Balance Prep & The 5 Kleshas
Flight School! Prepping for Arm Balances
Written by LJ M.
There’s such a glimmer of excitement when you realize both feet are off the ground, and your arms are fully supporting magic on the mat! From Crow to Headstands and beyond, arm balances invite so much strength and playfulness to our yoga practice. Let’s not forget, though! These take-offs are supported by far more than strength alone; arm balances are achieved through thoughtful preparation, stability, and soooo much patience. This month at Funky Buddha Yoga we’re slowing down our launch off the mat to curate safe, stable, and perfectly-tailored arm balances.
Why Arm Prep Funkin’ Matters
There’s sometimes misconception that arm balances are all about upper body power, and yes, it can take quite a bit of that! Core, hips, and breath play a much bigger role than you might initially think. Without supportive preparation, all these wonderful co-pilots can fall out of balance (meaning, we do too!). Honestly, like so many other practices on our mat, arm balances are deeply rooted in how we approach them rather than raw strength.
With a focus on key muscle groups, joint mobility, and intentional choices, we’re essentially building a launchpad! The more stability we curate, the more lift, the more trust we can offer our bodies as they take flight.
3 Really-Funkin’-Great Flight Preps!
Wrist & Hands
Our hands are active all the time; from coffee grabs to high fives, taking care of them is essential to daily life beyond the yoga mat. When we look at arm balances, both hands and wrists bear a LOT of weight–so support is just as essential as they are! Mobility and strength may offer pain-free flight and extra control in balancing with toes up.
💎 Tabletop Wrist Leans: In tabletop, with hands pointed forward, play with shifting your weight forward and back. You can spice it up even more, by playing with different hand positioning (like, fingers to each side, or even pointed toward knees!).
💎 Planks with a Fist: After finding stability in a high plank, try making one hand a fist to challenge those wrists a little. Play with this one carefully, to ensure both wrists and forearms can be weight-bearing without compromising your alignment.
💎 Fingertips, Fingertips, Fingertips: In almost any posture, consider what it may feel like to lift palms and support your body on your mostttt distal parts. From Forward Fold, get a feel of weight shifting by walking into Downward Dog on your fingertips (engaged core here adds so much stability!)
Hip Mobility & Core Connection
Many arm balances your yoga journey may lead to include tucking knees in! A stable base can be really key here, to allow for movement without a topple. Though strength is helpful when gaining control to stay steady while in motion, open hips may add even more ease for bringin’ those knees in!
💎 Yogi Squats: Low, slow, and a favorite on the mat! Gently pulling shoulders back can help maintain a straight back, which shifts the stretch quite a bit, compared to leaning forward lots (you may not be able to go as low, and that’s okay!). Try shifting weight from one foot to the other for active sensation.
💎 Figure Four Forward Fold: In a seated Staff pose, place one ankle on top of the opposite quad, right above the knee for Figure Four. Then, hinge at the hips into a seated Forward Fold–a strap comes in handy here! Simply loop it across the balls of your straightened leg’s foot to access a deep stretch with more length.
💎 Cat Pose + Knee-to-Chest: From table top, pull hip point to ribs for an active Cat Pose. Then on an exhale, pull knee to chest, squeezing your entire core container. A Cow posture after this feels incredible!
Arm & Shoulder Strength
At the end of the day, these upper body muscles are bearing our body weight in ways it isn’t used to. Strengthening arms and shoulders may offer that extra umph to fly!
💎 Chaturanga: The classic Chaturanga Vinyasa is one of the only consistent push-focused movements in our traditional yoga practices. Next time you flow through, try adding a hold! After pushing up in Chaturanga, squeeze elbows to ribs a little tighter, and hold for a few breaths.
💎 Dolphine Pose Push Up: I know, I know, it sounds a little crazy! Invite shoulder conditioning by bending elbows a little and shifting chest toward thumbs, before returning to your Dolphin Pose
💎 Crow with a Block: Understand the feel and mechanics of your upper body by supporting Crow Pose with a block beneath feet. Adding a back-and-forth lean can offer direct feedback on which muscle groups will be engaged.
The smallest conditioning can offer your yoga practice so much room for expansion. Each choice, on and off the mat, has a ripple effect for each action afterward. With intentional additions and attention, we can make a choice based on goals and individual needs. As Funkin’ fun as it is, the moment of flight isn’t all we’re working toward; these practices are building support for long after touch down. Join us in the Funky studios to play with Growing your Practice from the foundation up; see ya on the mat!
