Pose of the week ~ Standing Splits

~ Standing Splits ~

Sanskrit Name: Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana
English Translation: One Foot Extended Upwards Pose

Just saying 'splits' makes my face cringe. I'm always in awe whenever I see someone do full splits. The one thing I always need to remember is that all of our bodies are different, some of us can the do the splits, others of us can do pigeon (one of my favorite poses) and others of us are still working on both of these, but there is something else amazing we can do like the (runners, chefs, bean counters, etc that I know.).

That being said, standing splits is something all of us can do....below are a few pictures I've found to show some various stages of the standing splits.

Picture credit: Yoga Journal

Picture Credit: Mind Body Green

Picture Credit: sarahbyoga

Tips:

• Warm up your hamstrings before coming into standing splits, maybe by practicing half splits 1st
• Push hands into the ground
• Keep hips even/squared (although, sometimes it just feels good to open the hips up a bit more for deeper hip opener)
• Think of the pose as a forward fold
• Toes can be pointed down (i.e. foot flexed, this usually helps me keep awareness in my leg and I can focus on pushing through my heel), toes can also be pointed as Iyengar recommends
• Use a wall ~ as shown above
• If your hands do not reach the floor, press hands into a block for stability
• To lift extended leg a bit higher, bend your standing leg slightly, lift extended leg more, then straighten standing leg
• To advance begin to take one or both hands around standing ankle, draw nose towards shin
• *Remember to switch sides* :)

Benefits:

• strengthens legs
• stretches hamstrings, calves, thighs and groin
• improves balance
• opens thighs and hips

Sequencing ideas ~ move into Standing splits from the following poses

• High or low lunge
• Half Moon
• Warrior 3
• Forward fold

Fading Tan, Lasting Relaxation

Wow! I can't believe it's been a month since I've written on the blog! Time literally flys by.

It's not that I have anything very profound to share here....but, it's one of those realizations I've come to that I thought I need to write down for the whole world to see (or at least for those who read my blog....which I know is at least my family). :)

It's about doing too much, all the time, non-stop....as my husband would say; I'm like a shark - I just can't control myself and I can't STOP. As I was looking for pictures of sharks, I realized all of them are like jaws with big ugly mouths and teeth.....YIKES, I hope he doesn't mean that I have sharp teeth & am mean, but rather I think (and hope) he means I'm just constantly moving and doing something. (So I tried to find the friendliest looking shark for my visual image here) :)

Picture credit: Wallpapers.net

So...on to my realization...last week my husband and I were in Jamaica for a week, celebrating our 2nd, 1 year anniversary (so, that's a story in itself)...but regardless we decided 6 days/nights in paradise would be wonderful. AND IT WAS! It was on this trip that I've come to a realization that I literally burned the candle at both ends for way too long. I had allowed so many things to to just consume me, my personality, my fun spunkiness...and before leaving I felt I was just constantly rushing from one task to the next regardless of whether it was at home, work, teaching or subbing yoga or commuting, and even spending time with friends...everything just felt rushed and forced, shoved into a slot on the calendar...with several reminders so I wouldn't forget. I was so NOT in any one moment...I was constantly in the next step's moment.

So...like I said...nothing profound here. We are all too busy and have lots of things to do.....but I think the main take-a-way here is at what point do we break, when do we say 'no' to a new task or even a social event, a new project....when do we know we've reached the capacity?

I'm lucky enough to have been able to take 6 days out of my life to seclude myself on a beach (or rather poolside, because my husband and I don't like 'icky toes') to RE-LEARN how to relax. You'd think relaxing would be easy...but even by the pool...it took me 3 days to just turn-off the constant desire to do something. This was the first trip where we did not DO anything, no plans (other than the 2 massages we spoiled ourselves to), no rush to do or be anywhere. I didn't even force myself to read the 3 books I brought with. My biggest worry was when was the coconut man going to come so I could have some FRESH coconut water!

Drinking fresh coconut water was seriously one of the main highlights of this trip!

My takeaway from this trip is that it's OK...and often NEEDED to be good with coming back with no crazy stories of exciting adventures....and that we sometimes need to slow down enough to momentarily forget even what floor we live on when entering our apartment building or getting into a taxi, needing to pause to remember what intersection we live at. (True stories).

My goal will be for this new feeling of empowerment to slow down to not fade over the coming fall and holiday season, as my tan soon will.

P.S...I was so happy to be able to practice yoga 5 out of the 6 days we were gone with this amazing view (sorry to make anyone jealous...but I just had to throw it out there) :)