Finding Expansion: Exploring Upright Backbends for Upper Cross Syndrome
Written by LJ
We’ve been chatting (and practicing!) up a storm about Upper Cross Syndrome (UCS) here at Funky Buddha Yoga—remember, the common postural imbalance that results from hunching forward (think: phones, desks, driving). This month, to round out our series, we’re marching into the Funky world of standing backbends—a powerful and uplifting style of yoga poses that can cultivate strength, mobility, and expansion. These postures remind us that backbends aren’t just about flexibility; they’re about creating space, building stability, and undoing the tension that life (and screens) stack onto our bodies.
Why the Funk are we Standing?? To Backbend??
A backbend, especially when practiced from upright, is a full-body experience. It requires rooted feet, engaged legs, a stable core, and a mobile spine. Rather than simply leaning backward, we emphasize lengthening the spine and lifting the heart to find ease in the shape. And I don’t know about you, but sometimes my body craves expansiveness without the level of effort an inverted or weight-bearing backbend entails. Standing backbends serve as a perfect culmination of our recent focus on reversing upper cross syndrome and nicely balance effort with ease—umm, yes, please! When we counteract this habitual rounding with intentional backbending, we can build the strength and openness needed to restore our bodies from the computer-goblin-blues.
Some Funkin’ Fun Variations!
Whether you’re new to backbends or looking to deepen your practice, there’s a variation for you. Let’s check out a few ways to approach these back-tastic (too far? Sometimes the puns backfire 😉) poses:
High Mountain with a Gentle Arch (Tadasana Variation)
Perfect for beginners or as a warm-up, this variation invites subtle opening across the chest and shoulders.
- Start in Mountain Pose (Tadasana) with feet hip-distance apart.
- Inhale, rise and reach, and find length through your spine.
- Exhale, gently lift your heart as you reach your arms slightly back, keeping glutes and core lightly engaged.
- Stay for a few breaths, then return to neutral.
A great counter posture here is a nice Ragdoll or Forward Fold (Uttanāsana).
Standing Crescent Backbend (bananaaaa time)
This variation adds lateral expansion, opening the side-body and playing with balance.
- Begin in Mountain Pose with feet grounded.
- Inhale, extend arms overhead. (Rise and reach, babes!)
- Exhale, continue to reach up and back, slightly arching, and begin to lean to one side.
- Keep the legs strong and core engaged.
- Return to center and even it out by switching to the other side.
Anjaneyasana (Crescent Lunge + Backbend = A lil Spice)
A dynamic, heart-opening backbend that strengthens the legs while opening the chest and shoulders.
- From Downward Dog, step your right foot forward, between your hands, into a high lunge.
- Keep the back leg active and lifted or lower the knee for more stability.
- Inhale, sweep the arms up and find length.
- Exhale, lift your heart and gently arch back. Hands at heart center can be incredibly helpful with balance here!
- Engage the legs to support the movement and add stability.
Dancer’s Pose (Natarajasana)
A balancing backbend challenge that builds stability, mobility, and focus.
- Start in Mountain Pose and shift your weight onto one foot.
- Bend the opposite knee and grab your ankle or foot behind you, or use a strap to loop around your ankle for extra space in your low back!
- Inhale, press your foot into your hand as you lift your heart and extend forward.
- Focus on keeping your hips square(ish) for a stable low back, then focus on the lift in your chest and press your lifted foot into your hand.
- Hold for a few breaths, then switch sides.
Some Funky Tips for Bending it Back!
Backbends can be a key ingredient in restoring postural health and energy flow. As we continue our work on reversing upper cross syndrome, these poses offer a functional and empowering way to reclaim space in our bodies.
A few things to remember:
- Engage, Activate, Mind-to-Muscle Honey! We want backbends to feel supported, not compressed, keeping your core active and legs engaged will help support the rest of your body’s expansion.
- Find length before depth. You get to choose how far, or deep, you bend. We invite you to listen to your body to prioritize lifting and expanding before bending deeply— or not so deep! Whatever your body is asking for!
- Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! The more space you can create with breath, the more ease you may find— consider expansion on the inhale, and softening, or deepening, on the exhale.
