Sometimes the paths we choose make us feel stuck (like a job we don't really want, or a failing relationship), while other times the decisions we make give us a taste of that very essence of freedom. The question for the yogi isn't whether or not we're going to bind ourselves (we're free, so binding is a given! Every choice binds us, and we'll make countless decisions throughout our life); it's whether or not we're choosing to bind ourselves to things that give us more leverage, and create more freedom for us and those around us, or if the turns we make keep us feeling disempowered and stuck.
A great place to sort this out is on the mat, in a twisting, turning, binding practice. When we make a clear commitment to the midline in twists, it lines the pelvis and sacrum up for optimal space and freedom. But if our vrata is less clear, twists can destabilize the sacral area, and we can get stuck, especially in the sacro-illiac (SI) joints. Similarly, binding the arms can literally make it hard to breathe, and can be perilous for the shoulders if done out of alignment. But, to borrow a phrase from Dr. Douglas Brooks, when we choose to bind ourselves exquisitely, the limited mobility of the arms can enhance the freedom of the breath within.
Play with it on your mat this way:
High Lunge w/twist: come into a high lunge with your right foot forward, fingertips on either side of your front heel. Expand into the fullness of possibility, free and open in your inner body, then soften down into your feet. Now sweep your legs toward the midline, and make a vow to hold center. Bring your right hand to your front thigh, and keep your legs strong as you lift your waistline up away from your front thigh and twist from your left lung open to the sky. Keep the back thigh strongly lifting and the sides of the pelvis hugging in as you twist (if the pelvis moves with you, it can destabilize the SI joints and make you feel stuck). Then squeeze your right sitbone back and extend out through your legs and turn open to the sky. Do the other side.
Lizard -> Twisted Thigh Stretch: be sure when you're reaching for your foot in the thigh stretch that you don't roll in or out on your back knee. Be clear in your vow, and that will line the leg and pelvis up so you can get a great opening in your quadriceps. Once you're holding your foot, tug on it so energy flows up your arm and your shoulders drift up. Then, peel your shoulders back and anchor down through your legs as you twist your chest towards the sky.
Parsvakonasana > Ardha Chandrasana > Chapasana: Blast through these poses, and hold the midline strong, especially in transitions.
Salabasana w/shoulder stretch: It's common in these poses where the arms are bound to feel claustrophobic and limited. Interlace your fingers, and bend your elbows wide with your hands on your sacrum, so you can start with a stance of inner freedom, full circumferential breath in the torso. Now engage your arms fully, and pull from your fingers UP the arms, so your shoulders lift towards your ears. As you engage your upper back and stretch the arms straight, make sure your upper arm bones stay lifted on the back plane of your body. If they dive forward, that will keep you more stuck in the upper back, shoulders and chest, so modify the pose by holding a strap so the bind opens you rather than limits you.
Parsvakonasana, bound: I love practicing this pose with the fingers interlaced like we just did in Salabasana. If it's too deep to grasp that way, then just hook your fingers, or even dangle a strap in your top arm to hold. Once your arms connect, before you crank on your arms, PAUSE and inflate the breath in your torso so you start with a fullness of freedom inside. Then, with your legs steady, pull from your hands up your arms so your arm bones lift away from your hips (both arm bones should move towards your ears). Then, keeping that inner lift, engage your upper back to take your shoulders into the back plane and spin your chest towards the sky. When the vrata is aligned, you'll know because your torso will turn open and the breath will be free. If not, back out of the depth, or use a strap so you vow to bind yourself exquisitely.
Check out my short video on Facebook with instructions for binding in Parsvakonasana.
Trikonasana w/top arm bound: Come into the full pose and expand it freely with breath on the inside. As you bend the top arm and slip it behind you to hold the top of your front thigh, notice how the bind tends to shorten the top ribs, and tries to smash the shoulder towards your waist (if you can't reach your thigh, bring the back of your hand to your sacrum instead). Use the bind to open you this way: push your forefinger down into your thigh, turning your forearm in as you inhale, and feel for a fullness from your top hip all the way up to your armpit. Now keep that space and spin your upper arm OUT (inner armpit turning towards the front plane of your body) to re-anchor your upper arm bone on your back. Extend down through your legs and out through your spine. Now for fun keep the half bind and take it to:
Ardha Chandrasana w/half bind: work the top arm just like you did in Trikonasana. If you're not able to keep the inner form spacious, then your choice is making you stuck, not moving forward. Back out of the depth as needed (top hand can be at your low back instead of holding your thigh) so your choice boosts your practice forward, not back.
