Yoga patta a manual for yoga wall practice by andrey chumachenko

UDK 294.527 BBK 87.3 D 18

D 18

Danilov D.A. Yoga-Patta: A manual for Yoga Wall practice. — Kharkov: FLP Kovalenko A. V., 2016 — 144 pgs., il. ISBN 978-966-2079-47-0 This is the first study guide that gives explanations to asana performance on Yoga Wall. More than 100 pictures provide a detailed description of asanas, safety instructions as well as tips how to enter and exit asanas correctly. The book highlights historical facts about using belts and ropes in yoga. The manual is recommended for beginners and advanced yoga practitioners. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the copyright owners.

ISBN 978-966-2079-49-4

UDK 294.527 BBK 87.3 © Danilov D. A., 2016

Foreword

Yoga is traditionally associated with a yoga-mat or just a blanket or even animal skins that austere Himalayan yogi used to sit on. And indeed — most of hatha-yoga exercises would hardly require anything more than a conscious desire, some space and a mat. But in reality a lot of auxiliary devices are also used in the yoga tradition. They are first of all the traditional «pashu» rope, «yoga-patta» straps, pillows, sticks, some pole or tree branches that may serve as the basis for rather exotic inverted poses. I once observed an ascetic practicing by the side of the Ganges. There was a huge boulder as a prop that the practitioner used to cling to to perform spectacular and obviously effective stretches. The use of such tools is quite in line with the fundamental idea of yoga, i.e. the formation of the person’s physical and emotional culture, mastering and active exploitation of self-care methods. In this respect at every stage of its development yoga absorbs all state-of-the-art ideas proposed by a respective period such as cleansing procedures of traditional Ayurveda medicine that since the Middle Ages has been an integral part of yoga, the dynamic gymnastics that Krishnamacharya and his students added to yoga, or scientific approach to yoga practice developed by yoga-therapists of today.

In XX century as a result of growing interest in yoga in the West plenty of new devices came about to make practice more intensive or just comfortable. And Yoga Wall is one of them. Its use is expedient if it is necessary to: 1. Load or stretch hard-to-reach muscle groups. Correct yoga practice is grounded on the principle «Develop — what is poorly developed». 2. To make unusual types of physical load. Complication is needed especially during regular practice since the effect of exercises on the ner vous system is significantly determined by the fact that a person goes beyond habitual motion stereotypes in the process of their performance. 3. To prepare oneself for more challenging asanas whose performance is complicated due to bodily constitution, specifics of the body or lack of the practitioner’s experience. 4. To make the performance of poses easier for elderly people. All this makes Yoga Wall a perfect training equipment that will be helpful not only in a yoga studio but at home too. Despite the fact that the idea of Yoga Wall appeared a long time ago, there was no systematic guide on its use. The book by Dmitry Danilov, a wellknown yoga researcher, traveler and practitioner fills the gap. Summarizing the achievements of traditional yoga schools that the author attended with the findings of contemporary yoga therapists, Dmitry has developed balanced sets of yoga wall exercises that may be useful both for beginners and experienced practitioners.

This guide is a must for any yoga studio fitted with the appropriate equipment.

Andrey Safronov President of Ukrainian Yoga Federation

Figure 1

Historical Background

In XXI century Yoga Wall is considered an artificial know-how that came into existence not so long ago. However it is not really true. Since the old times straps have been the main attribute by which yogis were identified. They were used as an instrument for practicing a wide range of esoteric techniques and were referred to as ÂŤyoga-pattaÂť in Sanskrit. The oldest image of a man with a strap seated in sukhasana also known as yogasana (the cross-legged pose) can be observed on the northern gate of the early Buddhist stupa, 3rd century B.C. in the village of Sanchi, the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The northern gate is a little younger than the stupa, and the fresco dates back to the Ist century B.C. (Figure 1). The portrayed ascetic represents Buddha during an ascetic practice in the forest before he laid down the key principles of his doctrine. Buddha is seated with yoga-patta twined around his knees and loins thus relieving pressure on the muscles of the back. He is surrounded by animals and people who came to greet him. The image of a yogi with yoga-patta sitting in sukhasana against a tree and surrounded by beasts and followers (two to four persons) was popular not only in early Buddhism. In Southern India one can come across the image of

