Ardha Kapotasana
(Half Pigeon Pose)

In Sanskrit, kapota means “pigeon,” and asana means “pose.” So when you literally translate the word kapotasana, it means pigeon pose. It seems like a pretty accurate description of the pose, especially when you see kapotasana (pigeon) and eka pada rajakapotasana (one foot king pigeon pose). However, did you know the pose is actually named after the revered sage (yogi) Kapota?

Who Was Kapota?
Stories about Kapota appear in the Mahabharata and the Kalika Purana and detail his great accomplishments as a yogi. According to the Mahabharata, Kapota had no match ​In power, vigor, strength, vitality, and agility, "When he walked, it seemed his soul was several feet ahead of his body—he moved as though not touching the ground." Because of his ability, people called him the son of Garuda. You remember from an earlier post, Garuda is the mighty bird-god and the one the pose garudasana is named after.

Kapota's beauty and virility were well-known. Even Chitrangada, the daughter of a celestial nymph (Urvashi) was not immune and when he commanded her to marry him she could not resist. Plus, it was rumored that even the sons of Shiva--Bhairava and Vetal— sought guidance from Kapota because of his clear and perfect intuitive wisdom. In fact, he is believed to still be living. Legend says he visits the famous cave shrine of Amarnath in Kashmir once a year.

So, who knows, maybe if you practice kapotasana with steadiness and dedication, maybe you will reap some of the same level of accomplishment as the sage Kapota!

​Who was Koundinya?
The sage, Koundinya, was a royal court scholar. He is known for predicting Prince Siddhartha Gautama would become Buddha (the Enlightened One). This news was not well-received by the king. Nonetheless, Koundinya vowed to become one of the Buddha’s most dedicated disciples.

Eventually the prince (Siddhartha) decided to leave his life of luxury behind and followed Koundinya into the forest to live as an ascetic. They lived together for six years in extreme self-deprivation and harsh living conditions. Siddhartha's hope was to find enlightenment. Eventually Siddhartha decided this was not the path to enlightenment and left Koundinya, which greatly saddened Koundinya.

The Middle Way
However, on his own, the Buddha discovered that true happiness was a balance of both extremes, the material and the spiritual, and he called it the Middle Way.

​The Buddha returned to Koundinya and the forest community to share his new philosophy. After initial trepidation, Koundinya became one of the Buddha’s first students and taught this Middle Way for the rest of his life.  

​The story of Koundinya is one of faith and belief. His trust and confidence in Siddhartha remained steadfast even when the Buddha ventured away from Koundinya’s own teachings. 

Benefits of Marichyasana

• Calms the mind and body
• It stretches the shoulders
• Massages the internal organs
• Improves digestion
• Opens hips, pelvis, chest & shoulders
• Relieves mild backache and hip pain​

Preparing for Marichyasana
If you're anything like me, you need to prepare your body for any of the Marichyasana poses. Here are just a few of many poses out there that may help prepare your body for this challenging pose.

• Siddhasana (accomplished pose) or Sukhasana (easy pose)
• Supta Baddha Konasana (reclining bound angle)
• Supta Padangusthasana (reclined hand to foot pose)
• Uttanasana (standing forward fold)
• Baddha Konasana (bound angle pose)
• Janu Sirsasana (head to knee forward fold)
  
• Utthita Parsvakonasana (extended side angle)
• Virasana (hero pose)
• Supta Virasana (reclined hero pose)
• Triang Mukha Eka Pada Pachimottanasana (Three limbs facing one foot westward stretching pose)
• Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana (half bound lotus westward stretching pose)

Once you've had a chance to warm up, then try moving into one of the "beginning level" Marichyasana poses. 

Marichyasana 
​(modified)

A few stories about Marichi

Dharmavrata's Curse
One day Marichi went to the forest to collect wood and flowers and returned to his home extremely tired. He called his wife Dharmavrata, and told her that she was to wash his feet for him. Just as Dharmavrata began to wash her husband’s feet, Brahma arrived. Dharmavrata did not know what she should do, should she continue to wash her husband’s feet, or turn her attentions to Brahma, who was Marichi’s father. She chose the latter and suffered the wrath of her husband.

Marichi became extremely angry and put a curse on his wife, turning her into a stone. Dharmavrata was naturally upset by this, believing that she was being punished unnecessarily. As a reaction to this, Dharmavrata began many years of meditation which were noticed by Lord Visnu who, impressed by her devotion, granted her a wish. All Dharmavrata wanted was to have Marichi’s curse lifted. Unfortunately, Marichi was such a powerful sage that this was impossible to do. Instead, Dharmavrata was transformed into a holy stone, which was desired by all gods.  

Marichi & the Mahabharata
Marichi also appears several times in the Mahābhārata, which is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. The other is the Ramayana, In the Mahabharata, Marichi is there to celebrate the birth of Arjuna, another time he went to the deathbed of Bhishma, the teacher of Pandavas and Kauravas princes. In the Mahabharata (by unlucky coincidence) he fights on the side of the "bad guys" the Kauravas. When he dies on the battlefield he instructs his students about the Dharma. In the Bhagavata Purana he unties the God of Fire, Indra, by a ritual from the sin he committed by killing the demon Vritra. After his life on earth Marichi has risen into the Firmament as he became one of the stars in the star sign of the Great Wagon. ​

SOURCE: Tirisula Yoga

Benefits of Garudasana

• Strengthens & stretches ankles and calves
• Stretches thighs, hips, shoulders, and upper back
• Improves concentration
• Improves sense of balance

Theraputic Applications of Garudasana

• Asthma
• Low backache
• Sciatica

This week...We focused on opening up our IT bands, shoulders, chest, and back as well as strengthening our quads in order to work into Garudasana also known as eagle pose,

In particular, the poses we did during the second flow sequence, helped to prepare our bodies for garudasana. ​All of these poses are great because they help test our flexibility, openness and strength, all with the goal to help us move more gracefully into and out of splits.
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So, if you want to work on this sequence at home, I've worked up this cheat sheet for you to bookmark, save or download. Enjoy yogis!
           Namaste.
​                     - Ann