When most people think of backbends images of a contortionist with their head resting on their buttocks is what usually comes to mind. Bending backward looks like a fairly daunting task, a painful one and perhaps not a lot of fun. Even yoga students who have been practicing for many years have gotten stumped in developing their backbends. While it is true that backbends stir emotions such as fear and anger it is a misconception to see at best too difficult and at worst not for you.
As Get on my mat the past Persist to control my present moment it has helped This is exactly what backbends offer: a deep exploration of our deeper selves and a new way to move the spine and alter our attitudes. Physically backbends open the hips, strengthen and stretch the legs as well as the lower back muscles. Other benefits include increasing the flow of blood, massaging the vital organs and glands as well as loosening the joints. Yoga Master B.K.S. Iyengar also recommended backbends for curing depression and as a holistic alternative for heart patients and in particular people with ischemia. Backbends boost energy levels, relieve tensions stored in the muscles and release natural pain-killers.
Having practiced backbends for many years now I understand the images and the idea of it seem pretty far out. However, I also believe that the bud or the flower of yoga appears very differently from one practitioner to the next. In other words, it is not about looking like this picture or forcing your body into a tight position that feels totally uncomfortable. Sometimes we have to work through pains and problems as well as work with our limitations. But a cobra with the feet near or far from the head is never a sign of a trained or untrained mind. If a garden is like the mind then it needs weeding, watering and the soil turned over from time to time. Namaste enjoy your practice on and off the mat.
As Get on my mat the past Persist to control my present moment it has helped This is exactly what backbends offer: a deep exploration of our deeper selves and a new way to move the spine and alter our attitudes. Physically backbends open the hips, strengthen and stretch the legs as well as the lower back muscles. Other benefits include increasing the flow of blood, massaging the vital organs and glands as well as loosening the joints. Yoga Master B.K.S. Iyengar also recommended backbends for curing depression and as a holistic alternative for heart patients and in particular people with ischemia. Backbends boost energy levels, relieve tensions stored in the muscles and release natural pain-killers.
Having practiced backbends for many years now I understand the images and the idea of it seem pretty far out. However, I also believe that the bud or the flower of yoga appears very differently from one practitioner to the next. In other words, it is not about looking like this picture or forcing your body into a tight position that feels totally uncomfortable. Sometimes we have to work through pains and problems as well as work with our limitations. But a cobra with the feet near or far from the head is never a sign of a trained or untrained mind. If a garden is like the mind then it needs weeding, watering and the soil turned over from time to time. Namaste enjoy your practice on and off the mat.
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