Practice: Dancer

The "Practice" posts are about progress and learning. The pictures and analysis of my own practice help me find areas that need improvement. 

The toughest part of Dancer Pose is not the pose itself but the hand grip that enables the proper shoulder rotation. Perhaps I will do an entry about that in the future. Once I figured out how to do the grip properly (this is the same as in Floor Pigeon with the foot on the head), the pose was suddenly accessible. 

Right leg up 1

Right leg up 2

Left leg up 1

Left leg up 2

I have to use a towel for grip because I have had issues with my foot slipping out of my hand, and that's not good. With such an extreme backbend, to lose the foot and fling out of the pose is dangerous for the back. So a solid grip is really important.

After seeing these pictures, it is clear that I need to pull my upper leg closer to the splits. My upper body should come down more to allow for the leg to go up. When my Right Leg is up (top set of pictures), the leg is a little higher, my torso a little lower, and my back bent more. This is something I need to improve on my Left Leg Up side. Actually I need to improve it on both sides.