Utkata Konasana - Goddess

FIND YOUR INNER GODDESS
Utkata Konasana/Goddess is one of my favourite poses. Quite a few of the hip opening poses are asymmetrical poses, where left and right sides of the body are doing different things. In Utkata Konasana/Goddess if you drew a line down your midline the right and left side are in mirroring each other in symmetry which allows you to check that both sides are balanced. I often use Utkata Konasana/Goddess as a transition pose to go from a Virabhadrasana II/Warrior II standing flow at the top of the mat with the right leg forward, to a Virabhadrasana II/Warrior II standing flow at the back of the mat with the left leg forward. It is a subtly strong pose with plenty of physical challenge, all your muscles that have been strengthened and stretched will be talking to you after you’ve held it for a few breaths! Similar to Malasana/Squat it gives you the opportunity to work on your pelvic floor strength and is very toning for the digestive system.

THE BENEFITS OF UTKATA KONASANA/GODDESS
Utkata Konasana/Goddess warms and energises the whole body, particularly the lower body. It strengthens the legs, glutes, calves, ankles and spine; and stretches the inner groin, inner legs and chest. After incorporating it into your practice you will feel a lovely freedom of movement in your hips. As a hip opener it releases emotional tension, relieves stress and tension, aids digestion and is very grounding and calming. This pose is particularly beneficial for pregnancy because it creates space in the pelvis and strengthens the pelvic floor.

EXPLORING UTKATA KONASANA/GODDESS IN YOUR PRACTICE
The sequence will prepare you for the peak pose. It brings you through the pose several times to let you get a sense of progress as the muscles gradually open up. The main alignment to watch out for is to make sure your knees are pointing the same direction as your feet and that your knees don’t collapse inwards. It can sometimes feel like a balancing act of lifting the hipbones up and opening the knees.

Once you settle your lower body into the pose the best way to stay the course is to try different arm arrangements. Both distracting you from the intensity of the pose and giving you the opportunity to work on your shoulder strength.

It can help to find your alignment of the pose using some support before your first Utkata Konasana/Giddess on your mat. Try the pose sitting on the corner of a chair and feel the strong hip opening without the intensity of the pose, or try it with your back up against a wall to get a sense of the upright position of the spine in the pose. Then come back to your mat with these blueprints and see how a freestanding version feels.

ALIGNMENT CUES
This sequence will gradually open your inner groin and wake up the muscles of the outer hips and legs. These are some big emotional muscles so move slowly and when you get to the peak pose pause and savour all your hard work.

Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:

• From Tadasana, hands on hips, step your left foot out into a wide stance to face the side of your mat, rotate your feet out at a 45 degree angle.

• Inhale, lift your inner thighs and lengthen up through your spine. Exhale, bend your knees and lower your hips down, stack your knees over your ankles, thighs working towards being parallel to the ground. Tailbone reaches down, hipbones reach up.

• Press your weight into your heels and the outer edges of feet.

• Hands in prayer position at your heart, sternum presses into your hands and hands press into your sternum, gaze forward.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Vrksasana - Tree

ROOTING DOWN
Vrksasana/Tree is the natural progression from our last pose breakdown – Tadasana/Mountain. There is no Vrksasana/Tree without first finding your roots in Tadasana/Mountain. So be sure to feel find your stable foundation in Tadasana/Mountain before you start moving into Vrksasana/Tree. Tree Pose teaches us the principles of rooting down to connect with the support of the earth beneath to help you find your centre of gravity and reach up through the whole length of your spine.

THE BENEFITS OF VRKSASANA/TREE POSE
It may seem like a simple enough pose but it has lots to offer – it builds focus and improves your coordination; stretches the inner groin, arms and shoulders; and strengthens the core, hip flexors, glutes and ankle joint.

It is the perfect pose for runners to add into their routine to build ankle stability and strong feet. With 26 bones, 25 joints and 33 muscles our feet are designed to support the weight of the whole body without the intervention of shoes! Your feet get tired and sore because the bones are being squashed together and the muscles are being bypassed by arch support. Whilst I’m not quite suggesting you turn you back on wearing conventional shoes, getting barefoot and onto your yoga mat is the best thing you can do for your feet to let them spread to their natural shape, realign the bones, and get all the muscles firing again.

EXPLORING THE VRKSASANA/TREE POSE IN YOUR PRACTICE
After your the first row warm up come to a standing position and explore the three points of each foot: the ball of the big toe, ball of the little toe and middle of the heel – root down into them equally, while at the same time feeling a lift in the three arches of each foot. When we root down into these three points, the arches naturally lift into a triangular dome shape. This action is called Pada Bandha (foot energy lock) – it brings an awakening and energy to the leg muscles that travels up the entire body. Building strong and flexible feet will help you find your foundation throughout your yoga practice, cultivating a flow of energy from the ground up. You’ll find that when you take time to focus on the placement of your feet the ‘rooting-down’ effect will naturally help you achieve better alignment in all standing poses. Having an awareness and appreciation of your feet will not only benefit your yoga practice but also your day-to-day movement and activities.

