CULTIVATING INTELLIGENT BACKBENDS

An Afternoon Workshop with Susan Wilson
Saturday, May 17, 2008 - 2-4pm
$40

Bending or arching back is not something we do very often in day to day life. In yoga class however, backbends play a key role in keeping the spine supple, strong and healthy. Possibly though, backbend poses present us with the most challenge of all the groups of yoga asanas – they can evoke strong reactions from us of atrraction or aversion - these poses are also quite probably the least understood.

How to practice the backward bending asanas skillfully and safely using the bodys’ own innate intelligence can be learned. Each of us has the ability to move into an easy backward arching motion, sometimes all it takes is being able to recognize where our individual limits may be and to be willing to work patiently from there. They offer us the opportunity to look at our resistances with clarity, accept with honesty our present boundaries and find the peace and equanimity in accommodating our backbend experience without judgment.

Connecting with our inner wisdom is vital to opening up
to these truly exhilarating asanas.

Backbends can unlock our hearts, stimulate and soothe the nervous system and revive us energetically, but more than this, they require us to take a trip into the unknown. We have to feel from the back body, trust in what’s “behind” us. We don’t really ever see our own back (without a mirror), bending backwards then is something the mind, brain and eyes (especially) have to take on faith – can we allow our back body to support us, stretch and open us up to unknown possibilities?

Bhujangasana (Cobra), Dhanurasana (Bow) Setu Bandhasana (Bridge), Ustrasana (Camel), Salabhasana (Locust), Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Facing Bow), are just some of the wonderfully stimulating, challenging and beautiful poses in the backbend family which we can explore.

For beginner and experienced students, this is an opportunity to delve deeply into these asanas, experience the ease of correct anatomical alignment and connect with intuitive awareness, cultivating truly intelligent backbends.

Reserve your space by registering as soon as possible since space is limited. Make your check payable to Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair and mail to 292 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042 or pay by credit card or check at the New Jersey Center for Healthy Living, or by phone at the NJCHL, 973-746-6191.