Awareness

When I first tried to go into Bakasana, I fell over. It was very difficult to balance on my arms and hands, and my wrists definitely weren't agreeing with what they had to do. It turned out that doing two things helps balance anyone in Bakasana: Tighten the core, and lower the tailbone. Even though in the posture you lean forward, keeping your rear down helps prevent the sense that you are about to fall forward onto your face. The one difficult thing about Bakasana is that you feel that you could fall at any moment, given that you are in such an alien position, but really it is impossible to fall forward as your arms prevent you from doing so.

Anyway, being in Bakasana is a different experience from any other sort of relaxation that one can do during the day. I say 'relaxation' because Bakasana is really a comfortable pose. Your spine is completely rounded, which is difficult to achieve otherwise, and you are balanced on your hands, instead of on your feet. Bakasana feels so great simply because it is the antipode of a normal daily routine. During the day, you have a straight back, you walk on your feet, you are standing upright, and your mind is wandering to the places your must go and the things you must do. However, in Bakasana, you have a rounded back, you are on your hands, you are halfway inverted, and you are looking back at yourself - which means that your mind is focused on the present. My mind focused back in on myself, and I had a chance to reflect on everything I have done and want to do. I look forward to doing Bakasana again as part of my yoga routine.