HUGGING IN . . .
I notice I’ve placed a lot of emphasis on hugging body parts into one another lately. I’m not sure how I decided to emphasize this element, but it (for me) is helpful in many of the poses I do currently and those I hope to do in the future.
Why is that?
No matter what pose I’m doing, the value of ‘hugging in’ presents a stability to my poses, as in:
In Bakasana (crow) pose, if I truly hug my inner knees into my upper arms, I have a better chance of a successful effort in this pose. If I hug the inside edges of my feet into one another as I lift my feet from the mat, it creates a hug to the midline which strengthens my Bakasana.
In Parsvakonasana (side angle pose), when I place my hand on the floor outside the front foot and hug the forearm into the lower leg, I feel more comfortable when turning my ribcage and opening into the pose. Remember, for years I have done and taught this pose with the forearm on the front knee, so the transition to hand on floor is significant (for me). It’s getting easier and I do appreciate the support of hugging arm to front leg when taking it a step further.
In Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes), when I hug the top leg (i.e. right knee towards the left), I am working and strengthening my adductor muscles (the muscles that draw the legs together). If I create this action of hugging right knee towards left, when I twist my torso to the right I just might be able to place my left elbow outside the right knee (read that twice - not sure if even then it will be clear).
To me, hugging in has been an emphasis I might have been doing all along because I remember my teachers encouraged it. I’m not sure I attached much importance to it until now. Especially as I move poses to a more challenging destination.
My apologies for my lapse in writing in this blog. I remember the time when hardly a day would pass without a post. I will try to be a bit more diligent about this aspect of my practice moving forward.
Keep reading !!!
