DANDASANA : The sitting Staff Pose

A danda is a staff.  When I was walking the final kilometres to Gaumukh at the source of the river Ganges my guide insisted I had a staff to help me along the difficult terrain.  In the event I was very pleased to listen to his advice.  My well used danda now rests by the shrine in my yoga kutir.

The staff is strong and supporting, stiff but not brittle and liable to snap easily.  In the same way when we are sitting in Dandasana we too need to be strong but not brittle and inflexible.  Our arms are used to help support the trunk to sit forwards and erect prior to other postures.

Sit tall with the legs extended and together.  In the final version of this asana you may want to flex the legs so that the heels are lifted from the ground.  Have the toes pointing towards the sky and not rolling outwards.

Place the hands, preferably with the fingers pointing forwards to flex the wrists, so that the ends of the fingers are about at, or just behind the point where the thigh bones fit into the pelvis.  With the arms straight the body should be stretched tall and leaning forwards slightly.  If you have short arms you may need to place the hands on blocks to avoid having to lean backwards. 

Lift the chest and lengthen the abdomen as you breath fully practising `ujayii pranayama`.

Derek Osborn                                                            2006 05 05