Practicing Difficult Poses

by Nina

During my fifties, I had two bouts of frozen shoulder that really set me back as far as which poses I could practice. As I began recovering, I decided to gradually work back into practicing some of the more challenging poses that had once been part of my weekly practice but that had become inaccessible. There was one pose I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be able to do again because my shoulders just didn’t have the mobility they used to have: Upward Facing Bow pose (Urdva Dhanurasana). But because I had loved practicing this pose—it’s very uplifting—I decided to give it a try. Besides, I knew that any form of the pose, even with crazy amounts of props or assistance from a partner, is still the pose, so if I never got back to where I was, well, what of it? It’s like Brad said back in the very first week of our blog (see Full Disclosure),

We probably need to practice both acceptance and active engagement as we confront our own aging—part of the underlying philosophy of yoga that I am still struggling with.

To work toward full Upward Bow again, I started by practicing the pose over a chair back, walking my hands down the wall. This allowed me to experience the shape of the pose—and get that wonderful opening in my spine and shoulders—without pushing up from the floor, something I was no longer able to do. I also worked on building back my upper body strength with Downward-Facing Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana), Sideways Plank pose (Vasithasana), and Upward Plank pose (Purvottanasana).

Eventually I felt ready to try pushing up into the pose with my hands on slanted blocks, a technique that makes it easier for people with tighter shoulders to get into the pose. After some time practicing with slanted blocks, I moved onto flat blocks for a quite a while. Because that seemed pretty challenging, I thought the flat-block version might be it for me, but then, one day I was lying on the floor ready to use the flat blocks when I suddenly had a intuition that I was ready to do the pose without props. So I gave it a try and it was easier than I was expecting! Now I’m 62 and I’m practicing the full pose on a regular basis, and I’m even starting to toy with the idea of practicing a backbend that was much harder for me back in the day: Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana.

I’m telling you all this today because we received an email recently that I thought brought up some really important questions that are applicable to everyone.

I have a question I wrestle with daily. As a 57 year-old female who practices gentle yoga 3-5 times most weeks, I find I am working toward the "maintenance" phase of my yoga practice as well as other areas of life. This means letting go of the goal of adding more difficult postures. For example, I chuckle at how my hamstrings now tighten between practice and I feel that I am starting over as a new student at the beginning of each practice. So, the question I wrestle with is: "Do I want to enjoy my practice and accept this aging process or try to ramp up my practice (in a safe manner)." Discerning what is aging and respecting your body is sometimes difficult. I would value your knowledge about the physiology of the bodily changes that occur during middle age.

From my observations—and I’m sure Baxter will back me up on this—there is no built-in schedule for the physiology of changes that we experience during middle age. So we can’t really tell our reader—or any of you—at what age your body will change or how. For example, I remember when a well-known, long-time Iyengar yoga teacher needed both her hips replaced in her fifties. On the other hand, I can think of another well-known Iyengar yoga teacher in her late sixties with an extraordinary practice who seems as physically adept as ever. According to his son T.K.V. Desikachar, Krishnamacharya was still practicing advanced yoga poses until the age of 96 when he broke his hip. 

Clearly your body will eventually change in a way that will make it impossible for you to do everything you once could. But how and when that will occur is highly individual probably based on genetics, your body type, and your fitness levels. So you’ll need to use your powers of observation to gauge how your particular body is changing and what your own abilities are at a given time.

First, you should consider any physical problems or illness you might be experiencing. Does that condition preempt your ability to do certain poses safely? For example, arthritis of the neck would preempt Headstand or deep backbends where the neck is in full extension and knee problems would preempt Lotus-based poses. This is sensible behavior for anyone of any age, and if you have doubts, you should consult your doctor or health care provider. But if you’re in good health with no physical problems, I don’t see why you should rule out adding difficult poses to your repertoire. 

Of course, if you’re completely satisfied with what you’re doing, there is no need to change your current routine. But if working toward a challenge pose appeals to you, this is a good way to enrich your practice. (It’s no secret that my home practice started with my wanting to learn some challenging poses—see Yoga: The Poetry of the Body.) 

You do want to work toward the more difficult poses in baby steps so you don’t suddenly throw yourself into something you’re not ready for. As a trained yoga teacher, I knew how to work toward Upward Bow. However, if you don’t have this kind of information for the poses you want to take on, you could consult with your yoga teacher about recommended steps toward that pose. Then, as you start taking your first baby step, let go of all thoughts of success or failure and simply focus on your practice. In this way, your asana practice becomes a form of true yoga: 

Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward.

Work not for a reward; but never cease to do thy work.

Do thy work in the peace of Yoga and, free from selfish desires, be not moved in success or failure.

Yoga is evenness of mind—a peace that is ever the same. — trans. by Juan Mascaro

This way, no matter whether or not you actually achieve your challenge pose, you’ll be prepared to handle it. And outside the yoga room, this yogic approach allows you to cultivate equanimity in your daily life. See Acceptance, Active Engagement and The Bhagavad Gita for more on this topic.