UTKATASANA – Part 3

Just make your mind up and your body will follow.

As teachers, we try to encourage everyone to work as one. To flow in and out of postures together. This group energy works to maintain momentum and motivation throughout this challenging class. You might not have noticed, but there is what we call a domino effect. When one yogi gives up early, those around them can often lose motivation and give up too. When one yogi leaves the room, someone else isn’t far behind. Please always feel like you can sit down whenever is necessary for you. We are not asking you to power through, if those black spots start to appear at the peripheral of your vision. Your body is telling you to sit down and you must listen.  However, sometimes we give up when we could just dig that little bit deeper and it is at this point where the magic can truly happen. We have spoken many times in this section over the last few months, about going to your personal edge in each and every posture. That ‘edge’ is the point just before you have to give up: this is what will change our bodies and this is where only you can take yourself. Your teacher can guide and encourage you, but you are doing the work.

NEVER PUSH PAST IT, NEVER PUSH INTO PAIN!

So, with this in mind, keep your arms straight and engaged, shoulders down, no dropping the arms. Feet are still positioned hip-width apart,

equidistant from each other.

Stand up on your toes, around half as high as in 2nd part. Squeeze your knees together. In squeezing your knees, you are endeavouring to activate your inner thighs.

If they are not firing up, then you aren’t squeezing hard enough!

Engage your core to keep your back straight.

Throughout the entire posture, your back remains straight, as though you are sliding down a wall: imagine a lovely cold wall, that you do not want to stop touching, not even for a second! The trick to this is the core, keep it engaged. Your inner thighs should be working for the entire duration.

Exhale and slowly move down. Lower yourself down that wall, shoulders over your hips, 10 counts, until your hips are aligned just above your knees. What you’re aiming for, is to keep your hips higher than your knees. If you find yourself leaning forward, check the stomach muscles are engaged and your pelvis is aligned: not stuck out or tucked in.

Take a deep breath and come out, slowly, the same way you came in:

knees squeezed together and spine perfectly straight.

You have completed the Awkward series and you can finally release your arms!