Historical Background

Figure 6

Figure 7

Some preserved illustrations also feature the school of Naths — the wellknown yoga practitioners who used yoga-patta for the same purpose of secu ring comfortable seated pose (Figures 6¹ and 7²). It is interesting to know this yogis' attribute penetrated into Tibet's spiritual practices. For instance, in Tibetan iconography Virupa, Luipa, Taganapa and Achinta are portrayed with yoga patta. Below there is an image of Virupa from Lhasa temple (Figure 8)³. Pictures of the 17th century (1600-1604) depict an ascetic hanging upside down on the tree with his feet tied to the branches. One of them (Figure 9)⁴ has the title — tapakarasana — inscribed on it (transl. «asana that generates tapas», i.e. heat).

Historical Background

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10 represents a symbolic portrayal of a practitioner doing tapakarasanaâ ľ. The person obviously does not just hang on the ropes but swings on them. The picture also represents his ultimate state of tapas accumulation â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as if he is ablaze in this upside-down position.

Asana 3. Dynamic warmup with oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back to the wall (advanced variation) Props: two long upper ropes, the wall. Technique: stand with your back to the wall and make a big step away from it. Take the rope knots in your hands. Draw the ropes by sloping the body towards the floor. Press one foot into the wall. Slowly bend forward to a 45 degree slope. The arms are extended backwards, elbows straight. Press the other foot into the wall. Go into the level position parallel to the floor.

Asana 5. Cat pose

Exercise for stretching the lower back Step away from the wall to the maximum distance to draw the rope. Bend down facing the floor. Put the forearms down so that your elbows touch the floor. Remain in this position for a while. Do the full yoga breath.

Asana 5. Cat pose

A variation of Cat pose with emphasis on stretching the interior of the arms and the front of your chest. Tip: this asana is better done in a pair. A partner can take your hands to regulate their height and thus the rate of chest depending on your flexibility.

Asana 13. Chandrasana Props: two short ropes (upper hooks), a brick, the wall. Technique: stand next to the wall at a straight leg distance, with your right side to the wall. Take the knots of two ropes with your right hand. Raise the right leg and press the foot into the wall. Without releasing the knots bend down to the floor holding the ropes with your right hand. Stretch out the left arm and press it into the brick. Look down at the floor. Specifics of asana performance: the whole body should be stretched out in one plane. Pay special attention to your head, chest and buttocks: they should remain parallel to a straight line without going sideways and out of the overall posture.

Asana 21. Savasana with neck unload Props: a «swing» made of three long ropes, a mat, the wall. Technique: lie down on the floor perpendicular to the wall and press the crown of the head into the wall base. Raise your head slightly and put the back of the head on the rope. Set the legs and arms apart to bring the entire body into a comfortable position.

The purpose of this asana is to bring one’s attention to the whole of the body and relax tense zones. If this exercise is done after inverted asanas it will have additional therapeutic effect — it fosters natural blood outflow from the head and its redistribution throughout the whole body equalizing vascular tone and blood pressure.

Asana 31. Intensive workout on lower back in inverted «Superman» Props: a «swing» made of one short and two long ropes, two long lower ropes, a mat, the wall. Technique: take the knots of the upper ropes. Enter asana 24 — the inverted Superman. Put the arms down, squeeze the shoulder-blades as much as possible and open up your shoulders. Don’t let go of the ropes. If this position does not result in any additional extension of the lower back, start fingering the rope with your hands toward the hook. The closer the grip to the hook, the more intensive the extension of lumbar spine is. Do the full yoga breath. Attention: you should not feel any pain in the final position. And if you do, loosen up the back bend.

