Hot Yoga Pose Forums > Janushirasana with Paschimottanasana: Separate Leg Stretch
Wow Heather! You have been practicing a long time if you remember the barn days with Rhonda. Was this her studio in Point Pleasant? I have heard about it but didnt have the pleasure of knowing Rhonda then. I attracted her into my life almost 3 years ago :)
In Paschimottanasana I am fixed on my eyes. By imaging my breast bone being pulled through the mirror as mentioned above it helps me keep my eyes 100% focused as well as my back completely flat. Some days i can get my knees totally straight but my chest is still quite a distance from my thighs. I keep my back straight like a skateboard ramp and keep pulling to gain a few more inches out of my lower spine and this releases the crunched up feeling that i sometimes have.
TinaA
Rhonda, is there another modification to this pose if the peace fingers keep slipping like Graces? If she is already at her max with pulling, could she place her entire forearms on the mat and chin to her knees?
TinaA
I also find it very special Tina when I focus on my eyes in this pose. The pose becomes magnificent. One time, I discovered it and I was astonished by the slow descend looking into my eyes it was so powerful. Sometimes, I do find it interesting that I can have a totally straight leg and it could be the next day when the leg is no way going straight. Moreover, how is it possible that the left and the right side flexibility is different even though I just finished almost 90 minute practice by the time I am in this pose!! I don't think I heard any modifications for the pose Tina. Perhaps, Rhonda knows. Somehow, we need to unstuck Grace in this pose. It is a very beautiful pose I fully enjoy it.
Alfia
i agree with you guys that looking into your own eyes in this pose is powerful and special. the studio that i practice at does not highlight this special time in the pose in their script. sometimes i find myself looking around at all the students not focusing and want to correct them! i like feeling the stretch in my back and torso, but i really dont like doing the situp and grabbing my toes, it really bothers my lower back. i also feel like when i try to move back on my sit bones im not getting the full benefit bc im not doing the situp
danielle bumber
Grace - edit your language and you will have your answer. Try this:
"I find my progress in this pose using my peace fingers. I delight in how they have been are slipping off my big toes, which are beautifully narrow. I keep my grip by offering a little bit of resistance with my feet by pushing my HEELS towards the front mirror and THEN pulling back with my fingers; this allows me to truly pull my feet when they are flexed back towards my head, which is exactly as they should be. And now I realize that I can straighten my legs without pulling on my toes hard at all - so I hold lightly, place my elbows on the mat beside my calf muscles and PULL FROM MY CHEST towards the front mirrors and BAM - my body is flat on my thighs. And now I am ready for the separate leg split. I'll ask Rhonda about that."
Language informs experience.
PS - Tina - Chin does not pull towards the knees in this pose - chin pulls towards the toes
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
i love love love this pose... it feels so ggod to open the hamstrings and stretch the back out in this pose. I look forward to this pose.
Becky
I agree, Rebecca..it's perfect how this pose of total surrender comes at the end of the series, isnt it? Either you're exhausted, or energized by the time this pose rolls around but either way, you are ready to let go now and when you do....well I almost feel like I could close my eyes and fall asleep in this stretch. But of course, staying awake gives me the chance to stretch out my leg, square up my shoulders, pull my shoulders down more and drop my elbows to the mat, and languish even deeper
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
It is cool to have this pose at the end of the series because my hamstrings are much more flexible. I still feel that certain days I have a battle between a flat back and straight legs. When I first started, I always wanted the straight legs, but I quickly learned a flat back was vital for the stretch. I backed out of the pose to focus on making my back flat like a skate board ramp. Tucking my chin slightly to keep the alignment helps me to not strain my back and invite an easy stretch for my back and hamstrings.
Brittany Yard
Same here, Brittany! When a teacher gave me the visual of the skateboard ramp as my back, it helped me realize how much more important it was to flatten my back before moving forward. I'm getting closer all the time, and I can really feel my spine lengthening now when I'm in this pose.
Chrissy Graziano
Chrissy and Brittany you have discovered something even more satisfying than loose hamstrings which everyone seems to covet at first: that long, flexible like a slinky spine. No pose do you feel it more than Janushirasana with Paschimottanasana and then....the hamstrings sing along
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I really enjoy the separate leg stretch part and the feeling of deep pressure on my forehead as I press into my knee. My hamstrings, too, have loosened greatly and I focus on keeping my shoulders even and squared and breathing to release any remaining tightness. I could stay in the separate leg stretch for a long time. I don´t recall hearing the skateboard ramp visual although I focus on lifting the chest as if a string is pulling me upward and forward. I can keep my legs out front straight and for now my back remains flat in a 45 degree angle. Great release of legs, and back once out of the pose.
