any help would be appreciated...

[Guest guest]

The only thing that helped me in Marichyasana D

was having a teacher/assistant. Without an ounce of

strain, I get into a full twist, arms clapsed, whereas

for some reason when I do it my own, my padmasana

knee wants to stick up in the air. Not having the many

arms of vishnu, I cannot simultaneously hold down my

knee, twist, and clasp--so another person really helps.

After a while like this, I notice that when I do it on

my own it comes easier, but having a coach is the

best.<br><br>Oh geez I just realized you were talking about III

(C--with leg straight). But I suppose it's pretty much the

same story.

[Guest guest]

My experience with twists - particularly with

marichyasana C & D -- is that you have to really work the

twist from your center which, of necessity, will bring

the lower ribcage around.<br><br>Thus, rather than

getting into it by breathing in, raising the arm up and

then twisting -- which results in only the top portion

of the ribcage twisting and the shoulder being

stretched. I exhale; push against my bent knee with the hand

that is on that side; twist from the center bringing

the lower ribs around; then place my shoulder on the

outside of the bent knee. My twists have been much deeper

ever since. <br><br>Thank you, John Robb at San

Francisco's Yoga Shala for giving me this little tip! I hope

it helps.<br><br>Shambhala_US

[Guest guest]

as far as marichy C goes, a recommendation in Mr.

Swenson's book helped me out a lot. he

comments:<br><br>"Twisting requires length. The greater the length you

create in the spine the easier it will be to breath

deeply. Elongate the spine in a spiraling motion. Use the

arm and knee opposition to assist in both the

lengthening and twisting process to create the desires

spiralling effect. Keep the extended leg

active."<br><br>when i first started classes, i remember an instructor

telling me the we should be extending our bodies along

the length of all our limbs. that helps me in a lot

of postures, especially the standing ones, but

applies here as well.<br><br>the quirky thing for me is

that i actually do fairly well in getting into and

holding marichy C. i struggle with marichy A, however. i

wrap just fine but still can't fold forward well.

patience, i know,i know...but i still want to be able to do

it now. it seems like it should be such a simple

thing. as far as marichy d.. a work in progress.<br>how

many purists here, who learned their series one

posture at a time stopped at marichy d until they could

get it on their own. i would bet that if one did do

that, many people would be at that log jam for quite a

while. i'd be interested to know how that performance

barrier is overcome without the feeling of stagnation as

one waits for the body to get graually more limber.

one of the teachers in my area told me he is just now

getting to the point in his practice in which he is able

to do marichy d on his own, with out asistance. yet,

he practices much higher levels of ashtanga