dhanurāsana – part one

"In the Mahabharata[1], when Arjuna is exercising his art of archery, Drona, his teacher, asks him to focus on the eye of a distant bird. Arjuna, the master archer, sees nothing else – the rest of the world disappears – and his arrow flies precisely to the target.

“The art of archery is a perfect metaphor for training the mind. The archer has to be relaxed and concentrated. The bow itself must be strong yet flexible, and it is through tension and letting go that the arrow can fly straight and true to its target.

“I find the Bow pose a wonderful exercise for developing concentration and engaging the will. The kind of strenuous movement it demands does not just happen; we have to put in the effort. We have to want to do it. In the same way, if we want to become an instrument for the Divine [in us], we have to put in the effort.”[2]

Phonetic pronunciation: duh-nu*-rah-suh-nuh (*u as in “put”)[3]

dhanu = bow
āsana = pose

Instructions[4]

• Do not be in a rush to achieve a result in this posture. Go slowly and do not pinch your lower vertebrae.
• Lying flat on your stomach, bend your knees and bring your feet toward your buttocks.
• Reach your hands back to grab onto either your ankles or your feet. Try to keep your knees close together.
• Feel your shinbones projecting away from your seat, and at the same time, feel a lengthening from your shinbones through your second toe.
• Inhale – Feel your breastbone lengthening forward as you lift the chest up off the floor.
• Feel the thighs lengthening back, out of the hips.
• Do not be concerned with how high off the floor you come; rather, listen to your breaths.
• If your breathing becomes shallow and quick, you need to back off a little.
• If you are going to lift higher, do so on inhales, and relax into the posture on exhales.

To come out of the pose[5]

• Lower your upper body and release the legs back to the ground
• Place your hands next to your chest and press your seat back onto your heels to come into bālāsana (child’s pose).
• Breathe into the back, feeling the back rise on the inhales and fall on the exhales in order to release any tension from the lower back.

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[1] Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The epic is part of the Hindu itihāsa (literally "history"), and forms an important part of Hindu mythology. It is of immense importance to culture in the Indian subcontinent, and is a major text of Hinduism. Its discussion of human goals (dharma or duty, artha or purpose, kāma, pleasure or desire and moksha or liberation) takes place in a long-standing tradition, attempting to explain the relationship of the individual to society and the world (the nature of the 'Self') and the workings of karma. The title may be translated as "the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty". According to the Mahabharata's own testimony it is extended from a shorter version simply called Bhārata of 24,000 verses.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata
[2] Swami Lalitananda, The Inner Life of Asanas [the best of hidden language hatha yoga from ascent magazine] (Timeless Books, 2007), pp. 77-78.
[3]Pronunciation and translation provided by Mikelle Terson, Asana Learning Deck, http://www.yogablossom.com/
[4]Alan Finger with Al Bingham, YogaZone, Introduction to Yoga (Three Rivers Press, 2000), pp. 156-157.
[5] Alan Finger with Al Bingham, YogaZone, Introduction to Yoga (Three Rivers Press, 2000), p. 157.