Here we go: the standing balancing series! There are many, many moments, large and small, that make this pose soar! Ask your questions about this chapter and your pose here.

We are always making rules for ourselves. When you say "this pose is hard for me" or "I have trouble locking my leg"it becomes the rule you live into. Knowing this it always best to make it the rule you'd like to live. So I'm getting better at this pose each time i do it" might be a rule you'd prefer and can believe,

I once saw as master teacher instruct a student to kick out with a bent knee (not Recommending this). The reason ? The student had been practicing for 12 months and still noticing the leg: time to break the habit of living with limitations.

All rules can be broken when they no longer serve . How will you decide that your hip is fine and your leg will lock?

pS shifting the weight into the "kicking hip@ once you so kick is lovely

Nice lengthening imagery, Gabby. I like the feeling of lenghtening from flexed heel to hip and sinking into that hip helps me to get the biggest stretch in the kickout. And isnt it just damn fabulous to feel that "I know I say this about a lot of poses but this one is my favorite?"

Heather, I go even further and tell students to flatten the outer edge of the big toe into the mat - and sometimes the inner edge of the whole foot into the mat until it stops "flickering" off the mat. That has helped me to balance on the foot

Yes, Tina, shifting anything slowly and deliberately, be it your gaze or your movements ( in which case you are mindful of your alignment as per teachers instructions) is an important aspect of asana. This is why exiting an asana and entering an asana are as powerful as being in the asana.

Hi Grace - yes some of these tips are golden - my favorite being breastbone up parallel to the mirror even as the shoulders stay relaxed, which creates a glorious kind of push-pull of opposites that feels wonderful as it serves to lift and open the heart center rather than collapsing it.

However I am a big fan of keeping the thumbs webbed or at least touching on the ball of the foot and not at all concerned about dangers of bringing the palms together first: it leads naturally to the next step which is letting go of the hold on the foot and balancing forehead to knee with the arms out and palms facing each other.

Yes to foot flexed; yes to relaxed shoulders and arms; yes to the momentum swoop down and "net" the ball of the foot into the clasped hands (remember to keep stomach sucked in for that swoop and beyond)

However, I am not a fan of spending 75% of your time in the pose and only 25% in entry and exit; I prefer the "measure twice, but once" idea: mindfully setting up alignment with careful attention to teachers instructions prior to entering the pose is not only the key to accessing the multitude of benefits with no injury, but is also the key to something even more important: ENJOYING the asana. After all - why else do it?

Alfia - nice awareness. However I notice in class when you kick out you lose balance and tend to fall out of the post backwards at this point. Might I suggest shifting the weight more forward and downward into hip of the kicking leg, to ground you.

Good awareness, Becky - locking the THIGH makes the entire leg feel strong yet relaxed, "like a tree trunk, a lampost." Here's the givewaway: when you actually dont feel any strain, ache or sensation in your standing leg, then it is truly LOCKED and supportive for the kick-out phase.

That's perfect, Becky. Yes, many times the instruction to "lock the knee" can cause the student to push back on the knee which results in hyperextension or "bowing back" of the leg which does not feel good at all. What you are looking for is a "dimple" above the knee to show that the quad is engaged and the knee is set into place without being pushed or forced into what you may think ins a locked position. Once your standing leg feels both solid and light - that is, no ache or pain or wobbling - you are indeed ready to kick out. In fact, it is your imperative to do so - at this point, standing still will not take you forward in the pose and may in fact take you backwards, into a comfort zone where your benefits cease. Yoga - and life - is about expansion. Go forward into your next step with gusto - Dandayamana Janushirasana and life!

So true, Dani, and this was an AHA moment for me as well. In the BIkram studio where I learned hot yoga the mantra was LOCK THE KNEE, LOCK THE KNEE, LOCK THE KNEE. Anatomically it is accurate - what they mean is that the kneecap will set into a natural aligned position - ie locked - but thrusting the knee into a lock wont do it and will in fact cause knee stress. Contracting the quads (and from our last anatomy session you see the 4 quad muscles) and engaging them encourages the natural knee lock (seen as the dimple above the knee) which makes your leg engage in the "light yoga" way - very stable and balanced with no undue pressure or effort

There are many parts of the anatomy to "lock" in this way as we are built for alignment....in hot yoga we learn them all! The result: its actually FUN to live in this body!

Great awarenesses Brittany about the hands taking the weight. Notice how these awarenesses come slow and gently, step by step, unfolding at just the right time, when you are ready, like the asana itself and....many other things as well. There's no use barreling/ pushing/forcing through as ...not in asana, and not anywhere else.

There's no rule about when to kick out. I have seen students go straight into extended Dandayamana Janushirasana within the first 15 seconds of the first set. If the standing leg is locked, there's nothing wrong with that.

Personally for me, feeling the lightness in the leg is so enjoyable, I like to stay there and bask in it - I sing the Body Electric, to quote the famous song - - so I wait til the halfway point at least, in both sets. When to move into the next phase of this asana is a personal choice - as long as the locked leg is solid and ideally, light.

NO ONE should be kicking until the standing leg is locked solid! As a teacher it may be necessary for you to FIRMLY pull students back from the edge of that dangerous cliff.