The Art of Yoga and Relaxation: Transitions Between Poses and the Importance of Repetition

This week in yoga, the focus was on poses that are a little more challenging, and moving into them from other poses. These transitions are more physically demanding that moving straight into a pose and holding it. This week a few of the poses the class was instructed on transitioning were warrior two to triangle pose, both have a similar base the main difference is in your core. The base of warrior two is a long lunge one leg behind you straight with foot angle out, and the front leg bent at the knee in a 90 degree angle underneath your torso. Your torso then is turned counter to the direction of your back angle, and your arms are outstretched. Triangle pose on the other hand both legs are straight one in the front and one in the back with back ankle turned outwards, you take the same stance with your torso as in warrior two but then bend at you waist bringing front hand down to your front toes your other arm pointing straight up. On paper this transition sounds easy enough but the challenge of this transition is in the balance, so much of yoga is difficult because the poses demand large amounts of balance. The other side of this is once you do this transition, you have to go and do it on with the other side of your body, so you do the same poses but mirrored switching which foot is in front and which is in back, and which way you turn your body. This process of repeating poses that are by nature unbalanced, poses with rotations in one direction, and poses with a leg off the ground, but on the other side of the body to counter what has been done to create balance in the body and mind. Yoga is all about balance between body and mind, within the body, and in the mind, all of these are separate but related. Much like working out traditionally, you would not only lift weights with one arm, you do both equally, the same is true for yoga. By creating balance in the body by alternating the direction of the pose, it reconciles the disconnect between body and mind, bringing you back into the moment focusing on the task at hand.