Part 10 of 10...Structural anomalies or an orthopedic profile that has maybe changed because of life experiences. These will dictate the posture looming different. Once agin the posture conforms to the person. The ones that are most significant for down dog will be really long legs, short torso. These people will need blocks under their hands to helps them out if they want help. The next one will be scoliosis. Depending on the severity of the curvature will depend on what y

Just like any pose, lift or technique the pose must adjust to the body. We can only make so many adjustments before the pose, lift or technique just might be thrown out because the risks out way the benefits. Believe it or not it’s your “simpler” poses like child’s pose or happy baby that get thrown out. Hands in down dog are not always best flat. There may be too many issues going on in the wrist for this to work out in the long run. I will have clients cup their hands, m

Head and neck position for down dog. I’ve heard some instructors say “let is dangle” I’ve heard other instructors say “tuck your chin to look at your feet” Those are both wrong. Letting your head dangle doesn’t teach your neck how to stabilize the neck against the weight of the head. The other option starts to pull you into a rounded position and they both encourage bad head position which will in turn lead to neck problems, Dowagers hump and then down into the shoulders

Supine Hamstring Stretch In the supine option there are more options to hit different angles of the attachments to be able to emphasize...

Part 7 of the Down Dog series is about the hamstrings, calves and this shitty little muscle right behind the knee. Several reasons why people want their legs straight in down dog: -they feel a stretch and it may feel good -they think their legs are suppose to be straight b:c everyone else has their legs straight and so does the instructor. - they don’t remember how the instructor set them up b/c this takes practice I encourage my classes to move around in down dog to get

If you think stretching your hamstrings is helpful for your down dog THINK again! Watch the video to find out what you are missing. It’s not always short and tight hamstrings. Maybe they are long and taut getting tight like a guitar string. If one side of the joint is long and taut, the other side just might be short and tight. In video number six, I talked about how the hip flexor group could be one of the tight players that cause the back to round in down dog. If you ha

In the first 4 videos I gave a bit of a background as to why someone would have difficulty finding a down dog position. In the previous videos you can start connecting with the concept 'the pose conforms to you'. That everyone's pose will have similarities and differences based off genetics, life experience that made these bodies, and available strength. The next set of videos will be covering why the hamstrings aren't the only muscle group that would be restricting this move

If the person is shifted forwards in their down dog and the gleno-humoral joint (shoulder) is positioned closer to the hands or over the hands, there is a line of force that is going to pass down through and into the floor via the arms and hands. If I was wanting them to do a charuranga (high plank) then this is a position to do that from BUT not for down dog. As we start to moving into positions that ask us to lift heavier and heavier, the weakness will come through and yo

There’s more to downdog than meets the eye! It’s great to start with what the pose looks like for someone who holds the orthopedic profile for it. What do you do for the person that doesn’t have it? You can’t force them? Stretching won’t necessarily get it done. The pose conforms to the person but you have to know how to conform the pose or simply scrap it altogether. It’s important to take a wider stance with your hands in #downdog to be in the scapular plane for the #shoul

Down Dog and Shoulder Pain Part 2 --Thoracic Extension In part one of this series I went over briefly the three things I look for in the upper quarter of the body for not only down dog, but this holds true for any time the arms are going over your head. This will be especially important when the upper body is loaded such as table tops, planks but more so for down dog and certain arm and forearm balance postures. In a group setting I am not able to do one-on-one assessments. S

Down dog is one of yoga's signature poses. It is also a deceptive pose as it is one of the hardest poses to master. We have people who find it very easy to get into and it feels like a rest pose to them. While others struggle and it's hard and it hurts. They get frustrated and want to quit. You also have instructors that leave their class in down dog for an unusually long time. Whether you find it hard or easy to be in, down dog is NOT a rest pose. Down dog requires a bit of

How can you begin to minimize the load being placed onto the wrist, the passive structures of the shoulders and the neck? There is a...