Stabilize to Mobilize: Finding Safety & Freedom in Backbends
Say the word, “backbending,” and it brings up different sentiments for each practitioner. For some, it means freedom, for others it’s fear. For some, they imagine relief, for others, discomfort. In this workshop, we’ll have the time and space to figure out how to work with all of these associations and reactions; and maybe we’ll even understand why we have them.
In this workshop, we’ll explore what areas of the body need to be mobilized and what areas need to be stabilized in order to backbend pain-free. More often than not, the first things we think of are the spine and shoulders, but we’ll also look at what role the abdominals, hip-flexors, and all the muscles of the legs play in backbending.
The backbending poses that we will explore will range from the poses that we do every time we practice, like cobra, as well as deeper poses like kapotasana (full king pigeon.) The alignment principles that apply to the simpler poses can be found in the more complex ones too. We’ll talk about working toward dropping back and standing up from full-wheel as well as what needs to happen in order to backbend in inversions such as scorpian.
No deep backbending workshop will be complete without plenty of counterposing to make sure your back feels healthy and strong when you leave.
Marisa… you have an incredible ability to describe postures and alignment in a way that I can translate into my body. Never have I done so many backbends with no residual back pain—you are amazing! –Ellen Cox, Bend & Bloom student writing about the backbending class taught on Marisa’s Catskills retreat in June.
Sunday October 24th 3:00-5:00pm
at Bend & Bloom
$30 day of, $25 if you sign up in advance online
.