The Art of Asana - By Donna Farhi
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Asana
the Art of
By Donna Farhi
The Art of Asana | Pain the Ear Pose 1
The Art of Asana I Donna Farhi Contents The Art of Asana is a monthly subscripton series featuring stand- alone Asana poses and bonus articles. As you have purchased the entire series, we have collated the material into this one document for your convenience. Feature: Moving With the Breath ··················································1 Finding Your Inner Compass - Flank Pose (Parsvottanasana)············ ··9 Alignment From the Inside Out - Warrior Pose Two (Virabhadrasana II)· 20 Feature: Becoming a Better Student ············································ 32 Finding Stillness - Head to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)····················37 Locust Pose (Salabhasana)························································54 Flexibility and Focus - Arm Balance Sequence (Vasisthasana)·········72 Beginners Four Limbed Stick Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)············89 Feature: A Blueprint for Optimal Movement ··································95 Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)·········································106 Reclining Big Toe With Variations (Supta Padangusthasana)···········121 Feature: Measuring Up ····························································136 Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)·········································· 137 Lotus Pose (Padmasana)·························································151 Extended Foot Pose (Prasaritta Padottanasana)····························163 Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)··························169 Feature: The Pleasure of Partnerwork ········································182
Asana
the Art of
Feature
Moving With The Breath
By Donna Farhi
The Art of Asana Feature | Moving With The Breath 1
The Art of Asana I Donna Farhi
Feature
Moving with the Breath
Just as there is an invisible force that produces the organic
symmetry of a towering pine’s branches, the spiral vortex of
an ocean wave, and the endless cycle of days and nights that
governs our lives, so, too, our human bodies are governed by
intrinsically intelligent patterns.
From the extraordinary moment when egg and sperm are ignited into
being, our bodies form a design unlike any other that has ever been or will
ever be through a wondrous process that is both a replication of an ancient
blueprint and a uniquely individual expression. Our cells multiply and
divide, expanding and differentiating into the specific expression that makes
us unique, condensing and disappearing back into this same matrix when
we die. The inner scaffolding of bones, the tensile fiber of muscles, the
processing organs, innervating nerves, and the oceanic fluid systems of the
body are arranged into the symphony we call the human body. But these
structures alone do not make a body. Just as a light bulb is useless until it
is connected to electricity, the raw substance of our body does not become
human until it is infused with the force of life. This mysterious life force
expresses itself through the projection of light from our eyes; it circulates the
blood through our hearts, and causes the ceaseless cycle of inspiration and
“First of all the twinkling expiration.
stars vibrated, but remained
motionless in space, then This life force also provides us with a blueprint for optimal movement in
all the celestial globes were the form of universal movement patterns that govern all our actions. These
united into one series of patterns organize our intentions into effortless action. The patterns are
movements... Firmament programmed into our bodies to permit us to move with ease and power.
and planets both disap- Some arise as if by an internal time clock, just as we might expect a baby
peared, but the mighty to begin speaking by a certain month. Others happen through our desire
breath which gives life to all to explore the world; the first push from a leg or reach of a fingertip taking
things and in which us toward a beckoning father or colorful toy. They manifest as a series of
all is bound up remained.” overlapping and mutually dependent patterns, a language of movement
that gives us kinesthetic fluency.
-Vincent Van Gough
We see the underlying play of movement patterns all the time but are
rarely aware of the content of what we see. We can identify a person with
neurological disorders far in the distance because we are able to see that
the pattern of their gait is different from the normal pattern we have grown
to recognize. The function of a symbol or pattern enables us to go beyond
the limitation of seeing life as fragments and disparate parts and link these
This article originally appeared in The parts into a cohesive whole. While we could learn to walk by breaking down
Breathing Book by Donna Farhi. Copyright the activity into thousands of separate details, each of which are essential
© 2000 by Donna Farhi. Reprinted by
to succeed, this would be an impossibly difficult and frustrating way to go
arrangement with Henry Holt and Company,
LLC. Figures 1-5 are adapted from the book. about the task. Rather, we learn to move through patterns.
The Art of Asana Feature | Moving With The Breath 2
When you find the ‘knack’ of a
movement, you have unknowingly
found the cohesive movement 1
pattern that was needed to support
your action. Because many of
the patterns, like the movement
of breathing, are governed by
lower brain function, reawakening
them involves using a different
part of the mind than many of
us are accustomed to engaging.
