Adho Mukha Svanasana. One of the first poses we all learn, one of the easiest poses to just hang out in. I get to loosen up a bit and feel productive and self-congratulatory, think about what movie to watch on Friday...
Wait a minute! This is अधोमुखश्वानासन!
It's a symphony in flesh! It's a jungle to explore! With focus in different areas it becomes choose-your-own-adventure pose! To remember this, here are three in-depth tips to making this pose your best friend and greatest challenge.
(As always, if it hurts, back off! Live to practice another day.)
1) Bend your knees, lift your tailbone, and then straighten your knees again. That is, if you can.
Extra credit: Engage your quads; kneecaps up!
Spoiler alert! You've just extended the distance your hammies need to cover by raising your hips.
2) Imagine your hands are your new feet. Shift the weight in your hands evenly into the heel and both sides of the ball of your palm. Spread your fingers wide.
Extra credit: Engage your lats; shoulders down! Easy? Rotate your elbows toward the floor.
Spoiler alert! This will alter how your arms and shoulders articulate, again demanding more length. To reduce weight while you play with this, consider coming down onto your knees or elevating your hands with a chair.
3) After all that, engage your lower abs to tuck your pubic bone toward your sternum. Try it out. There's a neat-o secret-passage-type happening that will surprise and amaze you. Try it, I'll wait!
Spoiler alert! Tucking the pelvis in this position, instead of moving the pelvis even a centimeter, simply puts traction on the upper back. That's right, your upper back, where you slump over, where you hold all that tension, day after stinking day. You no longer have to rely solely on backbends to open the upper back. While it's obvious that this is a spinal flexion pose, the targeting of the upper back makes this pose a one of a kind.
Ah, Down Dog! This pose can be a well-behaved little Fluffy, silent, smiling and content... or a ferociously powerful beast, yanking at its leash! You are in control, and you get to decide if it's a lapdog or bulldog kind of day.
Wait a minute! This is अधोमुखश्वानासन!
It's a symphony in flesh! It's a jungle to explore! With focus in different areas it becomes choose-your-own-adventure pose! To remember this, here are three in-depth tips to making this pose your best friend and greatest challenge.
(As always, if it hurts, back off! Live to practice another day.)
1) Bend your knees, lift your tailbone, and then straighten your knees again. That is, if you can.
Extra credit: Engage your quads; kneecaps up!
Spoiler alert! You've just extended the distance your hammies need to cover by raising your hips.
2) Imagine your hands are your new feet. Shift the weight in your hands evenly into the heel and both sides of the ball of your palm. Spread your fingers wide.
Extra credit: Engage your lats; shoulders down! Easy? Rotate your elbows toward the floor.
Spoiler alert! This will alter how your arms and shoulders articulate, again demanding more length. To reduce weight while you play with this, consider coming down onto your knees or elevating your hands with a chair.
3) After all that, engage your lower abs to tuck your pubic bone toward your sternum. Try it out. There's a neat-o secret-passage-type happening that will surprise and amaze you. Try it, I'll wait!
Spoiler alert! Tucking the pelvis in this position, instead of moving the pelvis even a centimeter, simply puts traction on the upper back. That's right, your upper back, where you slump over, where you hold all that tension, day after stinking day. You no longer have to rely solely on backbends to open the upper back. While it's obvious that this is a spinal flexion pose, the targeting of the upper back makes this pose a one of a kind.
Ah, Down Dog! This pose can be a well-behaved little Fluffy, silent, smiling and content... or a ferociously powerful beast, yanking at its leash! You are in control, and you get to decide if it's a lapdog or bulldog kind of day.
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