Current mood:	groggy
Entry tags:	techniques

Mayas
metasilk was asking me about Mayas, so I thought I'd share my take on them here!

They're not necessarily more difficult. Some people find them easier than upright figure 8s from the other direction. The reasons most people find them trickier are:

1. They use the wrong muscles. Most beginners use their calves to achieve the pelvic tilt of the Maya. The move should instead originate in the inner thighs. A properly-done Maya can be done with the heels firmly on the floor.
2. They try too hard. The move is very subtle, and doesn't require an enormous tip through the pelvis to get an appreciable movement.

I start my students off by having them lie down on their backs, then pull a hip up straight toward their armpit, then push it over to the side, relaxing, then repeating on the opposite side. Effectively, you're doing Mayas on the floor in such a way that it's impossible to use the calf muscles. You have no choice but to use the correct muscles. However, you also look like a wriggling fish on the ground. Heh.... Then I have the students stand up and try the same thing, focusing on using the correct muscles. I find they catch on much faster when I start them off on the floor than when they try it standing up from the get-go.

I also get my students to use the planks in the hardwood floor as a bit of a guideline. They stand so the planks run in the same direction as their hips, and I get them to do the movement so their hips continue following the floorboards, and don't twist from front to back.

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Addendum:

Here's another exercise that may help.

Stand up and lean back, bracing yourself against a wall or counter, so you're standing on just your heels. Try the maya in this position, and you'll see you don't need to use your calf muscles at all.

Remember this sensation, and try it standing upright.

I also thought of a third reason Mayas are hard for so many people. If you straighten your knees, you just can't do a maya right. It becomes very jerky and rough. If you have a soft bend in your knee, the movement becomes much more fluid. By changing the degree of bend in your knee, you can change the size of your mayas.