Pose Of The Month


It's true, T-rex probably does hate chaturanga. I also know a few yogis who do too! That's why this month I am going to focus on it as our pose of the month. Here's a step by step process to get you into safe, strength building, and supportive chaturangas!

1. Get to know your shoulder blades! Come onto all fours and sit back on your heels (you can do this standing too if you have knee issues). Press your hands out in front of you like your trying to push a wall away. Notice the sensation of your upper back rounding and your shoulder blades coming off your back. Now, draw your your hands back into your body, elbows back and slightly away from your sides, and your shoulder blades clearly on your back. Notice the muscles underneath the shoulder blades active and aware. In chaturanga you want shoulder blades on the back and the muscles toned--it's what gives you power on the way down. You can see this demonstrated in this brief video here:

http://www.livestrong.com/video/5134-yoga-basics-chaturanga/

2. Come to table top. Make the sides of your body long, bringing the head of your armbones to your neck line. Then soften your heart (between shoulder blades) and feel the muscles activate and tone between the blades. You may have to slightly broaden your upper armbones (elbows slightly out, and yet still hugged in to the midline) to keep this activation of muscles. See this brief video if you need more clarity on that:

http://www.yogavibes.com/videos/watch/instructional-vignette-chaturanga-alignment/

3. Either staying on knees, or making legs long for a plank-lengthen your tailbone towards heals (or behind you) so that your belly tones. If legs are long, also press back through your heels making the legs full of energy.

4. Press firmly through your hands as your begin to shift your heart forward. It helps to also squeeze your hands isometrically towards the midline of your body on the way down-so do that too (which really helps to keep index finger and thumb down). Come down all the way to the earth leading with your heart (when I say heart, I mean right where sternum/center rib cage is-keeping those blades on your back) if your planning to move towards cobra. If moving to updog come down right to where the top of your elbow line meets the top of your rib cage line and then begin to pull your heart forward and up (making sure to keep head and neck in alignment with your spine).

If you're experiencing shoulder pain in this pose, there is a good chance your coming down with rounded shoulders. If that's the case, practice coming down on your knees and really build up the awareness in your shoulder blades. Review the videos up top and practice these techniques and you'll notice a big difference. Then, unlike T-rex, you'll come to love this pose.

Let me know how it goes!