Ardha Chandra Chapasana, with funky bind: keep the top arm holding your standing thigh and bend your top knee. Looking down at the ground can help with balance (you're free to choose!) as you lift your bottom hand and reach up to hold your top foot behind you. Yes, behind you. Yes, your bottom hand. Kick the foot back into your hand, curl your head back and make sure the breath stays full so even in this most bound position you get a taste of that freedom.
Supta Virasana: This only became one of my favorite poses when I learned how the feet and ankles needed to do big-time midline work so the legs and low back would free up. When you come into the pose, start in the upright form and make sure your toes point straight back, so the line is clear from your shin through the center of your ankle to your second toe mound. Spread your toenails down into the mat, and powerfully fan your fourth and fifth toes out until your ankles tone, lift, and commit to the midline. There should be no gap between your inner ankles and thighs. A pre-requisite to reclining in this pose is that you can sit upright with the natural lordotic curve in your lumbar spine (top of sacrum must be tipping into your body). If the low back rounds out, the pose won't open up, and your efforts will actually keep you more stuck. Prop up on a block or blanket if this is the case, and one leg at a time, manually turn your thighs in, spinning your inner thighs towards the earth, and pull your gluteal flesh back and wide. Be patient here! Another way to understand vrata as turn is in the way we show up in cyclical behavior round after round, like asana practice. If we are careless in the way we make choices (and inaction is a potent choice!), our efforts over time may not lead us to freedom. So, turn after turn, as the cycles unfold, every single time we must be diligent to align in a way that opens and frees us.
Brigid's Cross: This pose is basically Parivrtta Trikonasana laid down on its side. Set up your legs, right leg forward first. Then engage your legs fully, from your feet all the way into the core of the pelvis, and hug them towards the midline. Keep that vow strong as you come up on your palms like Chatturanga Dandasana, and inflate your back waist to lift your front ribs away from the floor. Press your back leg left thighbone back into your hamstring as you turn your deep belly from left to right Spin your ribs left to right, and take the turn all the way up the spine. The more committed you can be in the legs, the deeper the twist (and safer for the sacrum and SI joints). Stay here, or for an even deeper twist, thread your left arm behind your right hand Suchi Rhandrasana style (like thread the needle). Push into your right hand like Chaturanga and be clear in your vrata: steadily stretch out through the legs as you inflate the back of your left lung to turn your heart open to the right.
Parivrtta Trikonasana
Parsva Bakasana > Dwi Pada Koundinyasana > Eka Pada Koundinyasana I: The more strongly you can commit yourself to the midline in these arm balances (especially in the legs!), the more free and light they'll feel. Note that the outside elbow should be completely free of the body (meaning it does not tuck under the ribs). It's just a couple inches free, and hugs in with the strongest vrata to stabilize the poses. Once parsva bakasana is comfortable, be clear in your vow (midline, midline, midline! legs, legs, legs!) and stretch the legs straight, sealed together out to the side. Let your commitment carry you all the way into the twisted scissors form (Eka Pada Koundinyasana I), pushing your bottom leg down to float your top leg back with full engagement. The more you play the edge, the more clear your vow needs to be (arms hugging in so the vrata never waivers, which will help you keep your shoulders lifting strongly).
Setu Bhanda Sarvangasana: Bind the arms just like you do in a shoulder stretch or Parsvakonasana. Pull from your fingertips up the arms so your shoulders float up away from your hips, maximizing that stance of inner freedom in the torso. Then lift into the pose, and press your head and arms (all parts: shoulders, elbows outer wrists) straight down into the earth to get a powerful lift in the chest. Extend the pose long through your knees, and down into your feet.
Ardha Matsyendrasana (and other seated twists): Be sure to keep the hips square as you turn with a strong midline vow. If the hip you're twisting towards moves with you (scooting back as you spin), you're likely to destabilize the SI joints and get yourself stuck. Steady the legs all the way up through the hips and don't let the sit bones budge as you twist and turn your spine into an exquisitely free form.
Marichyasana I, II, III, IV: Now you're so ready for these. Go for it!
