Usttrasana – Camel Pose
Erin and Naomi have combined forces to inspire you onto your mat with beautifully illustrated yoga poses you can practise at home. This week’s pose and illustration, Usttrasana – Camel Pose, is based on our fourth chakra, the heart chakra (otherwise known as Anahata chakra). Its colour is green.
Anahata chakra is located at the centre of the chest and linked with compassion, love and a sense of openness. When this chakra is in balance we feel a deep sense of connection to our loved ones, compassion for others and can harness self love. When out of balance we feel cut off, lonely, self absorbed and alienated. Our heart has its amour on.
Backbends work the heart chakra and can also make you feel quite vulnerable – as do matters of the heart! Breathe deep and go there….
Step 1
Kneeling on your mat, knees hip-width apart lengthen up through the spine as you draw your tailbone down – this will start to switch on your abdominals and help support your backbend.
Placing your hands on the base of the lower back, lightly squeeze your glutes – again giving your back support ready for the backbend.
Step 2
Begin to lift and feel an expansion from the centre of your chest as you press the hip bones forward and bend backwards. Keep the neck inline with the spine, relax the jaw and feel the shoulders move back and down.
Step 3
There are different variations depending on how deep you would like to take the pose. Keep your hands on the base of your lower back for a beginner’s variation, or to take the pose to the next level you can bring one hand at a time down to hold your ankles.
If the flexibility of your spine is established and you have a regular yoga practice you may want to work on your strength by bringing both hands to prayer position at the heart centre.
Step 4
Breathing deep in whichever variation you’ve chosen. Imagine the inhale breath moving up along the spine and the exhale breath travelling back down the length of the spine.
Stay in the pose for however long your breath feels deep and steady.
Support yourself out of the pose by placing the hands on the lower back, slowly bringing yourself up.
Move into child’s pose and relax here, this allows the spine to rebalance.
A little bit more about Naomi and Erin
Naomi Costantino
Naomi has been teaching for over 10 years, originally training as a dancer and working on stage, TV and film. It was through the emotional ups and downs of life and physical injury that Naomi discovered yoga and the transformational quality it can have on mind, body and spirit. Naomi shares her passion and understanding of working with the physical body as a gateway to healing through her teaching and writing.
We Heart Living – Naomi Constantino
Erin Petson
With a pale face like a Bronte heroine and delicate hands, Erin Petson draws like a botanist on a light box, illuminating a sleeve, a hem or a wisp of hair with a nuanced precision that swiftly blurs into abstraction.
Having worked with Dior, Selfridges, Vogue, Victoria Beckham, Swarovski, Diane Von Furstenberg, Moncler, Lancome, The New York Times, The Guardian, Elle, Harvey Nichols, and Penguin, Petson’s story is a modern day fable of drawing your dreams on the sky and making them all come true, one by one.
We Heart Living – Erin Petson