~ Natarājāsana with Linda
Nataraja is a
depiction of Shiva as the cosmic dancer who performs his divine dance of
destruction and makes preparations for the god Brahma to continue the process
of creation. So in this workshop we will
destroy any preconceived notions of what we ‘can’ and ‘cannot’ do; of what we
think back bending ‘is’ and what ‘it isn’t’, coming with an open and clear mind
to work towards this beautiful and powerful pose!
Nataraja est la représentation de Shiva comme
danseur cosmique performant la danse divine de la destruction qui
préparera le Dieux Brahma à continuer le
processus de la création. Pendant cette
journée nous allons casser les idées préconçues de ce que nous pouvons ou ne pouvons pas faire. Nous travaillerons
sur l’idée de ce que nous pensons qu’un « back bending » un
« pont » peut ou ne peut pas être. Nous pourrons donc aborder cette formidable posture avec un
esprit ouvert et clair.
The
Dance of Bliss ~ Natarājāsana
Nataraj
is the image of Lord Shiva performing the cosmic dance, which symbolizes the
cosmic cycles of creation and destruction.
It is a marvelously unified and dynamic composition expressing the
rhythm and harmony of life. He is
elegantly standing upon the dwarf of forgetfulness; the personification of
illusion and ignorance over whom Shiva triumphs.
Just as
overcoming forgetfulness and realizing our true Self takes tremendous work and
commitment; performing the asana Natarājāsana also requires a long-time, committed
practice. There is no need to rush it;
there is only the need to work intelligently and steadily on the preparations
that are accessible today and now to teach us patient persistence.
In this article
we will explore all the components, which are needed to imitate Lord Siva’s
dance of Bliss and at the end bring all the pieces together to re-create the
oneness needed to perform this beautiful posture of Cosmic Bliss. Before starting the preparations it is a good
idea to first do some sun salutations and standing poses to heat up the body
and then we are on our way to Bliss!
1. LENGTHENING THE THIGHS AND HIP FLEXORS
Lying on
the back we lift the hips up and place a yoga block under the pelvis in a way
that supports the width of the body.
It’s best to start with the block on its shortest side however, for
those already quite flexible it can be placed on its higher side. Once the block is in position, we fold one
leg back so that the top of the foot is on the floor to the side of the
block. With mindfulness we ensure that
the hip bones are the same level, the thigh bones are parallel and then we can
start to reach the knee down and away to bring more lengthening to the front of
the leg and hip. Then we can unfold the
leg and work with the other leg.
2. EXPLORING THE SHOULDER MOVEMENT
Sitting
on the heels we raise one arm up over the head, with the elbow bent and
directly in line with the shoulder (not too close to the head and not splaying
out beyond the width of the shoulder) so that the hand will be behind the back
and take the opposite hand to the shoulder blade. Using this hand to lift the shoulder blade
and then sliding it up to swivel the upper arm so that the outer arm is moving
forward and the inner arm is moving back.
With this movement the upper arm bone (humerus) will be secure and safe
in the shoulder socket. We need to
memorize this feeling, as it is how we want the arm to be for the final version
of the pose.
3. STRONG HAMSTRINGS
To lift
the leg up in Natarājāsana we use the hamstrings so in this exercise we can
practice engaging them and making them stronger. Lying on the floor on the belly with the
elbows under the shoulders, we tug the elbows towards the knees as the chest
lengthens forward, this will lengthen the belly and the spine. Then bending the knees we try to reach the
heels in the direction of the buttocks as much as we can. The knees can be slightly apart but the feet
stay touching.
4. BUJANGASANA
Next we
are going to strengthen the back muscles with this cobra pose. With the legs straight out behind us, toes
touching, we press the toes into the floor which will lift the knees from the
floor. Then placing the hands along side
the waist we curl the back as if the shoulder blades would lift through the
body to the upper chest. Paying
attention not to squeeze the buttocks, instead to pull in the lower abdominals
and wrap the sides of the hips forward to counter the affect of the gluteus
maximus externally rotating the legs.
5.
LIFTING ONE LEG OFF THE FLOOR
We take a
yoga belt and loop it over one ankle and then reminding ourselves of the
shoulder movement we did while sitting up, we hold the other end of the yoga
belt. The opposite arm is used as
support as we engage the arm muscles to lift the leg away from the floor. It’s important to be mindful to keep the knee
from splaying out to the side; it must stay directly behind the hip. After holding it for a few breaths we do the
same thing with the other leg.
6.
FINDING BALANCE
So now
we’ve worked on the strength and flexibility it’s time to balance on one
leg! Utthita Hasta Pādānguşthāsana is a
classic balancing pose that allows us to learn to keep the standing leg
straight, strong and stable. In fact, in
the traditional Ashtanga Yoga system Natarājāsana is done directly from this
pose!
7. ARCHING BACK
Separating
the feet hip width apart we start by placing our thumbs on the sacrum area and
the fingers pointing away from the center of the back. Then we ‘walk’ our hands up our back,
lengthening the space between each and every vertebrae as we work towards the
shoulder blades. Once we reach as high
as we can we want to feel as if the shoulder blades are coming through the
upper chest. Preserving the opening, we now place the hands on the upper inner
thighs from behind. We use our hands to
remind us to keep the buttocks from squeezing and the legs from turning out as
walk the hands down the legs.
8. SOFTENING THE HAMSTRINGS
If we go
into the pose too hastily we risk getting cramps in the hamstrings. This
in-between stance will help us to verify that the leg muscles start the actions
without contraction and to be mindful not to torque the pelvis, risking an
asymmetrical back bend for the spine.
Then we can go directly to either the simplified version of Natarājāsana
(point 9), the full expression of the pose (point 10) or even in between the
two by using a yoga belt in the similar way we did on the floor in point 5.
9.
NATARAJASANA SIMPLIFIED
Putting
it all together. From the previous step,
now we take the hand to the inner side of the foot and while keeping a steady
gazing point we pick up the leg, extending both up and back to allow for length
in the spine despite the bending. It’s
important for the health of the back to keep the hips level and avoid allowing
the knee to go out to the side beyond the width of the hips. This will keep the
spine supple and strong while doing this beautiful pose.
10. GOING
FURTHER TO FULL NATARAJASANA
Once we
are well established in the simplified version and are able to keep the
shoulder alignment safe as we learned earlier, then we can take the inner foot
from the outside of the leg. This is
tricky and takes quite a bit of shoulder, back and leg flexibility. When the foot is held firmly we swivel the
elbow forward and bring it along side the head. Voila!
Benefits:
Perfects
the sense of balance
Strengthens
the back muscles and the legs
Stretches
the abdomen, groins and thighs
Contra-indications:
Back
injury
Low blood
pressure