What can I do to make my balancing poses stronger (in addition to practice)?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I’ve been practicing Hot Yoga for about six months. In the balancing poses, I have a lot of difficulty, but there are a couple of consistent challenges that stand out:

[ol]
[li]I shift towards the outside of my foot when unsteady
[/li][li]My right leg is way stronger than my left
[/li][li]My right side is more flexible than my left
[/li][/ol]

I’m practicing often, and getting better, but I wonder what other exercises I might do – perhaps weights at a gym – that would help to address these issues.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

#2

What are these balancing poses?

#3

The ones I was referring to are:

standing forehead to knee
standing bow
tree
toe stand

#4

Practice.

#5

@JSK: well, yes, and thanks. I was wonder if there was anything I might do [B]in addition to[/B] practice.

#6

Practice in all earnestness.

#7

I haven’t heard about any additional things one could do to improve balancing poses… In my practice, I got more decent stability after 2 years of practice. And now I’m working on stability in inverted poses (headstand and handstand). I give myself 3-4 years to get similar degree of stability. I don’t want to rush things anymore. So my advice would be the same as JSK, just practice. It is one of the most important lessons of yoga to listen to your body and let it live and develop at its own pace, without craving for quick results.

#8

Interesting question…

Balancing postures require three parts; physiological, respiratory, and emotional or mental. If one only works the first, then it is up to the teacher you have chosen to direct you into the others. Additionally, since there are three parts, if you are only working the first you can expect 1/3 of a result. This is not exact, of course, but you get my drift.

With regard to your outer edge comment…
In my practice and teaching the foundation of standing poses mandate a rooting in the toe mounds and inner/outer heels with a subsequent lift in the arches. This rarely changes in standing poses though I would imagine in whatever toe balance is this would be impossible.

If your left leg is not as strong please remain on that side of the pose for 6 more breaths so that you do not etch your current imbalance any deeper, again something that should be coming from your teacher.

The awareness must be placed in that which is used (so it is used) and that which is not (so it is not). In other words there is a dualistic nature in the posture and that must be maintained. Some muscles need to be used powerfully (without aggression) while others need to be kept soft and supple. Additionally if action and alignment have been forsaken it is far more difficult to have a fruitful flow of energy in the physical body.

Generally speaking, when students struggle with balance there are modifications (in the practice I teach) to assist them as they develop. This empowers the student to work on other elements without adding balance to the mix but the student must eventually grow away from the modification otherwise it becomes a crutch.
There is so much yoga to be worked in yoga. I don’t disagree with “practice” I just happen to believe that phrase transcends the anamayakosha.

#9

Thanks. I appreciate the input, and thanks Gordon for the suggestions outside of practice (regardless of how earnest). I appreciate the practice encouragement as well, of course. My question was because I go to the gym anyway: my interest is not in rushing improvement, which I realize will only come with practice, but in complementing my practice with appropriate exercises.

For example, the cat-cow sequence (Bidalasana) is clearly working the transversus abdominus, and I think benefits the other postures I mentioned because of its contribution to core stability. In this case, “practice in all earnestness” is probably all there is to it, since if one looks up exercises for the transverse abdominus, they all look like Bidalasana!

Gordon, you raise an interesting point about the left and right sides. In my limited time, I’ve noticed that teachers within a style tend to use the same order of sides (right/left) for poses that are “handed”. I sometimes feel that practice on the second side is a bit shorter than on the first, which in my case would accentuate the imbalance. I always like it when a teacher changes the order, or even makes changes as small as to suggest everyone switch up the way their fingers are interlocked.

#10

My feedback was very earnest, thank you very much. I meant every word.

I certainly understand the idea of dissecting asana with an anatomical or kinesthetic approach. And while there are some books which give the impression such a thing can be absolute, I caution students not to evaluate asana based on agonists, antagonists, eccentric, concentric, and reciprical actions. There is more than meets the eye.

Generally speaking, right/left is the more auspicious approach and while not changing that would be dogmatic I tend to stick with it in the interest of order, clarity, and sensibility - as a teacher and as a student.

Further, the second side of a posture is often shorter in duration since the body has a memory of how to come into the pose from the residue of the first side. What I was suggesting was an alteration of home practice to remain longer on sides of things (and things themselves) based on assessment of a) a well-trained teacher and b) and ever growing inner teacher.

#11

Thanks Gordon, that’s very helpful!

To clarify, I didn’t mean at all to suggest your suggestions were any less than earnest. Quite the opposite: I appreciate that you addressed the questions I raised, and didn’t just stop at recommending I practice more or more earnestly. That was also a perfectly fine recommendation from JSK, but I was hoping for replies (like yours) that went a little farther.

#12

Find a gazing point. A point of visual focus. Then gaze at it.