Teaching is the greatest act of optimism. - Colleen Wilcox
This, is Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, demonstrated by Jehangir Palkhivala as it graces the brochures for his up-coming April 25-27 workshop at Kona Yoga.
The folks in today's Gentle/Stretch class got a quick-peek-preview of this photo when they held this pose after Bhujangasana. They could truly appreciate the strength that's required in their wrists, arms and legs, as well as the need to cultivate a flexible spine, after seeing this.
I was moved to spend some time on the two poses after reading a New York Times article about the simple push-up being a measure of fitness. A Dr. Miller is quoted as saying, “What so many people really need to do is develop enough strength so they can break a fall safely without hitting their head on the ground. If you can’t do a single push-up, it’s going to be difficult to resist that kind of loading on your wrists in a fall.”
I'll leave the boot camp "drop and give me 30" orders to someone else though. Wrist issues aside, I'm confident that most of these Gentle Stretchers are strong enough to break their falls. We'll keep working on the whole body so we'll have enough balance and not fall to the ground in the first place! :)
If you'd like to print out your own copy of the workshop brochure, download it here.