The first picture is from 2010. The second picture is taken yesterday. One can also learn from the own mistakes. Wall-walking was an exercise I knew also in the past.
I was too close to the wall in picture no 1. With bent arms I'm weak and I cannot push the body forward. The consequence is that the upper body doesn't get such an intensive stretch like in picture no 2.
One must know that there are two forms of kapotasana. In both forms the hands reach the toes. Once the arms are stretched. In the second form the forarms are on the floor. The asana with stretched arms is more difficult. The arch of the back is much more intensive.
I remember that it was not easy to hold the pose in picture no 1. I tried to walk down the wall as fast as possible. I wanted to reach my toes. Being too obsessed with a goal can be a hindrance. The body needs time to adjust.
A better goal would have been to define the next tiny step. One must feel good in a pose. One works from feeling awful to feeling good. In every pose one must search the limit. Then one relaxes, then one goes a tiny bit further. It must be possible to observe the breath when in a pose.
These days I try to reach the floor with stretched arms. My hands might be relatively far away from the toes when this happens. Yet this is the next step to get closer.
Advice to my younger self
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Oleh
Khali Bhutta
