his/her foot behind the head. I, however, love this posture. I discovered relatively early on in life that this was accessible to me. I've had decades of practicing this posture. If you decide to try this proceed with caution. Make sure your body is warm from practice. Other than being careful of over extending the muscles of your leg and hip, you need to be very aware of the lower back. I have made mistake of practicing this posture without warming up my body first and overextending the vertebrae in my lower back more than once. Be very in tune with your body when attempting this. I do find that this is most achievable initially while laying down. If you feel you are warmed up and you are true to yourself that you are ready for this posture, then I would invite you to try it laying down or sitting up. One method might work better for your body than another.

Finally, I'll talk about buddhasana. I beg you not to try this unless you are experienced. When I first started practicing this asana I did not practice without the gentle guidance of my teacher or my husband (who knows my body very well and used to teach yoga). I did not try this without one of them for over two years before I attempted the posture on my own. Before I had either one of them helping me with this asana I was experienced enough with eka pada sirsasana that I did not need my hands to enter the posture. The point I am trying to make is that this is an extremely difficult posture. I will not even give instructions on how to enter the posture because I firmly believe that this should be learned with a very experienced instructor only. In Ashtanga, one does not practice this posture until fourth series (I'm still working on perfecting second series). This is for demonstrative purpose only! The picture of this posture is at the top of the page :).

Happy practicing. I promise an easier posture for tomorrow! All the best to you guys. Steem on.

Sandy