Bolster Your Upward-Dealing with Canine Pose

Upward-Dealing with Canine Pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) is among the key parts in Solar Salutations (Surya Namaskara). It’s usually paired with its littermate Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Dealing with Canine Pose), however it’s a worthy pose in its personal proper. Downward-Dealing with Canine Pose will be the higher recognized of the 2, however on this submit we’ll let its less-famous sibling have its day.

Upward-Dealing with Canine Pose supplies many advantages. Listed here are just a few:

• Strengthens shoulders, arms, fingers and wrists
• Counteracts the results of an excessive amount of sitting and bending ahead
• Can relieve decrease again ache
• Energizes the physique and thoughts

Upward-Dealing with Canine Pose is known as for a loyal canine that seems within the Mahabarata. Should you’d wish to know in regards to the story behind the pose, try Zo Newell’s article in Yoga Worldwide.

Challenges and Options for Working towards Upward-Dealing with Canine Pose

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is a difficult pose. It strengthens the shoulders, arms, fingers and wrists as a result of it challenges them. There’s an inclination to break down into the shoulders, fingers and wrists within the pose. As a way to keep away from relying an excessive amount of on these buildings, it’s vital to have interaction the remainder of the physique within the pose as properly. The entire physique must contribute to the elevate within the pose. A Normal Yoga Bolster plus a pair Yoga Blocks will be extraordinarily useful in shifting the work within the pose to the decrease physique. This relieves stress in your fingers and wrists. I’ll clarify easy methods to use these props within the directions beneath.

The opposite bodily problem in Upward-Dealing with Canine Pose is the tendency to emphasize the low again. Should you observe the pose along with your head thrown again so that you simply’re wanting on the sky, you might be in all probability creating additional stress in your again. Conserving your head in a impartial place on this pose helps to help your low again. That is as a result of positioning of a small bone within the high of the throat, the hyoid bone. Right here’s a submit that explains easy methods to use the hyoid bone to help the core in Chaturanga Dandasana (4-Limbed Employees Pose). You’ll be able to apply this info to any pose, however for the inclined backbends, it’s particularly useful.

Contraindications for Working towards Upward-Dealing with Canine Pose

Earlier than we dive into training the pose, I’d wish to share some conditions during which it may be finest to keep away from training Urdhva Mukha Svanasana:

• Accidents to your fingers, wrists, shoulders or low again
• Second and third trimesters of being pregnant
• Current belly surgical procedure
• If in case you have a headache, skip training this pose.

How you can Observe Urdhva Mukha Svanasana with a Yoga Bolster

1. Collect your props: Yoga Mat, two Yoga Blocks, Normal Yoga Bolster.
2. Place your bolster crosswise in your mat about ⅔ of the best way towards the “head” finish of your mat. Place your blocks, shoulders-width aside, of their lowest setting, immediately in entrance of your bolster.
3. Begin in Downward-Dealing with Canine Pose along with your fingers in your blocks. You could discover that inserting your fingers on blocks shifts your weight again into your toes a bit greater than regular.
4. Shift your complete physique ahead and decrease your hips onto your bolster. The hipbones must be resting on fringe of the bolster.
5. Interact your legs by isometrically lifting them up towards the ceiling. Press your toes down into the ground.
6. Press down into your fingers to elevate the chest, retaining your elbows bent. Maintain your head stage, wanting straight forward.
7. Take 5 to 10 deep breaths. Then shift again into Downward-Dealing with Canine Pose along with your fingers in your blocks.
8. If you’re prepared, launch your knees down onto the ground and relaxation in Balasana (Little one’s Pose). You’ll be able to relaxation your forearms and brow in your bolster for additional consolation.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and started instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the writer of Conscious Yoga, Conscious Life: A Information for On a regular basis Observe and Yoga for Meditators, each printed by Rodmell Press. Her third ebook is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and folks sextet Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards in 2010.