Tag Archives: yoga tutorial

Caturanga with Stable Shoulders

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Use 2 yoga blocks – or stacks of books of the same thickness and firmness – to train strength, alignment and stability in the upper body in caturanga.

  1. Train flexing elbows to 90 degrees carrying own upper body weight (place yoga blocks to touch the shoulders at this height)
  2. Bring awareness to what needs to be turned on to maintain stable shoulder girdle (active palms, arms, hugging of shoulder blades towards ribcage).
  3. Work on concentric and eccentric muscle engagement by working in both directions slow – lowering down and pushing up.
  4. Work with knees down first to build upper body strength – chest, upper back, triceps – before layering in lower body work.

The detailed work needs a whole workshop to run through! These are some ideas to stimulate your awareness in your personal practice.

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Balancing Squat (Hips and Core!)

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This is suitable for those of you who already have a comfortable malasana (squat pose) as part  of your physical practice. With a yoga wheel, you can add in stabilization work, firing up the whole core while maintaining hip opening, balanced weight distribution and mental focus.

See video on Spice Yoga’s Youtube Channel

Courtesy: @DharmaYogaWheel

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Strength and Length in the Hamstrings and Glutes

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Runners alert! Dynamic working of hip extensors (hamstrings and gluteus maximus) –  strengthen and lengthen with the support of a yoga wheel. Ideal for those who are tight.

Don’t have a yoga wheel? Options:

i. Walk from side to side holding a yoga block in each hand

ii. Hold onto parts of a fence in the park

Courtesy: @DharmaYogaWheel

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Wheeling and Dealing with the Back

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A yoga wheel can be super useful in back bend preparation, if you know what to do with it. Here’s a start! More yoga wheel tutorials to follow in the coming weeks…

Courtesy: @DharmaYogaWheel

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Caturanga with a Bolster

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And you thought that yoga bolsters stay in the territory of effortless, restorative practice…

Here’s how to use it to ‘cancel out’ some of the effects of gravity in caturanga dandasana (your yoga half push-up), so that you can work on your upper body strength, focus on stabilizing the shoulders as you move, and find a good energetic alignment.

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