Your Step-by-Step Guide to Jumping Back
Learning to do transitions with both strength and fluidity is an essential element for our asana practice to become a moving meditation. Although, the process of learning it can feel pretty far from meditative. It gets complicated and even frustrating to try everyday with seemingly no results - I know because I’ve been there. If you’re feeling at all discouraged or lost about where to begin, you’re not alone, and this post is for you.
In today's blog, you’ll learn how to work on your jump back in 4 steps, so you can:
Understand how to move more fluidly with your breath
Discover your inner and outer strength
Feel the benefits of your practice when it becomes a moving meditation
Interested? Keep reading to work your way to becoming a jump back pro!
But first, why do we even care to jump back?
While the practice doesn’t require a full jump back or jump through, there are many benefits to be gained from challenging ourselves to work on them. One of the most difficult aspects of learning it is to actually stay committed to doing the work every day. And, most teachers won’t ever tell you when to stop walking back and through. In my experience, teachers tend to leave that up to the student to either begin on their own or ask about it in a workshop.
After all, the Ashtanga method is meant to provide us with the tools we need to become self-disciplined in our practice. These vinyasas are one of the first places where we begin to find our inner drive (tapas) and allow ourselves to be challenged. But since you’ve made it this far, you already know that ;)
So, with that said, let’s “jump” right into it…
The 4 Steps to Jumpback
Start with a lift
The walk through
Toe tapping
Clearing the floor
Starting to work on the elusive jumpback can seem out of reach or even impossible. But, as with all obstacles, to overcome it you need the right information and to put in consistent effort.
Full transparency, this transition took me 6 years of daily practice to be able to clear the floor. And, while that's not entirely out of the norm, had I known the information I’m about to give you earlier, I believe it could have taken much less time to be able to do.
Interested to know what I mean? Read on…
→ Step #1: Start with a lift
Jumpback Step 1
How to set-up for your perfect jumpback
1. Sitting down, cross your legs and fold them into your body as closely as you can. The aim is for the quads/knees to touch your chest.
2. Shift your weight back so you’re sitting behind your sitting bones, rather than in front of them.
3. Your hands should be flat and in front of your hips. When you place your hands down keep them in the same line but move them in toward your legs. If your palms touch your bum, they're not far enough in front.
4. From this position, inhale as you press into flat hands and lift your bum off of the ground. As you build more strength, you’ll be able to start lifting the bum and one foot or maybe both off of the ground.
From the lift, you can then lower back down, place your hands in front of your feet and walk or hop back as you normally would to chaturanga. When this becomes easier, move on to Step 2.
→ Step #2: The Walk Through
Set-up as you did in Step 1, but with this next progression you will lift up then press firmly into your arms with your shoulders protracted (rounded upper back), shift forward and lightly touch the outer edges of your feet down either in front of or between your hands.
From here, keep the strength in your arms as you wiggle your feet behind your hands then hop back to chaturunga. (Yes, this one is very HARD work!)
→ Step #3: Toe Tapping
Moving on, in this next step you’ll do the same work as in Step 2, but now you’ll try to only tap your feet (one foot eventually) then jump back right away. This step is typically the longest for most of us. I remember just grazing one big toe for years…but eventually and with lots of repetition I was able to clear the floor without touching down.
→ Step #4: Clear The Floor
Tip 1: The most important tip to go from Step 3 to clearing the floor in Step 4, is to use momentum. This might mean dragging your feet or even belly flopping, but moving quicker is the key.
Tip 2: Really focus in on your breath here, because not having it exactly right can either make or break the movement. Inhale to lift and on the exhale (or pause just before the exhale) swing yourself back.
Tip 3: I can’t emphasize this enough, but you need to drop your chest forward and more than you think you do. Try to feel as though you’re pushing forward with your palms (the action of it as your palms won’t actually move). Then as you swing to jump back this pushing action will naturally shift your chest forward.
Tip 4: Cross your legs at the shins rather than only crossing at the ankles. Sickle your ankles inward (tops of the feet face the floor) to help keep your feet from touching.
→ Bonus Tip: Work the Negative
A jump through is the reverse movement of a jump back, so working on mastering your jump through can effectively help you to understand the mechanics of a jumpback. The main benefit of working a jump through is that gravity works with you rather than against you, making it easier to slow it down to better understand the movement in your body.
When practicing the jump through, try to focus on:
Pressing firmly into your arms with a puffed upper back
Compressing your thighs to your ribcage as soon as you jump
The breath. Inhale to jump, exhale as you pass through your arms
Now that you have the right tools…
It’s time to put it into practice. 🙂
If you’re interested in learning more about this or other aspects of the Ashtanga practice, I’d love to support you on your journey.
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