Lakewood, Colorado bike shop owner, Russ Hopkins, went to Boston at the end of January to partner with Bamboo Bikes Beijing once again to lead a workshop in Boston, MA. This awesome video was made by one of the workshop participants: Nina Pittas | Brookline High School '17 | www.ninapittas.com Adho Mukha Svanasana (AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna) adho = downward mukha = face svana = dog asana = pose While downward facing dog is considered a resting posture, many find it uncomfortable. Particularly on the wrists. The video below features Brittany (Container Collective Owner) and Stephanie (Yoga Studio Manager) in Lakewood, CO. In this video Brittany and Stephanie highlight some tips and tricks to make downward facing dog more enjoyable while ensuring proper alignment. At our yoga studio in Lakewood, CO we commonly find that if you have super tight hamstrings, bringing some extra bend into your knees will help you get your armpits closer to your thighs while finding a nice straight spine. With bent knees and a straight spine, push evenly through all four corners of your hands, particularly push through the index finger knuckle. Pushing through the index finger knuckle will help ease wrist pressure and ensure proper upper body alignment. "Bendier" people tend to end up swaying into their back which creates a curve rather than staying nice and straight. Bendier people should "knit" their ribs together while simultaneously pulling their shoulder blades together on their back. This will help them find a nice, straight back. For their lower body they should also bring a slight bend their knees while moving their sit bones closer to the ceiling. Hand placement is critical to a structurally sound Downward Facing Dog. -Hands should be slightly wider than shoulder width. -Fingers should be spread nice and wide on your mat giving you a strong base to work with. -Weight should be distributed evenly through all four corners of the palms of your hands. -Particular attention should be paid to the index finger knuckle. Really anchor this knuckle down to the floor. We commonly see this knuckle lifting off of the floor and this leads to wrist strain and pressure. -All four corners of your palms pressing into the floor. -Bring a grip through your finger tips so that your finger tips are anchoring just as much as the corners of your hands. -With this alignment through your hands you will feel your forearms rotating in with a downward pressure while your upper arms rotate outwards. Using these tips and tricks should bring added ease to your Downward Facing Dog and ensure happy hands and joints. Video recorded in the Container Collective Yoga Studio in Lakewood, CO. One of the things we see the most in a yoga class at our studio in Lakewood, CO ... is unsafe alignment in one of the poses we do most at CCYOGA, chaturanga dandasana (chah-tuur-ANGH-uh dahn-DAHS-uh-nuh). Half of the challenge is a mis-understanding of alignment. The other half is trying the advanced version of the pose, when the arm and shoulder strength is not quite there. Even as a practitioner of yoga for over a decade, I still modify chaturanga and do it on my knees or don't lower all of the way to a 90 degree elbow bend. Check out the video below of me and Stephanie (CCYOGA's amazing yoga studio manager) in Lakewood, CO walking you through three variations of chaturanga (4 legged staff pose). In variation number one, after you shift your weight forward and lower your knees to the floor, you then lower only a third of the way down with your elbows pulled in to your sides, followed by lowering all the way to the floor, inhale as you rise to cobra, then release back to the floor before inhaling up to table top and exhaling back to downward facing dog. In variation number two, you shift your weight forward and lower your knees to the mat, then lower halfway down to the floor bringing your elbows to a 90 degree angle, straighten your arms coming into upward facing dog and pushing the crown of your head toward the ceiling, then push back through table top on your way to downward facing dog. In variation number three, you do a full chaturunga lowering from high plank to low plank (with straight legs) bringing your elbows to a 90 degree angle. You then straighten your arms moving in to upward facing dog followed by using your abs to raise your hips to the ceiling as you transfer to downward facing dog. Following these tips and listening to your body, you can now safely add chaturunga's into your practice! *Video recorded in the Container Collective Yoga Studio in Lakewood, CO. |