Unfortunately, most of us have
been taught movement in an overly
intellectual, one-step-at-a-time way,
with some Yoga methodologies
breaking down the Yoga postures
into a minutia of points and details.
If you’ve ever tried to talk yourself
up into a handstand by placing
your shoulders and your wrists and
your head-and so on in exactly the
right way, you know how frustrating
this can be. It’s like going to a
filing cabinet for the information
but opening up the wrong drawer.
When we learn through patterns, we
learn through a more sensate, felt,
experiential mode of exploration
and discovery. To do this we have to
open the mind, becoming childlike
so that the body can reveal to us the
knowledge with which it was born.
At first glance through any comprehensive Yoga that the objective Western mind could understand.
text it is likely the reader will be overwhelmed by While this objectification had the positive effect of
the sheer number and apparent complexity of the planting the seeds of Yoga in a new culture, some of
Yoga asanas and practices. Yet, because human the more profound and meaningful aspects of the
movement develops logically, we can simplify and at practice have been lost or misunderstood. In large
the same time deepen our understanding of these part what has been passed on and, unfortunately,
amazing practices by first learning and integrating continues to be propagated is the form of the practice
the underlying movement principles that encompass without the living, vital contents. The Yoga asanas,
all movement. This is not merely a physical or while appearing relatively static compared to other
mechanical process. Each movement pattern and movements, are actually dances swirling with internal
principle is directly related to an organizing pattern motion. The form of each asana acts as a container
of consciousness. Thus, when you learn to breathe for these subtle yet powerful internal movements (Fig.
freely, you are also learning to think and live freely. 1). The untrained eye sees no visible movement, but
When you learn a simple skill such as standing with on further investigation, an asana practiced in this
ease, you learn about right relationship, trust, and the vital way is easy to distinguish. When a dancer moves,
interconnectedness of all things. his actions take him into space, and thus his energy
tends to be dissipated by his efforts. In Yoga we
When Yoga was introduced to the West over a direct movement inside the body so that its positive
century ago, it was taught and adapted in a way effects serve to cleanse and regenerate us. The key to
The Art of Asana Feature | Moving With The Breath 3
rediscovering the original life of the
practices does not lie in contrived,
artificial techniques that we impose 2
on the body, but rather in listening
to the laws of the natural world.
The First Movement
From the moment of conception
our bodies begin to breathe. Each
cell in the body expands, condenses,
and rests in an internal rhythmic
pattern, a pattern that will become
amplified into full-body breathing
at the moment of birth. This first
movement is the basic template
for our existence. Whether we are
sitting still, running up a hill, or
sound asleep, the breath acts as
a continuous resonant presence
infusing and influencing all other
3
processes, from the chemical
reactions of our cells to our
moment-to-moment psychological
and emotional state.
The fundamental nature of the
breath is that it is in a constant state
of oscillation. Just as the tides ebb
and flow, we breathe in and out in
an ongoing rhythm that ceases only
when we take our last breath. All
other physical and psychological
patterns build successively from this
one central motif (Figs. 2-4). For
this reason, if the movement of the
breath is restricted or distorted in
some way, all other patterns of our
4
movement and consciousness will
also be restricted or distorted. Every
other process in the body is reliant
upon this one central process.
The oscillation of breathing is a
perfect mirror of the fluctuations
of life. Life is like a swinging
pendulum, some changes bringing
with them difficulties and pain, and
other changes bringing with them
ease and joy. If we are open to this
process, life will move us. If we are
unable to integrate life’s changes,
we begin to resist by restricting our
The Art of Asana Feature | Moving With The Breath 4
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Asana
the Art of
Finding Your Inner Compass
Flank Pose (Parsvottanasana)
By Donna Farhi
The Art of Asana | Flank Pose 1
The Art of Asana I Donna Farhi
Flank Pose
(Parsvottanasana)
Finding Your Inner Compass
The practice of Hatha Yoga is a process of relocating
ourselves through the tangible reality of the body.
This sounds wonderful in theory, but in reality most
people set off on this journey as ill equipped as a sailor
setting out for the open sea without navigational
instruments. Finding our compass and developing an
interior map takes time, and there are no simple
formulas—it is, like life, a necessarily messy business.
