Useful Tips To Make The Best Out of Your Downward Facing Dog (From Jessica Magnin's Technical Workshop)

7/26/2013

Downward-Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana is a posture that’s practiced often in most forms of yoga. In fact, it’s likely that your yoga practice will consist of at least one downward facing dog no matter what style of yoga appeals to you. While this posture is often referred to as a resting posture in Vinyasa Flow yoga, taken as a break between standing postures, it’s an incredibly demanding position that requires your entire body to be engaged, your breath to be active, and your awareness to be fully present. Jessica Magnin’s recent workshop at the Hotel de la Paix in Luang Prabang broke down this complex asana, transforming it part by part. There were a few “aha!” moments in the workshop as participants expressed freedom in the experience of being aligned. We’re sharing these useful tips with you.

To begin, downward facing dog is a posture of reflection and a posture of humility. The head hangs below the heart as we reflect upon the experience of our practice. In Vinyasa Flow yoga, we come into adho mukha svanasana in between standing postures on the left and right sides. In downward facing dog, we restore equilibrium, we restore our awareness, and we bring ourselves back to the present as we observe and fully engage all parts of the body once again.

One of the key points from last Sunday's workshop was the engagement of the the rhomboids to draw the shoulders and arms back. Finding and engaging the rhomboids can be tricky as we often use the muscles in our arms to move them. Simple exercises that isolate the rhomboids can help us identify and understand movements that originate from this area.

With a partner, create resistance in the arm and turn AWAY from each other while keeping the hips squared.

Come into a version of cobra with the hands wider than the shoulders. Claw the mat to draw chest and abdomen forward. Rhomboids activate to draw the shoulder blades down the back.

With a block between the hands, move the arms up and down using the rhomboids.

Placing heels on a rolled up mat or blanket, bend the legs slightly and pull the mat upwards with the hands between the feet, while coming to a flat back.

Squat with lifted heels, claw the mat as if you are pulling it towards you while rounding the spine.

Take downward facing dog with heels on a mat. Claw the mat with the fingertips as if pulling the mat towards you. The rhomboids draw the shoulder blades down the spine as you lengthen through the waist.

Before coming into a full downward facing dog, take your time to set up the posture on all fours.

Set the shoulders up. Dip the chest towards the floor and draw the shoulders back.

Make sure the finer roots and pads are grounded into the floor. Ground into the area between the index finger and thumb.

Hands should be in the same plane.

Your downward dog should be as wide as your high plank. Taking downward dog with the hands and feet too close place a lot of pressure on the shoulders and lower back. You should be able to move from high plank through to downward facing dog without adjusting the placement of your hands and feet.

Importance in downward facing dog is given to the length of the upper body. Lengthen through the waist and the side ribs. You DO NOT need to place your heels on the floor or straighten the legs. Keep the legs slightly bent, draw the heels back and keep the toes lifted. You'll find length through your upper body in this way. Engage the inner thighs as if you're squeezing a block between the legs.

To lengthen in the upper body, keep the legs slightly bent . . .

. . . then draw the heels back, keeping the toes lifted.

Pin the arms and elbow in to shoulder distance apart and rotate shoulder outwards to engage the triceps. Those with a tendency to hyperextend should keep a slight bend in the elbows.