Samastithi

Equal Stability Pose
Samastithi by Kevan Gale

ALIGNMENT PRINCIPLES

HANDS:

Fingers spread, middle finger facing forward

nECK:

Head hanging loosely in line with spine

sHOULDERS:

Squeezing back into the spine

lOWER abdomen:

Belly button moving towards spine

HIPS:

Square to the ground, neither rocked forward nor back

FEET:

At hips width, middle toe through heel parallel to the sides of the mat

FROM THE ANATOMY OF HATHA YOGA:

Developing a Strong Foundation

Should you stand relaxed, ro should you pruposely hold some tension in the hips and thighs when you are doing standing postures? This was our opening question, and the answer is not the same for everyone.

Through long experience, advanced students knw exactly when and where it is safe to relax, so they can do whatever they want. Beginners, however, who are embarking on a course of standing postures should be told strasight out to plant their feet firmly and to hold the muscles of the hips and thighs in a state of moderate tension. The many muscles that insert in joint capsules keep them taught and establish a strong base for the posture. This not only reinforces the joints, it brings awareness to them and the surrounding muscles -- and where there is awareness there is safety.

Tightening the muscles of the hips and thighs limits the range of motion, it is ture, but it prevents torn muscles and injuries to the knee joints, sacroiliac joints, hip joints, and the lower back. In addittion to these immediate benefits, developing a strong base over a period of years builds up connective tissues in both the joints and their capsules. And as the joints become stronger, it becomes safer to relax the body more generally and at the same time intensify the strethes. Experts take all this for granted; they protect themselves without realizing it and are often not aware that beginners unknowingly place themselves in danger.

For more on Standing, Check out Utthita Hastasana

Sincere thanks to H. David Coulter

Reproduced with the permission of H. David Coulter from The Anatomy of Hatha Yoga (Body and Breath, 2001), p349-350

TRANSITIONS

Utthita Hastasana Utkatasana