Fingers Together or Apart? Foot Flexed or Pointed?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Should one do asanas (besides downward dog) like triangle, reverse triangle etc with fingers together or apart? Have done mine with fingers apart ever since a teacher told us to ‘spread it out like the rays of the sun’. The problem is that it doesn’t sit too well with many other teachers & I have always wonder why but am too shy to ask.

Same goes with the foot in warrior 3 and half moon etc. Aadil Palkhivala said flexed cos yogis are not ballerinas (that’s very true) other teachers insisted on pointed foot.

Wld love to hear your views.

#2

I’ve notice this with the various videos that I have watched. It seems that different people do the same asanas slightly differently. I am curious about this.

#3

Sometimes I make the “Rock and Roll Mudra.” and stick out my tounge.

The Method to Achieve a “Rock and Roll” mudra.

  1. Extend hand and fingers.
  2. Curl middle and ring finger towards the palm. Use thumb to secure the two curled fingers.
  3. Extend pointer and pinky finger while maintaining smooth pressure on the curled middle and ring finger.

The action of this mudra keeps the energy in and inclines the mind towards Led Zeppelin

#4

Scales- Does this mudra move you more quickly toward ‘the stairway to heaven’?

Couldn’t resist!

#5

[quote=lotusgirl;35214]scales- does this mudra move you more quickly toward ‘the stairway to heaven’?

Couldn’t resist![/quote]

ha ha ha!!!

#6

As Aadil is my guruji I’d be more likely to follow his direction considering his study with Iyengar since childhood and the 40 years of asana in his own body.

However, he himself would tell you (I believe) that you may feel and explore this for yourself to determine its efficacy in your living. If he’s saying the foot is flexed he’s saying it not from his personal preference, his flavor of the day, or something he learned over the summer in Pune but rather what he has learned from an incredibly deep and robust practice.

In the pose you mention, for me in my body, pointing the back foot significantly reduces the energy in the lower leg. For me there is an equanimity of power in the back leg when the foot is flexed and that allows a spreading in the pose (three directions) which expands the heart center and moves light more efficiently across the palette of the body.

As for the fingers, they can be spread however this is usually for a student that is feeling a great deal of anxiety. So if that is you in the practice - be it now or in the future, then spreading the fingers will dissipate your anxiety. Otherwise the fingers are together so as not to fray the energetics of the pose as previously mentioned.

So there is no “should”. There are just different purposes for different students in different contexts. Unfortunately this can be muddied by the fact that becoming a “yoga teacher” can happen in a weekend when in fact it really cannot at all happen in a weekend.

#7

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;35220]As for the fingers, they can be spread however this is usually for a student that is feeling a great deal of anxiety. So if that is you in the practice - be it now or in the future, then spreading the fingers will dissipate your anxiety. Otherwise the fingers are together so as not to fray the energetics of the pose as previously mentioned.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for posting this, IA. I am always interested to learn about techniques that might be helpful for a few of my students who suffer from extreme anxiety, and it might have been a long time until I came to a concept like this on my own. Oh, the joys and freedom the internet can bring!

#8

I think that whatever you do should “sit well” first and foremost with you and not your teacher. Unless you are headed towards injury or ill alignment I think that you should be able to express yourself in each asana.

I have had an Iyengar trained teacher tell me close my hand and my regular hatha teacher (I believe her mentor is an Anusara teacher) always has her hands spread open. I prefer hands spread open and I feel like I am sending energy through my finger tips to those around me and catching other energy in the room.

As for the foot pointed or flexed in Warrior 3/Half Moon, I have been taught to flex the foot. I find that it helps me keep energy in the extended leg and helps me remember to push through the bottom of the foot to the “wall” behind me. I find that this “energy” keeps me alift. I also sometimes find that the flexed foot helps me to remember in what direction my thigh/hip needs to be pointing.

In some poses, a “flointed” foot has been recommended i.e. in shoulder stand. The best way to describe it would be half way between a flex and a point-- a floint :slight_smile:

#9

Correction. I intended to refer to the upper not lower leg in Virabhadrasana III and Ardha Chandrasana. Apologies for any confusion.

Additionally, standing poses and inversions are viewed differently and I should have been clear about that in my original reply.

#10

I was instructed by an experienced teacher( 20 yrs teaching & practice though he started as a teeengaer so still young & in his late thirties) to splay & spread the fingers of the hands as well as the hands themselves like ducks’ webbed feet.In fact this was the first thing i was immediately & swiftly corrected on when i first arrived at a studio after many hours previous asana practice at home, incorrectly cupping the hands & fingers.I struggled through the vinyasas and my forearms,hands and fingers felt a bit weird after that class.But i’ve always practiced this way ever since and think it may offer greater strength & flexibility,particularly in arm-balances and semi-inversions such as down-dog.

Perhaps there is no correct way here ; just diiffferent approaches with different intentions & effects etc.This particular teacher had both iyengar and ashtanga influence and training.

The same with the feet though in actuality perhaps less exagerrated.

Unless I’m mistaken what’s being discussed here i kinda surprised to hear of the fingers of the hands not being spread based on the swift feeback and response of this particular teacher.

#11

One of the markers i heard suggested is to have your wirsts parallel with the end of the mat( i think that seems like a reasonable guide),fingers splayed but relaxed, providing you’re comfortable doing a pose such as down-dog.In fact it has been suggested to spread the weight through the hands,palms & fingers as equally as possible. i.e the underside of knuckles as well,not just the cushiony soft parts at the mouth of the wrists and sides of palms.Like the whole area of your hand is providing support.

#12

Since the original question excluded Adho Mukha and seemed to ask about postures where the arms were spread or spreading and arms were not weight-bearing, that is what I was responding to.

Vira I/II/II, Ardha Chandrasana, Vrksasana, Trikonasana, Parivrrta Trikonasana, Urdhva Hastasana, Parsvakonasana, Namaskarasana, Utkatasana, Navasana, Salabhasana - fingers together.

Adho Muka, Urdhva Mukha, Sarpasana, Bhujangasana, Pincha Mayurasasna, Adho Mukha Vrksasana - fingers spread without strain.

#13

Looks like I misread the question.

Thanks for pointing that out.Mmmm…I should perhaps read the wording a bit more carefully;).