Contents

Foreword.........................................................................................................................................................................................3 Author’s note...............................................................................................................................................................................6 Physical and mental aspects of the Yoga Wall practice..........................................................................7 Historical background......................................................................................................................................................11 The scheme of hooks arrangement on the wall.........................................................................................19 Rope pressure on the body.........................................................................................................................................21 Safety arrangements..........................................................................................................................................................22 On asanas names..................................................................................................................................................................23 Asanas: Asana 1. Dynamic warmup with one’s back to the wall.................................................................................26 Asana 2. Dynamic warmup with one’s face to the wall..................................................................................30 Asana 3. Dynamic warmup with one’s back to the wall (advanced variation)................................36 Asana 4. Dynamic warmup with one’s face to the wall (advanced variation)..................................40 Asana 5. Cat pose...................................................................................................................................................................46 Asana 6. Face-down feet support against the wall — the «Superman»..............................................50 Asana 7. Squatting in weightlessness........................................................................................................................52 Asana 8. The praying pose................................................................................................................................................54 Asana 9. Braiding the rope...............................................................................................................................................56 Asana 10. L-seat......................................................................................................................................................................62 Asana 11. Feet support against the wall with one's face to the wall......................................................64 Asana 12. Paschimottanasana.....................................................................................................................................66

Asana 13. Chandrasana....................................................................................................................................................68 Asana 14. Utthita hasta padangusthasana..........................................................................................................70 Asana 15. Half-disk................................................................................................................................................................ 72 Asana 16. Virabhadrasana............................................................................................................................................... 73 Asana 17. Deep passive Chakrasana back-bend................................................................................................ 74 Asana 18. Chakrasana with support.......................................................................................................................... 76 Asana 19. Savasana — unloading lower back.................................................................................................... 78 Asana 20. Tapakarasana with knees set apart (the «Batman»)................................................................. 80 Asana 21. Savasana with neck unload...................................................................................................................... 84 Asana 22. Vrishchikasana on the ropes (the «Scorpio»)................................................................................. 86 Asana 23. Chakrasana with one’s head to the wall........................................................................................... 92 Asana 24. Inverted «Superman»................................................................................................................................... 94 Asana 25. Inverted paschimottanasana — dynamic complex................................................................ 95 Asana 26. Straddle without support (the «Nail»)................................................................................................ 98 Asana 27. Vrikshasana with a side slope (the Tree pose).............................................................................100 Asana 28. Side pivot — Arthamatsiendrasana.................................................................................................102 Asana 29. Side pivot in Vajrasana..............................................................................................................................103 Asana 30. Intensive thigh workout in a «Scorpio» passive stretch..........................................................104 Asana 31. Intensive workout on the lower back in inverted «Superman».........................................106 Asana 32. Utthita hasta padangusthasana in the lying position..........................................................108 Final word .................................................................................................................................................................................109 Annex 1. The Full Yoga Breath Technique..............................................................................................................................111 Annex 2. Olena Akhramieieva Space of Freedom for Body Experiments........................................................................................................115 Asanas catalogue.................................................................................................................................................................125

Methodological publication

Dmitry Anatolievich Danilov Yoga Patta: A Manual for Yoga Wall Practice Editor: Oleksandr Kovalenko Paste-up and cover art: Andriy Chumachenko and Kateryna Sugoniako

This is the first study guide that gives explanations to asana performance on Yoga Wall. More than 100 pictures provide a detailed description of asanas, safety instructions as well as tips how to enter and exit asanas correctly. The book highlights historical facts about using belts and ropes in yoga. The manual is recommended for beginners and advanced yoga practitioners. Passed for printing on 21.05.2016. Printing format 70x100 1/16. Offset paper. “Myriad Pro” typeface, offset printing. Conv.print.sheets 11,7. Nr. of copies: 500. Order No.03-05/16. FOP Kovalenko O.V., POB 876, Kharkiv-1, 61001. The Certificate of Entry in the Unified State Register of Publishing Entities XK No.176 dd. 05.06.2006 Printed in FOP Ukolova Ie.O.’ Printing House., 42, Muranova str., Kharkiv, 61000.