In the movie "Sadhaka" (practitioner) which is about BKS Iyengar, Abhijata talks about studying yoga with her grandfather.
She says, "It appears that he is teaching me about asana, but what he is really teaching me is;
How not to give up,
How easily I am fooled by my own mind
How to search for meaning in everything I do.
Guruji is teaching me hugely valuable concepts in life."
I used this quote in class last week. I was teaching about developing sensitivity in practice of asana. We did a comparative study lesson on Adho Mukha Virasana (Child’s Pose). I asked my students to do the pose just the way they normally would do it, without any props. And then I asked them to do it with their chin on a block and their arms stretched out to the sides with their hands on blocks. I posed the question, in which version of Adho Mukha Virasana was the front of the body longer and more extended?
One of my students answered that he felt more stretch in the pose without any props. I reminded the class that the question was which version of the pose gave you more length in the front of your torso? Then I took pictures of this student in the two versions of Adho Mukha Virasana:
Adho Mukha Virasana convex
Adho Mukha Virasana concave
I understand why he said that he felt more stretch in the first photo with no props. With the arms overhead, the latissimus muscle gets stretched. It attaches to the top rim of the pelvis, covers most of the back and attaches to the inside of the upper arm near the shoulder. There is more stretch in this muscle in the first picture. But, again, the question is about the length of the front of the torso.
Latissimus dorsi
He was surprised to see the photo and he understood how easily he was fooled by his own mind.
This is one example of a yogic concept called avidya, which means ignorance, lack of wisdom or understanding. Avidya is one of the 5 kleshas (sufferings or afflictions). These kleshas keep us stuck and prevent us from moving forward.
In forward bends, understanding how to move from the hips and to lengthen the front of the torso helps us to become more flexible and go deeper in the poses.
How easily are you fooled by your own mind?