Vibrant Backbend Extension

Hey. Welcome to practice. So happy you're here backbending with me today. A word about backbends. You know, they used to be my nemesis. And they might be yours too, and I hope today's practice can inspire a little bit more love.

Mostly because we're using props. I have two blocks and a strap, and you're gonna line your blocks up if you have them to the narrow way so that they're under your spine. One is for your head and one is gonna go under your upper back between your shoulder blades. So just go ahead and find that. You might need to lay up and down a couple times. And once you get them positioned, go ahead and step your feet close to your butt and lift your hips hold your elbows over your chest, just opposite elbows, and give a little rock left, right.

You could do this with your hips down. You could lift them up and down. You're massaging the inner shoulder blade. The muscles around the blade. And you can also take the arms overhead.

Switch the clasp of your elbows. So initially let this be just to feel good massage to your upper back and also an imprinting of the blocks into your spine to encourage the spine to move towards the chest. Open and elongate in this shape. And then do set the butt down and lift the arms straight up to the ceiling. Palms face each other.

And we'll do a little bit of pro traction reaching the fingers all the way to touch the ceiling, so spreading the shoulders away from the block. And then exhale and squeeze the block with your shoulder blades. Try and get the upper blade, the middle blade, and even the low pointy tip of the blade to hug the block, and you're on your own lifting and lowering the arm bones in the sockets. And feel, you know, if you're getting a lot of contraction, shoulders near the neck, and see if you can move that contraction down lower to the tips of the shoulder blades. So in fact, it feels like the collar bones and the top of the shoulders widen but the bottom of the blades, the upper back narrows.

So you look like that hourglass shape, wide shoulders, and narrowing down towards the waist. Good. And then let your arms go overhead and make a couple big snow angels. Touch the fingers to the floor. Make a big circle and then lift the arms up overhead. Just a couple times like this feeling the right and left maybe one is more sticky and one is more slidey of the shoulders.

You know, the joints love to circle. The ball and socket ones, especially It brings a lot of mobility, freedom, fluid into the joint. Next time your hands are down by your hips, keep them there. Either push your elbows into the floor or push your hands into the floor near your hips enough to hover your upper back just to get light on the blocks chest is lifted first. Your head is hanging back.

It might not even be touching the block anymore. And then push down into the hand so you sit up test first, which should feel really nice. Hopefully you're already loving backbends. Okay. So then you're gonna make a u shape with your strap. Mine is just open. You know, it it has a loop in it, but the I'm not using that.

It's like a v shape, like a u shape, and I'm gonna turn both blocks up to tall. With maybe like a finger width in between for my spine. And then you're gonna lie back down on them. Now listen, this lying back down can't be a rolling back, a rounding back. It needs to be like a popped chest.

So almost like the way a pole volder would go over hands near your hips again chest up and then go ahead, lay your shoulder blades onto the blocks. Your head hangs back. You'll lift your hips again and find the tails, the two ends of the strap, and pull them. Just pull on them until your arms are straight. So these are the arms of erdvedaniarasana parallel your feet. You might even internally rotate do.

In fact, in internally rotate your thighs, your knees. Your hands can touch the floor maybe. Wrap the triceps up to the ceiling, roll the biceps down towards the floor and then see if you can keep your hands low down to the floor as you begin to lower your hips down. And they're like a seesaw. You can lift your hips up.

And you'll feel that your hands go down, and then you can lower your hips and feel that your hands go up you're on your own like this just lifting and lowering and see if you can get both. If you can get both hands down and hips down or moving in that direction. So nice. Next time your hips come down. Keep them down.

Bring your hands next to your hips again. Sit up chest first. So use your hands, not your neck, to push the floor. And sit all the way up. Yeah. Lovely. Okay. We're gonna come on to our knees move your blocks aside, move your strap aside.

You can sit on a block between your heels, or you could sit I'm sitting on my heels. Just a simple strap, a a simple twist. You don't need your strap. Twist to the right. Bring your right hand to the outside of your left foot.

Or your heel or the block, if you're sitting on 1, simple turn twist, let your spine release, It's it's lovely to use twists with backbends as a preparation for the spine and also as a release for the spine. Sometimes we fold, to release the spine. Like, we wanna do child's pose, twist the other way. Or we wanna, you know, forward fold. And, it's really, a healthy release for the spine to twist instead of to round after back bending. It just takes the spine out of that, supreme and range of motion.

Okay. One more breath. Chest, maybe even look up chin up, breathe in, turning as you breathe out. Great. And then look forward. Nice. Downward facing dog. Plant your hands in front of you, tuck your toes behind you, and lift the hips up and back.

