Miscellaneous · Wed May 27, 2009
Jump Back
I quit Ashtanga because I hated the jump backs so much. Obviously I wasn’t doing them like this:
So graceful! No “thunk” sounding right into the lower back. (Ok, there’s no sound in the video. I can pretend he’s perfect, though.)
May 29th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
The dreaded jump back! I too struggle with this and dream of being able to gracefully move from Dandasana to Chaturanga. However, this dude has anatomy on his side… look how long his arms are in relationship to his torso. One of my frustrations with the jump back is that I can’t even get my hands on the floor in Dandasana. I have to slouch to do so! Any tips, other than using blocks or growing longer arms, for overcoming my anatomy?
June 1st, 2009 at 10:25 am
Interesting observation! I hadn’t noticed his long arms. I manage Lolasana — lifting forward from cross-legged to Dandasana — by balancing on my fingertips instead of my palms. It builds strong fingers!
June 14th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I’ve avoided ashtanga for just this jump-back reason. Any suggestions on getting over the hump? I’m flumoxed.
June 14th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Well, as far as I know the jump back requires/builds mula bandha and uddhiyana bandha (root lock and navel lock), so various practices of those should help. Lolasana, mentioned above, is a good start; also Chaturanga and Plank.
Then I’d practice Bakasana and Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Crow and Handstand) until you lose fear and gain understanding of true arm balances — in the video, you’ll notice he lifts his hips practically over his head. When the hips are that high, there’s a lot more time and space to get the legs back.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Here’s another view, in super slow motion:
http://www.yogoer.com/classes/jump-back-slow-motion/