Australian_Yoga_Journal_2016_08_09_downmagaz.com

your practice
YOGAPEDIA
Poses of the month
How to move from
Matsyasana to Camatkarasana
By Cyndi Lee
Matsyasana
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matsya = fish · asana = pose
Fish Pose
august/september 2016 yogajournal.com.au
74
Benefit
Opens the shoulders and chest; softens
the often tight middle back; stretches
the neck and thyroid; offers a balance
of opening without grasping, and of
relaxing without collapsing.
Instruction
1 Sit in Dandasana (Staff Pose), with your
legs extended in front of you and your
spine long.
2 Slowly roll onto your back. Press your
palms down and lift up onto the top of
your head.
3 Walk your fingers toward your feet until
your arms are straight—your elbows
should be off the floor. Again press down
firmly with your palms, and tuck your
shoulder blades into your back; this will
lift and open your chest and support your
neck.
4 Keep your legs and feet strongly
engaged. If it feels like there’s too much
pressure on your head or spine, see the
modifications on page 75.
5 Place your attention on the sensation
of your breath right at the edge of your
nostrils. Don’t think about or visualize the
breath, but actually tune in to the feeling
of the wind energy passing in and out of
your body. Let your mind settle into this
practice of close attention.
DON’T collapse through the chest
and scrunch your neck and shoulders. .
DON’T let your feet flop open to the sides.
This can put pressure on your low back.
Our Pros Teacher and model Cyndi Lee is the first female Western yoga teacher to integrate yoga asana and Tibetan Buddhism. Founder of New York City’s OM
Yoga Center (1998–2012), she now owns Yoga Goodness Studio in central Virginia and teaches workshops and trainings worldwide. Author of Yoga Body, Buddha
Mind, Lee regularly writes for Yoga Journal, Real Simple, Lion’s Roar, and other magazines. She holds an MFA in dance from the University of California, Irvine,
is a longtime student of Gelek Rimpoche, and is currently training for ordination as a Zen Buddhist chaplain. Learn more at cyndilee.com.
PHOTOS: RICK CUMMINGS; MODEL: CYNDI LEE; STYLIST: EMIL Y CHOI; HAIR/MAKEUP:BETH WALKER; TOP: LULULEMON; BOTTOMS: LUCY