Lisa O'Rourke
Lisa , I enjoy the pressure on my forehead too, but I enjoy the stretch ion my back just as much if not more. I love the feeling of my torso gliding along my thinghs opening my chest toward my feet. I love the feeling I get feeling like I can glue myself together yet remain lifted.
Stephanie
This pose is such and intense hamstring/calf stretch. I can straighten my knee and flex my toes back but wow! My challenge is to hold it! I like the visual of a plank back.
I was told by a teacher at a different studio to push the bent leg foot into the straight leg thigh. I like this because I feel it helps me keep the bent leg hip on the floor. Any thoughts on this?
Jeanne
In my early practice the double leg pull seemed so easy that I felt no benefit from it. Now that I have become more mindful of the cues and reading the scripts I feel that I get more of out of the pose as a lower spine stretch then the hamstring stretch is like a bonus for me. I don’talways get my legs straight because I don’t t want to sacrifice the form for the depth. I have heard of the cues Brittany and Chrissy have mentioned with the back straight as a skate board ramp which makes that image help me keep the lower back straight. During the inhales as I remember to keep my shoulders down & back,chest up this also helps my lower back remain flat and lengthening.its easy to to loose this form. I’ve also had a teacher tell me to try and bend the knees first to set up a flat back then begin to press the knees down flat. exhaling also helps me flatten the knees more to eventually get my legs straight.
maria
The first part of this pose separate leg stretch is challenging for me. Hard to straighten each leg. But I can now straighten my legs facing front with fingers between the toes and love that stretch. Progress. As Jeanne mentioned this is intense hamstring/calf stretch. I don't believe in class I've ever done a second set of this pose, perhaps once.
amy
Stephanie I love your imagery of gliding your chest along your legs and feeling like you are "glued together" yet still able to expand and lift. Lovely feelings!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Amy my dear...by the end of this Teacher Training it is my wish that you realize the obstacle you place on your path by starting your comments with what is "hard," Even when you acknowledge "progress," realize that this comes from a foundation of things being "wrong" before and now "getting better." I prefer the word "expansion" but if you like "progress," maybe you can talk about what that feels like to you rather than progress itself being the goal...I wonder if that would feel more free ...which I suspect is what you are reaching for...
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Maria, imagery is always such a boon as it has an immediate way of taking you to exactly where you want to be...but what is it about "easy" that translates to "no benefits"? Life - and hot yoga - is meant to be all those wonderful things: fun, easy, enjoyable, beneficial. What would life - and your hot yoga practice - expand into if you truly believed in the ease of it all?
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Jeanne, I think that is a wonderful cue - to push the sole of your bent leg into the inner thigh, to ground the opposite hip as well as the opposite knee - stability on the hips makes a huge difference! Realize that this also creates easier opening in the hips as well.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I really enjoy massaging my pituitary gland in this pose but I am (perhaps too eagerly) awaiting being able to straighten my knees. I feel like I’ll get so much more out of this stretch then. Also I get mixed messages about straight back before straight knees. I think a teacher told me get straight legs was more important than flat back but others say otherwise. Confused about what to prioritize.
Pamela
There are different schools of thought on this Pamela and even two different ways to get into this pose, both of which I like: there’s lir way (!) and then there’s “straighten the legs first placing elbow tips on the floor beside the calves and keeping the legs straight, pull on the toes and lift/lengthen the spine.” I feel it’s more empowering to lift the chest/ lengthen the spine first then ease the knees down/legs straight, but both ways have merit. Try it for yourself!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I'm not sure if I am right but I think that starting with the legs straight and then lifting the chest could impede how much lift you get in the chest? I know that I started with bent knees to get my chest lifted as high as possible and worked them down slowly, I actually still start with my knees bent up so I can feel my erector spinae engage before I flatten my knees. If I lose the feeling that those muscles are engaged I know my back is rounding and I need to lift my chest and back out for form over depth.
Paula
I love this pose--it is a great stretch for my hamstrings and thighs. Although my knee is still bent, I find that when I lift my heel off the floor it is easier to work on straightening the leg. And what a difference lowering the elbows makes!
irenem
I am working on keeping my right leg straight , my left one almost there. However, I am never sure if my shoulders are parallel to the floor, so I try to gauge is my elbows are symmetrical-equal distance from the floor.
Irina
Absolutely the best image, I agree Heather! Whenever Rhonda says to imagine the breast bone being pulled through the mirror, it works like a charm for me. Same goes for when we have to envision it being pulled from the ceiling or from a hook in the back wall…it's just a good visual!
I find it VERY difficult to progress in this pose because my peace fingers have a very hard time pulling without slipping off my big toes, which are narrow. I find the only way I can keep my grip is if I offer a little bit of resistance with my feet by pushing towards the front mirror with my toes and THEN pulling back with my fingers, but this resistance never allows me to truly pull my feet till they are flexed back towards my head, thus allowing me to pull my flat back towards my legs. I feel kinda stuck..