The 5 Kleshas
Written by LL
We have all kinds of little learning modules around here! We have workshops, CLUB!, and many meditation offerings–plus, deep dives like teacher trainings, and monthly/quarterly/yearly themes–so we can all be on the same page but also draw unique insights from our various individual learnings and experiences. We love to learn and grow!
This year, all our monthly themes are drawn from the Koshas and Kleshas. In January, we began our look at Koshas, the 5 bodies we exist within. We’ll continue learning about our many forms with the Kleshas–the veils that cover our naturally radiant selves.
What is a Klesha?
Etymology: from the root klis means to torment, trouble. The Kleshas are 5 different mental habits or states; these are often named in yogic and Buddhism texts as states that “cloud the mind and body”. These are states that disrupt our wise actions so we end up in old, default patterns and reactivity–which lead us to increased stress/suffering.
The 5 Veils:
Avidya: ignorance, illusion, delusion– This doesn’t mean “not smart” or a more modern term, “delulu”- Avidya is the illusion of separation, the illusion that we are somehow better than or worse than someone else. It’s the illusion that we can somehow do anything in a vacuum.
- 💎 Belief that we are separate (better than, worse than)
- 💎 I am this (binding to something, not free)
- 💎 Belief that the body is more important than the spirit (or thinking is more important than intuition, etc)
Asmita: egoism, ego, mask– If you’re not sure if you are under the veil of Asmita/Ego, ask yourself questions like: Do I have an agenda here? Do I want to be perceived in a certain way? Am I taking anything personally? Have I made any assumptions about this person/situation? If the answer to any is maybe or yes, you are under the veil of Asmita.
💎 When our natural desires lead to ego-boost, rather than connection
💎 Belief that the ego’s attachment is to reality
💎 Mistaking our ever-changing physical, mental, and emotional experiences for our True Self
Raga: attachment (“I like it!”)– Raga and Dvesha are the same coin, 2 sides. These 2 are tricky because we, of course, want to enjoy our life and avoid unsafe situations. The challenge comes when we can no longer hold space for any discomfort.
You know you’re under the veil of Raga and Dvesha when you are minorly inconvenienced, and can’t help but panic, blame, or look for other ways to avoid that uncomfortable feeling. Clinging to joy and avoiding discomfort go hand in hand, especially in a world where we’ve been taught that certain feelings are good, and certain ones are bad…
💎 Need for things to be and stay a certain way in order to be “good” or happy
💎 Unhealthy craving for worldly wealth, possessions, relationships
Dvesha: aversion, avoidance, hate (“I don’t like it!”)
💎 Desire to avoid suffering or difficulty
💎 Not getting what you want, getting what you don’t want
💎 Blaming others, thinking your suffering is because of others
💎 Shaming self, thinking something is wrong with you if you don’t feel good all the time
Abhinevisha: fear (including fear of death), abhinevisha can also meanself-preservation–This veil includes subtle fears like “if this happens, then I’ll be happy” type of thinking. That’s fear of being where you are, disconnection from present joy; which keeps us in a state of constantly trying to be better somehow. While growth is important, so is cultivating contentment, appreciation, and acceptance of yourself presently. Abhinevisha also includes fear of not fitting in, fear of being “too much/not enough” and other forms of comparison. Fear can certainly look scared and skittish, but it can also come out in the actions of control and dominance.
💎 Clinging to the mind, to a specific life
💎 Includes expectations (expectation is the thief of joy), envy, comparison
💎 Anything that isn’t love and acceptance is fear
So, Now What?
With this knowledge and information in our mental body, we can now transform this knowledge into wisdom, through practical application.
The first step is simple awareness. Can I be more aware when a veil has dropped and I’m disconnected? Just noticing that your behind a veil and disconnected, brings you right back to connection.
So, How Can I Be More Aware?
Observe your reactions (default, fast, usually habitual, usually heightens emotion states) and responses (a chosen action, usually settles emotional states).
💎 What are the differences for you? How do you feel when you’re reacting vs responding?
Reflecting (gently, without judging yourself) on your behavior helps you see if you were operating under a klesha/veil, or if you were seeing clearly and connected.
💎 Notice changes within your body.
💎 We have obvious sensations like fear, anger, sadness (pit in stomach, heat on face, tears, loud voice, etc); these body cues sometimes let you know you are in protection rather than presence.
If you’d like to dive deeper, we invite you to join us for our monthly meditation circle!
Check out our Youtube for an overview of these concepts or a meditation practice to try them on <3
As always, we hope that you join us M-F at 7:30am for Funky Buddha Yoga’s free, live, virtual meditation to learn more practices, nuances, and dive deeper into a plethora of tools that can bring your practice off your mat and into your daily life <3
