Standing Head to Knee

When I started my sixty day challenge I was hoping for improvement in Standing Head to Knee more than any other posture. I can, on a very good day, touch my head to my knee. But getting my elbows below my calf muscles, and keeping them there, eludes me.

The posture begins with feet together. With weight on the left foot, bend down and grab the right foot just below the toes ten fingers interlocked.

LOCK YOUR KNEE!

This is where we try to get students to start learning to balance on a locked out leg. Bikram talks quite a lot about how important this element is. Straighten out the standing leg and tighten up the thigh muscles completely. The quadricep muscles should remain tight and contracted throughout the posture.

This weekend I attended the New England regional asana championships. The first place women, Michelle, was a great example of how to lock your knee. Michelle's stance was solid as a rock all the way up to her hip, including the gluteal muscles. Very impressive, very difficult!

Michelle making it look easy.

There exists a relationship amongst muscle groups called an agonist/antagonist relationship. From an anatomical perspective, the purpose of muscle is to move bones. Muscles are attached to the bones in a way that for movement to happen, as one muscle or group of muscles contract, a muscle or muscles must relax.

When you lock your knee and tighten up your thigh muscles, the muscles in the back of the legs loosen making it easier to bend forward, which is what you are about to do. But not until you kick out.

Slowly, gently, right leg lifts up and stretches forward toward the mirror. Keeping the standing leg locked becomes a little more challenging and more important. When the kicking leg is exactly parallel to the floor, kick your heel forward and turn your toes back to your face. When you kick you heel forward, kick from the hip. Get your hips square to the front wall. As you pull and turn your toes back you should feel a nice deep stretch on the underside of the leg.

Now, bend your elbows down toward the calf muscles. Here, sucking your stomach in will engage that agonist/antagonist relationship I wrote about above allowing you to round your spine more. The tight thighs loosen up the back of the leg and tight stomach helps opens the lower back.

Elbow should graze the outside of the calf muscles.

Now here is the yet to achieve part of my practice: elbows below the calf muscle.

Bikram says one should bring the upper body down, tuck your chin to your chest and touch your forehead to your knee only when your elbows are below the calf muscles. I have had other teachers suggest that I try to touch my forehead to my knee when elbow are close to being below the knee. And that got me into a bad habit.

My good friend Terri, another contestant in this week's New England championships, gave me coaching at the beginning of my sixty day challenge.

"Do first things first" said Terri. She convinced me that I had to get my elbows below the leg and keep them there first. What has happened is I fall out less frequently because I am not going ahead of my ability.

Guess what?

My elbows are getting lower. When all else fails RFD: read the freakin directions.

Thanks Terri!