Yoga poses.
Every now and again I will step into the yoga studio and will have this very question running through my head. “You want me to do what???” I take a variety of yoga classes (mainly Vinyasa style) and we usually have an opportunity in class to work on more advanced poses and transitions. Super fun, now, but I remember the first time I was in a class and they were doing some crazy twisting arm balances and I thought There is no way I can do make my body do what that Russian gymnast looking girl in the front row is doing. No way.
But the cool thing about yoga, at least for me, is that in a world when my mind is running a million miles a minute, for those 60 minutes of yoga class, I am purely focused on me in that moment. I’m not thinking about what’s for dinner, work deadlines, or other drama. I am 100% focused on the task at hand. Even in the 10-30 minutes I try to devote to working on poses each day at home, I find the same to be true. For those precious minutes, I am completely focused on that moment. It’s almost meditative for me.
I love working on arm balances and other strength poses because they are so challenging and you can always improve on something or try it a new way to challenge yourself deeper. It’s awesome.
Here are poses I currently work on in my daily practice. Leading up to the pose, I work on other poses and postures that will help strengthen my ability to get into the pose. For example, when doing Grasshopper, I start with a twisting sequence and then will add a hip opener series before attempting Grasshopper. That way, my hip doesn’t feel like it is about to pop out of socket. I added links to a You Tube video tutorial.
Headstands- Salamba Sirsasana. I like being upside down and I really love the concentration and core strength to lift my toes from ground to sky back to ground.
Forearm Balance- Pincha Mayurasana. Kino MacGregor has my favorite videos for exercises to build strength for arm balances.
Handstand- Adho Mukha Vrksasana. Briohny Smyth (chick in the video) is absolutely ridiculous. You might have seen her beautiful video by Equinox. If not, watch it now. Her practice is beautiful!
Grasshopper- Your hips have to be pretty warmed up (at least for my not-so-flexible runner’s hips) and you should feel comfortable in Crow Pose.
That pose that I mentioned earlier in the post, that I thought there is no way. It was Grasshopper. And I can do it.
What about you? What poses do you enjoy working on?
Related articles
- 7 Ways to Get Stronger Arms in Yoga Class (news.health.com)
- 4 Easy Steps for Establishing a Daily Yoga Practice that Lasts. ~ Agnieszka Czarnecka (elephantjournal.com)
- The Restorative Power of Yoga (dralanviau.com)
- Arm Balance Clinic (masters2marathons.com)
- Dear Adho Mukha Vrksasana…. (jessikagoldstein.wordpress.com)
Thanks for the video explaining Grasshopper pose. She broke the pose down much better than some other videos I have seen.
And since you have asked, I am currently working on headstand, backbends (especially camel and mermaid), and side crow and galavasana.
Thanks for the blog link! I love all of your suggestions in this article, definitely going to incorporate them into my home practice!
Thanks for stopping by. Glad you enjoyed them. The videos are incredibly helpful to me.
I am sure I will be doing all of those soon!:)
Oh, Mom!!!
I don’t know names yet but I imagine I haven’t done any of these! Maybe some day.
The videos are good. I refer to them a lot. Use em. Try em. It’s super fun!
The Equinox videos? Sheesh…I just got done watching a woman with an insane body do a bunch of crazy poses in underwear…you don’t have to tell me twice. I want to have abs like her.
I know, right! She’s amazing! And it looks so effortless.