All the pleasures of summer are upon us. And so are the crowds. If you’re one who really loves the hubbub, lucky you. But for many of us drawn to the quiet here, it can be challenging to stay open to the joys of July.
One yoga pose that can help is Ustrasana, or Camel Pose. It is said to open the heart chakra. In the ancient system of the yogis, chakras are believed to be energy centers; located along the spine, they are responsible for the different kinds of energy we have. The energy in the heart chakra is directly related to our being able to feel love and connection with ourselves and others. If it is undernourished, we can feel irritable, judgmental, and antisocial.
This is an advanced pose in its fullest expression. So, I do not recommend going right into it. Begin instead with a Cat Cow Pose to warm up your body and proceed very slowly from there.
For the Cat Cow Pose, start on all fours in a tabletop position, with knees under hips and hands under shoulders. Put some padding under your knees and maybe your wrists, too. You can move your hands out ahead of your shoulders to decrease the pressure on your wrists. Or just make fists with your hands.
Take a long slow inhale and draw your belly button down toward the floor. Think of a cow’s big belly extending low to the ground. As you arch your back, your tailbone points up and you look forward, keeping your neck long. Then, as you exhale, curve the back up like a Halloween cat. Tuck your tailbone under and look back toward your feet. Go up and down slowly several times, breathing and following the movement of the spine with your mind’s eye. See if you can articulate each vertebra as you move.
To move into the Camel Pose, start in a kneeling position, knees hip width apart. From there, draw your tailbone down toward the floor while lengthening your spine, lifting up out of your waist and engaging your core by drawing the muscles below your navel in and up. Tuck in your lower ribs. Place your hands on your lower back, fingers extending down to your buttocks, as if you were sliding them into your jeans pockets.
Now, imagine there is a bar just at the bottom of your shoulder blades. Lengthen your spine and lift up and back over the bar. Keep your core engaged. As you arch back, imagine a beam of light shooting up toward the sky and lifting the center of your chest. Roll your shoulders back and down away from your ears. Breathe deeply.
Check how you feel now. Pressing your shins and the tops of your feet into the floor can help with the lift. Keep your core engaged. Do not stick your belly out. Keeping your neck long, tilt your head back, but tuck your chin in. If you have neck problems, keep your head in a more neutral position. For extra support, you can do this pose with your feet at a wall and, as you arch back, let the wall support your head.
Backbends come from the upper part of your back, the thoracic spine, not from the lower part of the back, or lumbar spine. By imagining that pole just under the bottom of the shoulder blades, you can keep the arch in the proper place. Do not think of this as a competition to see how far you can go. Ustrasana is about exploring your edge and opening your chest safely. Think about keeping the front and the back of the spine long as you move into it.
If you want to explore a bigger opening, try tucking your toes under and reaching back to hold your heels as you lift the chest. You could also place yoga blocks at your ankles and reach back to them. You can understand why it is called Camel’s Pose: the arch is like the hump on a camel.
At whatever place in this pose you find friendly for your body, take long deep breaths into your chest, holding the pose for a few seconds or as long as 30 seconds. To come out of it, return to tabletop and rest.
If it is not comfortable for you to kneel, or you want more support for your neck or back, you can do this pose sitting in a chair. Pick a chair with a back that reaches to about the height of your shoulder blades. Cushion the back of the chair by draping a towel or blanket over it. Sit with your feet hip width apart, take a deep breath in, and reach your arms back to grasp the sides of the back of the chair. Lift your chest and get long in the front and the back of your spine. Imagine that sunbeam coming out of the center of your chest, lifting your sternum.
Keep the back of your neck long. Tilt your head back and tuck your chin slightly toward your chest. Take a few slow full breaths. Release the pose by pressing your hands into the seat of the chair and sitting up. Again, after the hubbub, rest.
