noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - Summer 2008, Issue #56 - Index

To take it a little further, shift your
body weight forward so that your
buttocks come away from the wall.
Feel an even distribution of weight
in the soles of the feet.
To get a deeper stretch in the hamstrings,
straighten the legs and
engage the quadriceps; shift your
body weight forward even more so
that you feel more weight toward
the front of the feet.
To come out of the pose, bend the
knees slightly, let the arms drop
down, and roll up the spine one
vertebra at a time, keeping the chin
to the chest and letting the arms
and shoulders hang the whole way
up. The shoulders will naturally fall
into place, and the head and the
neck are the last to come up.
Open your heart
(Supported Backbend)
Stand about 2–3 feet away from
and facing a wall. Place your feet
about 12 inches apart and parallel
to each other.
Bend your arms, and place the
elbows against the wall directly in
front of the shoulders. Position the
forearms parallel to each other with
the palms touching the wall and the
middle fingers pointing up toward the
ceiling.
Draw the shoulders back and down, creating
space between the ears and the
shoulders, and feel the shoulder blades
drawing toward each other.
Take a deep inhale, and as you exhale,
allow your heart to melt toward the wall.
Keep the knees straight, reaching the
heels of the feet to the floor. Let the
front of your hips move slowly and gently
toward the wall.
Shift your gaze upward, and feel your
heart reaching toward the sky. Take a
deep inhale, filling the chest with air,
and as you exhale, feel yourself sink
deeper into the pose.
To continue further, slide your hands up
the wall, keeping the hands shoulderwidth
apart, and allow your chest to
move closer to the wall. Either rest your
forehead on the wall or rest the chin and
the chest on the wall, looking up toward
the ceiling. Draw the abdominals in,
and keep them firm as you breathe a
few deep breaths.
To come out of the pose, slide the
hands down, press the elbows against
the wall, and push away to return to a
standing position.
get Twisted (Half Spinal Twist)
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