How a Frog helps you to do Marichyasana C

Have you ever watched a frog leaping and jumping around a pond.   It covers great distances in a single bound.   But the frog was not always that mobile.

A frog goes through many stages in its life cycle.

• Egg
• Tadpole
• Frog

At each stage there is more and more mobility.   In the egg stage there is not much mobility at all.

The egg pretty much just sits there.   You can see some small movement inside the egg, but the egg is not going anywhere at all.

Later a tadpole emerges from the egg and it is much more mobile than the egg was.   The tadpole can move around the pond but can not get very far.

Eventually the tadpole becomes a frog and now there is a great deal of mobility.   The frog is able to leap great distances in a single bound.

Your back is much like the life cycle of the frog.   As you work on the Marichyasana C pose you will progress from the Egg stage through the Tadpole stage and finally you will reach the Frog stage where you will be able to do the pose completely.

Before we get into the details about how a frog’s life relates to this pose we need to have a closer look at the pose itself.

What is Marichyasana C

This is one of the seated postures that occurs towards the middle of the Primary Series of Ashtanga yoga.   This particular poses works on stretching the muscles in your back.

This pose massages your abdominal organs including your liver and kidneys.   It also stretches your shoulder, back muscles and your spine.

How to do this pose

You start in Dandasana.   You are sitting on your mat with your legs together and straight out in front of you.

Close your right knee and bring right your foot up so that the toes are in line with the knee of your straight leg and the foot is about two hand widths away from your straight leg.

Now turn your torso towards your raised knee.   Bring your left shoulder in front of your raised knee and your ribs beside your raised leg.

Reach forward past your right knee with your left arm and point your left thumb down. Wrap your left arm around your bent leg and bring your hand around your back.   Your left thumb will now be pointing upwards when it gets around your back.

Bring your right arm around your back.   Grab the wrist of your right arm with your left hand.

Turn your shoulders and your head and look over your right shoulder towards the back of the room.   Hold here for several breaths.

You have now completed the pose.

If you are new to this pose you will quickly discover that you do not have enough mobility in your back.   You will be at the Egg stage of   the Frog’s Life cycle.

Egg stage

In the Egg stage you have a small amount of mobility in your back.   When you enter this pose you will discover that your shoulder is behind your raised knee.

When you are in this position you need to modify how you complete the pose.   Start by wrapping your arm around your bent leg and hug your knee into your chest.   You will still turn your shoulders to the side and turn your head to look over your back shoulder.

Gradually over time the muscles in your back will stretch and your spine will get more flexible.   This will increase the mobility of your back and you will progress from the Egg stage to the Tadpole stage.

Tadpole stage

In the Tadpole stage your left shoulder has moved from behind your raised knee to beside your knee.   The muscles in your back are getting longer and you are able to twist your spine a bit further than when you were in the Egg stage.

In this stage you bring your left arm in front of your knee.   You point your elbow down and raise your hand like a stop sign with your palm facing away from you.   Push your left elbow into your right leg and turn your shoulders to the side.   Bring your left shoulder forward and right shoulder backwards and finally turn your head and look over your right shoulder.

The action of your left elbow pushing into your leg and your left shoulder moving forward and right shoulder moving backward will help to stretch the muscles in your back and increase the mobility of your back.

Eventually your back muscles will stretch some more and your left shoulder will move in front of your raised left leg. You are entering the Frog stage of this posture.

Frog stage

In this stage your left shoulder is in front of your raised right knee.   Rather than making a stop sign with your left arm like you did in the tadpole stage it is time now to move on to the full version of the posture.

You will be bringing your left arm around your right knee and behind your back.   You   do this by reaching forward with your left arm with your left thumb pointing down towards the ground. Next you wrap your left arm around your right leg and take it around your back.   Your left hand will be against your back the left thumb will be pointing up instead of down.

Bring your right arm behind your back towards your left hand.   Your left hand will eventually grab the wrist of your right arm.

You complete the pose by turning your shoulders to the side, moving your left shoulder forward and your right shoulder backwards, following this movement by turning your head and looking over your right shoulder.

But, I can’t breathe in the Tadpole stage

Most people find it difficult to breathe during the tadpole stage of this pose. In the egg stage you are able to breathe comfortably and in the frog stage you are able to breathe comfortably as well. It is only during the tadpole stage that your breathing is restricted.

Your breathing is restricted because your right leg is pressing into your ribs.   Once you develop more flexibility in your back and spine muscles and you will be able to move your ribs more to the side and you find that you will be able to breathe freely once again.

While you are working through the tadpole stage of this pose your breath will be shallower than normal, but you should still be able to breathe.

Next Step

Work with your teacher to develop the mobility in your back.   Your teacher will be able to help you move through the Frog life cycle of this pose.   While you may not be able to leap with a single bound around the pond with that frog you will be able to hold your hands behind your back in Marichyasana C.

Additional Steps

To learn about developing the twist in your spine have a look at “How to use the play block technique to do a twists”.

For a different view on Marichyasana check out “How the Romance Novel Technique will improve your yoga practice dramatically”.