Again, these are the arms of Erudvedon Urasana as if your arms could be straight in that backbend, in that full wheel, and a real strong external rotation action. Wrapping the triceps around the upper arm bones and rolling the biceps forward. I start at the hands almost dialing the hands away from the midline, like the thumbs point forward and the fingers point outward. I'm not not totally to the sides more to the corners of the mat. And then I use the hands as, a guide and information point, a north star for the shoulders to spread again the top of the shoulder away from the neck and narrow the tip of the shoulder blade towards the spine. Great. Come forward to plank pulls.

Breathe in and lower all the way down onto your belly as you breathe out. Grab a block, clip it to your butt, left butt cheek, and then hold it with your left heel. So I have this block, the long orientation, the shorter the block is the more intense the hamstring contraction will be and you'll do it with each block. So both blocks clipped between your butt and your heel, and you'll hold your chin in your hands and look adorable. And for a moment, just contract the hamstrings.

Just feel this strong gluteal hamstring contraction, like you're squeezing the blocks with your heels as if you could make juice come out of the block. Like, fresh pressed block juice, which is gonna be huge in a minute now press your pelvis down into the floor. You know, if your hamstrings are really strong, you could think about marching, you know, lifting one knee, one thigh up, or even both. One more breath. If you're getting a hamstring cramp, great. You're in the right place. You're waking up the muscle. Okay.

And then release. Just put the blocks to the side. Open your arms out to the side in a t shape So you're like hugging the floor? Hands as high as your shoulders. Right hand next to your chest and then roll onto your left hip.

This prone shoulder opener. And then come on back to center, and we'll do it on the right side. So extend the right arm out to the right, roll onto your right hip, You can let your top leg also go behind you if that feels right. Keep going left and right. And you might even be balancing your hand on the pinky side of the wrist, So that your arm is really an external rotation.

Next time you come right will be your last roll, rolling twist. Yeah. And then bend your right knee and reach back for the foot with your left hand. If the foot is far, you have a strap, and lift the right arm or reach the right arm alongside your ear, you could stay like this. Absolutely. Half Gun Urasana, half Shalabasana, and lift everything up, or you can slide your right hand under the bind cross your buttocks and find your left foot top of foot.

It's a wrist cross, not feet cross situation. And you can stay just like this, or you can think about kicking your feet back and lifting your knees up. Take a big belly breath and release. Wag your tail. Little blanket for the forehead.

Breathe out. And then we'll change sides. So bend your left knee, reach back with your right hand, and you could slide your left arm alongside your ear and lift everything up. This could be your pose, or you can slide your left hand under the bind across the buttocks. Find your right foot.

It's a cross wrist, not shoulder, not ankles, cross wrist, not ankles. Maybe you kick the feedback, and then do take a big belly breath, inhale. And release. Wagg your tail. Sometimes it's nice to make some sound Grab some blocks, put the next to your chest, we'll do up dog with the, knees down.

I like medium blocks these days. So hands on block, shoulders up, elbows back. Lift your chest. You might walk your knees forward. So your pelvis is up, but your knees are down, move your elbows back, present the armpits, lift your back ribs, inhale.

And down dog. Hands on blocks. Next hill. Step your right foot forward. Drop the back knee down. We're gonna move dynamic inhale, straighten both legs, rock back onto your right heel, ground your left heel.

Let's do this twice more. Inhale. Left knee drops, chest up, breathe in, exhale, folding, straighten both legs, breathe out. One more time. Inhale and exhale and then go ahead, step your left foot forward, feet apart hips distance is nice, Grab your left hand block, bend your knees, and hold the block behind your hips. Be like a skier So knees bent, chest forward, look up, inhale, easy twist, straighten your right leg, and turn to the right as you exhale.

Knees bent skier, breathe in, straighten your left leg, twist left, breathe out, Skier, breathe in, fold. Keep holding your block, blocking the air, head towards the floors you breathe out. Knees bent chin to chest rolling up to stand. Inhale. Backbend is up to you. Maybe you lift your chest even as the block goes down like you're pulling it apart.

And then come on up to stand. Yeah. Left butt block. Clip it with your left heel. You're gonna come into artichandrasana so I'm just sliding my right block forward and to the right a little bit clip your left heel block situation, hamstring cramp, go for it.

A lot of our low back pain in life and in backbends comes from weak hamstrings. So it's wonderful just to strengthen them. Okay. Fold forward half moon, right hand on the block and your left heel is holding that that other block. And then go ahead, open your left knee to the left and begin to turn your torso to the left. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, maybe you point the toes, lift your left arm, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, strengthen your hamstring.

