Yoga Poses

You are ready to get started. Then the question arises, “How do I start?” This is the question asked by a student new to yoga. This is the same question asked by a yoga teacher about to face a new group of beginners.

Remember the adage “put your feet up”, the oft quoted line used to encourage people to get their legs above their heart in order to improve the circulation in their legs. As a child I remember my mother taking her afternoon cat naps. They were literally cat naps. She would lie on the living room floor, put her feet up on the cassock and our cat would jump up to sleep on her legs. The yoga equivalent is Wall Padasana.

The classical form of the pose is called Urdhva Prasarita Padasana, with Wall Padasana being the variation for beginners. Of course, this pose is not suitable for everyone which I’ll write about in a future installment.

To Get Into Wall Padasana:
Lie on your side with your buttocks to the wall. From there, swing your legs up on to the wall. If you only do this much, you will benefit greatly from taking this shape. But to get the real benefits of yoga, including a greater mind body connection, the real yoga starts after you get your legs up.

Being in the Pose:
First center yourself in your space. For instance, if you are lying on a mat, adjust yourself so that you are exactly in the center of the mat. This effort starts to reel the mind in, away from your daily activities. Then adjust your legs so they are centered and not leaning to the right or to the left. Observe the midline of your body. The midline is the line between your feet and legs up through your navel to your throat and up to your nose. Do your best to keep the midline straight.

Then observe your feet. Spread your toes so you can feel the air between your toes. Spread even the little toes. (It took 5 years for my brain to finally have a conversation with my little toes.) Then without lifting your hips off of the floor, push up through your heels, at the same time pushing up through the balls of your feet.

Yes, there is more. Who knew there could be so much to just putting your legs up the wall? But, the attention to detail now will bear fruit when we move on to the second pose, Ardha Uttanasana. The actions you learn and practice now will carry through in all the other yoga poses.

Extend up through your inner legs, from your inner groins all the way up to your inner feet. Draw the little toe sides of your feet down, the outer legs drawing all the way down to the outer hips.

At this point perhaps you notice your mind straying off to think about something other than Wall Padasana. No problem. Just bring your mind back to your body and to your breath. Let your breathing be relaxed, not too fast, not too slow.

Use your quadriceps muscles to press your thighs back in towards the wall. Then stretch your arms out over your head and toward the floor. Spread your palms and extend your fingers. Maintain an active, but relaxed stretch between pressing your thighs into the wall and stretching your arms over your head.

You are in your first yoga pose! Remain the pose for one minute, building up to 5 or more minutes. To magnify the benefits of this pose you could even try placing a 10 lb. sandbag on your feet. It helps to have someone else place the sandbag. But you can do it yourself by placing it on your feet while your knees are bent. Then, when you come out of the pose, bent your knees first and lower the bag to take it off of your feet.

To Come Out of the Pose:
Bring your arms to your sides. Bend your knees and roll onto your side. Then push your hands into the floor to come up to sitting. Sit quietly for a moment when you come up.

Do you have any doubts, or questions? What should you do if your hips or arms are floating off of the floor? Does this pose have any variations? What are the benefits of this pose, what are the contraindications? Visit Studio Yoga Online again soon for Part II and more.

Tags: beginners, urdhva prasarita padasana, yoga, yoga teachers

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