My husband, who is quite the blogger (Triple Pundit, Ecopreneurist, & GreenSmith Consulting), always tells me to make my post titles obvious and easily searchable so people find me. Good tip, for sure. My creative mind took over anyway. So, this post title may pull pet owners instead of yoga enthusiasts. I couldn't resist though! I'm learning how to work the dog.
Downward dog that is. This popular yoga pose is one that I'm both drawn to and mystified by. It looks pretty simple to do. But when you're in it, you realize that there are all these little adjustments which, when implemented, allow your body to actually relax into the posture in a way that feels incredibly supportive. Each time I do it, I learn a new way to move deeper into it. Not only does it feel more and more natural (the body has a good physiological memory), I feel more mentally at ease too.
Here are some of the ways I've been working the dog:
Spread out my fingers and imagine I have mini suction cups on them and the palm of hand, with strength and groundedness is radiating out of them. This way my shoulders and arms relax.
Lengthen my shoulders in width. Put your hands on your shoulders right now and gently pull them down and away from the side of your body. This gives you the sensation of what you want to create while in the pose, thus taking the tension out of the neck area.
You know that fold near your hips that make a "V" when you sit? That's your groin area. What you're going to do is imagine (and move) those muscles behind that "V" toward the back of your body. This allows your quads to do their job more effectively while allowing your hamstrings to lengthen and relax into the pose. It also takes the pressure off of your back and your shoulders. In fact, if you practice lifting those groin muscles back it will help your standing and sitting postures, therefore alleviating back pain.
Next, let your heels relax toward the floor. This and the changing of the groin muscles were big eye openers for me in regard to how much easier the posture was. Once I incorporated these, I was really working the dog. I hadn't realized that in an effort to maintain a straight line along my back, I had been lifting up my heels and putting too much pressure on the front of my toes/feet. This only created more tension. Dropping my heels was like finding a missing piece of the puzzle and allowed other parts of my body to be more at ease.
What tips and techniques help you relax into different yoga poses? How do you work the dog?
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