For the most part, we begin to practice Hatha Yoga with only a
Benefits vague and blurry sense of our body; at first it may seem like just an
undifferentiated block of solid substance. There is nothing particularly
• Opens and releases the deep romantic about this experience, as many newcomers discover when
muscles of the hips.
the idea of doing Hatha Yoga meets the reality of the practice. Forget
• Lengthens the hamstrings. the tantalizing promise of chakras whirling in precise synchronization
• Improves flexibility of the or sudden flashes of insight into higher realms. Our attempts to grasp
wrists. the notion of parts, relationship, and whole are frustrated by screaming
• Provides a deep opening for hamstrings, spinal columns that sag or bend in all the wrong places,
and joints that feel as immovable as a deck chair left out over the
the shoulders.
winter. Where is my arm? Is it bent? Is it straight? Are my feet hips-
• Cools and calms both body width apart…well, how wide are my hips, anyway? For the most part this
and mind. is where we all begin, not only in asana practice but also in life—trying
to figure out where we are given the perceptual skills available to us in
the moment.
Contraindications
We progress on a continuum from gross awareness to fine distinctions.
• Those with carpal tunnel Only gradually are we able to discern subtler layers of sensation, feeling,
syndrome should be cautious and thought. But when we have an appreciation for this continuum
of placing the hands in Prayer we can use it to our advantage, learning to cue ourselves first with
Position (Namaste) behind what we can see, hear, feel, and touch in order to access the more
the back. subtle information that is still outside our awareness. For instance, we
• This pose may exacerbate may not know the position of our hips, but we can probably figure out
sciatica or hamstring injuries. where they are by looking at our feet and feeling how our weight is
distributed through them. We may not know how our head and neck
are positioned, but perhaps we can glean information through the
angle of our gaze.
These more accessible signposts can take us to the places we can’t yet
sense or feel. And as we get better and better at knowing where we
are physically, we can use this skill to help decipher the sensations that
accompany our emotional and mental states. For example, we may
notice that our jaw tightens when we are about to get angry. Like a
This article originally appeared in Yoga
International magazine, Issue 64, Feb/ blind person feeling the boundaries and markers of a room, we learn
March 2002. Photographs by Murray Irwin, to infer what a sensation means and use this heightened awareness to
Christchurch. © 2019 by Donna Farhi. find our way through life with greater ease.
The Art of Asana | Flank Pose 2
The posture we will explore here offers many rich want to continue noticing the exact position of the
possibilities for honing the process of internal bike pedals while you are out enjoying the countryside,
navigation. The variations that follow progressively when you reach the stage of unconscious competence
build the skills required to practice Parsvottanasana in asana practice, let go of the objectified process of
well. Just as one might have to fulfill prerequisite directing and simply enjoy the ride.
courses to understand a subject, each of these
variations is a prerequisite for the next. Do not Preparatory Stance
progress onto the next variation until you have In the Flank Pose the easiest way to find the correct
mastered the skills of the preceding stage. As you distance in your stance is to begin in the Mountain Pose
work your way through the preparatory movements with the feet hips-width apart. Imagine that you are
and inquiries, notice which cues and images work standing with each foot on a railway track that is exactly
best for you. Even more important, allow the the width of your hips. Step your left foot behind you,
images that arise in your imagination as well as and keep that back foot on its rail. If you stand with
the techniques you discover through your own the back foot inside the line of the rail, the feet will
exploration to be springboards for deepening your be narrower than the width of your hips, making your
practice. In the beginning you’ll have to work with balance unstable (Fig. 1). Take a moment to experiment
conscious incompetence, directing and reminding both with the distance between the two feet front-
yourself frequently of where you are and how you to-back, and with the width of your stance to find the
are. Gradually, as new skills become anchored, you’ll position that feels the most stable. The weight will
find yourself moving with the same unconscious feel equally distributed over the sole of each foot in a
competence you achieved when you mastered the balanced stance (Fig. 2).
skill of riding a bicycle. And just as you would not
1 2
Incorrect Correct
The Art of Asana | Flank Pose 3Page purposefully blank
Variation D
In a freestanding position, place the
hands behind the back, holding
12
the outer edge of the elbows.
