Welcome to yoga workshop Fridays! Don’t know what I am talking about, check out this post.
This series will be each Friday explaining how to do a particular pose leading up to a peak pose on the last Friday of the month. Throughout this series, I ask that you listen to your body to prevent injury and warm up for a pose when needed.
Disclaimer: Though I am a certified yoga instructor, please consult your doctor before you begin practice and note that everyone’s practice may look a bit different as you align the pose to your body.
It’s the last Friday of the month, which means it is time for our peak pose. This month’s peak pose is dancer pose or Natarajasana (Lord of the Dance pose). A few things you need to do to warm up for dancer are to open the hips (which we did with downdog split), practice a balance pose such as warrior 3 from last week and do a few backbends, a simple one would be standing crescent side to side and then back. I always recommend a few sun salutations to warm up the body as well.
How to do the pose:
Begin standing at the top of your mat, feet hip distance apart. Extend your left arm forward, palm down, as if you were about to press on a countertop. Putting the weight into your left leg, lift your right foot off the mat, bending at the knee. Using your right hand, grab the right foot from the inside of the ankle. If this is as far as you can go today, that is ok.
If you would like to continue, begin to lean forward a bit, staying strong in that standing leg and the extended arm. Kick the right foot against the hand as you lift the foot up higher, keeping the chest lifted. Hug into your midline. The standing leg is rooted with external rotation. Continue to breathe and hold for a few breathes.
To release, slowly begin to bring your chest up and come to standing and release the lifted foot to the mat. Repeat the pose on the second side.
Benefits:
- Improves your balance
- Opens the chest and shoulders
- Strengthens the legs
- Tones the abdomen muscles (hug your midline!)
Share your pose on Instagram, tagging @bridgesthroughlife and hashtags #bridgesthroughlife #yogaworkshopFridays
I hope you enjoy this series. If you have any suggestions for what poses you would like me to break down, I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment or send me an email [email protected]
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