Yoga 101- Plank

Before we get into plank, I have to share the two "first time for everything" experiences I had yesterday. Two in one day! 

1) I had to be somewhere at 9:00am. I was running a little bit late because I went through the inevitable "do I need to shower" debate (always a no). As I turned off of our street it hit me, I FORGOT to eat breakfast! How did this happen? Will I make it to lunch without eating? Who am I? I spent too much time in disbelief to think fast. I should've taken it as a sign that Chick-Fil-A had an extra biscuit with my name on it. 

2) Lately I have been thinking a lot about a specific topic. It is undoubtedly because I've been doing more yoga and thinking about yoga so much. I feel like I am connecting some dots in my brain but still trying to find the words to explain. Yesterday evening I was in the shower and I had the thought, "maybe if I write an essay about this it'll help me to....WAIT A SECOND" Now, for those of you who do not know Kevin as well, this is exactly the type of thing he does. Write an essay for fun? When I'm not in school? Who will grade it? Why would I do that? I have no idea where the notion came from, other than 7 months of marriage to the most scholarly person I know. 

But on to plank:

Plank is very versatile. It is a wonderful shoulder and core-strengthening pose if it is held for a few breaths and it is also a transitional pose to get you to almost any other yoga pose. When holding plank, think strong and solid. The whole body should be engaged, from the shoulders to the toes. Get into plank either by laying on the floor and pushing up, folding forward from a standing position and walking the feet back or starting in downward dog and dropping the hips. Once in plank, hold it for 3-5 breaths or to the count of 30. 

The Hands- are directly below the shoulders. The arms are in a straight line from the shoulder to the wrist. Spread the fingers wide to distribute the weight throughout the hands. The hand position may feel more snug then the top of a push-up position, depending on your push-ups. 

The Head- is in a neutral position, reaching the crown of the head away from the feet. Looking between the hands or just in front of the hands helps keep the head in the right place. 

The Shoulders- push back away from the ears. Imagine you are trying to make the shoulder blades touch in the center of the back, just like in downward dog. This visual keeps the shoulders from hunching. 

The Back/Core- is straight and strong. All of the core muscles are engaged to hold the body stable and the hips up.  

The Legs- are straight with the knees lifted. The feet are about hip width apart, the toes press into the mat and the heels are lifted. 

Focus on: Creating a diagonal line from the head to the shoulders, hips and heels. Pull the crown of the head forward while pushing the heels back. 

NOT plank: 

hips are too high and the shoulders are behind the wrists

midsection is sagging and the shoulders are hunched

Still working on it? Drop the knees to the floor for a kneeling plank. Think girl push-ups, which is just a little bit offensive to girls. Keep the wrists directly below the shoulders, the whole body engaged and straight, with the diagonal line ending at the knees instead of the feet. 

There you have it, plank pose! Have you tried plank? Do you love it or hate it?

Alas, we shall see if Kevin has REALLY changed me or if he's just put new thoughts in my brain. Will I really write an essay for "fun"? 

Yoga 101- A New Series

Since I started studying to be a teacher I have had multiple people mention to me that they are afraid or intimidated by yoga because they don't know how to tell if they're doing it right. Teachers often just name poses and students are expected to know how to get into them and how they should feel. I have taken this as my personal mission to make my classes accessible to someone who has never done any yoga at all. I thought it would also be fun to have a weekly (ish) series here going over the basics. My hope is to present a pose or concept that is sometimes assumed to be easy and break it down so a first-timer can master it! These posts can be used to help remind experienced yoga students of the basics, they can serve as an introduction to new students, or they can be used individually as a stretch after you do your jump squat throw-ups.

Before we get started, let's just establish that I'm not a photographer (you probably noticed this with my food pictures yesterday). My Nikon Coolpix on self-timer in the cleanest room of my house is the best I can do. To be honest, when I practice yoga alone it is usually in the living room. We have a pretty sweet backyard/courtyard area behind our house that would be perfect for yoga if this was like New Haven or something. But this is Texas. We're still in the 100s everyday. Ok so I don't know where New Haven is, maybe that was a bad example. Or maybe I made it up, I'm good at that.

So Yoga 101, day 1: Downward Facing Dog

If you've ever seen a dog do this, you know exactly where it got its name. Downward dog is an excellent pose for building strength in the arms and stretching the back of the legs. It also releases the weight and pressure out of the lower back. Our lower backs carry so much weight all day so it's nice to take the weight off for a little break.

The Hands- should be about shoulder width apart, flat on the floor and all the fingers spread out wide. Leaving a tiny space between the base of the palm/wrist and the floor relieves the pressure on the wrists that some feel in this pose.

The Head- should be between the arms. The ears are directly between the biceps but not touching them. If your biceps are even close to touching your ears it's because the shoulders are hunched up.

The Shoulders- are pulled away from the ears. Imagine that you are trying to touch the shoulder blades in the middle of the back. Teachers often call this "shoulders back and down."

The Back- is straight and flat!

The Legs- are extended and the heels are reaching to the floor. The feet are about hip width distance apart.

Focus on: The hips should be the definite highest point of the body. The back is straight and the shoulders are not hunched.

Still working on it? Bend the knees and lift the heels to slowly work towards straight legs. Especially if you are a runner, the hamstrings can be very tight so straight legs may not be possible at first or at all.

The most common misalignment in downward dog comes from thinking that it is crucial for the heels to touch the floor. This leads to hunched shoulders, rounding in the back and possibly some serious pain in the legs!

Now everyone on the mat! Have you tried Downward Dog? Do you love it or hate it?