Hot Yoga Pose Forums > Sasanghasana: Rabbit pose
I'm not sure I think rabbits have kind of rounded (very cute) heads and perhaps that's why... Anyhow as well, did you find that the pose worked better as soon as you did that?
AlexandriaS
Yes, Alex, that teacher's suggestion helped a lot - I gained confidence in my ability to do this pose and it felt great to get out of my rut of "knowing" I could only go so far...
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I did that in class this week! I certainly felt like I made progress...
AlexandriaS
Careful, careful, careful and always under teachers direction should you lift the hips if the forehead is not pressed to the knees.... The danger is hyper stretching the back of the neck or crushing the neck by pressing down too hard on the too or top/back part if the neck.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I thought that when we had our arms back and our foreheads to our knees that we look like the body of a rabbit. Anyway, quite a cute pose!
I remember that I had been doing this pose wrong for quite some time (head right on the ground!) and Carly corrected me during one of my first Riverflow classes. What strikes me about this pose is that the more you can curl in and get your forehead higher on your thighs, the higher you can lift your hips. Quite a nice stretch!
KristinaS
Glad you got your head up off the ground Kristina; having even a sliver of space between the head and the floor makes you feel infinitely lighter in this pose. And yes, the harder you pull, the more curled inward you become, the closer the forehead to the thighs, the more rounded the upper back.... And the better and better this Rabbit feels .
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I haven't yet felt Rabbit pose 'click' for my body...every time it feels like I'm positioning my body slightly differently...it's interesting how other studios allow students to drop down on their heads and then walk their knees towards their foreheads (!!).
Melina
Awkward, Awkward, Awkward for me.......I have very long arms and don't seem to be able to get them straight in this pose. I am able to get my forehead to my knees but have very little lift to my thighs once it is there. I'll try your suggestion, Rhonda!
Mallory Maier
Melina - "drop down on the top of your head" is a dangerous move in any pose, especially one where you are about to apply pressure (even headstands are NOT done with pressure on the top of the head - soooo dangerous to the upper neck). As an advanced student, its possible to lift the hips AND keep working the forehead to the knees but ONLY if you have space between the top of your head and the mat. and ONLY if you pull your forehead to knees not walk the knees to the forehead (that would entail balancing on the top of the head)
I have a challenge with Rabbit myself, Aimee so I know what you mean: getting my hips up is a class-by-class thing. Focus on rounding your middle back big time; then pull hard to keep your your forehead stable against your knees and - lift away.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
This is another pose that I kind of feel stuck in. My forehead is to my knees, no weight on the top of my head, hips are lifted but I am not sure exactly how I look or what to do next. Also I really have to think about keeping the heels together.
GabbyL
Some days I have it, some days I don't. But on the days that I do get it, I really love the stretch in this pose.
HeatherS
I love the stretch in this pose and I feel like I need to be careful. I heard someone say that they hurt themselves in rabbit once. Knowing that it is a very deep stretch, I took that as a gentle warning. So I follow the instructions to the very best of my ability, and I really enjoy this pose. My head doesnt tou ch my knees tho, I've tried to walk my knees forward then my head slides and it doesnt feel like a safe thing to do so I dont do it. Everyday is different, as it is with all of the poses.
KimA
Kim, the hurt in Rabbit mostly comes when the forehead is not pressed to the knees - then its possible to press down on the head too hard or worse, roll forward onto the back of head and that's disaster for the neck. I personally dont love the "walk the knees to the forehead" cue; I prefer and we teach the "pull harder on the heels to get forehead to knees" and continue rounding the back upward and curling yourself inward. It take a lot of curl to maintain forehead to knees - you got this. Suck the stomach in to make more room for tighter curling. Heels together, pull to straighten the arms as you lift the hips up with forehead always against the knees (ideally a little sliver of space between top of head and mat but at most its touching but not pressing)
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I definitely got derailed for a while by a history of bikram instruction to "walk knees to forehead" in Rabbit. It's a world of difference from the Rabbit I learned at Riverflow. It is a challenge to do Rabbit properly, but it is not painful or damaging, like the "walk the knees to forehead" Rabbit.
I do have an interesting issue nowadays, though…I can pull till my arms are straight and my hips are up, but I can't seem to balance out the pull on my heels while my heels stay together while maintaining a paper's width between the ground and the top of my head. Any advice for this piece of the puzzle?
Grace
Yes Grace, at your level don't worry about the paper-Thin space between the top of your head and the mat; just avoid pressure on top of the head. This paper-thin space cue is more for those who are as yet working the forehead to the knees: oftentimes the less flexible will tend to press hard and even roll to the top back part of the head to lift the hips, causing massive pressure on the neck. You know the difference between light touching down and pressing the head and now you can almost get the backs is your thighs perpendicular so you can only get further with your head LIGHTLY touching down
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
It is really important to avoid the pressure on the top of the head as Rhonda mentions above. Rabbit seems to be easy but it has its own specifics. I am still working on it and for some reason my issue is upper back. Once I get the upper spine curled enough the rest of the pose is pretty is easy for me. I am focused on that right now because the form is more important than the depths.
Alfia
Yes form is more important than depth and with a consistent hot yoga practice the depth will come, its just a matter of being patient with yourself and listening to your body.
The key for me was when Rhonda said to look into the throat and not at the bellybutton as i was pulling and curling inward so my forehead would touch the knees. This made a world of difference. It amazes me how just a simple change in the cues like this one can completely change your asana!
TinaA
Glad that tip helped, Tina - youll be looking for the throat for a long time and it will just keep you curling inward more and more. A teacher once described this curl as being a snall and reaching for the innermost chamber of your snailshell with the top of your head. That one resonated for me.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Alfia - yes focusing on form is more important than depth...but oftentimes "identifying the issue /problem" keeps you focused on your limitation in the pose. Let go of that too and just be present with curiosity each time you do Rabbit pose
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
i agree rhonda, sometimes i worry too much about the specifics of a pose and it takes all the fun out of it! i think rabbit is a fun pose and is just what my body need after camel, which is no fun for me at this point. i love feeling the crackles and pops in my upper back/ shoulders. lately it hasnt been as much bc i stopped putting a lot of pressure on the top of my head. i know the form is better but i miss the release that i was getting before when i wasnt doing the pose correctly.
danielle bumber
Some pops are good, Danielle - and some parts are not meant to crackle. Beware neck bones that crunch! However, if you were lifting your hips high off the heels before, note that you CAN touch down LIGHTLY on the top of your head and you WILL need to do so to go further; but only because you already know not to PRESS down or jam your neckbones into each other. So go ahead and touch down on the top of your head and LIFT -just keep it light and gentle up there.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I have backed off this pose so that only my hair is touching the mat, and it feels much better this way
Becky
What were you doing before, Becky?
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
This is great advice: "identifying the issue /problem" keeps you focused on your limitation in the pose." I think this is true in all of the poses. When I just go into the pose and feel out where my body is a on given day, I can see my current situation rather than what I cannot do. Some days this pose is better than others. On the bad days, I get a blood rushing headache while I am curled in this pose. I do make sure to enter and exit the pose slowly, but some days I still get this rush that leads to being light headed. These are the days that I do not lift my hips. I find complete solace being curled inward and soaking in the benefits of this pose for my lower back and shoulder blades.
Brittany Yard
What part of this pose looks like a rabbit - does anyone know? Anyway, literally for years I had difficulty lifting my hips up with my forehead to the knees. An advanced teacher suggested I simply go for it: lift up as high as possible and then pull the forehead back to the knees - as long as I didn't press the top of the head to the mat in the process. Sometimes breaking the rules - under the guidance of a master teacher - is the key.