Counter poses

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi All, I was wondering does ever asana/pose have a counter-pose? I have heard a lot about the counter-poses for the spine eg: inversions & back-bends, such as the [I]Halasana & Setu Bandha Sarvangasana [/I]etc. However, I have not heard of any for the hips, for such poses as the [I]Baddha Konasana [/I](Bound Angle Pose) or the[I] Virabhadrasanas[/I] (warriors?). Are there any counter-poses for these positions. Or is just because of the spine/back needs to have these counter-poses? Any answers welcomed.

Thanking you in advance.

#2

“Counter pose” has become an all too common “term” in the language of some teachers and styles. Sequencing postures could be viewed as a mindfully linking of poses and in that way every pose is a counter pose even if not directly so.

The need or nature of one pose following another should be based on the residue the first pose leaves in the practitioner(s).

Obviously postures working primarily the extremities don’t require as much in this regard as postures more closely working the central nervous system.

gordon

#3

Thanks for the reply Gordon. I was wondering could you clarify two points for me. First you say some poses leave a residue, is this the toxins moving around the body, or something else. And if these are toxins etc, are there any special requirements that you should follow to remove these impurities from the body safely. Secondly where is the dividing line in the body, from the extremities to the nervous system? As I would have thought all posture would involve the nervous system to be involved at various degrees.

Still thanks for you reply, and by the sound of it I shouldn’t get too hung up on the counter poses. Just be mindful when I am practicing of what my body tells me.

#4

Of course I’ll clarify. Yours are very thought followups.

On your first point I’ll need to split it in two halves (two wholes actually). The first is that my reference to residue was not at all a reference to toxins in the body. I was referring to that which is felt in the body, that which occurs as a result of the pose. And that is as much a process of looking as it is a process of experiencing. Ergo the mining of the residue or “left-overs” is just as important in the process of Yoga as finding (or experiencing) this or that.

The second half is the concept of toxins and how that is presented as part of a yoga practice. Just as “counter pose” is a common term so too has it become common to refer to toxins being moved, purged, released or expelled. It is is not untrue that a certain practice effects toxicity in the body. But so does 50 jumping jacks in a sweat lodge or a juice fast.
Obviously the human body has methods for dealing with toxins - sweat glands, bladder and bowels, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system and respiratory system, etcetera. Also there are cleansing processes (shatkarmas) in Yoga as well.

Unfortunately we, as yoga teachers, do not always take our craft seriously enough to continue and deepen our studies. Instead we rely on scripts and books and printed sequences…and something we were told or heard. So the responsibility rests with us not with the students.

On point number two you make a very valid case. A dividing line would be difficult to ascertain as the nervous system goes from the spine to the surface of the skin. Point well taken. However, just as deeper muscles are tougher to work AND hold stronger deeper emotion, so too is the spine the hub of the nervous system and its needs would be different than the needs of your quadriceps or triceps. Carelessness around the spine can result in very serious injury and serious disruptions. Carelessness with the wrist, less so.

But certainly in an asana practice where wrist extension is worked over and over again, a mindful teacher/student would blend in some wrist flexion. Yoga itself is about countering our nature, not adding to it:-)

#5

Yes that makes things clearer. As you mentioned there are other areas of the body that need to practiced in both directions or full there range of movement. As you mentioned with the wrist. Also is this the same with muscle groups that they need contracted and compressed (sorry I don’t know the correct term for this) or does it only relate to the skeleton/bones? Still this post is food for thought, and thanks again Gordon.