Namaste Everyone,

I wanted to share a new video clip I created and posted to YouTube showing a simple preparation for Lotus. See Below.

There are still a few spaces available in the Ashtanga Yoga Holiday below. We just saw a price drop from the US to Rome… if you’ve been considering it, take a closer look.

My wife Gretchen Suarez and I will also be doing a Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga holiday September 1 – 7 at Villa di Bella, Catania, Sicily. You can find more details here.

Regardless, I hope to see you at a workshop soon,

David

Back to Basics in Padmasana

I recently put together a little video about preparing your legs and hips for Lotus posture. Clicking on the image below will take you to the video on YouTube.

I always like to deal with what I think are misconceptions about a posture from an anatomical point of view. In the case of Lotus, the misconception is usually about the knees, ankles, or the specific muscles of the hip that need to open to allow the posture to become comfortable.

In my mind the same muscles will effect how much pressure ends up in the knees as well as how much pressure ends up in the ankles or between the shinbones. Although any of these areas will call attention to themselves because of some level of pain or uncomfortable sensation they are not really the problem.

The root of the problem as you’ll see in the video is the deep gluteal and lateral rotators of the hip joint.

For instance, many people are told to flex their foot and ankle in lotus to protect either the ankle itself or the knee. There isn’t anything wrong with doing this, but it also doesn’t get at the root of the problem.

In essence, when these muscles are tight, they prevent the rotation needed to allow the lotus to be comfortable. There is a paradox at play here with the lateral rotators preventing lateral rotation. Normally a muscle that laterally rotates would prevent medial rotation. Perhaps I’ll tell you why that’s true in the next newsletter.

In the video I offer the preparation as an experiment. Treat it like one and see what happens.

Click on the video below to go to watch on YouTube. Click Here to go to my YouTube Channel.

If you’d like to comment or ask a question go to the YogAnatomy blog page.

Psoas Resource Page

The psoas resource page has become extremely popular on the website. People are ending up there directly from a google search. I tell you this just to say that I’ve added a bunch of information onto this page. If you’ve been to it before it might be worth a second look.

Namaste,

David