Week 51: How Do You Move From Balance to Imbalance and Back?

Do you ever feel like life is rocking you out of control one minute than its smooth sailing  on peaceful waters the next?

In this week's practice, one pose stood out from the rest, which represented this exact feeling - bow pose.

Bow pose ( Dhanurasana) is a prone back bending pose. I have been doing this pose for years and can remember the "early days" of this pose as challenging. As with downward facing dog, I had an early distaste for this pose...maybe just because it was hard!

I was quite excited to realize bow pose was part of the sequence of practice in Rodney Yee's Power Up Yoga DVD. The practice was what I would say on the faster side for me but when I realized we were heading into bow pose, I thought things must be slowing down for a moment.

I came tummy down onto my mat ready for a great back extension hold. Clasping my ankles, I lifted my chest and thighs off the mat and began to steady myself into the strength and calm of the pose. I had just balanced myself via my ribs and front of my pelvis (read: "smooth sailing") when he cued to role to the right.

What!?!?!

I'm going to role in bow pose. Really?

Okay - I let go of my balance and tipped to my right (I may note, still holding my ankles!) Whoa - what a sensation of imbalance and some strain (read: "rocking out of control"). I was pleasantly surprised that I "fell" into a wonderful, releasing chest stretch for the right pectoral muscle.

When cued to roll to the left, I was eager to move and get the equally beneficial stretch for the left pectoral.

Once I rolled back into upright bow pose, I thought to myself, that just wasn't that bad.

Moving past status quo, in anything, can actually be good and even beneficial.

Oh yoga, you teach me so many lessons beyond the physical.
LW