Apana Vayu: The Anchoring Breath

Before you begin you may wish to learn about mula bandha and prana vayu.

The following selection of poses explores how apana vayu can be activated across several classes of asana and various pelvic alignments. Standing poses use the activation in the legs to energetically integrate the pelvis with the torso and the extremities, rooting us deeper into the pose and directing apana into the architecture of the asana. Sitting postures, which are intrinsically stabilizing, provide an ideal opportunity to strongly engage apana. In twists and forward and backward-bending poses, the activation of apana anchors the body and allows for a smooth flow of energy from the root up through the spine.
In the poses below, focus on the position of the pelvis, the engagement of the lower belly, and the activation of the legs. With even, full breathing and relaved but conscious engagement, you can harness the powerful force of apana to effortlessly stabilize and energize your postures.

Prasarita padottanasana (spread-legged standing forward bend)

Instructions:
1. Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), facing one of the long edges of your sticky mat, then step or lightly hop your feet apart anywhere from 3 to 4 1/2 feet (depending on your height: taller people should step wider). Rest your hands on your hips. Make sure your inner feet are parallel to each other. Lift your inner arches by drawing up on the inner ankles, and press the outer edges of your feet and ball of the big toe firmly into the floor. Engage the thigh muscles by drawing them up. Inhale and lift your chest, making the front torso slightly longer than the back.
2. Exhale and, maintaining the length of the front torso, lean the torso forward from the hip joints. As your torso approaches parallel to the floor, press your fingertips onto the floor directly below your shoulders. Extend your elbows fully. Your legs and arms then should be perpendicular to the floor and parallel to each other. Move your spine evenly into the back torso so that your back is slightly concave from the tailbone to the base of the skull. Bring your head up, keeping the back of the neck long, and direct your gaze upward toward the ceiling.
3. Push your top thighs straight back to help lengthen the front torso, and draw the inner groins away from each other to widen the base of your pelvis. Take a few breaths. As you maintain the concavity of your back and the forward lift of your sternum, walk your fingertips between your feet. Take a few more breaths and then, with an exhalation, bend your elbows and lower your torso and head into a full forward bend. Make sure as you move down that you keep your front torso as long as possible. If possible rest the crown of your head on the floor.
4. Press your inner palms actively into the floor, fingers pointing forward. If you have the flexibility to move your torso into a full forward bend, walk your hands back until your forearms are perpendicular to the floor and your upper arms parallel. Be sure to keep your arms parallel to each other and widen the shoulder blades across the back. Draw your shoulders away from your ears.
5. Stay in the pose anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. To come out, bring your hands back on the floor below your shoulders and lift and lengthen your front torso. Then with an inhalation, rest your hands on your hips, pull your tail bone down toward the floor, and swing the torso up. Walk or hop your feet back into Tadasana.

Vrikshasana (Tree Pose)

Tree pose increases balance, focus, memory and concentration and strengthens the ankles and knees.

Instructions:
1. From the mountain, bend the right knee shifting all the weight into the left leg. Turn the right knee to the right wall resting the heel against the left leg.
2. Look down at the floor and stare at one point. Slowly slide the right foot up the left leg, only as high up as you can maintain your balance. When you are balanced here, slowly bring the palms together, prayer position in front of the heart.
3. Keep staring at your focal point on the floor. Keep the left leg strong pressing the foot into the floor. Keep the right knee bent 90 degrees towards the side wall. The shoulders are down and back and the chest is pressing forward.
4. If you are very balanced here, try the next stage by inhaling the arms over the head. The arms are in an H position, or the palms are together with the thumbs crossed, or the fingers are interlaced with the index finger pointed up. The fingers are reaching up and the shoulders are down and back.
5. Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths.
6. To release: slowly exhale the arms down and then release the legs back into mountain.
7. Repeat on the other side.

Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana (bound half-lotus head-to-knee pose)

In this calming, rejuvenating forward-fold, the strong flow of blood and prana-shakti that courses through the navel area helps to reboot our inner GPS system, our emotional voice, allowing us to stay centered, navigating the waters of our life with grace and ease.

