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Bow pose, or dhanurasana in Sanskrit, is so named because the body resembles a bent bow in the pose. The front of the pelvis is on the floor, the hands grab the ankles, and everything except the top of the pelvis and the lower abdomen is lifted off the floor. The arms are taut like bow strings, and the shoulders and chest are able to open by lifting the legs up and back. The spine gains strength with the strong arching action, while it also gains flexibility due to the lift and curve of the back bend. The legs and buttocks become toned as well, since it is the strength of these areas that lifts the body up. To do this pose, lie on the floor on your stomach. Bend the knees and grab hold of the ankles. Inhale, and lift the legs, chest, and head off the floor. Lift the legs up and back to create the opening in the chest and shoulders. Point the feet toward the head, and bring the big toes to touch. Then work on trying to get the heels to touch and, ultimately, the thighs to touch, bringing the entire length of the legs together as one. Lift the head up without crunching the neck back. Keep the arms strong and straight. Hold the pose and breathe. As you exhale, slowly release the body down to the floor, making sure not to drop the body suddenly. Beginners might find this back bend challenging. I suggest strengthening the spine first by practicing salabhasana and other less difficult back bending postures, and working on opening the chest and shoulders. Once the spine gains some strength and flexibility, one can move into the more intense back bends such as dhanurasana. If you can’t reach your ankles with your hands, you can shorten the distance by looping a belt around the ankles and holding on to the other end of the belt. Students can also put a bolster under their lower ribs to prop themselves up, enabling them to do the pose without having to use quite as much strength. This way, students can get the feeling of the pose, along with a goal to work toward, without having to do all the work on their own at the beginning. Once you can come into the pose relatively well, you can then go deeper into the position and achieve more proper alignment. A challenging exercise is to lie on the floor face down with the knees bent, bringing the knees to the wall and the shins up the wall. Reach back for the ankles and lift up to bow pose with the knees still touching the wall but higher up on the wall. While up, flex the feet and bring the toes back to touch the wall, as well. In this variation, the weight will be centered more on the pelvis due to the legs reaching back, as opposed to on the abdomen as in the regular pose. It will be more difficult to reach the feet up and that far back, but this will bring you further into the pose and build more strength while also ensuring correct alignment. If both feet are pressing equally into the wall, then you know the legs are even and you are working both sides equally. More advanced practitioners might want to work on full bow pose. The action in most of the body remains the same in this pose except for the action of the shoulders and arms. Instead of the arms reaching straight back to grab the ankles, the shoulders rotate and the tops of the feet are held. In order to do this, bend the knees and flex the feet. Turn the arms so that the palms face up to the sky. Reach back and grab the tops of the flexed feet. Once you establish a grip, rotate the shoulders by bringing the elbows out and then up so that both elbows are pointing straight up while you maintain a hold on the tops of the feet. Finally, work on straightening the arms and the legs. While the action of the rest of the body remains the same as in bow pose, the back bend becomes much more intense when the full pose is achieved because the rotation of the shoulders demands that the legs be lifted higher and the back be arched further. When working up to the full pose, you can practice the rotation of the shoulders one arm at a time until you are ready for the full position. Another helpful idea is to try this variation with socks on. By grabbing onto the end of the socks instead of the feet, you give yourself a little more length and space for the rotation of the shoulders. Bow pose is an anti-aging exercise. The older a body gets, the more the upper back rounds and the chest caves in. Practicing back bends slows this process by opening the chest and shoulders, making the body look and feel younger. The result is a strong and supple body that can remain upright no matter what the age or condition. The aim of all yogic practices is to cleanse the body and mind of its impurities in order to reach the core of our being, our True Self, and find Brahman (the Divine) within ourselves. Milarepa, in The Life of Milarepa, states this point clearly: "I also had a very special understanding that the methods of the Path are for the transformation of all sensory experience into spiritual attainment." The methods he is referring to are any and all exercises that have spiritual aspirations in mind. Whether the method of attainment is meditation, study, selfless action, asana, all of these, or any combination of them, they are all meant to tame the senses so that we can direct our energies toward spiritual awareness, the realization of our Divine Soul. Once the senses are tempered, one no longer feels the need to look to the outside world for sensory pleasure. The mind becomes focused on its aim, "the aim of the soul." The yogi can then turn inward to find the Spirit. With the body strong, the mind centered, and the soul aligned with its aim, the goal of yoga is achieved. "Even as an arrow becomes one with its mark, let the watchful soul be one in him." |
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