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and gaze upward (identical to vinyasa three).

      Vinyasa Sixteen

      Exhaling, fold forward, straighten the legs, and place the fingertips in line with the toes (identical to vinyasa two).

      

      From the top, vinyasa thirteen (Upward Dog), vinyasa fourteen (Downward Dog), vinyasa fifteen, vinyasa sixteen

      Vinyasa Seventeen

      Inhale, bend your knees, draw your arms up above the head, and gaze up in Utkatasana (identical to vinyasa one).

       Samasthiti

      With an exhalation, straighten the legs, lower the arms, and gaze softly.

      

      Surya Namaskara B, vinyasa seventeen

      Do Surya Namaskara B until you start to perspire. Five rounds should be sufficient under average conditions, three in the tropics, and up to ten in colder regions.

      The standing postures teach us the basics of alignment and develop strength and poise.

       Padangushtasana

      HOLD-THE-BIG-TOE POSTURE

      Drishti Nose

      Vinyasa One

      From Samasthiti, jump on inhalation and, exhaling, land with your feet parallel, hip width apart, placing hands on hips. “Hip width” means the ankle joints are positioned under the hip joints.

       ANATOMICAL FOCUS

       Disc Bulges

      A disc bulge (see page 38) can occur when a weight is lifted off the floor with the spine flexed. Pressure on the discs between the vertebrae deforms them into a wedge shape and predisposes them to bulging. The intervertebral discs act as shock absorbers for the vertebrae. They consist of a fibrous band enclosing a fluid-filled nucleus. When this liquid-filled cushion is pushed beyond the boundary of the vertebrae, it is called a disc bulge. Often the disc will press against the spinal cord and cause considerable pain. The adjacent muscles spasm to arrest and thereby protect the spine, resulting in a complete inability to bend forward. A disc bulge usually corrects itself in a few weeks. A disc prolapse differs from this in that the fibrous nucleus of the disc is pushed beyond the boundary of the vertebrae. Allopathy⁶ considers that this condition does not repair itself.

      It is therefore important to avoid rounding the low back when bending forward, as in this position it bears the weight of the body. Instead, bend the knees while still maintaining some stretch in the hamstring muscles.

      Inhaling, grow the legs tall and strong, and lift the torso up and out of the hips. Exhaling, fold forward at the hip joints, keeping the back straight and the heart lifted. Reach for the toes, hooking the big toes with the first and second fingers, palms facing inward, and closing the clasp of the fingers with the thumb. Students who cannot yet reach their toes may bend their legs. Bending of the low back to reach the toes is not recommended, as this places pressure on the lumbar discs, and may cause them to bulge.

      

      FIGURE 6 DISC BULGE

      See description on page 37.

      

      On the next inhalation, keeping hold of the toes, lift the head and chest and cast the gaze up between the eyebrows.

      Vinyasa Two

      On exhalation, fold deeply forward, lifting the kneecaps. The lifting of the kneecaps is done by the quadriceps muscle, which is the antagonist to the hamstrings. Performed in this way, the stretch is active, which signals the hamstrings to lengthen. Deepen and soften your groins to lengthen the hip flexor muscles, and breathe into the hamstrings to release them.

      The elbows draw out to the side, the shoulder blades move up toward the hips, and the crown of the head reaches to the floor. Let the weight of the head lengthen the spine and neck. As you support the posture with the action of the legs, the spine releases and is passive. The drishti is toward the tip of the nose. In this vinyasa we are in the state of Padangushtasana. Stay in the posture for five breaths.

      

      Right, Padangushtasana

      Vinyasa Three

      Inhaling, lift your chest and gaze toward the tip of the nose. Exhaling, place the hands under the feet, stepping onto the fingertips and eventually the whole palm, with the toes touching the wrists.

       Pada Hastasana

      FEET-ON-HANDS POSTURE

      Drishti Nose

      Vinyasa One

      From vinyasa three of Padangushtasana, inhaling, lift the head and chest and gaze upward. Attempt to concave the low back and keep the legs strong, keeping the hands under the feet.

       YOGIC CONTEXT

       Active Balancing

      Actively balancing the body in every posture means it is necessary to isolate those muscles that need to be contracted from the ones that need to be released and lengthened. Too often one sees students who contract their entire body. Active balancing strengthens the core muscles of the body as well as the superficial muscles. This creates a light carriage, as the skeletal structure is carried more efficiently. Pada Hastasana is a great posture to experience these principles at work.

      Vinyasa Two

      Exhaling, fold forward. You are now in the state of Pada Hastasana. Hold it for five breaths. As in the previous posture, keep the low back straight and, only when that is guaranteed, work at straightening the legs. The gaze is toward the nose. This posture is a more intense version of the previous one. You can make the stretch even more intense by shifting weight forward toward the toes.

      The abdominal muscles — the term refers primarily to rectus abdominis — are engaged here to protect the low back. Uddiyana Bandha (the lower part of the transverse abdominis) prevents the breath from distending the lower belly, which would destabilize the low back. Excess use of the abdominal muscles, however, would shorten the spine and lift the head away from the floor, as the abdominal muscles are primarily trunk flexors. Only a sensitive combination of leg work with trunk flexion and trunk extension will bring the desired result of elongating the spine. This is mainly felt at the waist. Subtle, intelligent work will increase the space between the lowest ribs and the pelvic crests, the upper rims of the hipbone. Both muscle groups of the trunk work isometrically (under tension but without shortening) and therefore both will be strengthened.

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