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Standing Head-To-Knee Pose (Dandayamana-Janushirasana)
"Anyone in the world can lock the knee for 60 seconds because the key is in your hand; the technique, the science." –Bikram Choudhury
Benefits
Standing Head-To-Knee Pose
Dandayamana-Janushirasana
- Develops patience, concentration, mental determination
- Tightens abdominal and thigh muscles
- Strengthens tendons in the legs, as well as quadriceps, deltoid, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, biceps and triceps
- Good for digestive adnd endocrine systems
- Flushes out gall bladder, pancreas and spleen, as well as uterus and ovaries.
Kevin Lewis, who has been a practitioner at the Harvard Square studio for 18 months, demonstrates the posture.
Picture #1A and 1B Kevin demonstrates the set up of the posture. He shows in picture 1B how some people come to their first class very inflexible and may not even be able to pick up their foot in front of them. Just keep reaching for it and be patient, but persistent.
- From start to finish, concentrate one point on your standing leg in the mirror to make sure it is absolutely locked. You don’t have a knee anymore; your leg should be a solid, concrete, one piece unbroken lamppost. (see the February Newsletter for more on the Locked Knee)
Picture #2
Kevin illustrates the upside down L (like Linda!) Slowly lift your leg up and stretch it forward to the mirror until it is exactly parallel to the floor. Kick your heel forward and flex your foot back towards your face. Both legs are locked.
- You will hear the teacher tell you “If your standing leg is bending, the posture hasn’t started yet!” Do not give up or go back to the setup of the posture, just lock your knee right where you are!
- If balance is a struggle for you, don’t use the wall or the bar behind you to help, instead use all your determination to balance for as long as possible, and each class you will improve.
- This is hard. It may take you some time to be able to do this properly, without cheating. Only when you can achieve this – getting your two legs locked, AND you can balance comfortably- do you bring your elbows down.
Pictures #3A and 3B Final Step – Bend your elbows down and touch your forehead on your knee!!
- Bend your elbows down toward the floor (straight down toward the floor, touching the calf muscle, not out to the side like chicken wings)
- If both legs are locked, elbows below the calf muscle and you can balance with your smiling happy face, then slowly bring your body down, chest down, head down and touch your EXACTLY forehead on the knee.
- Don’t let the leg come down, keep kicking your heel forward toward the mirror.
Learning Standing Head to Knee is a process. That is what is important, not the outcome. Remember - the posture is never the object when practicing yoga – the body is the object. You move forward step-by-step, building the complete and correct form slowly and sequentially.
It builds tremendous mental strength (focus and determination) and once you can hold the forehead on your knee, without giving up, for 5 or 10 seconds, automatically your quality of life will improve because you will feel virtually bulletproof! |
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Elizabeth Dalton spent a week at teacher training as the Head Nurse. What a great opportunity to reconnect with Bikram and Rajashree as well as give back to the yoga community that means so much to all of us.
Mimi Hall, Aaron St. Pierre and Dan Welch also spent time in Los Angeles at teacher training. 
Jill Koontz heads to Los Angeles this month. She will be there to attend Teacher Training Graduation on June 17th and then the 8th Annual Bishnu Charan Ghosh International Yoga Asana Championships on June 18th and 19th. The Championships will be streamed live at