get your body over your leg before you reach for the bind
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered.
The Question
I've been working on twisting binds like Marichyasana D for a long time and I can't quite catch them. I move my shoulder around a lot and reach as far as I can, but the bind just doesn't happen. What am I missing?
— from a MJH note
Our Response
You’re making a sequencing error. You’re going for the arm wrap before you’ve established the rotation. Moving your shoulder around isn’t the same thing as twisting.
Here’s the test: can you get your rib cage—down near the floating rib—onto your thigh? Not your shoulder hovering somewhere in the vicinity. Your actual rib cage, making contact, low on the torso.
If that’s not there, reaching for the bind is just frustration that can’t go anywhere. The arm can’t do what the spine hasn’t done yet.
Forget the bind entirely for a few weeks. Just find out where your rib cage ends up. Get your body over your leg first.
Once that contact is real, the bind resolves itself. No straining required.
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