Ustrasana - The Camel

When I wrote about dvipada pitham on 30th July I kind of expected that it would be followed shortly by something about Sarvangasana (shoulderstand) and how each has helped the other. But no! Instead here's something about how dvipada pitham has informed ustrasana (camel).

These days I tend to teach and practise camel with the arms raised overhead so that the focus is on the backbend and the movement of the spine rather than on trying to reaching the heels with the associated tendency to compress the lumbar spine.

I realised ages ago that camel and two foot support are the same shape and that ustrasana is just dvipada pitham turned on its end. This evening as I practised camel a little voice in my head said 'so do it like dvipada pitham'. I used the feet, sent the spine forward and up and drew the shoulders towards the hips. The result was amazing. It felt like the feet were really switched on; the hips were wide; the groin open; the shoulders and hips moving towards each other... and an interesting burning sensation in the quads. I felt no lumbar compression.

Photographic evidence will have to wait a week or so as the resident photographer has gone walk about.