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Yoga Workshop Fridays: Warrior 2

November 11, 2016 by Alicia 2 Comments

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

I started this series back in July and somehow we haven’t covered warrior 2 yet. Don’t worry guys, today is the day!

This was one of the first yoga poses I ever knew. Warrior 2 is called virabhadra II in sandskrit. The sandskrit name is the name of a fierce warrior. I want you to feel strong, fierce and beautiful in this pose. So let’s break it down.

How to do the pose:

Begin in high lunge with the arms overhead, exhale as you lower the back heel down and open the arms out to a T. Check the alignment of your back foot, either the heel or arch should be in line with your front heel.

Gaze over the front fingertips, keeping the front knee over the ankle. Roll the back thigh in. Think Tadasana while you are in the pose, torso up tall, arms even (as possible, we aren’t perfect). Remember to breathe here and think of your arms being so strong that someone is pressing down on them and you are still holding them up.

When you are ready, exhale to windmill the hands down to the mat, lifting up the back heel coming to a low lunge. Step back to plank and flow through vinyasa if you would like, then continue to the other side.

Benefits:

Strengthens the legs and ankles
Opens the hips
Improves balance
Stretches the chest, groins and shoulders

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]

Yoga Workshop Fridays: Wheel Pose

October 28, 2016 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Welcome to yoga workshop Fridays! Don’t know what I am talking about, check out this post.

The peak pose for this month is my favorite backbend pose and the pose that my blog is based off of, wheel pose, also known as Urdhva Dhanurasana in sandskrit which translates to upward facing bow pose.

I love this pose for a great heart opener and back stretch. It is also great for strength as both your legs and arms have to work to keep you up. If you want to take it further from just a yoga pose, you can do wheel push ups (google it!).

I suggest warming up for this pose with a few sun salutations and maybe doing a few rounds of locust pose or bridge pose. Spend 15-20 minutes at least warming up for this pose as it is a deep backbend.

How to do the pose:

Begin by lying on your back, feet planted on the mat, hip distance apart, just like bridge pose. Then bring your hands by your ears, elbows pointing straight up towards the sky. Take a breath in and as you exhale, press into your hands and feet as you lift the hips off the floor, coming to the crown of your head, then continue to press strongly through the hands towards straight arms to lift your head off the mat. Keep your feet parallel, toes pointing forward. If you are comfortable here, try to walk your hands closer to your feet to get an even deeper backbend. Take a few breaths here.

When you are ready to lower down, bend your arms at the elbows, slowly tucking your chin under and lowering all the way down to the mat.

Feel free to do wheel a couple times and then after you have finished, take your knees and gently sway them side to side to release from the backbend.

Variations:

If you already have basic wheel down, you can make it more challenging by lifting one leg. Try both sides for this as you may notice one side is easier than the other. Remember to keep your hips level here. No lopsidedness, haha, stay strong and point those toes for a pretty picture.

If you have the one leg variation down, another variation is to come down onto the forearms. From wheel, move one arm at a time down to the mat. Please be careful when trying this. You may want to try lifting one arm off the mat first to see if you can hold that.

Be careful and have fun!

Benefits:

Strengthens and lengthens the vertebrae of the spine
Stimulates the nervous system
Heart opener
Stretches the hip flexors

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]

Yoga Workshop Fridays: Bridge Pose

October 21, 2016 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Welcome to yoga workshop Fridays! Don’t know what I am talking about, check out this post.

You probably see the theme with this month’s poses. Today’s pose is bridge pose or Setu bandhasana in sandskrit. Bridge pose is another backbend, leading up to our peak backbend next week. In a traditional vinyasa class, you usually will find this pose used towards the end of class as part of the cool down.

Bridge pose can be used as either energizing or restorative which is why it is great for all level classes. In yoga, there are many modifications that can be made to a pose so that it fits your needs. A restorative bridge may simply be just lifting the hips and placing a block or two underneath your bottom for a more gentle heart opener. Whereas a more energizing bridge may be a deeper backbend bringing the hands underneath the lower back as I describe below. Remember to do what feels right in your body.

How to do the pose:

Begin by laying on your back, feet planted on the mat, hip distance apart. Bring your arms along your sides. On an inhale, press into the feet, lifting the hips up. Firm through your glute muscles. Make sure the knees are not splaying out. If you have a block handy, place that in between your thighs and squeeze the block to learn the action of firming the glutes and pressing through the feet. Lift through your chest. To get deeper into this pose, roll the shoulders under and bring your hands underneath your lower back as you lift through the chest.

After holding for a few breaths, lower slowly on an exhale. Feel free to do a couple rounds.

Once you finish, I suggest gentle swaying the knees side to side for a few breaths to release from the backbend.

Benefits:

Heart opener
Strengthens the back muscles
Strengthens the glutes
Calms the mind in a restorative practice

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]

Yoga Workshop Fridays: Bird Dog Pose

September 2, 2016 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Welcome to Yoga Workshop Fridays. Don’t know what I am talking about, check out this post.

It’s the first Friday of September and we are getting started with a great warm up pose that I use a lot in my yoga classes. Sometimes this pose is referred to as cat cow balance pose, but it is also called bird dog pose. I am not sure if there is a sanskrit name for the pose so if you know one, please share it with me. Bird dog pose is a great pose to test your balance and also get a great core workout.

How to do the pose:

Begin on your hands and knees, wrists under the shoulders and knees under the hips. Keep your gaze focused just past the hands or maybe on the top of the mat so that your neck remains neutral. On an inhale, lift your right arm forward. Keep the thumb pointing towards the sky. Keep the hand in line with the shoulder. When you feel steady here, inhale to extend the left leg behind you. Flex the toes so that they point down towards your mat. Keep the knee in line with your hips. Make sure you are not sinking into your back as you hold here. Keep the abdomen engaged, pulling the belly button up and in.

I always loved the way one of my favorite yoga teachers taught this pose. As we held here, he would say “imagine you are balancing your favorite Starbucks drink on your back and you don’t want to spill it.”

Once you feel steady here, take a breath in and then as you exhale, bring elbow to knee underneath your belly for a crunch. Inhale to extend the arm and leg long again. Exhale, elbow to knee. Repeat this for 5-10 reps. Once you have completed your reps, exhale to release the arm and leg and return to starting position on all 4s. Go to the second side, inhaling the left arm forward and then on your next inhale extending the right leg behind you. Make sure to do the same number of reps on each side to stay balanced.

Benefits:

Great for warming up the body
Builds core strength
Helps balance
Maintains strength in lumbar spine

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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