Yoga_Journal_-_February_2016_USA_

46

february 2016

yogajournal.com

YOGAPEDIA

practice well

Find stability in your hands and feet and a more extended spine

as you move step by step into Adho Mukha Svanasana.

Instruction

1 Come onto your hands and knees, with

your hands shoulder-width apart and your

knees hip-width apart. Press the inner triads

of both hands firmly into the mat. Turn the

eyes of your elbows toward each other and

align your shoulders over your wrists. Your

knees should be behind your sitting bones

to maximize length in your torso and spine

when you move into Down Dog.

2 For a few breaths, arch and round your spine,

simultaneously moving your head and tail like

you did in Cat-Cow Pose.

3 From a Cat tilt, curl your toes under. On an

exhalation, slowly lift your knees off the floor,

bringing them in line with your ankles. Keep

your knees bent and stretch your arms intensely

to lengthen your torso. Press the mat away from

you and open your upper, or armpit, chest. Lift

your sitting bones to tilt the top of your pelvis

forward and maintain the natural curves of your

spine. If your hamstrings are stiff, this is a good

place to stay—remaining here opens the shoul-

ders and wakes up the spine without putting

pressure on your lower back.

Benefits

Clears stiffness in your shoulders; lengthens

and straightens your legs; helps to create arches

in your feet and strengthen your ankles

Supta

Padangusthasana,

page 41

Supta

Padangusthasana

modifi cations, page 42

TAKE IT FROM THE PROS

For more safe vinyasa instruction,

take Eddie and Nicki’s Vinyasa 101

course: yogajournal.com/vinyasa101