A conversation on Mari D

Cheryl wrote:

Thank you, Richard, for this wonderful blog. We yogis are mighty thankful for your efforts.

I definitely agree that Marichyasana D can be a point of frustration for many of us. When all seems to be going swimmingly, along comes D. I think there must be a point when I will quit placing the blame on too many chipatis around my waist or too short of arms.

I like Kimo's suggestions and I'm looking forward to trying them. I agree that a block under the sitting bones can help. An additional block under the lotus knee has also been suggested to me. 

What I found is that lifting the seat doesn't really help that much in D. I now think you have to put the block aside and just roll strongly forward onto the lotus knee. There's still a lot of twisting to get around. John says the twist comes from deep in the groin, not just the belly. And in C (and even A) you need a strong sense of standing into the flat foot. ...