That's gonna protect your low back in this backbend. Okay. Full pose, artichendros, and then grab the block with your left hand. Lift the block up, kick your left foot back, breathe in. Trico Nasana step back once or twice, pull your right hand block along with you.

Just for a beat, do external rotation really as if your right hand could turn on the block, your left hand, also like 2 screwdrivers screwing screws in, inhale. Both blocks come down, runners, lunge, pick up your back heel, exhale, plank pose, breathe in, Up dog, tippy toes, knees down as you breathe out. Stay here for an extra inhale. Roll your shoulders back. Lift your chest up.

An exhale downward facing dog. Step the left foot forward. Inhale, tap the right knee down, exhale, straighten both legs and fold, twice more breathing in and out. One more time inhale and exhale. Step the right foot forward, hip distance apart, inhale look up, grab your right hand block behind your back, exhale.

Then the knees like a skier, pull the chest forward, breathe in. You'll straighten the left leg twisting as you breathe out. Inhale hips back, heart forward, skier, exhale twisting straighten your right leg. Center, breathe in, and folding over, breathing out. Inhale. Lay the block on your butt, roll up knees bent, chin to chest as you act. Hail.

Any backbend, if it feels right, block goes down towards the back of your knees, chest goes up to the sealing, in breath, and like you're pulling the block apart as you breathe out. Great. In house stand up and we're gonna clip the right block to the right butt and hold it with the right heel and just get that strength. Find that strength in your right leg. Go ahead, fold forward, left hand finds the block for half moon.

Right hand can rest on the hip as you begin to roll onto your left thigh, turning the pelvis to the right, and squeezing squeezing block. This is like Chapasana, the action of Chapasana, you can lift the right arm, see about moving the right knee back. Maybe you point the toes. And then go ahead, grab the block. Full pose, kick the right leg out, back, lift the right arm up, breathe in, and step back once twice triangle Trikonasana breathing out.

You're here just for one breath. Like you're turning the hands again to turn the shoulders, external rotation, inhale. Take your abdomen back as you exhale. Good both blocks to the floor, runners lunge, pick up your back heel, breathe in, and step back to down dog. Breathing out.

Good. Put your knees down. Neil, stambasana, so don't sit just kneel. And then move your two bricks tall between your heels. Hole them with your feet. And pull up your pants.

Okay. Put your hands in your back pockets elbows towards each other, lift your chest up. This might be, you know, just delicious. This might be a wonderful place to go. Feel with your hands that these muscles, the lowest part of the buttocks muscle is contracted. The hamstring, it's almost like you're gonna pick your feet up off floor.

Let the shoulder blades like there's a block there. Lift your chest to the ceiling. And you might just keep your hands and your back pocket. You might feel maybe the blocks are in reach. Let your hips go forward, your chest go up.

You can look back. Let your head go back if that feels right. It's not dropping the head or look up or look even at your chest. Just one breath. And then inhale to sit up, take your blocks out, down dog.

Great. And then walk your hands back to meet your feet, bring your hands to your hips, flat back to stand inhale. I mean, it it's full love. For me, it's full love. We're gonna go to the wall, grab a block, listen, The intense way to do this with have is with having the block at the wall. I'm standing with my right shoulder, right hip at the wall.

My right foot on the, you know, the foot between the block between the foot and the wall. This is the intense way to do it. You could put both blocks on either side of your foot. This other block on the big toe side is less intense. So depending on your spine, you'll pick which one is right for you.

Lift your right arm up the wall. Have your feet about 4 feet apart, 3 or 4 feet apart, Pravrita, Trikonasana, inhale. And as you exhale left hand to the block, it could be outside. It could be inside rather. You might need to widen your stance, take your left foot a little further away from the wall.

And you might after a beat or a moment be a to bring your hand left hand to the inner block, the one at the wall. Bend your right elbow. Ground your left heel. Breathe in. And as you exhale, push with your right hand and turn, revolve more of your left chest towards the wall.

Just a couple breasts like that. So the right elbow bent, the right shoulder moving back, the right ribs moving back, And as you exhale at the left ribs drop down and roll towards the wall, One more breath. Yeah. Push into your left heels. Stand with your back to the wall. Take a breath.

It's really such a right here moment coming out of a twist, out of a backbend, an inversion that next breath is like, you have arrived. Okay. Set it up on the other side. Left foot pointing forward, left arm at the wall, lean back into your right, heel, real strong straight right leg, breathe in. And as you breathe out, touch either the outer block or the inner block. Easier for the one on the big toe side.

