A yogi's best downward friend. Downward facing dog!

Sanskrit name

• Adho Mukha Svanasana 
• Adho= downward, Mukha= face, shvana=dog 

Benefits

• Opens and strengthens the upper body 
• Stretches the hamstrings, calves and back of the ankle. 
• Strengthens the legs
• Relieves mild depression 
• Energises the body 
• Improves digestion 
• Helps flat footed-ness 

Cautions

• High or low blood pressure 
• Acid reflux 
• Hernia 
• Shoulder, hamstring or lower back injury 
• History of stroke 
• Pregnancy (Do not do if past 3rd term) 

Anatomy focus

• Ankle- Dorsiflexion
• Knees- Extension (avoid hyper extension and locking)
• Hips- Flexion and slight adduction 
• Spine- Neutral and Sacroiliac Joint nutation  
• Neck- Neutral 
• Shoulders- Scapula upward rotation and elevation with shoulder flexion  
• Elbows- Extension (avoiding hyper extension and locking)
• Wrist- Dorsiflexion

Step by Step

Quick tip! Downward facing dog is actually an inversion! 

• Start on all fours and take your hands a little further forward so your hands aren't directly under your shoulders
• Inhale here 
• Curl your toes under and exhale as you push your hips upwards 

Now here work through each part of your body to ensure correct alignment and comfort. I use this little sequence to remind me every time I press back into my first down dog of my practice. 

The full Downward Facing Dog asana. 

• Check hands! Fingers spread wide, middle finger pointing forward, shoulder width apart (make sure no wider to protect your elbows) and pressing in the right places and shifting weight in the right places. 

Getting your hands right can be really difficult, but stick with it. If you're like me and didn't even realise there was anything wrong with my hands until I got a twinge in my wrist one day, practice while you are own all fours. No weight bearing in your hands and you can get the full effect of using your hands correctly.

• 

  From yogabycandace.com. Brilliant diagram of how to set your hand in down dog.

• Check elbows! They should be soft, the creases of your elbows should face each other (not forwards) and you should be able to bend them. If you can't bend them you might be locking/ hyper extending. Locking/ hyperextended elbows can get really painful if you don't break the habit. Much like your hands, practice while on all fours to make sure your arms are in a lovely, strong line from your wrist to shoulder. If you are used to locking/ hyperextending it will be a lot more work for you triceps once you move your elbow alignment but don't worry, that just means you're getting strong! 
• Check shoulders! Shoulders away from the ears and your shoulder blades sink down the back and firm against your upper back, which feels like you're trying to broaden your upper back. You might feel stretching and tensing of muscles here which is perfectly normal. This is strong work so practice, practice, practice! It'll be effortless in no time!  
• Check neck! Your neck should be neutral, so ears are in the middle of your upper arms and your gaze is to your feet.  
• Check chest! Your chest should feel as if it is very gently getting closer to the ground. Your chest isn't actually moving itself, its coming from your shoulder blades and upper back. 
• Check abs! Your abdominals should be tucking in towards your spine to protect your lower back. You should be able to hold them in and still breath, so don't hold them as tight as you would to show them off, no one can see them! :P 
• Check lower back! Your back should feel strong, sturdy and lengthened. If you have any issues in your lower back, keep your knees bent throughout your down dog practice until you are comfortable to begin to straighten them.
• FINALLY! CHECK LEGS! To begin with your hamstring might be pretty tight so always make sure you are lovely and warm before straightening your legs fully in down dog. 

To work on the full extension of your knees we do what's called "bicycling the legs". This means to alternatively work your heels down to the floor. This stretches one leg at a time and makes it much easier to stretch both legs at once after you've done a couple of rounds. To bicycle your legs start with your right heel, exhale and bring it to the floor as you bend your left knee deeply. Inhale here and as you exhale, swap over to the left heel. This is one round. Do this for up to 6 rounds and then lift both heels to the ceiling and then draw them down to the floor slowly together. You can then work on drawing the back of you thighs away from you to further extend your knees. BREATH throughout as stretching your thighs is tough work! 

Bicycling the right heel to the ground on the exhale as the left knee bends. 

Bicycling the left heel down as the right knee bends. 

Easier Variation 

• Bend both of your knees. This helps to protect your lower back and hamstrings and takes the weight off your upper body a little too. 

Easier version- bend both knees but maintain your straight spine and strong shoulders.

Difficult Variation 

• Simple really. Straight legs, fully flexed shoulders, good abdominal tucking and being able to breath effortlessly. 

Down dog is a hard posture! It takes a lot of practice and patients to be able to preform the full pose comfortably. I used to get really out of breath in down dog and still have work on my hamstrings for a long time before them fully open up to get my heels down. Practice, smile, laugh, get out of breath, practice and plenty of patience! Have fun! 

