The actions here are more or less the same as Dhanurasana, but as is often the case when we change our orientation in space, it can be difficult to know which way is which. One thing I notice a lot is that as the roll to the side, people don't open up the shoulder, so there is no chest/thoracic stretch happening. At the beginning of this video I show a stretch that I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with. The same thing can be done against a wall - the arm/shoulder stays in contact with the floor/wall and the you move the chest away, which brings the scapulars into retraction. This is want you want to find in Parsva Dhanurasana - so as you roll you have to "catch" the shoulder/pec/arm on the floor and the 'open' the chest and thoracic spine. Also the hips need to extend by 'driving' them forward, as the legs try to straighten by 'kicking' the feet against the hands; this creates the tension which is the same as drawing the bow in order to release the arrow. In this video, on the second side, I demonstrate some of the common mistakes: the spine in flexion instead of extension which closes the hips and shoulders. The other one is the head place postion. I like to take it straight back, moving in the same direction as the spine.
Another important point is that sometimes, like in this video, there is not enough space to roll from side to side without coming out and readjusting yourself by moving to the side. I find it very selfish in Mysore classes when students roll onto other people's mats, with no awareness of how they are disturbing that person.
At the end we hold Dhanurasana for another 5 breaths and if you've been working then your thighs should be well and truly burning by now.
Next up the Series starts to get very interesting! I'm excited to share with you guys my tips for that.

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