30 Days of Igniting the Fire with Angi Stambasana
Let me Introduce You to your Hips
Please join me on a 30 day journey as we get deep into our hips by doing the asana Agni Stambasana everyday! Note: not for the faint of heart. This posture will reach deep into the depths of any tightness lurking within the hips, it will move into any stress, tension or even an old injury that you're not aware of and make you feel everything within your hips. It's not called 'igniting the fire' for nothing!
Since 2002 this posture has been difficult for me and I think it's been stopping me from finding deeper depths in other postures (like Uttanasana). I don't want to feel limited by my body in yoga or in my life; I want to move with total freedom, with a lightness in my heart illuminating from my body. Anusara Yoga teacher Todd Tesen said that if I did this pose everyday for 30 days I would experience new freedom in my body. To be honest, it was easier at the time to hear those words, think that I 'might' act on it and stay in complacency then actually do something about it.
So I decided it was time to start and I'm sticking to it because I want to get a glimpse of my potential as a human being and this is one step on that path. I'm 3 days in and it was hard on day 2 because I had too much wine to drink the night before but I knew I had made the commitment to myself and in some ways to Todd (who instigated this). Throbbing head, throbbing body, it was not pretty.
Please let me know if you have questions or comments. I'd be interested in knowing how you are progressing on the path. Enjoy every moment and welcome freedom into your heart and body.
Agni Stambasana How to
Take a comfortable seat and turn to your breath. Then move your right leg on the mat at a 90 degree angle. Cross left leg over aligning the knee with the right ankle. Note* if you are tighter and this is uncomfortable, please bring the foot closer to the thigh or place your sit bones on a blanket. Engage muscular energy in both legs including the feet, feeling the muscles hugging the bones. This action of contraction is going to help us have a greater release and who doesn't want a Great Release!!!
Breath into your sit-bones and feel your energy grounding into the earth.
Keep an softness and settle into what you are experiencing. Be open to the journey and to finding freedom within.
Try to keep the shins parallel to the front of the mat with the mid line of the body aligned to the middle of the shins. Move the hips back slightly and keep connected to the breath. Be patient, kind with your thoughts and a willingness to let go of any tension and just be with the beauty of the breath and your spirit.
This is how it's supposed to look (I'm hoping at the end of the 30 days I will be shining with the brightness that Elsie does)
Please check me out on facebook in my group 'Tahnee's yoga space' for video blogs and more on yoga. Please connect and share your experience and let me know if there is a pose you'd like to work on. Podcasts coming soon!
With gratitude,
Tahnee
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