Setting an intention

Setting intentions is a great way to help kickstart a new yoga practice or help boost a well matured practice. With the new year now in full swing, intentions are a great way to help reach your resolutions! 

What's an intention?

• An intention is a little goal that is set at the beginning of a yoga practice to achieve within the practice itself, throughout the day or to help you live mindfully. 
• They're like little aims that help you achieve your overall goals. 

How does it work? 

• At the beginning of your practice set your intention
• Gently repeat it to yourself a few times before you fully begin 
• Throughout your practice remind yourself and continue to repeat your intention a few times, especially if your mind wonders off or you get bored/ frustrated/ upset etc. 
• During your pranayama practice is a great time to fully immerse yourself in your intention and let yourself be fully absorbed by it 
• Using an active hasta mudra with your intention is a great way to really reinforce it into your practice 

Little, lovely snippets

• Yogic intentions are designed to be small and manageable. 
• They aren't big, brassy statements that might frighten you like, "I'm going to do the splits today!", on your second ever class. 
• They are more like little reminders. "Today I will remember to breath fully with my diaphragm" (I actually just took a proper breath after typing that :P) or "I will great everyone with kindness" or "I will continue to work on improving my hip flexibility to reach the splits". 
• Bite size. Memorable. Little goals. 
• You can set a new intention at the beginning of every practice or maintain the same one. It's your practice and practice what makes your soul sing! 
• Don't bog yourself down. If you don't achieve your intention, keep practicing. Practice. Practice. Practice. 
• Enjoy your intentions! 

Have beautiful practice today! Nameste ॐ

LUNGE 2,3,4!

Sanskrit name

• This lunge is a variation of Warrior I so it doesn't have a sanskrit name 

Benefits

• Stretches the front the hip of the extended back leg 
• Strengthens the thighs, knees and ankles
• Improves balance when practice regularly 

Cautions

• Knees injuries
• Balance issues 

Anatomy focus

• Front leg- ankle dorsiflexion, knee flexion, hip flexion and nutation of the SI joint (Sacroiliac joint of the pelvis and the spine) 
• Back leg - ankle dorsiflexion, knee extension, hip extension and counter nutation of SI joint
• Spine- extension and slight rotation of chest to face forwards
• Shoulders- shoulder flexion, elbow extension, upward rotation, abduction and elevation of scapular

Step by Step

• Starting in Tadasana (Mountain pose) making sure you're standing tall, belly lightly tucking in, drawing your coccyx down gently to lengthen your back and drawing your crown all the way up to the sky.
• Take a couple of breaths here, grounding down into the floor. 
• Bring your hands to your hips and shift your weight to gain your balance on your left leg. 
• Inhale here 
• Exhale and take you right leg straight back behind you, a little further back than a natural stride, keeping your feet hip width apart. 
• Maintain you balance as you take your arms over head and shoulder width apart.
• Keep the belly tucked and chest lifted. 
• Reach your fingers up to the sky as you squeeze those left quadricep muscle with all your might!
• Gently tense your right hamstrings to straighten your right leg and secure your pelvis. 
• Press your right heel away from you to lengthen the back of your right leg. 
• You must keep your left knee over your left ankle. DO NOT let the knee reach forward towards the toes. If this happens, lengthen your stride instantly! Give your knee plenty of safe space to be stable. 
• Take up to 5 breaths here.
• To come out of the lunge, place the hands back onto the hips, bend the right knee and take your weight back into your left foot. Inhale here.
• Exhale and glide your right foot back up to it's friend, still hip width apart. 
• Come back into your lovely Tadasana and take a few well deserved breaths. 
• Repeat by taking your left leg back when ready.  

Lunge. Front leg- knee over ankle, parallel thigh. Back leg- lifted knee, pressing heel away. Arms- lifted over head and shoulder width.

Easier Variation 

• If you have trouble balancing, have a chair by your side and use the back to hold onto as you need it. Or take your feet wider than hip width apart. 
• Make your stride shorter to ease the difficulty of the lunge. 
• The arms don't have to go over head. They can stay on the hips or come to Prayer position at the heart. 

  

  Easier version. Straighter front leg. Lowered arms. 

Difficult Variation 

• To make the lunge more challenging for those gladiator quadriceps of yours, make your stride longer so the front thigh becomes parallel to the floor. 
• Think about the thighs squeezing into line that runs down the centre of your mat. GET THOSE QUADS WORKING! 
• You can also take the arms into a light backbend by letting them reach backwards and lifting the chest upwards.  

  

  Difficult version. Deeper lunge, little backbend in the spine.