Bend your left elbow. Again, ground your right heel hips back in the and then push push into the wall with your left hand and turn revolve. Maybe you see can your right hand go to the wall blah? Breathe in and turning, turning as you breathe out. Last breath like this, lift your chin off your throat, maybe even look forward. Breathe in.

Right chest to the wall. Breathe out. And then press to your right heel inhale to stand with your back against the wall. Yeah. Great. Let's do one more thing at the wall. Well, 2 more things.

Let's stay at the wall forever. Okay. Stand facing the wall with your pelvis touching the wall, but your feet, I don't know, maybe half a foot back you know, 6 inches, something like that. You can keep your hands on the wall like you would do upward facing dog. You can put your hands in your back pockets on the flesh of your buttocks and move the flesh down and when you breathe in, see if you can lift your belly up, see if you can lift your chest up and look up. Maybe like the bridge of your nose is parallel the ceiling? You might slide your hands down the back of the thighs.

Maybe so your chest is parallel to the ceiling. Keep your pelvis at the wall to okay if your knees bend, you might be able to see across the room, and you might even be able to see the floor. Inhale, stand, chest up. Rest your forehead on the wall and move your hips back as you breathe out. Let's do it.

So there's a million and one ways to do it. This is my favorite blocks flush up against the wall medium height with a little bit of space in between. My head isn't gonna go there, but it just gives my hands a wider breath. So hands on the blocks, fingers point down and the heel of the hand is on the top face of the block. Step your feet in towards your hips, feet are parallel.

I mean, I even like a little bit of pigeon toe. I'm a little bit bow legged, so knees in, pop your chest, lift your chest up, and you could stop on the crown of your head, or you can go all the way up into full wheel. It's up to you in how to lift the hips and maybe keep going or come onto the crown of the head. And then maybe another breath to lift all the way up. See about straightening the arms, letting your chest move towards the wall, Stay.

Take a couple of smoother, quieter breaths. You'll come down the way you came up, bending the elbows, land on the back of the head. Let your backdrop, let your belly deflate. Easy twist, hug your right knee into your chest, right arm, open to the side, breathe in, and just roll onto your left hip as you breathe out. Come through center, inhale.

Just switch, left knee into the chest as you exhale. Left arm opens, breathe in, and then roll onto your right hip as you breathe out. Come back onto your back, feet on the floor, knees together, with a low block under your head. Let your knees drop in together. And begin to feel into your breath.

Specifically, the breath in your belly, just tune into the feeling of breathing in your belly, how it feels like a balloon when you inhale, how it sinks, like, into wet sand on an exhale. As you continue to feel the breath in the belly, block behind your head, do sense that the back of the neck is long, a kind of jalendar abundant chin towards the throat, and do sense that your eyes are turned down, even if they're closed, like they're looking towards your cheeks or your chest. Sometimes with a lot of back bending, the eyes can stay rolled back. And then feel your breath in your chest. So let the belly attention dissolve and illuminate the feeling of breathing in your chest.

Your ribs, your back. You just notice right side and left side and see if you can make it even both lungs, both ribs, spreading equally on inhale. And softening at the same speed when you exhale. And then you'll connect these 2 abdominal cavity and thoracic cavity You can imagine like a wave coming in, breathe into your belly, your ribs, your chest. It's a fluid wave inhaling.

And then like the wave is going back out, the chest, the ribs, the belly, the legs. You can imagine you're sitting on the shoreline. A wave comes in up the front shore of the spine. And the wave rolls back out as you breathe out. You can stay in this shape for meditation, or if you prefer another shape lying flat or sitting up, by all means, take that now.

And in the spirit of the open heart will move into a meta meditation a loving kindness practice, and start just by envisioning somebody that you love seeing their face silently, saying their name, and create the intention for this person's happiness. May this person be happy? And you can see them laughing, smiling. May this person be healthy and you can see them strong, radiant, vibrant. May this person be safe and protected?

I may this person be at ease just in their everyday life. May it be easy for them? And you can feel what it's like in the body creating these well wishes for someone you love. And this can be a secret practice you take out into your day just with random people passing you by in life wishing them happiness, may they be happy? And it can become a very internal practice for yourself, wishing yourself happiness, and you can expand your circle to include everyone all people everywhere to be happy and healthy.

To be safe and protected. May all beings everywhere, be at ease. So stay stay in this sweet spot as long as you can. And if it's time for you to move on, take a deeper breath, touch yourself, either at the heart, the belly, or hands together, breathing in, and an easy side breathing out. Thank you for your practice.

Shanti.