loretta's july focus - take a stand

Standing poses are invigorating. They refresh the body and mind. They remove tension, aches and pains. Through practicing standing poses the back, hips, knees, neck and shoulders all gain strength and mobility. Standing poses teach the principles of correct alignment and movement. They help build the strength and awareness needed for inversions and other more advanced poses.

Standing poses can be done almost anywhere. When working long hours on the computer support desk, I would frequently take trikonasana, uttanasana or garudasana breaks to stretch my body and refresh and refocus my mind. You can do them in the park or on the trail before during or after running or biking. You can do them on the golf tee while you wait for the foursome in front of you to finish. On a long driving trip, you can do standing poses at rest stops.

For a dedicated practice, it’s best to practice on a non-slip surface. The feet and legs are the foundation of stand poses. You should build your poses from the foundation up. For more information on feet, see Lianne’s article on feet.

Here is a listing of standing poses from Light on Yoga with the common name and/or approximate English translation.

1)    tadasana (mountain pose)
2)    urdhva hastasana (mountain pose with arms extended)
3)    utthita hasta padagusthasana (extended hand to big toe pose)
4)    vrksasana (tree pose)
5)    utkatasana (chair pose, or fierce pose)
6)    utthita trikonasana (extended triangle pose)
7)    utthita parsvakonasana (extended side angle pose)
8)    virabhadrasana I (warrior I)
9)    virabhadrasana II (warrior II)
10)    ardha chandrasana (half moon pose)
11)    virabhadrasana III (warrior III)
12)    parivrtta trikonasana (revolved triangle pose)
13)    parivrtta parsvakonasana (revolved side angle pose)
14)    parivrtta ardha chandrasana (revolved half moon pose)
15)    parsvottanasana (intense side stretch pose AKA pyramid pose)
16)    prasarita padottanasana (wide leg forward bend, confusingly enough, I’ve also heard this one called pyramid pose)
17)    uttanasana (stand forward bend)
18)    urdhva prasarita ekapadasana (one leg forward bend AKA standing split)
19)    ardha baddha padmottanasana (half-lotus forward bend)
20)    garudasana (eagle pose)

Suggested practices:

You can work standing poses into your practice any time in combination with other poses, or as a warmup for more difficult poses. I actually love standing poses and rarely a day goes by when I don’t do at least a few of them. If you are a beginner, then standing poses should be the foundation of your practice. If you need to rest any time during the practice, you can stand in resting uttanasana (stand forward bend with legs hip width apart and elbows clasped) or resting uttanasana with your hips against a wall.

You can practice a standing pose sequence many different ways.  You can hold each pose for 1-2 minutes, or go into and out of each pose several times before moving onto the next one. You can string all the poses together into a flow, spending 3-6 breaths in each pose. If you want a vigorous practice, you can work the standing poses into sun salutations. If you want a gentler standing practice you can use the support of the wall or props for your standing poses. Jumping into and out of the poses adds energy to your practice. If your back or knees hurt you should step into and out of the poses.

Here’s a standing pose practice that opens the hips, stretches the low back and builds strength and balance:
1)    utthita hasta padagusthasana (extended hand to big toe pose)
2)    tadasana (mountain pose)
3)    utthita trikonasana (extended triangle pose)
4)    utthita parsvakonasana (extended side angle pose)
5)    virabhadrasana I (warrior I)
6)    virabhadrasana II (warrior II)
7)    ardha chandrasana (half moon pose)
8)    virabhadrasana III (warrior III)
9)    parivrtta trikonasana (revolved triangle pose)
10)    parsvottanasana (intense side stretch pose)
11)    prasarita padottanasana (wide leg forward bend)
12)    uttanasana (stand forward bend)
13)    virasana (hero’s pose) (relieves any pressure in the knees)
14)    supta padagusthasana (reclined hand to big toe pose) with a belt
15)    ardha halasana (half plough pose, supported on a chair)
16)    savasana (corpse pose)

Here’s a shorter standing sequence that ends with a shoulder stand cycle:
1)    tadasana (mountain pose)
2)    vrksasana (tree pose)
3)    utthita trikonasana (extended triangle pose)
4)    utthita parsvakonasana (extended side angle pose)
5)    virabhadrasana I (warrior I)
6)    virabhadrasana II (warrior II)
7)    ardha chandrasana (half moon pose)
8)    parsvottanasana (intense side stretch pose)
9)    parighasana (gate pose)
10)    virasana (hero’s pose)
11)    sarvangasana (shoulder stand)
12)    halasana (plough pose)
13)    setu bandha sarvangasana (supported bridge pose on blocks or bolsters)
14)    savasana

Here is a short standing sequence that ends with a seated forward bend cycle:
1)    tadasana (mountain pose)
2)    utthita trikonasana (extended triangle pose)
3)    utthita parsvakonasana (extended side angle pose)
4)    virabhadrasana I (warrior I)
5)    virabhadrasana II (warrior II)
6)    parivrtta trikonasana (revolved triangle pose)
7)    parivrtta parsvakonasana (revolved side angle pose)
8)    parsvottanasana (intense side stretch pose)
9)    janu sirsasana (one leg seated forward bend)
10)    triang mukhaikapada pascimottanasana (one leg seated forward bend with one leg in virasana)
11)    ardha baddha padma pascimottanasana (half bound lotus forward bend)
12)    maricyasana I
13)    pascimottanasana (seated forward bend)
14)    sarvangasana (shoulder stand)
15)    halasana (plough pose)
16)    savasana

Media Practices:

There are literally hundreds or videos that include standing poses. If you are looking for detailed instruction, I’d recommend:
John Schumacher’s CDs Basic Daily Practice or Foundations Standing and Inverted
Felicity Green’s Advanced Beginning Yoga Series audio tapes
Manuso Manos Yoga the Home Study Course, Vol I

I know that these can be fairly hard to find. I’d say the first place to check is at your local Iyengar studio (if possible). Unity Woods boutique has Schumacher’s CDs and Manos’ videos. The Iyengar Institute of San Francisco has Felicity Green’s tapes. They are audio tapes, not CDs.

I’d also recommend taking a look at Yoga: The Iyengar Way, Light on Yoga and 30 Essential Yoga Poses for excellent form instruction.

Comments

[Marilyn]

I Loooooove standing poses, partly because I have really open hips and I have tree trunks for legs. :)

[Lianne]

I don't have the open hips - but I certainly have the tree trunk legs - strong - makes standing poses fun and challenging.

[Loretta]

I have fairly tight hips and my legs probably wouldn't make very good trees (except in vrskasana), but I still love standing poses. I like the focus and effort required, especially for balances.