When you think of yoga, the first thing that comes to mind is 'softness' and the second is 'balance', asanas that are balanced will make you feel 'graceful and stable'. But the truth is, when practising yoga, you're lucky if you don't fall over and hit someone, let alone be graceful.
Today, I'm going to give you some tips on how to find balance in the following two postures.
1. Tree Pose
Don't ignore the power of the point of gaze. Teachers often say to keep your eyes on a point, but it's not that simple.
Firstly, the point of gaze should not be too close to you, make sure it is at least 1.5 metres.
Secondly, don't stare at an unstable point, such as the exerciser in front of you, because if he falls over, you will be unstable too.
Hip alignment is the most important task. When the knees are spread to the side, as the femur rotates, many people also bring their pelvis over. At this point, it is important not to put the knee on the front side, but more attention needs to be paid to pelvic alignment, as it is only stable if the pelvis is square.
A further step is to open the knee, not to rotate the pelvis, but to rotate the bent leg outwards, which then needs to activate the hip muscles of the bent leg. The foot of the bent leg goes to push the opposite thigh and the opposite thigh pushes the palm of the bent leg in order to find a balance between the opposite forces.
2. Half-moon pose
In Half Moon Pose it is important to open the hips, just as in Triangle and Side Triangle Pose.
Take your time and don't forget your standing leg. Entry into Half Moon Pose must be slow and steady. There are many ways to enter Half Moon Pose, so let's take the example of Side Triangle with the right foot in front.
First, cross your left hand and look down in front and below you; point your right hand 45 degrees forward on your fingertips; shift your weight to your right foot and take a half step forward with your left leg; drop your weight completely on your right leg and take your left leg slightly off the ground; straighten your left leg back and up at the hips; look above and when you are stable, straighten your hands up again.
The knee of the standing leg should be in the correct position, with the ball of the big toe and the outer side of the heel pressed into the ground.
At first, you can bend the standing leg slightly so that the outside of the knee is looking in the direction of your little toe; this helps to square your knee. Then, while keeping your knees straight, straighten your legs again. At the same time, the ball of your big toe and the outside of your heel are pressed down at the same time.
