TADASANA (MOUNTAIN POSE)
Mountain Pose is the foundation of every single standing posture.
Let's get it right!
Start with your feet about hip width apart, toes pointing forward, and outside edges of your feet parallel to long edges of your mat.
Notice 4 corners of your feet: inner heel; outer heel; root of big toe; root of the pinky toe. Can you balance your weight evenly over both of your feet and over the 4 corners of each foot?
Ideally, your body’s weight is distributed over solid structures of your body – bones and joints. Try this:
- stack tops of your ears over your shoulders;
- shoulders over your hips;
- hips over knees and ankles.
Human spine is at its most stable when it has its normal curves.
Close your eyes, and imagine each curve of your spine maintaining its full depth and curvature. Is there an area of your spine that feels particularly tense?
URDHVA HASTASANA (UPWARD SALUTE)
Reach up with enthusiasm!
From Mountain pose, inhale and sweep your arms out to the sides, keeping your palms facing forward. Continue through with this movement until your fingers are reaching upward.
In this position your arms are fully extended, fingertips reaching skyward, hands are about shoulder width apart with palms facing each other.
This particular shape might feel challenging, or even inaccessible for some.
If that is true for you, look for a position variation that creates the feeling of lengthening and reaching upward but without straining neck or shoulders.
As in all standing postures, preserve the natural curves of your spine as much as you are able. Notice if and when the spinal curves begin to shift or flatten.
Look forward; or upward for more challenge.
UTTANASANA (STANDING FORWARD BEND)
From Upward Salute, exhale, and bend forward from the hips.
Experiment with bending and extending the knees: a bend in the knee can make this pose more accessible, but it also changes the dynamic of the pose.
When the knees are bent, hamstrings have to engage to prevent you from falling forward, so you will not get a hamstring stretch.
To help your hamstrings release and lengthen, place your hands on a yoga block or even a chair. Once you have found comfort in your hamstrings, focus on keeping your legs active – the action of lifting your kneecaps will engage your thigh muscles and help the hamstrings release even further.
Avoid shifting your hips back; work gradually toward keeping your shins vertical by bringing weight forward into the balls of your feet, while keeping your heels firmly rooted down.
A word of caution: hamstring injuries are extremely common in yoga students, and usually are a result of overzealous attitude in forward bends. To avoid injuries, work slowly and patiently, paying attention to the quality of your breath and alignment principles described above.
ANJANEYASANA (LOW LUNGE)
From Forward Bend, bend your knees, touch your fingertips to the mat, exhale and step your left (or right) foot back.
I prefer to start standing sequences by stepping the left foot back. This has to do with the way low lunge pose stimulates your colon (for exactly the same reason your rub your tummy clockwise to improve digestion): with left leg back, your right knee wakes up your ascending colon on the right side of your lower abdomen, and vise versa – when your left foot is forward, it stimulates the descending colon on the left side.
Keep your feet hip distance apart (you can imaging standing in cross country ski tracks), and square your hips forward to the front of the mat.
Many of us lack sensory awareness of the way we position our pelvis; for more sensory feedback place your hands on the front of your pelvis (commonly called "the hip bones") and make sure that your hands are even and level.
Another option, of course, is to practice in front of the mirror.
If you find that it is difficult to square your hips forward (this might be due to tightness in the hips or low back), step your back foot forward as much as you need to square your pelvis forward.
To gain more stability, press the ball of the back foot into the mat, and distribute the weight evenly throughout the ball of back foot. This action will help you engage your back leg and deepen the opening in the front of your back hip.
Bend your front knee; make sure that your front knee is positioned directly over or slightly behind your front ankle, and that it is tracking over your second and third toes.
With the back leg engaged and hips squared forward you should feel pretty steady. If that’s not the case, and you are struggling for balance, bring your back knee to the mat; if your knees are sensitive, place padding under the grounded knee.
Inhale, lift your torso and reach your arms up overhead; let your fingertips reach skyward. Look forward, and soften the chin just slightly down toward your chest.
ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA (DOWNWARD FACING DOG)
From Low Lunge pose exhale to bend forward, plant your hands flat on the mat and step back into Downward Facing Dog pose.
Press firmly down into the entire span of your hands and length of your fingers. Bring slightly more weight toward your fingers - keeping fingers active helps to lessen the load in the wrists. Relax your head down between your arms.
Position your feet hip-distance apart and press into the balls of your feet to engage them. Keep your legs firm and active. Engage your lower abdominal muscles to activate the core and increase stability.
PHALAKASANA (PLANK POSE)
Just a note here: Plank Pose requires a lot of arm strength combined with shoulder mobility AND stability. If in doubt, bring your knees onto the mat, or practice wall plank / push up (all alignment principles still apply, but the load is lessened - instructions are below).
From Downward Facing Dog pose, inhale to lift high on your toes; exhale, and move up and over into the plank pose. As you transition from Downward Dog to a Plank pose, imagine that your spine unfurls like the flag in the wind – long and strong, yet pliable.
Position your hands directly underneath your shoulders; press into the pads of your fingers to create a lift through the palm and unload the weight from your wrists.
Draw your shoulder blades down your back, and lift your thoracic spine up between your shoulder blades. Spread and lift the backs of your kidneys – this action will naturally engage your core muscles, and, quite possibly, will make you feel hot!
Extend and lengthen your body; keep your legs firm, heels pressing back.
Lengthen the back of your neck by keeping your gaze to the mat and reaching the top of your head forward across the room.
PLANK TO PUSH UP TRANSITION
From Plank pose, exhale to bring your knees to the mat; bend your elbows to lower your chest onto the mat. (See note above!)
Students often get confused with this transition.
When you are just getting familiar with Sun Salutations, the easiest thing is to get down onto your belly any way you can – usually by bringing your knees to the mat, coming down onto hands and knees, and slithering onto your belly.
Once you have familiarized yourself with this easier way, it is time for a bit more challenge.
First, practice wall push-ups:
- Stand facing a wall and about a foot away from it.
- Stretch your arms forward and place your palms flat on the wall slightly wider than shoulder distance apart. The tips of your longest fingers should be at about the top of your shoulder level.
- Move your upper spine back, so it is slightly behind your shoulder blades.
- Now keep the curves of your spine intact, exhale, and bend your elbows downward to bring your chest closer to the wall. Avoid arching through your low and mid back – this move is all about building upper body strength!
- Now inhale, and press back to standing. Start with one set of 5 repetitions, and gradually increase to 3 sets of 5 repetitions.
Once your arms, shoulders and torso are sufficiently strong, transfer your skills to weight bearing position. Here is how:
- From Plank, drop your knees directly down and onto the mat.
Don’t push your hips back – your knees should be somewhat behind your hips. Keep your knees on the mat; lift your feet off the mat and cross your ankles.
- Now using the very same technique as in wall push-up, exhale, bend your elbows back and lower your chest down onto the mat.
As you lower down, maintain natural curves through your spine; pay particular attention to your lower back – don’t let your tummy hang.
Once on the mat, stretch your legs back and point your toes. Now is a good time to find an organic position for your legs – spend some time bringing your legs together and taking them wider apart to find a position that makes your lower back happy.
COBRA POSE ( BHUJANGASANA)
To move into Cobra pose, start by lengthening the front of the body.
Keeping your legs extending back, and your hips stable, imagine that you can slither and stretch the skin of your belly forward, starting from your pubic bone. The more successful you are in lengthening the front of your body, the less likely you are to feel “the sting” of the cobra in your back.
Inhale, and lift your chest off the mat.
Avoid lifting your head first – this will automatically tighten the muscles of your mid- and lower back. Instead, reach the top of your head across the room, as you lift your chest off the mat ( I like to imagine my head "riding along" with the torso).
Imagine that you are stretching your spine up and out of your pelvis.
If you are comfortable here and don’t feel any compression in your spine, continue on by slowly lifting your gaze and tipping your head back.
Exhale to press back into Child’s pose or Downward Facing Dog.
Enjoy your Sun Salute!
