Hot Yoga Pose Forums > Poorna Salabhasana: Full Locust Pose
Love those AHA moments, Chrissy - and yes, they come for us all!
Lifting the hands while keeping the arms pulling and locked gives you bird wings to fly with - take a look at a picture of a long-winged bird in flight and see what I mean and notice how effortless it is for them....thats where you're going
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I believe the key again is locking the legs. I also ageee with Chrissy that keeping the hands higher than the head is a great cue to really aim for along with pointing the toes and locking the legs simultaneously. I’m not quite there flying totally like Superman because I still have part of my thighs on the mat. I agree with Rhonda’s comment in reference to Melina trying to get the legs up that it is about the core. I am mindful about “suck the stomach in”, like in many of our standing series poses and definitely in bhujanghasana & Salabhasana, in order to get my legs up & engaging the back.
maria
Maria I like how you brought up the core comment. This may sound silly but I tend to get anxiety in this pose and leading up to it because it’s daunting. I have found myself fly best when I imagine someone is holding me up by my waist. Someone I trust and love and I know they have me and I’m okay. Since I’ve done that I’ve paid more attention to my core in this pose and have felt more stable balancing with my hips
Stephanie
I would have to say this is not my favorite pose either. A lot of times I feel like I'm resting to far forward on my belly and it's uncomfortable. Lately I have focused more on lifting my upper body up and just keeping my legs tight together. This feels better. I lock my legs and internally rotate them (turn my knees in toward each other). This makes my legs strong and solid.
I feel my back is strong but somehow I am stuck in this pose.
Jeanne
I'm with Jeanne on concentrating lifting my chest, arms more and keeping legs tight. This pose does feel a bit awkward. My upper body feels stronger, easier to lift. In my class "away from home" this week, we went from poorna Salabhasana right into Dhanurasana, floor bow, which I really like. No Savasana.
amy
Ladies...here's another tip that will add to the "lightness" of this pose: lock not only the legs, but the ARMS too, by pulling from fingertip to fingertip as if your goal was to touch the opposite walls. Remember you are lifting your entire body up against gravity but when your limbs are locked solid you get the blood pulsing through narrowed vessels faster, giving your body a kind of "electrical charge" that adds to the feeling or light or energy lifting you up. Yes to keeping the legs locked of course - and Jeanne nice mention of how rotating the kneecaps inward will maintain those locked legs - now apply it to the arms!
I also love the feeling of being supported, Stephanie, not just in this pose - another tip then is that if you can imagine the outside support for you in EVERY pose, how might that assist your feeling of freedom and lightness in the asanas? Interestingly, the support I picture in this pose is someone holding me under the fingertips, from behind, and raising me up. Steph...I believe your hips are indeed the part of your body that craves release and support...so place those supportive friends just where you need them (after all, they are YOUR friends!)
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I am pretty Meh about this pose. I could take it or leave it, but reading Rhonda's previous post I am going to try to visualize the outside assist and see if it changes things. Locking my arms isn't really a big issue, bu the inward rotation of the knees sounds like something I want to try. I can keep my toes together but not my heels. I am not sure if it is tightness in my lower back or outer hip that causes the issue, and ideas from you ladies?
Paula
Rhonda corrected me in a class recently about the outward rotation of my knees, and I noticed that focusing on inward rotation of the knees helps. Paula, I think you just have to focus on keeping everything tucked in and locked and it will come. I also love the concept of looking up to where you want to go--in yoga and life.
irenem
I really like the idea of visualizing outside support in this pose--thanks Steph and Rhonda for this! I like this pose a lot but always have the sense that I am not maximizing the benefits. The instructors always are very enthusiastic in this pose and really cheer us on as students, and I never quite feel my energy matches their level. I'll use the outside support suggestion to get more in alignment with the energy in the class and that the instructor is providing, and see what kind of awesome unanticipated benefits await. :)
Pamela
I guess I have one confusion about this pose-the rotation of the knees. I feel that is I inwardly rotate the knees it will separate my hills. Yet on the picture it looks like the student has her hills touching...
Irina
Irina, inward rotation of the knees keeps the hips stable...and you can totally keep the heels together (the inner edges of the heels) with hips stable, it just takes some nuanced back and forth alignment to get them both in order. Pamela and Paula, there is a fabulous hands-on assist in this pose that I LOVE - the teacher can, standing behind you and straddling around your mid-back, place her fingertips under yours so you can press down and lift up more....but I am the only teacher who does this, so if you're in my class, ask me for the Locust Assist and I'll show you how this feels!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I love this pose. I love the feeling of flying. I have to try the inward rotation of the knees to get my heels together. I love the idea of the outside assist. I want to try this to see if I get added lift.
Erica
I live this pose and what I have gotten from thos thread is roll the knees in to keep legs together and lock the legs and arms and lift arms higher then head....I always want to look I'm the mirror but my head is to high. If I drop my head and eyes won't my tail drop? Control coming out of the pose could tell me alot...
Lisa N
Lisa, you could indeed drop your eyes enough to see yourself in the mirror - and it is beautiful to have control exiting this pose too. Give it a try
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Brittany and Lisa- I just had my AHA moment in this pose, and it's coming for you! For me, the cue that helped most was "hands higher than your head." Once I focused on lifting my hands up, I locked my arms more and looked up and back further, and voila! I'm flying!