Ready to bring it back?! Join us in the Funky Buddha studios this month as we weave standing backbends into our practice and deepen our connection to strength, openness, and balance. Let’s get a bit Funky, stand tall, breathe deeply, and embrace expansion—one backbend at a time.
See ya on the mat!
The Bramaviharas: Weaving the Four Faces of Love into everyday.
Written by Larissa
The Bramaviharas are known as the Four Faces of Love, The Sublime Dwellings, The Dwelling Place of the Unchanging, or The 4 Keys to Peace of Mind; In modern terminology, this is akin to practicing emotional intelligence. They are not meant to be “moral commandments”; they are qualities of heart and mind that we can cultivate and share abundantly!
The Bramaviharas are essential practices that bring us closer to our highest self. You know that less-than-fun moment when you freak out over something that doesn’t really require a freak out, but you freak out anyway; then you’re either upset about your freak out, or you’re so freaked out you can’t contain yourself anymore? That’s NOT your highest self 😅. What that self needs in the moment is your kindness, your compassion, your gentle attention—but sometimes we can get stuck in the reaction itself and aren’t sure how to find stable ground in the moment. Cue the Bramaviharas.
Let’s break down the Etymology:
💎 A Braman is the “supreme universal unchanging spirit”, also known as universal consciousness or absolute reality (without coverings or lenses).
💎 Vihara means dwelling, abode, or home.
We invite you to explore each—Compassion (Karuna), Appreciative Joy (Mudita), Equanitmity (Upekkha), and Lovingkindness (Metta)—with us this month as we explore offering our gentle attention to maintain stable ground in each day.
COMPASSION – KARUNA:
💎 KARA = to do, to make
💎 This is an action, rather than just a feeling.
When you are being hard on yourself, or you encounter someone having a rough time, lean on and bring in Compassion. Compassion is the ability to be with difficulty, not just a nice emotion. It takes practice to stay with a tough moment long enough to learn from it, rather than stuff it down or pretend it away <3
APPRECIATIVE JOY – MUDITA:
💎 No direct translation in English
💎 Unselfish joy; Joy in the good fortune of others; Meeting their joy with our joy
When you have a great moment, day, week! Or you spend time with someone who’s elated about some amazing thing in their life, meet that Joy with MORE JOY!
Reciprocal or Sympathetic Joy is abundant; the more you give, the more you get! This is not the same as ‘toxic positivity’; we need to go back to Compassion when the tough times come in again. Little note: Our joy is inherent in this equation, which means we may need to work on seeking our own joy!
EQUANIMITY – UPEKKHA:
💎 Even-mindedness, or non-attachment; this does not mean cold indifference.
💎 Unshakable balance of mind rooted in insight (not rooted in opinion)
💎 Vigilant presence of mind, rather than indifferent dullness
When you are struggling with work-life balance, a busy mind that’s stuck on a doom-loop, or just simply feel unsteady, invite in EQUANIMITY.
This is the place we look for that balance between Compassion and Appreciative Joy; which do I need most? What will help me find my stable ground again? Look for trust in yourself, a chosen response rather than a reaction, and a wise balance of action and rest.
LOVINGKINDNESS – METTA:
💎 Peace, ease, wish for true contentment
💎 Active goodwill, active interest in others
💎 Benevolence = the quality of being well-meaning
💎 Filled with the desire to do good, offer goodness to your fellow earth creatures
Anytime you are a human being, stand on the ground of LOVINGKINDNESS. This is a practice of self-friendliness, of offering your good will out into the world, and into your inner world.
Call on these practices any time throughout the day. Keep these Faces of Love in your pocket (hopefully the one on your T-shirt, right next to your heart) so you can contact your-real-self, your-highest-self, at any moment. They are the antidote to what Buddhism calls the 3 poisons, and are essential for us to develop wisdom, connection, and our ability to navigate life with more grace and more ease. (yes, please!)
If you’d like to dive deeper, we invite you to join us for our monthly meditation circle!
Check out our Youtube for an overview of these concepts or a meditation practice to try them on <3
As always, we hope that you join us M-F at 7:30am for Funky Buddha Yoga’s free, live, virtual meditation to learn more practices, nuances, and dive deeper into a plethora of tools that can bring your practice off your mat and into your daily life <3
