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.
Who likes abs, raise your hand!!
Hmmm I am sensing there were not many raised hands there. Well I hope you still stick around because we are talking about side plank or Vasisthasana today. I am going to give you many variations so that you have no excuses.
As I was researching a bit about side plank, I came across the fact that doing side plank can improve your mood. Did you know that? I mean it is known that exercise improves your mood, but side plank targets specific muscle groups that tend to be stiff and helps to relieve them which in turn improves your mood (source). Pretty cool right?! Since we all like mood boosters, lets break down the pose.
How to do the pose:
Begin from Begin from a full plank, then center your right hand underneath your face. Inhale as you roll onto the edge of your right foot and open the chest to the side. You can place your left hand either on your hip or stretch the arm towards the ceiling. Extend through the crown of the head. Take a few breaths here engaging your core and obliques. One you have completed one side, exhale to release the top arm down to the floor, take downdog and go to the second side.
Variations
Other variations include lowering your bottom leg or for more of a challenge, lifting your top leg up like star pose.
Another variation is to take forearm side plank. I prefer forearm side plank since I have shoulder bursitis, sometimes side plank on my hand is too much. To get into forearm side plank, start on your belly, lay your right forearm across the floor perpendicular to your body and roll onto your right side, stacking the legs. Inhale as you lift the hips off the floor. You can bring your other hand to your waist or towards the ceiling.
Benefits:
- Strengthens the oblique muscles
- Improves balance
- Improves your mood
- Strengthens the wrists
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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