Our conception of our bodies ourselves is often 2-dimensional – we are aware to an extent of our fronts, and to a lesser extent of our backs, but the awareness along the sides of the body is very hazy. Our limbs – the arms and the legs – are attached to the sides of the body. Many important organs – the lungs, the liver – can be accessed more successfully from the sides. Also, when we can accurately locate our ‘sides’ our ‘fronts’ and ‘backs’ automatically get aligned. In the asana vocabulary, there are many positions and actions that take awareness to the side body. This starts with the simplest of actions – raising the arms overhead or sideways, and then extends to the simplest asanas taught to beginners – the lateral standing asanas.
This Short Course in 3 parts is an exploration of all of these asanas that increase awareness of the ‘Sides’ of the body.
Part1: ‘Side’ Body Explorations Part1: Parighasana, Trikonasana, Vasistasana
Part 2: ‘Side’ Body Explorations Part2: Parsvakonasana, Ardha chandrasana, Parivrtta Ardha chandrasana
