Support Precedes Action — Stability Precedes Flexibility

“When we don’t know where our support is coming from, the first thing we do is hold.”
– Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

When approaching an asana we must engage our supports before we begin to move into the posture. The supports develop continuously and seamlessly as we move into the posture. Supports are motivational, developmental, and structural.

They are layered in the body with the mind of the posture motivating the movement and the fluidity of our developmental past embryological and prenatal pranic forces integrating the structural movement that is expressed into our outer anatomical form.

We simply slip into the embrace of the support that is already present.The consciousness of how we initiate the movement permeates the resulting posture.

Stability and Flexibility are Balanced throughout the Body

Stability needs to be established first, before flexibility or range of movement can be healthfully increased. Stability is different from fixation which is actually not stable but is hard and brittle. A balance of stability and flexibility should be cultivated throughout the body based on the abilities of the individual. Excessive range in one area with fixation and restriction in another will lead to an erratic energy flow. This puts stress on joints and causes the prana-flow to become blocked or dissipated at the joint, leading to pain and eventual injury.