ALIGNMENT CUES
This sequence will bring you through a progression of poses to prepare you for Tree Pose to strengthen the core, hip flexors and glutes and stretch out the inner groin. You will come into Tree Pose twice, once at the end of each standing flow. When you arrive into each standing pose bring your attention to the placement of your feet. Scan through the three points of your feet and find the connection to your sticky mat. When you press into these three points you will feel the three arches lifting and a strong suction drawing you down and projecting you up at the same time.

The following are some alignment cues to help you get into the pose with ease. Read through them and spend a bit of time in your Vrksasana/Tree:

• From Tadasana, hands on hips, inhale, pour your weight into your left foot, draw your navel towards your spine.

• Bend your right knee and open your hip out to the side, place your right foot on your right calf, or at the top inside of your left thigh.

• Press your right foot against your inner left thigh and your thigh into your foot.

• Place your hands on your hip bones to check they are level, press firmly into the standing leg, squeeze the glute of the lifted leg to help open the hip out to the side, exhale here.

• Pick an unmovable point, called your ‘dristi’, to focus on, which will help you find your balance.

• Lengthen through your spine to the tip of your crown, bring your hands to prayer position, inhale, raise your hands up over your head, broaden your collarbones.

We all have wobbly days. There is no shame in using a wall for support if your balance just isn’t with you today. You might find if you are a bit kinder to yourself and use the wall, the next time you try the sequence you will calmly find your best tree ever!

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Tadasana - Mountain

STANDING BLUEPRINT
Tadasana/Mountain is a pose that may not look like much is going on from the outside but done with integrity it is a strong pose that is the foundation of all standing poses and helps us find the natural curves of the spine. It also gives us the building blocks for finding balance to incorporate into more challenging poses like Vrksasana/Tree; the principle of press & reach; and how to apply effort & ease into each pose. We often come into Tadasana/Mountain to link mini flows in a sequence but may not be giving it the time it deserves and the credit for how it help us re-centre so that we can continue with our practice. Consciously coming to into this basic standing position, and spending a bit more time exploring it throughout your practice, will build muscle memory for your spine to carry you more upright off the mat, and allow the curves to do their job as a mechanism for shock absorption, as we move through our day. For new teachers out there, Tadasana/Mountain is a great pose to have in the memory bank for coming back to as a means to linking your mini flows together and helping your students find the all important pause in the practice before they eagerly jump into the next pose.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Feet position in Tadasana/Mountain is a personal preference. In general the wider the feet are the easier it is to find balance. If you want to challenge your proprioception and your spatial awareness stand with your feet together, big toes touching. Feet hip distance apart, directly stacked under their hip joint, is also kinder if you have any lower back knee issues. Use Tadasana/Mountain throughout your practice to retune your spine and find symmetry left and right before you move on to your next mini flow of poses. Similar to Savasana you can use it to assimilate the practice and let the effects of the poses ripple through you.

You may not think you need alignment cues for a pose that to the onlooker is essentially standing but there is lots to look for in Tadasana/Mountain:

• Stand with your feet hip width apart or feet together.

• Lift all ten toes up and place them down one at a time. Spread your feet like you’re trying to make the surface of contact with the ground as wide as possible.

• Pour your weight equally into the three points of your feet - big toe mound, little toe and the centre of the heel, feel the lift of your arches and inner ankles.

• Hug your outer hips to the midline, pelvis stacked over the foundation of your feet. Lengthen through the front, sides and back of the body. Draw your navel towards your spine.

• Broaden through the collarbones, shoulders soften, arms hang down either side of the body, slight external rotation of the arms.

• Lengthen through your spine to the tip of your crown, chin level with the ground, back of the neck long, gaze forward.

• Notice the constant micro movement even within the stillness as your whole body works out how to stay upright against the force of gravity.

You can also try a slightly different version of Tadasana/Mountain from Vinyasa Krama which one of my favourite Dublin based yoga teachers Phelim May often adds into his Saturday morning class at The Yoga Room. Whenever he gently guides us into this version of Tadasana/Mountain I can’t help thinking of The Oscars, clearly I need to work a bit harder on my attention! Read the above alignment cues and add these small adjustments below:

• Arms either side of the body, palm lightly pressing into your sides.

• Hug your outer hips to the midline.

• Squeeze your inner thighs together, lift up internally through the pelvic floor to your navel and draw your navel towards your spine.

• Lift your chest up slightly and draw your shoulder blades together.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru