...beginning with this post, however, I’m bringing in a series of experts...not only to provide practical yoga instruction, but to break new ground in giving far more authentic versions of asanas than are generally known...beginning with downward facing dog... adho mukha svanasana...featuring my canine yogini friend, Bella...pictured...
...one thing about canine yoga is that it just kinda occurs naturally...thus, I couldn’t get Bella to actually demonstrate the pose for the camera...instead, we have something that looks vaguely like a kind of slightly off center child’s pose...balasana...or, perhaps, puppy’s pose...anybody knows the Sanskrit for that, please leave it in a comment below.....nonetheless, having studied Bella’s moves first thing in the morning, when I’m far too drowsy to get a decent picture...I can attest to a paradoxical aspect of the real downward facing dog...that is, one doesn’t actually face downward while doing it....you know how that eastern thought goes...paradoxes all over the place....instead, the nose goes forward, eyes slightly upward...looking at me....not sure where they are when there’s nobody watching...that's what's known as the observer's paradox, by the way...
...as importantly, the position of the legs is far different from that in what has traditionally been called downward facing dog...with both straight up, if not somewhat concave, butt sticking way back...
...it occurs to me at this point that, to do this pose properly, one needs to have pretty short legs and a very long spine...in fact, I think ya pretty much have to be a dog...
...so, guess that’s it for this lesson...namaste...or woof...or something...
...future posts in this series will provide instruction for authentic camel pose...ustrasana...and eagle pose...garudasana...soon as I find a camel and an eagle...
