Sách dạy yoga the art of adjusting complete OCR

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AsouT THE AuTHOR

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Brian Cooper has been practicing Hatha Yoga since
1970 and teaching full time since 1990. His first formal
studies were at Yoga Niketan in Rishikesh in 1972. He holds
a doctorate in Bio-Engineering and an advanced diploma
in Thai Massage. These strands have come together to
produce this manual. He was co-founder of the Edinburgh
Yoga Centre and director of Union Yoga in Edinburgh.
He is director of Teacher Training for Union Yoga, and

executive consultant for Yoga Alliance UK. He is the
founder of the eco-aware Shanti Griha Retreat Centre in
the secluded north west of Scotland.
Brian runs teacher training and yoga classes all over the
world. You can find more information at:
• www.briancooper.eu
• www.unionyoga.co.uk




RESOURCES

Other Harmony Classics
COOPER, Brian

Yoga: The Art of Adjusting 2nd Edition
Hatha Yoga- The Report of a Personal Experience

BERNARD, Theos

Penthouse Of The Gods

BERNARD, Theos

Pranayama- The Yoga of Breathing

LYSEBETH, Andre Van

Yoga and Health

YESUDIAN, Selvarajan and HAICH, Elisabeth

Yoga Week By Week

YESUDIAN, Selvarajan

Autobiography of a Yogi

YOGANANDA, Paramahansa

Union Yoga Publishings
Yoga Asanas- A Natural Method of Physical & Mental Training

FREDERIC, louis

Hatha Yoga -The Yogi Philosophy of Physical Well-Being

RAMACHARAKA, Yogi

Advanced Course In Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism

RAMACHARAKA, Yogi

www.harmonypublishing.org


CoNCLUSION

This manual has shown the many ways to use adjusting to enhance asana practice.

Whatever the adjustment you choose, you should always use the correct approaches
and techniques as discussed in these pages. The adjustments shown are only a
cross-section of what is possible. Provided you carry them out properly, there is
really no limit to ways of adjusting, and the forms these can take is limited only by
the imagination. I hope this manual will give you the confidence, not only to
practise, but to experiment and develop your own approach to this skill. Adjusting
can be greatly enhanced by studying Traditional Thai Massage. Thai Massage teaches
sensitivity, awareness and understanding of the body like few other therapies can.
And of course the ultimate way of learning is through your own body. Do your asana
practice with the same mindfulness as you would carry out adjusting.

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BACK

B END I NG

I Adjustments

To ensure correct shoulder opening,
keep your student's arms approximately
shoulder-width apart while the student lifts
off the floor and also when they come back
to the floor. Do this by pressing against their
forearms using your hands or forearms. If a
student has poor shoulder flexibility they
will find this very challenging. In this case

you can allow their arms to come a little
wider in order for them to lift into position.

To help students lift from the floor, have
them grab the adjuster's ankles.They can use
this to push and get more lift. You can then
assist them further by holding around their
shoulders and pulling them up and towards
you. The same adjustment can be done using
a wall. The student places her wrists against
the wall and uses this contact to push into
theasana.


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BAC K B E ND I NG I Adjustments

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The actions using the wall can also be
done using adjustments. Using a belt

provides better and safer control compared
to holding the student directly. The belt
Is placed around the lower back just on
the rim of the sacrum. The student starts
dropping back as you hold the pelvis
forward

and check that the student's legs are
working strongly. Make sure they are
breathing in the position and then instruct
them to come back up under their own
effort, only using the belt to prevent them
falling back.

Gradually take the student deeper,
allowing some movement in the pelvis. The
adjuster can also stand on the student's toes to
prevent the heels lifting as they come up.


BA C K BE ND I NG I Self Adjustments

This set of photographs shows how to
work towards Urdhva Dhanurasana using
a wall. The principle is to push evenly into
the wall to open the shoulders and lift
the pelvis away from the ground. The legs
must work strongly and the breath must
be smooth.

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Stay In the first position until there is
no effort to hold it for at least twenty
even breaths, then move onto the next
position, gradually moving further down
the wall.

