Yoga Journal USA — December 2017

DECEMBER 2017 / 57 / YOGAJOURNAL.COM

PHOTOS: CHRIS FANNING; MODEL: NIKKI VILELLA; HAIR/MAKEUP: SUZANNE KATZ WITH WILHELMINA; TOP: ALTERNATIVE APPAREL; BOTTOMS: HARD TAIL FOREVER

OUR PRO Teacher and model Nikki Vilella is a senior teacher at Kula Yoga Project in New York City and owner of Kula Williamsburg in her home borough of

Brooklyn. She has trained with Kula founder Schuyler Grant and Kula senior teacher Alison Sinatra; she studies Iyengar with Nikki Costello, Genny Kapuler, and

Carrie Owerko, and anatomy with Lauren Haythe. For more, visit kulayoga.com.

YOGAPEDIA

PRACTICE WELL

How to move from

By Nikki Vilella

Urdhva Hastasana

Urdhva = Raised · Hasta = Hands · Asana = Pose

Upward Salute

Urdhva Hastasana to

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

DON’T let your elbows bend or your

arms go wide, which will result in a loss

of length in the sides of your waist.

DON’T let your front ribs pop out and

your pelvis drop into an anterior tilt,

which can create “banana back.”

An exaggerated lumbar curve in

Upward Salute will cause you to lose

the rooting action of your tailbone and

decrease the power found in a more

streamlined spinal extension.

BENEFITS Teaches

extension from the ground

up; lengthens your side

waist; strengthens your

arms and shoulders

INSTRUCTION

1 From standing, bring

the balls of your feet to

touch, leaving a narrow

space between your heels.

Ground down through

the four corners of each

foot. Lift and spread your

toes—this will help you

lift your arches and inner

ankles and get a sense of

where your midline is. Then

engage your quadriceps.

Maintain the lift in your

arches and legs as you

release your toes down.

2 Neutralize your pelvis

by anchoring your tailbone

toward your heels and

moving the tops of your

buttocks down. This helps

prevent an exaggerated

curve in the lumbar spine

and keeps the lower front

ribs from splaying out,

which can interfere with

maintaining a strong line of

extension in both Upward

Salute and Handstand.

3 Inhale your arms out to

your sides, parallel to the

fl oor. Exhale to externally

rotate from the top of your

humerus bones, where

your arms insert into your

shoulders. Draw the

bottom tips of your shoulder

blades toward your spine,

widen your collarbones,

and broaden your chest.

4 On an inhalation, raise

your arms alongside your

ears. On an exhalation, root

down through your feet.

5 Inhale to lengthen the

sides of your waist even

more and reach up through

the crown of your head.

Exhale to fi rm your arms

closer to your ears and

midline. Make sure your

lower ribs are not splaying

out. Keep your gaze at the

horizon, your chin level,

and your throat soft and

open. Hold here for

8 breaths before exhaling

your arms down.