A Beautiful Bind

This week we are going to be looking at bound poses. Bound poses tend to look advanced and do require extra flexibility at times. However these poses actually feel easier once achieved and allow the body to open and relax. Binding in Yoga refers to any action in which one part of the body holds onto another part of the body or when two parts of the body are intertwined.  There are many poses that have binding variations.  Binding helps students to deepen a posture, relax more and hold the pose for longer.

However, we don’t want to push and pull until our arms become a scary vice that inhibits our breathing, this can lead to injury.  We need to listen to our bodies, moving sensitively, and engaging with what is happening in the present moment Buddha offered insight into this process. The story goes that a musician asked the Buddha how he should meditate. The Buddha replied, “How do you tune your instrument?” The musician said, “Not too tight, not too loose.” The Buddha said, “Exactly like that.”  We need to learn to apply this in our binding and your bind will evolve into a warm feeling of being helped and supported by yourself.