Reader Leah wrote in this weekend asking me some great questions that I think everyone should hear the answers to. Leah says: "I have to say that you have great back flexibility!! I was hoping you could tell me some poses that I could practice to help me with mine."
Absolutely!
First, some tips: Bring "heart opening" to just about every pose you do. Make sure your shoulder blades are back and together so they "support your heart from the back". This will allow a greater lift in your chest that is supported into a safe even expansion. Do this all the time and every pose will be a backbend. If you do nothing else - your backbends will already be better. And no matter what backbend you're doing - focus on more length in your torso to keep from compressing vertebrae.
Everyone's lower spine is generally hyper-mobile (weak and flexible like a baby) which can lead to injury without stabilization. Upper spines are usually more stiff so you have to focus on softening it and getting some movement there. Remember that your spine isn't alone in a backbend... the front of your body must be opened up and the back of your body must get strong. More specifically - stretch your hips, quads and chest to open them up for backbends. Work on strengthening your hamstrings, feet, and back to prepare them for the work that must be done to safely engage in backbends. These are some key things to choosing what poses work best for addressing any issues that might be holding you back.
Obvious backbends: cobra, locust, bow, bridge, camel, dancer, pigeon pose, and upward bow.
Less obvious: lunges, mountain pose, and half frog pose. Explained Below.
Lunges: I took a workshop on deep backbends last year that was almost 3 solid hours of lunges. Stretch and open the quads/hips of the back leg. They allow you to practice tucking your tailbone,
puffing your kidneys (drawing the lower ribs back so they don't poke out in front) and lifting your heart. Take a little backbend and you've got the whole package. Want to step it up even more? Do an arm variation that opens the shoulders like eagle arms or cowface arms. You can even bring the back knee to the floor and draw the back foot toward that same side hip. YIKES! It will take quad/hip opening to a whole new level. It may make you want to cry, but it will improve your backbends exponentially if practiced regularly.
Mountain Pose: Really. Mountain pose is the mother of all poses. You can work on anything in mountain pose. Rooting through your legs? check. Tailbone tucking? check. Puffing kidneys? check. Shoulders back? check. Lifting your chest and doing a small standing backbend while extending your neck instead of collapsing it? check check and check.
Half Frog Pose (variation on Sphinx Pose): Chest forward, sides long, shoulders back, quad stretch, and asymmetrical work - it's a big ol' funky backbend. Asymmetrical work teaches you which side is stronger or tighter and where you can work on balancing your body.
More Q & A later this week, and a more photo-oriented post about backbends tomorrow. If you need further information on any poses mentioned here: (I think) you can find them all
Here.
Today's pics were taken at the Noah Maze workshop in Boise by one of the Boise Kula members. Check them out
on Facebook.
Grounding is an interesting and surprisingly complex topic. I'm glad you asked because it's something I struggle with in my own practice. I even did my Final in teacher training on it. (Teach a short class of 4 poses with a theme integrated throughout) Technically my theme was "In the face of chaos seek steadiness/reliability" and grounding poses were how I taught it, but I digress. This post was going to be really long, so I chopped it up into incomplete sentences and whatnot. 
Examples: Warrior poses, chair pose, bridge, hero pose, child's pose, squats like garland pose, staff pose, seated forward bends. Just about any standing pose with both feet on the earth, hip openers, seated poses, just about anything keeping you close to the ground.
Absolutely!
Lunges: I took a workshop on deep backbends last year that was almost 3 solid hours of lunges. Stretch and open the quads/hips of the back leg. They allow you to practice tucking your tailbone, puffing your kidneys (drawing the lower ribs back so they don't poke out in front) and lifting your heart. Take a little backbend and you've got the whole package. Want to step it up even more? Do an arm variation that opens the shoulders like eagle arms or cowface arms. You can even bring the back knee to the floor and draw the back foot toward that same side hip. YIKES! It will take quad/hip opening to a whole new level. It may make you want to cry, but it will improve your backbends exponentially if practiced regularly. 