In each position you should be able to
come back up by moving the pelvis away
from the wall without pushing through
the hands.


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Before attempting any adjusting in the backbends, it is important that the student is adequately
prepared. There is no point in, for example, helping someone drop back if they are not using their legs
to give proper support for their back, or not working correctly to open the shoulders. The classic signs

are legs bending almost immediately and pelvis tipped way off vertical. And most importantly, the
breath must remain strong and smooth throughout. The following photos show a few simple ways of
preparing for Urdhva Ohanurasana.

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Back Bending

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CHAPTER

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I27



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URDHVA

MUKHA

PASCHIMOTTANASANA

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his is the balance version of Paschimottanasana. It emphasizes the lifting and
lengthening of the back and the forward movement of the sternum which
was explored in Paschimottanasana. Without this action the asana is impossible
because a rounded back will drag the body backwards.

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PRIMA"

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URDHVA

MUKHA

PASCHIMOTTANASANA

IAdjustments

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OBSERVE

PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT

• The student is hanging with soft legs
and not pulling sufficiently on the feet

• Push and lift with your right hand between
the shoulder blades
• This is achieved by pushing your knee
against the back of your hand rather than
directly with the knee
• The left hand pulls the feet towards the head
• Use a closing action between both your
hands to bring the chest forward and lifted


URDHVA

MUKHA

PASCHIMOTTANASANA

Foundation
Legs are straight and heels extended
Hands wrap around the outside edges of the feet
Balance on the sit bones, not the tall bone

What to do
Lift the sternum towards the legs
Lengthen out of the lower back
Either hold the outside edges of the feet or take a wrist
Pull strongly through the arms to bring chest to legs
Gaze to the toes


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SUPTA

PADANGUSTHASANA

C IAdjustments

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PASSIVE ADJUSTMENT
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This adjustment encourages the proper
action of the raised leg by fixing the
hamstrings near their insertion
This also prevents the pelvis on the side of

the raised leg from lifting from the floor.

Pa:H•or

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A~ANAS

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SUPTA

PADANGUSTHASANA

C

Foundation
Front leg stays on the floor and toes extend
Raised leg stays close to the ear
Top of the foot of raised leg goes to floor and toes extend

What to do
Extend through the front leg
Move back of the knee to the floor

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PR!MARV

StRifS

AIAOAI


SUPTA

PADANGUSTHASANA

B IAdjustments

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OBSERVE

PASSIVE

ADJUSTMENT

• The side leg has not reached the floor

• Use your foot to gently press down on
the fixed leg
• Now rotate the thigh of the opening leg
using both hands

PASSIVE

ADJUSTMENT

• This is an inward rotation as shown which
drops the sit bone down and Ulider and brings
the outside edge of the foot to the floor.


SUPTA

PADANGUSTHASANA

B

Foundation
Both legs straight and heels extended
Hold the big toe with the thumb and forefinger
Hips remain level to each other and on the floor
Sitting bones remain grounded
Shoulders and shoulder blades remain in contact with the floor

What to do
Rotate the side leg medially until the entire edge of the foot is grounded
Extend strongly through the other leg
Gaze to the side


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SUPTA PADANGUSTHASANA

IAdjustments

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OBSERVE

AcTIvE ADJUSTMENT

AcTivE ADJUSTMENT

• The student does not have sufficient
strength to lift towards the leg

• Place one foot gently on the thigh of the
leg on the floor to keep it down
• Take hold ofthe foot ofthe upraised leg
• Pull the leg towards you and ask the
student to raise her head as close to the
leg as possible

• You can now slowly let go of the foot
while asking your student to keep lifting
the head to the leg

P

StAllS

AsANAI

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SUPTA

PADANGUSTHASANA

A

Foundation
•

Hand is on the thigh of the leg on floor

•

Heel of this leg extends

•

Hold big toe of other leg with thumb and forefinger

•

Both legs are straight

What to do
Extend the leg on the floor forward to bring back of the knee
towards the floor
Engage abdominal muscles to lift head to leg rather than leg to head
Keep both legs very active with heels extending and quadriceps engaged
a

Gaze to the toes