This pose is high on ever yogi’s to-do list. Why?
Because it’s one of the what I call “iconic” yoga poses. When you think about yoga one of the first poses you think of is lotus.
Here is my favorite way to upgrade your lotus.
You Inner Thighs
For most students. Lotus is either an I-can-do-it pose or I-can’t-do-it pose. And once you can do it, it becomes a just-sit-in-it pose. Lotus is synonymous with sitting and meditation because it is a comfortable way to sit and creates length in the lower back and aligns the rest of the spine. Because of this, Lotus becomes an inactive, passive pose for most students.
But there is so much more.
When you sit in lotus try this. Squeeze your inner things together, hold for 3 seconds, then release, but don’t release your lotus. This is a powerful way to learn to engage your core while being in Lotus.
What can this do for you?
This is how to make your Lotus move. This is the major building block towards making your lotus active which allows you to do it in all sorts of poses including inversions.
In the picture above, you might just notice me trying to balancing in handstand and maintain the slight twist.
Pictures don’t always tell the whole story.
What the photo doesn’t accurately portray is how hard I’m actually squeezing my inner things together. It’s crucial towards keeping me balanced.
“But Brian, Lotus is hard enough for me and once I get in it I feel stuck.” Yes, initially, it might feel like that, but it gets better with practice.
Simply moving the legs in Lotus will seem hard let alone fully squeezing the inner thighs.
Your long term plan with Lotus is to turn it into a square.
What do I mean by that?
Notice how in your Lotus your knees aren’t in line with the hips. This a pretty normal Lotus for most students. However, when you start using your inner things your knees will hug way in. Your hips and knees will start to form a square. Crucial.
A Square Lotus is a Lotus that is ready to move.
“Brian, I’ll never be able to do what you’re doing in this photo.” With that attitude you won’t. You can’t go to sitting on the floor in Lotus to balancing on your hands in Lotus, you have to work the in-between stuff. However, what’s next?
Try Kukutasana
But here’s the deal. Don’t try this until you can get your Lotus square or almost square.
So you see the pose. I’m showing you phase 1 (knees just about the wrists) and phase 2 (knees up into the arm pits).
What I just described above is the reason students have a hard time with Kukutasana. They focus just on trying to lift up. There’s a lot more that goes on in this pose than just lifting up.
Do you know where the “lifting up” actually comes from? Not from actually lifting up but from squeezing your inner thighs as much as possible. Squeezing your inner things engages your core properly. That allows you to lift.
And there’s more…
Let’s connect some dots.
That same lifting action in Kukutasana is the same mechanic for pressing up to handstand, which you can see here:
So try that simple exercise with your inner thighs and let me know how it goes.
Interested in working with me and transforming your practice? Click here.
Are your core muscles engaging correctly? Get the sequence here.
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