- Sit on the floor with legs stretched forward and your torso upright.
- Collect the inner sides of the thighs, knees, ankles, and feet.
- Carry manually buttocks sideways to rest on the ischium *: raising the right hip, right hand out -from pliegue- out right buttock; and then, raising his left hip, left hand out -from the left buttock pliegue- out.
- Note that the bodyweight is distributed evenly over the ischium.
- Place the palms on the floor beside your hips, fingers spread and middle fingers pointing forward.
- Keep arms straight and firm **.
- Bring the muscles of both thighs to the femur. With this action, the straight and firm legs are held.
- Rotate the front thighs gently inward from the English, noting that the thighs, knees, and feet are aligned (legs Samasthiti ).
- Press the thighs toward the floor.
- Press the center of the heels to the floor.
- Extend the internal lateral muscles of the legs-and this is generally cutter from English to internal arc until the metatarsals and heels soles are in the same plane (feet Samasthiti ).
- Extend heels forward, without detaching them from the floor.
- Keep the soles of the feet perpendicular to the floor.
- Widen the plants and separate the toes.
- Raise the torso from the hips. Observe how this action should be benefited by the action of the thighs and hands toward the floor.
- Compact hips wearing the outer side of the buttocks toward the centerline of the body.
- Carry forward the coccyx.
- Ascend the pubic bone.
- Straighten chest and spine.
- Expand the intervertebral discs from the sacrum to the skull, growing, challenging the effect of gravity. Create space between them and feel the increase in height towards the crown.
- Ascender floating ribs (not advance them).
- Keep the passive abdomen, bringing it slightly toward the spine; to make this gentle movement, watch your tailbone down slightly.
- Ascend the muscles and skin of the front torso from the pubis to the sternum and clavicles; and simultaneously move up the rear face of the neck.
- Maintain upright neck and head, and chin parallel to the floor.
- Lower the back muscles from the trapezoids to the waist like a waterfall.
- Widen shoulders and clavicles aligned toward the outer sides.
- Lower trapezius, creating space between the lobes of the ears and shoulders, to free the neck.
- Insert the inner edge and the base of the shoulder blades; widening the rib cage sideways to
- avoid shrink it.
- Rotate biceps outward (external rotation). Observe how this action penetration seventh cervical possible, achieving the opening of the clavicular chest.
- Press to the floor forefinger and thumb, making sure both hands exert uniform pressure on it. Observe how this action side lengthens the torso from the hips.
- Take care not to collapse the lower back.
- Note that the torso is perpendicular to the floor.
- Note that the diaphragm is relaxed.
- Maintain a strong spine.
- Keep your buttocks, back, neck and aligned perpendicular to the floor and head.
- Maintain parallel on both sides. Align the face and torso.
- Keep relaxed look forward to eye level.
- Relax muscles of the face.
- Rest the tongue on the floor of the mouth and palate-and separate it from the brain relies on the natural space buccally avoiding pressure cavity can exercise in the area.
- Relax the jaw, and in doing so extend that relaxation to the ears.
- Natural and relaxed breathing.
For those who have difficulty keeping the torso perpendicular to the floor, it is possible placing folded blankets under your buttocks. Occasionally, it is recommended to Dandasana with your back against a wall to perfection.
* These are the support base of asana , they are like the feet of Samasthiti .
** If you can not stretch your arms, place them back in line to the side of the hips, careful not to move the torso upright.
What actions does dandasana teach as a base pose?
Dandasana can be considered the mother of all the seated poses, as all seated positions grow from this base pose.
In dandasana, "danda" meaning 'staff' or 'rod', the practitioner is seated with the legs stretched out in front. The palms are on the floor near the hips with the fingers pointed in the direction of the toes. The spine is kept perpendicular to the floor.
Seated in dandasana, the student can begin to learn the art of sitting. He/she can physically see the toes, feet, ankles, calves, legs, knees, the thighs and thus can learn how to stretch the legs evenly and in the proper way. With no weight on the legs, the student can see which leg tends to turn out, and which leg tends to turn in. He/she can see the tendency of the feet and legs and how perhaps they automatically flop out into savasana when left to their own. He/she starts to become aware of the position of the pelvis and its relationship to the spine, of where the spine collapses, of any roundness or drooping of the shoulders, if the back of the neck shortens and the chin juts forwards.
In dandasana, the practitioner learns how the body should ‘sit’. Rather than sitting on the flesh of the buttocks, in dandasana one learns how to sit on the sit bones. The mind is instantly taken inwards to feel where and how the weight is distributed on the sit bones. The student learns how to observe if the weight is in the center of the sit bones; if the weight is tilted towards the front of the body or towards the back of the body. He/she learns how to feel if the weight is equal on both the right and left sides. These roots become the grounding point from which the practitioner learns how to extend the spine upwards, and the legs outwards.
The rooting of the sit bones helps to lift the chest, but also the work of the legs grounding down help to bring lightness to the upper body. The leg work involves sinking the femurs down towards the floor and drawing the kneecaps up towards the pelvis. The backs of the thighs separate and the inner groins, the inner thighs, and the back of the knees press towards the floor. From the backs of the knees, the calves extend towards the feet, releasing the front shinbones down, and allowing for the inner heels to ground down. The toes are spread and lengthened slightly forwards, away from the body, and up towards the ceiling. The pinkie toe side of the foot should draw in towards the body and the base of the big toe should extend away from the body. The entire sole of the foot should expand. The entire back of the leg should broaden.
From the roots of the sit bones and the actions of the legs and feet, the spine is free to grow upwards and outwards from the pelvic basin. This is the foundation that teaches the student how to lift both sides of the waist and torso up equally, and how to evenly elongate both sides of the muscles along the spine, as well as how to spread the dorsal muscles laterally. The student learns how to sit with a firm, solid and straight spine, with the head aligned properly over the sacrum, and with an open chest. The work of the legs in dandasana thus teaches the student proper alignment of the upper body while seated.
In dandasana, the practitioner learns the proper actions of the legs, ankles, and feet needed for seated poses. He/she also learns the proper actions of the sit bones, side waist, shoulder blades, and sternum necessary to execute 'upavistha sthiti' - seated positions. As a result, the student can begin to study the position and alignment of the pelvis and explore the relation of the spine and torso, to the work of the legs. By learning how to literally see the physical body as well as how to feel the actions of the work in dandasana, the student begins to become skilled at waking the intelligence of the body and at bringing the body into proper alignment needed for subsequent seated positions.
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