Press firmly against the elbows
to broaden the shoulders. First
establish the connection between
your soft inner body and your
hard spine until you feel the long
line from the crown of your head
through to your perineum and
down into the heel of the back foot
(Fig. 12).
Now begin to tip forward from the
hips. You’ll notice that without
the support of the arms, balancing 13
presents a new challenge. Focus
on sustaining an equal distribution
of pressure throughout the soles of
both feet as a way of refining the
symmetrical use of your legs. Only
go as far as you can while sustaining
the integrity of these connections
(Fig. 13).
The Art of Asana | Flank Pose 7Final posture and refinement
Take the preparatory stance, and on an inhalation Open to the incremental sensations in each breath
extend your arms to the sides and bring them behind cycle, and let your intention be to sustain your integrity
your back into the prayer position (Namaste) with the rather than focusing on how far you can go. The true
palms pressing together and the fingers facing up measure of advanced students is how committed they
toward your neck. Tip forward from your hips while are to advancing toward themselves—advancement
you focus on sustaining the firm cohesion between cannot be measured in inches; it is a state of mind. As
your trunk, your legs, and the ground. If your palms you explore that razor’s edge, the moment may open
begin to separate, you are rounding your shoulders to take you a little deeper to a new edge. In the final
forward and shortening the spine in an attempt to stages of the physical posture the head rests on the
come forward. shin (Fig. 14).
You’ll notice that as you approach your limit you will Stay here long enough to experience both the physical
be on the razor’s edge between feeling together and and the psychological benefits of this gesture of
falling apart. When you reach this edge, slow down. repose.
14
Final Posture
The Art of Asana | Flank Pose 8The Art of Asana I DONNA FARHI
New Insights
The challenges that you face in this posture generally 1. Arm Position: Instead of bringing the palms
depend on which camp you fall into. If you are a together behind the back in Prayer Position (Namaste),
beginner and are challenged with tight hamstrings, take hold of your outer elbows (Fig. 13). Press firmly
stiff shoulders and a tendency to round your back against the elbows to broaden the shoulders. Or,
when you bend forward you’ll need to approach simply place your hands on your hips. Easy!
Flank Pose quite differently than someone who is
very flexible. In the second camp we have those who 2. Stance: Keep your front leg bent throughout the
may have overly flexible and weak hamstring muscles, practice of the posture. Bending the front knee will
open shoulders and a tendency to hyperextend the make it much easier for you to bend forward, and safer
spine. I’m going to call these two tribes the ‘Too Tight’ for you to go into and come out of the posture without
and the ‘Too Loose’ tribes. If you are a teacher, it’s strain on your back (Fig. 15).
important that you offer individualized instructions
depending on what you see, rather than going into Once you have reached your final position, experiment
autopilot and repeating the same instructions. More with attempting to straighten the leg while keeping
often than not, the instructions you give a beginning the head-to-tail connection through the spine.
level student substantially differ from those offered to
more advanced students. 3. Props: If you are very tight and only able to come
forward about 30 degrees off the vertical, rest your
Too Tight Tribe hands on a chair in front of you. If you are able to form
a tabletop position, place your hands on a yoga block.
If you have very tight hamstrings, tight shoulders and
Working without these props will undoubtedly lead to
a tendency to round the back as you bend forward, try
a rounded back.
these three adjustments:
15
‘New Insights’ is previously unpublished
material. All material © 2019 Donna Farhi.
The Art of Asana | Flank Pose 916
Illustration by Sonya Rooney
Too Loose Tribe
Increasingly, I see students with weak and overly The primary function of your psoas muscles is to
flexible hamstrings, often combined with incompetent stabilize your lumbar spine. When strong and long,
core muscles. The hamstring muscles attach to the these muscles act like industrial strength pillors
base of the pelvis at the sitting bones. When these supporting the span between the lumbar vertebrae
muscles are weak, they will fail to anchor the back of and disks. Engaging both the hamstrings and the
the pelvis and there will be a tendency for the pelvis psoas muscles will give you the ability to have a
to tilt anteriorly. If you are in the ‘Too Loose’ tribe, you controlled descent into the posture, maintaining
need to learn how to engage your hamstrings and the the energetic connection of the pelvis to the legs
deepest abdominal muscles that lie either side of your throughout the entire movement.
lumbar spine: psoas major (Fig. 16).
