Yoga poses to help you with Ganda Bherundasana

Topic: Yoga Asanas to help with

Ganda Bherundasan 

"Chin Stand"

{Image from JasonBowmanYoga.com. He is unbelievable. A huge inspiration of mine.}

  Right now i am working on getting into a chin stand.  And it's giving me a real b*tch of a time.  But I'm learning a lot on my path to get there. The image above shows the incredibly advanced & insanely difficult variation of chin stand.  And if you can believe it, the full version of this posture is even more ridiculous. The full version is called Formidable Face Pose and your entire face/neck/chest rests on the floor while you feet land and straddle your head. Crazy. As you can imagine, the full version of this asana is rarely seen. The variation i am working on is much, much more modest.

Here is a video of the particular asana and transition I am working on: 

Because this posture is very advanced and could cause me some serious damage, I am trying to be very patient with my body and work up towards it.  I just imagine tipping over and snapping my neck. So, i have been working on a lot of "building block" poses to help get my body ready.

Heart Openers:

 

Extended Puppy Pose, or Uttana Shishosan

Puppy Pose focuses mainly on relaxing and lengthening the spine and stretching the shoulders; it also strengthens and stretches the arms, hips, and upper back. Puppy Pose is an excellent beginners prep for Chin Stand as it serves to increase flexibility in the spine, and it helps you get used to having your chest and chin planted to the mat. Here is a great step-by-step for properly getting into:  Extended Puppy Pose

 

Knees-Chest-Chin Pose —from Shape.com

 Knees-Chest-Chin Pose (Ashtanga Namaskara) will also help you build correct muscle memory and increase flexibility for chin stand. I'm working towards getting my entire chin, neck, and shoulders planted firmly and comfortably to my mat. Once there, I lift one leg and lower, then lift the other leg and lower. It helps get me used to holding my balance while in this awkward chin-to-floor position. Here is a great tutorial for Astanga Namaskara: Knees-chest-chin Pose 

 

Arm Balances:

 

Eka Pada Koudinyanasana II, from Yoga Synergy

 Eka Pada Koudinyanasana, or "scissors" is going to be integral in getting into chin stand. When learning to enter Chin Stand, we enter by transitioning from Eka Pada Koudinyanasa. So if you haven't mastered this pose yet, start working on it!  I love this arm balance. It challenges me every time.  Scissors helps open up the hips, hamstrings, and lower back.  It also builds shoulder, arm, and core strength.  Holding this posture for 10 breaths breaks me into a sweat! Here is a great video for entering EPKII: How to Scissor 

My Eka Pada Koudinyanasana Variation/Transition

Eka Pada Koudinyanasana Variation: Here i am transitioning from scissors into my *attempted* chin stand (which, I failed by the way).  There is lots of back-bending and bootie-twerkin' happening here in order to get my back leg raised high enough to shift my balance forward. I can feel myself getting close... but every time I just end up doing a belly-flop onto the floor. Practicing this transition is helping me build muscle memory and lower back strength.  

Me practicing Vrischikasana "Scorpion Pose"

Scorpion Pose focuses on the back, hips, abdomen, and legs and is effective in toning the ENTIRE body.  This posture requires a large amount of core strength which is necessary for chin stand.  As of right now i am practicing my scorpion almost every day... and i can't believe how much my body is transforming!  I would not attempt practicing a chin stand until you feel comfortable in scorpion. Not Comfortable in scorpion yet? Here is an awesome video breakdown!

So, those are the asanas i am currently focusing on to help get me geared up for Ganda Bherundasan, Chin Stand. I am also kicking up my strength and weight training at the gym to help build a solid and strong core. And, of course, lots of chaturanga pushups!

Let me know if you have any tips!

Namaste :)