garbha stressasana

[Guest guest]

Are there any basic steps or rules of thumb when

it comes to learning Garbha pindasana? I'm finally

able to do padmasana and find that when it comes to

trying to squeeze my arms through, there is just no

room- ( i know, that's a typical thing to say), I start

getting all stressed out and impatient.By the time i get

to right arm up to elbow and left arm up to wrist I

feel like I've put way to much stress and ambition and

effort into the whole thing and I'm exhausted. Or is

this the way you start with it and it gets better - or

is the key prob in the padmasana which needs to be

more developed? Unfortunately no teacher to pry my

arms through or to tell me to chill out...thanks for

any advices

[Guest guest]

Do you use water to make your arms more slippery?

[Guest guest]

sudra says...<br><br>i've got a couple of

"tricks" that help me.<br><br>ekam: be real, real sweaty.

or you can cheat and get a little spray bottle and

wet your arms. but sweat is slippery-er<br><br>dwe:

minimize friction by pulling your shorts (usually fairly

baggy for me, doubt that's the case for you) as far up

your thighs as you can before trying to slip your arms

thru. the goal is skin on skin only, no skin on fabric.

now lycra is probably pretty slippery, so if that's

not the problem, proceed to trini<br><br>trini:

change your leg postion a bit for each arm. when putting

the right arm thru first, slip your right foot a

little closer to your left knee and pull your left foot

as close to your groin as you can. reverse for the

other leg. this makes for a slightly bigger opening to

pass thru<br><br>catvari: come time to jam the arms

thru--COMMIT!!. don't 'try'--DO IT!!. pretend you're jammimg

you're arm down the throat of some pedophile who has

been caught trying to molest your child. not too

ahimsic but it is just a visualization. sharp, sudden

force--it works much better than trying to gradually

squiggle the arms thru.<br><br>panca and last: maintain a

hint of a smile

[Guest guest]

If you are stuck and have no teacher to assist,

I'd suggest a very small amount of coconut oil on

your thighs, push your hands through and work them

like a lever (up and down) until they are at your

face. Now sit up as tall as possible, push your back

forward and breathe.<br><br>The only problem with this

technique is the oil is now on your arms and legs and may

keep you from balancing in say, bakasana. I would stay

in the position as long as you can, increasing the #

of breathes every few days or at least weekly.

Slowly, slowly it will come for you. Best of luck with

your practice.<br><br>Yours in yoga,

[Guest guest]

once the arms are thru, that's when it gets more

difficult. once i got my arms thru for the first time, i

couldn't get my hands any where near my face. now, i

getting closer, i can kind of lay my forehead in my hands

but my ears are still a ways off. <br><br>the rocking

is the tough part. i had learned that the hands are

supposed to stay on the head while rocking. still working

on that one too. <br><br>and getting those 19

rocking motions in without falling over to the side and

getting stuck, or rolling over into the knees of someone

else trying to do the same manouvers..ouch.

<br><br>then after all that, to roll gracefully foreward on to

the hands in rooster pose--and not faceplant. after

helping someone into kukkutasana for the first time, our

teacher will let them bask in the glow of accomplishment

while they hold the pose and then say, "okay,

now...jump back!". you can almost see the wheels turning as

they try to figure out how to do that

[Guest guest]

As I'm sure you know from your reading that garbha pindasana means womb embryo

posture. You rock around 9 times not 19. I'm sure anyone who has ever been

pregnant would not have made this mistake.

[Guest guest]

<<You rock around 9 times not 19. I'm sure

anyone who has ever been pregnant would not have made

this mistake. >><br><br>well, that may be easy

for you but some of us require a bit more rockin'

around. if i could do it in 9, i would, but since i have

not been pregnant yet, as far as i know anyway, i

will just have to be satisfied with what i can

do.<br>hissss, rrrreeoowww!

[Guest guest]

funny, I thought it was a typo on your part.<br><br>snicker.<br><br><br>p.s.

really, though i've given my poor arms black-n-blue marks doing this.

[Guest guest]

hey- thanks v much for the advice on this, helped

a lot- <br><br>i hadnt been using water because ive

been sweatin like a pig (ahhh summer!)but i had my

water and my coconut oil all lined up and when the time

came i used the water first and to my surprise it did

make a difference. <br><br>Got my arms all the way

through so i could do the sad clown padmasana pose (thats

what comes to mind when i see the hands on side of

face thing)and then did two rolls when a vision

flashed in front of my face looking red as a beet. Maybe

coconut oil will get me my 9 rolls <br><br><br>I was

surprised how uncomfortable my arms (elbows?) felt against

my calf muscles - and at that point i had enough.

This asana hits all my buttons right now - fear of

injuring my knees for the millionth time, the necessity of

patience and breathing deeply ... But it was a

breakthrough to get my arms that far up and I am quite happy

to take my time on it until i can get through it

without too many facial colour variations. <br><br>thanks

a lot for all your help<br><br>s

[Guest guest]

my claws are retracted, as you know I can't even get my arms through my legs.

As you also know I have had 3 children, and I think we both are glad pregnancies

only last 9 months.

[Guest guest]

Facial color variations and arm color variations!

I've blamed my meaty calves for my total lack of

comfort (or lack of ability altogether) in threading my

arms. It was easier when I could cheat by not bothering

to try.<br><br>sigh.

[Guest guest]

No one should have to pry your arms through. I

asked David Swenson about this one and he gave me the

key in one sentence. "Push your arm through towards

the mula bandha." His advice worked immediately and I

was able to achieve the full asana without much

difficulty wheree I had never been able to do it before. Its

not the force, its the angle. Try it right now at

your keyboard and just see if it doesn't work. The man

is a genius.

[Guest guest]

wow--Sue, this thread gave me a breakthrough

today. Maybe part of it was because I was test-driving a

CD I burned for a friend while I practiced. I

usually don't use music. Then garbha P. came along, I had

to water down, and slip slide I was in there, baby,

in there good! I swear I almost cried from joy. i

thought of you and how so much of what we struggle with

is all in the mind. Sweet!<br><br>P.S. The CD was

unusual enough for practicing: Tom Waits Mule Variations!

Go figure. (heeey, maybe Mule Variations refers to

Variations of the esoteric Mule-asana)<br><br>thanks

all,<br>Sunshine

[Guest guest]

19 rocks is alot of work, try making it easier on

yourself. When you rock, try to spin at the apex or on your

bottom, depending on the floor surface and your clothing,

there is less friction here and you should be able to

rotate at the top of the rocking motion. For a diferent

look at the posture, try and see how far you can spin

around with each rock, maybe you can do the circle in 4

motions. Who thought up 9?<br><br>Yours in yoga,