Instructions:

1. Begin sitting in Dandasana (staff pose) with your legs stretched out in front of you. Fold your left leg into your torso, and bring your left foot to the groin of your right leg, so that the heel moves towards your navel and the toes are energized. The left knee should be on or moving towards the floor (with no knee pain) from externally rotating deep within the left hip socket, moving energy from the groin towards the inner knee. If this position is challenging, consider coming into Janu Sirsasana, bringing your left foot into the inner right thigh.

2. For those of you in half lotus, inhale and move your left arm around the back of your body and as you exhale catch a hold of your left big toe. You might move your left shoulder initially back a little to help facilitate this action. (If that is still not available to you, grab a hold of your right foot with both hands, or use a strap.) Take a hold of your right foot with your right hand. Connecting from Mula Bandha with your next inhale, lengthen from the base of your spine up through the crown of your head, allowing your groins to drop deep, and your heart to shine towards the heavens, opening for guidance. On your next exhale, spill your pelvis forward over your right leg, then your belly, ribs, chest, and head. Find the organic release of the spine through the grounding of your legs, the deepening of your groins and your willingness to surrender to this moment.

3. Breathe fully and generously. Become aware of how the breath is being absorbed into your cells, and if there are any that need a little extra caressing to release any stored tension, emotion or calcifications. Open your inner borders, sipping in the new vital prana. As you continue to invite the Divine in through the rhythmic flow of your breath, soften into where you are, rather than striving for a certain experience you might be anticipating. Search for that relaxed-effort place, that place where the Divine can speak to you through your own inner voice, and you can feel wholely embraced.

Baddha konasana (bound angle pose)

Instructions:
1. Sit with your legs straight out in front of you, raising your pelvis on a blanket if your hips or groins are tight. Exhale, bend your knees, pull your heels toward your pelvis, then drop your knees out to the sides and press the soles of your feet together.
2. Bring your heels as close to your pelvis as you comfortably can. With the first and second finger and thumb, grasp the big toe of each foot. Always keep the outer edges of the feet firmly on the floor. If it isn't possible to hold the toes, clasp each hand around the same-side ankle or shin.
3. Sit so that the pubis in front and the tailbone in back are equidistant from the floor. The perineum then will be approximately parallel to the floor and the pelvis in a neutral position. Firm the sacrum and shoulder blades against the back and lengthen the front torso through the top of the sternum.
4. Never force your knees down. Instead release the heads of the thigh bones toward the floor. When this action leads, the knees follow.
5. Stay in this pose anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes. Then inhale, lift your knees away from the floor, and extend the legs back to their original position.

Shalabhasana (locust pose)

Grouped among the so-called “baby backbends,” which includes Dhanurasana (Bow Pose) and Sea Monster Pose (described in the Variations section below), it is an unassuming pose that, like other seemingly simple poses, is actually a lot more interesting and challenging than it appears at first glance.

Instructions:
1. For this pose you might want to pad the floor below your pelvis and ribs with a folded blanket. Lie on your belly with your arms along the sides of your torso, palms up, forehead resting on the floor. Turn your big toes toward each other to inwardly rotate your thighs, and firm your buttocks so your coccyx presses toward your pubis.
2. Exhale and lift your head, upper torso, arms, and legs away from the floor. You’ll be resting on your lower ribs, belly, and front pelvis. Firm your buttocks and reach strongly through your legs, first through the heels to lengthen the back legs, then through the bases of the big toes. Keep the big toes turned toward each other.
3. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and stretch back actively through your fingertips. Imagine there’s a weight pressing down on the backs of the upper arms, and push up toward the ceiling against this resistance. Press your scapulas firmly into your back.
4. Gaze forward or slightly upward, being careful not to jut your chin forward and crunch the back of your neck. Keep the base of the skull lifted and the back of the neck long.
5. Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then release with an exhalation. Take a few breaths and repeat 1 or 2 times more if you like.