75
august/september 2015yogajournal.com.auYOGAPEDIA
practise well
Urdhva Hastasana
modifications,
page 76Adho Mukha
Vrksasana prep,
page 77Adho Mukha
Vrksasana,
pages 78-79Urdhva
Hastasanaurdhva = raised · hasta = hands · asana = pose
Upward SaluteUrdhva Hastasana
How to move from Urdhva Hastasana
to Adho Mukha VrksasanaPoses of the month
By Nikki Vilella}
PHOTOS: CHRIS FANNING; MODEL: NIKKI VILELLA; HAIR/MAKEUP: SUZANNE KATZMAN WITH WILHELMINA
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.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.Benefit
Teaches extension from the ground up, lengthens
the side waist, strengthens arms and shouldersInstruction
1 From standing, bring the balls of the 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 Neutralise your pelvis by anchoring the
tailbone toward your heels and moving the
tops of the 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 the sides, parallel to
the floor. Exhale to externally rotate from the top
of the humerus bones, where the 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 the
head. Exhale to firm 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 the arms down.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.