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Jumping back and forth into the Ashtanga Yoga practice is one of the most amazing motions most beginning practitioners find acrobatic and almost impossible.
In Ashtanga practice, the jump starts in the downward dog pose. Your hands stay on the ground, and your legs slide under your torso and through your arms to land in a sitting position. Your legs should be extended and sometimes crossed, according to where you are in the process of doing the exercise.
This transition is repeated many times in the Ashtanga primary series, as that'ss how you're expected to arrive in each seated posture, keeping the flow more seamless and effortless.
Getting started with Ashtanga Jump through: Correct technique
As there are so many things that may go wrong during the 'jump', it's easier to break it down into little, digestible chunks and simply 'walk' your legs through your arms. You should not expect to complete this movement on your first try.
Here is a step-by-step guide that you should follow to do the ashtanga jump through correctly:
- Begin in 'downward facing dog' position, with your feet hip-distance apart, heels pressed towards to the back of the room, hips reaching toward the roof and weight equally distributed between your palms and balls of your feet.
- Take three to five deep breaths in this position.
- Exhale, and flex your feet while jumping your feet into the air.
- Cross your shins quickly, and draw your knees as close to your chest as possible with your hip flexors. Keep your body as tight as possible so that your torso and legs can swing via your arms.
- Swinging forward as well as through your arms, maintain your shoulders and elbows engaged and upright to give your body room to move.
- Sit with your hips across your hands in a sitting position. Inhale deeply.
Benefits of Ashtanga Jump through
Here's a list of benefits offered by ashtanga jump through:
1) Gain strength
The Ashtanga jump through, when done frequently, will help you gain strength in your upper body, especially your shoulders and core. Viewing the jump through as an arm balance can be beneficial.
2) Improved flexibility
While you may not find a need to perform a leap through-like motion in everyday life, the strength and flexibility you get by practicing it, particularly at your core, can help you move with improved agility and balance.
3) Helps to achieve handstand
You move from a downward facing dog to a handstand before slowly lowering your legs into a standing or seated position, in the most advanced variation of the ashtanga jump through.
Tips to remember to avoid common mistakes:
To get the most out of the ashtanga jump through in yoga and avoid injuries, be mindful of the following tips:
1) Mobile wrists
You must have a very strong foundation in your hands when doing jump through and jump back actions. If it's weak, it'll spread across the entire kinetic chain, rendering the actions impossible.
As a result, the harder you press into the ground, the better. This link to the ground generates the 'rebound energy' required to lift and support the body's weight with your hands.
2) Cross your shins
When you jump into the air, and cross your legs at the ankles instead of the shins, your knees are much more prone to splay outwards, knocking your arms as you swing forward and blocking your legs from fitting through your arms.
The idea is to be as streamlined as you jump forward. So concentrate on bringing your legs together and crossing your shins high, keeping your knees tight as you swing forward.
3) Draw your knees to your chest
Only by drawing your knees all the way to the top and into your chest before swinging between your arms will you be able to get your torso between your arms. To make the transition, you'll need rapid movement, strong core and hip flexor engagement as well as a slightly domed back.
To build part of the strength required, try working on the Pendant pose (lolasana). It essentially stops the jump at its most vital point, when your shins are crossed and your knees embrace your tummy.
Working on this pose will strengthen your core and give you the sensation of gently doming your back to give your legs more room underneath you.
Bottom line
When completing the Ashtanga jump through, the most important consideration is whether you are strong or flexible enough to perform the technique safely. It's fine if you haven't arrived yet; in fact, it's quite common.
You're considerably more likely to have pain or injury if you try to exercise before you're fully prepared for it. Begin with the walkthrough, and continue to practice this pose to get the strength you'll need to succeed.
