Pashasana - How to ground the heels in Asana Advice Forum

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Pashasana - How to ground the heels

Author	Comment
slowjeep	Pashasana - How to ground the heels	Lead	[-]
Posts: 5 (08/20/10 06:02:33) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None Remove this ad Have been struggling to get my heels down to the mat for many months - grateful for any advise / tips /suggestion which you would like to share.
YogaVane		#1	[-]
Posts: 1058 (08/20/10 11:47:30) Lady Governess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Not everyone can. Sorry, that's about as much knowledge as I can bring to the conversation!
barchi		#2	[-]
Posts: 43 (08/20/10 16:02:12) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	same as Yogavane. For some people, it just wonn't happen. Maybe this posture is simply made to break some people's ego!!! Here's a story I've heard about Tim Miller's pasasana: it took him 7 years to be able to put his heels on the ground. He was then able to do it once and was never able to do it again since then.
slowjeep		#3	[-]
Posts: 6 (08/22/10 03:25:19) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	But what make it impossible? Not even "practice and all is coming" I don't have ego to break, but just like to figure out why.
YogaVane		#4	[-]
Posts: 1059 (08/22/10 04:05:52) Lady Governess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Some people's Achilles heels will never lengthen enough to make it possible.
azyogini		#5	[-]
Posts: 271 (08/22/10 06:05:30) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Practice and all really is coming, slowjeep. :-)
YogaVane		#6	[-]
Posts: 1060 (08/22/10 06:28:40) Lady Governess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yeah...all might not include heels on the floor in pasasana. But then again, it was never about that, was it? ;-)
azyogini		#7	[-]
Posts: 272 (08/22/10 11:00:02) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts
YogaVane		#8	[-]
Posts: 1062 (08/22/10 11:22:06) Lady Governess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Never mind me, I have Pasasana envy, it being one of my particular nemeses (don't get me started on what a certain someone suggested I should do to make it better).
BBamp	pasasana	#9	[-]
Posts: 6 (08/22/10 12:01:53) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	slowjeep wrote: But what makes pasasana impossible? The size and shape of your talus bone; your talus bone's unique relation to your tibia/fibia. Samskaras.
slowjeep		#10	[-]
Posts: 7 (08/23/10 07:55:05) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Remove this ad YogaVane wrote: (don't get me started on what a certain someone suggested I should do to make it better). Oh, do tell please since there is no other suggestion so far.
YogaVane		#11	[-]
Posts: 1063 (08/23/10 11:03:28) Lady Governess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Lose the belly.
BBamp	The Secret To Pasasana	#12	[-]
Posts: 7 (08/31/10 13:11:20) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Spend at least 5 minutes per day in a standard squat. Spend 5 minutes a day in feet-together squat. Work up to 30 minutes per day in 5-minute increments.
tat tvam amasi		#13	[-]
Posts: 2265 (09/01/10 04:17:01) Forearm Modulator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A well respected Authorised teacher told me that she'd had a lot of problems with Pasasana and had thought it impossible for her. But after a long period of experimenting with stairs and phonebooks (toes on the stair/phonebook, heel below toe level) it finally came for her. I've had the opposite problem. I got heels down fairly quickly (3/4 months) but after a year's enforced hiatus from Intermediate during which I did a lot of rehab cycling work, I lost heels down on Pasasana (and feet to floor on Bhekasana). That said, I've noticed that lately (after 4 years or so) if I really focus I can get both heels down (some wobbling is there!) and feet to floor in Bhekasana. I suppose it boils down to how pertinent these details are to the Practice. Getting heels to the floor doesn't seem to be a prerequisite for progressing in the series from what I've observed. doug
YogaVane		#14	[-]
Posts: 1067 (09/01/10 10:30:26) Lady Governess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	And thank the Lord for that.
BBamp	Heels Down Pasasana	#15	[-]
Posts: 8 (09/01/10 10:48:31) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Is not a requirement for advancement or completion of intermediate series in Mysore. It's not very realistic, though, to expect significant change in the asana by spending 30 seconds/day in it. That's little more than 2 hours PER YEAR in this position ... What activity requires instantaneous/explosive access to full heels-down ass-to-ankles squat position while bearing heavy loads? Olympic weightlifting. Those guys have discovered some brilliant and effective ways to improve squat positions that do not take 7 years. Many (most) westerners could stand to benefit from improved squat capability. Of course it depends how much time and energy you have to dedicate to this. The other problem of course is excess umbilical and oblique adipose tissue.
YogaVane		#16	[-]
Posts: 1068 (09/01/10 11:53:44) Lady Governess Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Cr*ap. So it turns out the "lose the belly" advice was right. Doesn't make me any less offended anyway!
azyogini		#17	[-]
Posts: 274 (09/02/10 04:19:01) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Interesting about the weightlifting connection. I'm a high heel wearer (work requirement) and have felt lucky that despite that, I could always get my heels down easily. Figured the universe had cut me a break rather arbitrarily. But perhaps it was the two decades of heavy squats at the gym! Always figured all that time at the gym had only put me at a disadvantage, yoga-wise. But there may be a silver lining...
tat tvam amasi		#18	[-]
Posts: 2266 (09/02/10 06:44:36) Forearm Modulator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Some other perspectives .... Alexander Technique Weight Lifters A common tip is to work on ankle mobility and this kind of leads me to wonder if lengthening adho mukha svanasana in Surya Namaskar and the asana vinyasas would make a significant improvement on pasasana. [edit] p.s. > I'm a high heel wearer (work requirement) purrrr Rrreaallly .... purrrr and err ..... what exactly is the work you do? [/edit] doug Last Edited By: tat tvam amasi 09/02/10 07:33:06. Edited 1 times.
BBamp	Dorsiflexion	#19	[-]
Posts: 9 (09/02/10 10:14:56) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Doug, Those links were quite good ... As far as lengthening your dog, I don't know that that's necessary --- you might just try bending one leg 10 times to stretch the opposite soleus/gastrocnimeus ... The most potent hip/ankle mobility exercise I have ever seen O-lifters perform is a 2-parter ... they simply hold the rock-bottom squat position for 5 minutes, and this is done with a stripped O-lift men's bar (20kg) on their thighs ... OR they squat with a plate on one thigh, then LEAN into that leg to increase ankle dorsiflexion ... the weight can be incrementally increased as a measure of progress... Or, y'know, just go with what you got and stick a rug under your heels. AZ, Bodybuilders tend to have some of the most balanced and strong practices I have ever seen, once they're past initial stiffness, because they train for symmetry that is generally unnatural. O-lifters are some of the most flexible people I have ever seen, shoulder, hip/leg-wise, i.e. 100kg guys doing full side splits, full hands-together dislocates, etc. bamp
azyogini		#20	[-]
Posts: 276 (09/02/10 18:47:26) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Remove this ad High heels for corporate ladder climbing. LOL. Nothing too exciting, I'm afraid... bamp: Bodybuilding's also a good precursor to Ashtanga 'cause you learn to synchronize the breath with your movement. Olympic squats -- coolest thing ever.

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Pashasana - How to ground the heels

Pashasana - How to ground the heels