{"id":6627,"date":"2015-10-21T21:23:13","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T01:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theyogimovement.com\/?p=6627"},"modified":"2016-10-08T15:19:59","modified_gmt":"2016-10-08T19:19:59","slug":"small-steps-to-big-backbends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theyogimovement.com\/small-steps-to-big-backbends\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Steps To Big Backbends"},"content":{"rendered":"

Backbends are notorious for causing strong emotions as you’re going deeper. <\/span><\/p>\n

I remember when I took backbends to the next level in my Ashtanga practice. In led classes, I thought I was deepening my backbends, but it wasn\u2019t until I had the personal guidance from a teacher that they became more intense.<\/p>\n

I remember prepping for dropbacks just by standing up, grounding my feet, and bending my body as far as I could go. Then popping back up. My teacher said, “Monica, drop back<\/em>.\u201d I looked at her like she was crazy. The crazy thing is that I am a former gymnast and still do backhandsprings on a regular basis. But, something about dropping back was causing panic. She said, \u201cYou\u2019ll never get over your fear if you don\u2019t try<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Tweet “It’s common to feel resistance in backbends no matter how flexible your spine is. “]<\/p>\n

A big part of the Ashtanga method is surrendering to your teacher. I knew that my teacher had total trust and belief that I could do it even<\/em> if I didn\u2019t. This was one of the best gifts because this is where I learned to get over my fears and live out of my comfort zone.<\/p>\n

When I finally started doing dropbacks on my own, I felt dizzy and nauseous. I just had to get used to going back and coming up. Backbends are also a deep cleansing of the nervous system, so when you start to work on deep backbends, it\u2019s not a surprise that you\u2019d feel a little sick in the beginning.<\/p>\n

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A video posted by Monica Dawn Stone (@monicadawnstone)<\/a> on