Hello everyone, how are you?

I will be writing the final blogpost for TTC as our exams are tomorrow. I apologise for the slight delay in uploading this as I just returned from U2’s concert at the National Stadium.

U2 is an amazing band and many of their songs carry political messages, they opened the concert with Bloody Sunday and closed with One Love. Many of their songs preached universal peace and  many talked about understanding a situation from various perspectives.

Some things in life need not be only viewed from the front, there can be other useful angles for observation too!

I was wondering of how I was just revising adjustments of asanas a few days ago. Similarly, there are 3 planes where instructors can inspect and modify their student’s asanas and muscle movements.

Frontal Plane:

The frontal or coronal plane of movement dissects the front of the body from the back.

The movements along this plane can be easily seen from the front or back of the body. Imagine an axis drawn from the top of your head down the centre of your body which splits it left and right, meaning any time you abduct (move away from the middle axis line) and adduct (move toward the middle axis line)

Transverse Plane:

The transverse plane of movement divides the body into upper and lower portions. All movements in this plane involve rotation, either inward (internal rotation) or outward (external rotation). It is important to note that Joints which permit rotation include the shoulder and hip.

In yoga, asanas that move in this plane are twists like Marichyasana D. 

Sagittal Plane:

The sagittal plane of movement dissects the right and left sides of the body.

Sagittal plane movements take place when we move our body front or back such as forward folds or backbends. We can often adjust the students alignment in postures like Vrksasana by observing from the side of the body for the lifted leg which may tilt front or back, or the hips which may not be lifted. Kakasana and ukatasana can be also accurately observed and modified from the sides of the body.

I will be sharing about my favourite asanas in this post but don’t worry, it will not be too long.

Setu Bandhasana (Setu Bandha Sarvāṅgāsana) – Bridge Pose

This is a great asana for opening the chest to go into deeper backends. With regular practice, bridge pose builds strength in the lower back quite quickly and is recommended for people with lower back pain to help gain strength and flexibility. It also stretches your back, neck, and chest and relaxes your body, remember to breathe with the throat as you press your chest into your chin.

Utthita Parsvakonasana – Extended Side Angle Pose

Another chest opening asanas which lengthens the side of your body to create openess in the chest area and the heart. It deeply stretches groin, back muscles, spines, and hamstring.

Those who seek to strengthen themselves can tip toe on the front leg and lift upwards, or go indo a bounded side angle pose to create a twist that massages internal organs/meridian points.

Ardha Pincha Mayurasana – Dolphin Pose

This is one of my favourite pose to practice as I venture into more arm balancing and inversion classes. Dolphin pose strengthens and stretches the shoulder, arms, upper back, and legs at the same time. It really is an elevated downwars facing dog and provides relief from headaches, insomnia, fatigue, and mild depression.

In this pose, one begins to understand and feel the body weight on forearms and shoulders and work on keeping the back straight by bending the knees, and eventually work towards putting the heels on the mat.

Supta Baddha Konasana – Reclined Bound Angle Pose

This is a pose that has been difficult for me due to my tighter hips. This asana increases blood circulation in the lower abdomen and improves digestion. I feel that it works my entire hip regiong, sretches the inner thighs and also increases range of external rotation in the hips.

Baddha konasana or supta baddha konasana then becomes an immensely useful posture for those of us who lead the modern lifestlye aka long sitting hours in the office.