Partner Yoga enhances poses for deep stretch

Most of us, when we think of yoga, imagine just Me and My Mat. And that is often the way it is. It is one of the things I like most about the practice: You don't need anyone else to do it. You are in your own body, in your own head and not thinking about anyone or anything else.

But then there is Partner Yoga. It is working with another person (or people) to do poses in new ways, and even to find yourself either deeper into familiar poses, or in poses you never imagined you could do in the first place. Of course, you first have to be willing to touch other people.

As a yoga teacher, I have touched many sweaty people, and it doesn't bother me at all, provided that the person is clean and remembered to put on deodorant that day. Naturally, in the course of my teaching career, I have encountered students who don't necessarily smell very good, but I still adjust them and only say "Ewww" inside my head. That, and I break from the traditional breathing through the nose to self-protective breathing through the mouth.

The good news is that most people who take a Partner Yoga class know that they will be in close physical contact with others, and take the necessary steps to ensure that the folks they work with don't gag. But everyone sweats. Well, maybe not everyone, but most people. So you have to go into the class knowing that you will touch someone else's sweat.

Once, doing a three-person backbend, the person standing over my head and shoulders, helping me to keep my lower back uncrunched, dripped sweat on me. Had he not been a close friend and colleague, I might have been truly grossed out. Instead, I laughed.

So there are things to watch out for when working with a partner, but the benefits far outweigh the potential grossness. The three-person backbend is a classic example. For those of us who are backbend-impaired, having someone at each end of my spine, pulling it nice and long so it doesn't hurt my lower back, is an amazing feeling. I was finally able to find comfort in Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward-facing Bow Pose, or, more simply put, a backbend). Having finally felt the comfort of the pose, I was then able to work to re-create that feeling when doing the pose on my own.

There are also simple twists that, when done back-to-back with a partner, you can find yourself much deeper into the pose, and you get more benefit from it. Forward folds can be the same. One of my favorite adjustments is with a partner. It requires fairly loose hamstrings, but it is a yummy feeling. I go into my forward fold, with legs either straight in front of me or with the soles of my feet together, and my partner lines up his or her sacrum with mine and lies down on me. That person's body weight pressed me deeper into my fold, and I get a stretch that I can't get without help.

But the best, and most fun, partner poses are ones that look like you would see them in a book. My favorite is with my partner lying on his back with his hands and feet straight up, kind of like a dead bug. With the assistance of other classmates, I put my hipbones on his feet and my hands on his. It takes a few moments to find balance, but once I do, I can reach my arms out to the sides and it feels like flying. Then, the only contact is his feet and my hips. It is exhilarating.

All of that being said, I think of the warning at the beginning of every episode of "Mythbusters": This is being done by professionals. Do not try this at home. It is, however, DEFINITELY worth trying in a class that is being taught by a qualified teacher. There are often workshops offered at various studios specifically for people who want to try Partner Yoga, and you don't even have to bring a partner. One will be provided for you.

If you get a chance to try it, then do. Very little yoga experience is required, and who on Earth would want to give up the chance to fly?

Suzanne Gannon is a yoga instructor in the Charleston area. Reach her at suzygannonyoga@yahoo.com.