Hot Yoga Experiences > How do I go deeper into a pose?
Posture Clinics are a great place to learn all the ins and outs of each hot yoga pose - literally, the ways to get into a pose with alignment so you can hold it without struggling, and to exit a pose gracefully rather than falling forward in a heap - and between those two points how to feel great in the pose. There are always posture clinics at Riverflow - check in with us and find out when the next opportunity will come up.
Rhonda
Sometimes my balance seems to be off---most likely a reflection of what I'm feeling at the moment. When I start with good alignment, focus on one spot, really visualize my chest and chin charging through the mirror, and kick fluidly and forcefully, I usually go farther in Standing Bow Pulling pose. Also helps when I repeat the sound of the chakra and Breathe intentionally.
Aimee
Aimee, breathing is a technique that never fails!
Focusing on the Chakra you want to activate in a pose - in this case is it the Heart Chakra you chose? - is another way to bring your mind into the process. Each chakra has a signature sound, color, scent associated with it; when you call those to mind and "see" the color/"Hear" the sound/"smell the scent (have you tried applying the essential oil for that Chakra to your wrists before class?) it all helps you to feel yourself fully grounded in a pose - or many poses!
Anyone wantint to ready about the Chakras and how to use them to enhance each specific hot yoga pose, check our section on Hot Yoga and Chakras.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I hadn't thought about utilizing Chakra meditation as a way to focus and balance in the postures - I have only brought them to mind for visualizations and opening experiences in my practice. This is very good advice, I will be sure to use the Chakra sounds/colors for balance!
I have found that not allowing my eyes to wander over my body's reflection in certain asanas is a very effective way to keep my balance and composure and allow room for deepening. For example, Standing Bow: when I avert my gaze to my standing leg to check if it is locked, I normally fall out soon after. When I keep my gaze lovingly fixed into itself in the mirror, I allow my Self to check in with itself (the body) and know whether the standing leg is locked or unlocked, and I can lock or unlock the leg without looking at it. It takes trust and intent in the beginning, but of course the whole notion is easy and simple - in this instance, I can feel what I am checking for just as well as I can see it. Keeping my gaze steady and fixed is a key to deepening in the asana.
Grace
I also found it very beneficial Grace to lock my eyes and look into my eyes while doing my practice. I found an amazing feeling of power and support coming through my eyes. It is an asana in itself not to wonder and it is a very deep experience but it worth it. My body knows what to do now I have to focus on my eyes, myself, and everything that comes along to go deeper in asanas and in my Practice. Practicing Chakras and Yamas and Niyamas certainly took it for me to the next level.
Alfia
Ah you've touched on a word and subject close to my heart Alfia: wonder. Not as in worrying about what is coming...but to be in a state of wonder is to observe and experience as if for the first time. Children have a great sense of wonder. So do animals. Wonder makes every moment new and fresh, to be in the present where there are no judgements, prejudices, not even any words to define the experience you are having. If you can look into your eyes and find the bottomless endlessness behind your own eyes - in the limitless being that you are - you can be in that state of wonder, very deep indeed.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
It’s amazing with the mind body connection what will happen. In the last class I focus on chakra alignment and I was much more sturdy is the standing balancing serious. Also picturing my leg as a tree trunk or a lamppost. I will continue to do this along with scents and crystals. I like it. I also used the inner edge of my foot, but I’m the past that alone did not work as well; also having to do with stability in my personal life though! It amazing how much coincides with what can make you stable inside and outside of the studio. Can it really be this simple?
Lisa Nutret
Lisa.. now that you’ve experienced this simplicity for yourself perhaps the real question is, Why do we want to make it so hard?
Rhonda Uretzky
I don't! I simply don't! Keep it simple, life is that easy!
Lisa N
That is true. For instance, you may have spent multiple hours today ruminating and researching your yoga account …how simple did this feel? Maybe you can switch to the simple “everything is aways working out for me” and noticing all the ways it actually is
Rhonda Uretzky
Many people want to know how to gain better balance in standing poses like Standing Bow Pulling, in order to go more deeply into the stretch of the pose.
The good news: here is no one magic secret - there are many!
Here's one idea: imagine your standing food growing wider; flatten and press down into the inner edge of the foot. This works well if your foot tends to "flicker" on the mat.
Visualization is another good technique: imagine your leg is a "tree trunk," solid like a Redwood tree with deep roots holding you solidly in place. Engaging your mind in the process is a powerful technique for imagining and then embodying the pose you want to feel and express.
What works for you?