Playing the Edge

I have been “playing the edge” in my own practice and with my students lately. We all have an “edge” in our poses, the place where we go and feel we cannot go any further. The edge usually feels like a wall, an impenetrable brick wall, in fact, that keeps us from going farther. I often find that I get to “that point” in the pose and just sit. I can distract myself with a myriad of things at that point, a mental tapping of fingers, if you will, waiting for the moment that I can move on from the pose and do the next pose. We can stay in that spot for weeks, months, years, never moving more deeply. Of course, we don’t do this in all of our poses, mainly those poses we don’t enjoy. When I brought this idea up in class, everyone giggled. Apparently I am not alone!

Ironically, while there is an edge physiologically speaking, it is far from a wall because it can move. I have now begun calling the “edge” a “speed bump” because, while it can slow us down, it does not need to stop us! When you reach an edge, play there. Breathe into the resistance, see it releasing. Feel yourself move more deeply into the pose. Iyengar has been quoted as saying flexibility is 80% emotional, an idea I have personally experienced. Assume you can move more deeply into whatever pose you feel stuck in. See yourself in the deepest expression of the pose. Encourage your students to do the same. Have them hold a pose a bit longer. Have them feel where the resistance is so they can breathe into it and release it. Do it in standing poses, backbends, twists, and forward folds. This work fits everywhere. Watch your students carefully, though, this work is moving into the pose, not blowing past it with poor alignment. Remind them that if they move a millimeter, it is a significant shift.