Hello Hi! Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend! We had The Most Glorious Sunday here in Charlotte. It was nearly 70 degrees, sunny and pretty spectacular, really! I am so so thankful for these random, warm days we get in the winter :)
So, Days 7 & 8, shall we!?
Day 7 – Up Dog
I Love this pose to stretch out my abs especially after a killer Ab Workout + open up my shoulders & chest.
A lot of people tend to rush thru their Up Dog, not taking the time to properly pull shoulder blades down & back to open the chest & shoulders. Slow it down, spend some extra time & take a few breaths in your next practice to really get the benefits from this beautiful & graceful pose.
For me, there’s a good bit of push/press/pull going on in this pose…just kind of “typing out loud” so to speak, and explaining how I get the most out of my Up Dog..
Firmly pressing tops of the feet down, lifting thighs off the mat (if you can), pulling my chest up & forward, lengthening thru my front body, stretching my abs, while also pressing my hip points down. Shoulders pull down & back, broadening across my collar bones to open up my chest & front of my shoulders. I don’t drop my head too far back, because it doesn’t feel good on my neck. Everyone is different, so honor your body & do what feels best to you.
Tight low back? Try bringing your feet a bit wider — about mats width apart — this helps give more space in the low back. Also, make sure your not clenching your glutes.
Day 8 – Eka Pada Sirsasana (Foot-behind-the-Head Pose)
I’m doing Rock the Baby here, which is a prep pose for opening up the hip and working towards getting your foot behind your head. I can get my foot behind my head but..not without holding it there AND looking absolutely ridiculous in the pose! Haha
Rock the Baby is also an awesome, easy stretch to work into the hips if you have super tight hips and/or bad knees that don’t allow you to get into other hip openers like pigeon pose. Remember everyone has to start somewhere — stretch a little bit more everyday to improve your flexibility.
Much Love,
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