The Art of Asana | Flank Pose 101. Bending Forward with Control: Assume the torso back to the starting position. Visualize the psoas
preparatory stance position (right leg forward, left muscles supporting and lifting your spine back to the
leg back) with your arms behind your back and the upright position. When practiced correctly, you will
hands in Prayer Position. Come forward 20° off the feel that you are elongating through your spine while
vertical and pause. Imagine that you are sending an simultaneously creating a slight braking action to that
anchor downwards from the back of the right hip very same elongation.
all the way down to the right heel (Fig. 17). Feel the
left and right psoas muscles like strong yet pliant 2. Building Spinal Integrity and Strength: In your
pillars supporting your lumbar spine. Some students descent into Flank Pose, the spinal muscles work
like to imagine the psoas muscles as hands lifting against gravity from the moment you move forward
and supporting the front of the spine. Now come from your standing position, up to and while you
forward another 20°, pausing to check that you are are in the tabletop position. Once you move past
not breaking at the juncture between the pelvis the tabletop position and begin to fold over the
and lumbar spine (S1/L5) or between the lumbar front leg, the spinal muscles primarily lengthen and
spine and the ribcage (L5/T12). Each time you move the emphasis shifts to the hips and legs. Like many
incrementally, reestablish the anchors from the psoas members of the ‘Too Loose’ tribe, you need to have the
to the ground. discipline to spend most of your time strengthening
your back by staying longer in the positions from
If your core muscles are weak you may only be able vertical to tabletop. Move 10° forward and pause for
to come forward about 45°, without compensating a few breaths, move another 10° forward and pause.
or losing your anchor. Eventually you may be able to This will build your core muscles and spinal strength.
come to a tabletop position. Maintain this position for At the very end of your stay in the posture, bring your
5 breaths. To come out of the posture bend your right head onto your shin just for a few breaths as a reward
knee and slowly push down into the floor to bring your and to give yourself a sense of completion. Well done!
17
Anchor the back of the
front hip to the heel.
Donna Farhi leads intensives, retreats, and teacher training programs internationally. She is the author of four contemporary
classics including The Breathing Book, Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit, Bringing Yoga to Life: The Everyday Practice of Enlightened
Living and Teaching Yoga. Her latest book, Pathways to a Centered Body co-authored with Leila Stuart, was published in 2017.
For more information on her intensives, online trainings, videos, and audio recordings visit www.donnafarhi.co.nz.
The Art of Asana | Flank Pose 11Page purposefully blank
Donna Farhi
Biography
Leading yoga teacher Donna Farhi has been Donna is the author of four contemporary
practicing for over 40 years and teaching classics: The Breathing Book, Yoga Mind, Body &
since 1982. As a post-lineage pioneer, Donna Spirit: A Return to Wholeness, Bringing Yoga to
has been at the forefront of generating a new Life: The Everyday Practice of Enlightened Living,
model for teaching that fosters self-inquiry and Teaching Yoga: Exploring the Teacher-
through the cultivation of a deepening trust in Student Relationship which is a curricular text
one’s own perceptions. for teaching training worldwide.
Through creating a warm atmosphere free Her fifth and most recent book, co-authored
of judgement and competition she invites with Leila Stuart, Pathways to a Centered Body:
students to investigate their experience and Gentle Yoga Therapy for Core Stability, Healing
to adapt and evolve their practice according Back Pain and Moving with Ease is becoming
to their individual needs. Incorporating the the go-to text for Yoga teachers, therapists and
rigorous backing of anatomical principles for somatic practitioners. The book is grounded
safe and sustainable practice, Donna offers in personal experience. In April 2017, Donna
progressive levels of engagement that allow fractured her pelvis in two places as a result of a
people of all levels of experience and from all serious riding accident.
traditions to build their own authentic yoga
practice. Considered the “teacher of teachers” Her lengthy rehabilitation has given her
people return to Donna’s intensives year after extraordinary insights into the profound
year to be a part of the inspiring evolution of consciousness of the body and its ability to heal.
her own practice and teaching.
Donna’s livestream and online courses make
her expertise accessible to teachers and
students worldwide and, in 2021, Donna will
become the first yoga teacher to present the
practice of yoga to a global audience through
MasterClass USA, an e-learning platform
that provides classes taught by well-known
celebrities and industry leaders.
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