kurmasana

[wim]

hi,

with kurmasana the instruction is to put the hands flat on the floor. i find there's a lot of pressure on the elbows. if i turn my hands i don't feel that pressure and can go deeper.
what are your experiences with this pose? and how important is it to have the palms facing the floor?

thanks,
wim

[wim]

over a hundred views and no single reply?

[InnerAthlete]

If you are referring to this pose, I specifically have not replied as it is not a part of my asana practice.

Generally speaking, I think it's pertinent to include the discourse between you and your teacher - the person you've selected either consciously or subconsciously to guide you - regarding the pressure felt on the elbows.

Others with a similar asana practice may be able to offer you something else.

gordon

[wim]

thanks gordon. that is indeed the pose. good photo.

Others with a similar asana practice may be able to offer you something else.

i hope they join in soon

thanks again,
wim

[jlg]

I'm not there yet because my teacher specifically instructed not to go there until my elbows can properly clear my knees. My guess is if your feeling pressure on your elbows than you are probably pushing your knees down against your elbows.

[tessiesasha]

hi wim

you need to work on opening your hip before attempting the pose. elbows should clear the knees as suggested by jlg.

[charliedharma]

hello,
you could practice with foam block /blanket under seat and try having same under feet as well,,this will give space for elbows,but really would be best to practice this pose under guidance of teacher,theres a lot going on and like above poster says you need open hips ,there are opening warm ups specifically for this pose but again best shown face to face.
keep going with poses that sensibly open you for this pose,
om shanti

[wim]

thank you everybody,

there are opening warm ups specifically for this pose

i do the entire primary ashtanga series to warm up.
and not too worry, i am not going there if it hurts.

in particular i am curious as to what the reason is for putting the palms facing down on the floor. as so well shown in the picture that gordon posted above.

wim

[jlg]

what do you mean by you do the entire primary series to warm up? kurmasana is about half way through the primary series followed by supta kurmasana with the elbows facing the way you prefer but the feet behind the head.

[wim]

what do you mean by you do the entire primary series to warm up?

sorry jlg, i meant i do all the postures that come before kurmasana in the primary series to warm up.

followed by supta kurmasana with the elbows facing the way you prefer but the feet behind the head

and the hands clasped behind the back...so no elbow issue with supta kurmasana.

my original question with this pose still stands;
is there a reason why we place the hands face down in kurmasana?

thanks,
wim

[Techne]

Because I enjoy reading, synthesizing, and stating things that make me sound like I might know what I'm talking about, I conjecture that kurmasana keeps the hands palm down because the work one can do with palms face up will be done in supta kurmasana. The difference you notice with palms face down is an invitation to do a different sort of work (probably in the shoulders, but that is still conjecture.)
If you find out, will you let us know?

[FlexPenguin]

I have elevated anyone who can maintain this posture to the level closest to divinity.

[charliedharma]

as techne said the pose with the palms down will among other things open the shoulders out,this will greatly assist you in poses in the sequences that are yet to come.Its a great posture when done, especially when you are no longer in it ho ho

[wim]

kurmasana keeps the hands palm down because the work one can do with palms face up will be done in supta kurmasana. The difference you notice with palms face down is an invitation to do a different sort of work (probably in the shoulders, but that is still conjecture.)

thank you maranatha, what you're saying makes sense to me.
and i won't rest until i find out, then i'll show off the answer here

I have elevated anyone who can maintain this posture to the level closest to divinity.

could you please explain this sentence flexpenguin?

with the palms down will among other things open the shoulders out

thank you charliedharma. are the ashtangies coming out of the woodwork now ?

[tessiesasha]

the palms are facing downwards so that you transit from supta kurmasana to tittibhasana before jumping back to chaturanga and proceeding to the next posture.

[wim]

in supta kurmasana the hands are behind the back and not on the floor.

in an alternate option for supta kurmasana the hands are on the floor, palms facing up.

then one jumps into tittibhasana.


thanks again everyone for your input !

i believe i have a good answer to my question. reason for palms facing down in kurmasana:
1 to open up the shoulders
2 this way work will be done that won't get done in supta kurmasana.

[FlexPenguin]

Originally Posted by wim

could you please explain this sentence flexpenguin?

I can't do that pose.

[wim]

there are alternate postures if you can't do full kurmasana.
i am sure there's one there you can do

check out 'ashtanga yoga, the practice manual' by david swenson