Friday Q&A: Sequencing Two Poses

Q: I love the variation of Viparita Karani with the chair. I also love Knees to Chest, which you featured in an earlier post. What I am wondering is should I do a pose in between these 2 as a transition or is it OK to go back & forth between the 2?

A: There’s no need to do any poses between these two, as they’re both gentle, symmetrical poses. It’s only when you are doing a deep forward bend, backbend, or twist that you might want to consider a counter-pose.

Can you go back and forth between the two? Personally, if I were going to sequence these two poses, I’d do the Knees to Chest pose (see here) first because moving with your breath is slightly stimulating. Even if you don't move with your breath in this pose, you are actively engaging your muscles, which makes this an active, rather than passive pose. I’d follow Knees to Chest pose with the Viparita Karani variation (see here) because this is a deeply relaxing passive pose, and it’s traditional to finish your practice in a state of relaxation. Put them together, and you’ve just created a nice little mini practice for winding down at the end of the day.

In general, a good way to sequence poses is in an arc like this:

1. Warm-up poses
2. Active poses
3. Counter poses and/or cool-down poses
4. Relaxation poses

—Nina

I agree that the poses are fine sequenced as Nina suggested, especially if you are ultimately trying to quiet the nervous system. However, if you needed a rest but wanted to do a mild stimulation of system prior to heading back into your day, you could reverse them. I don’t think any particular pose needs to go between them, but both would be a nice counter-pose sequence at the end of a back bend practice.

—Baxter