Fitness Friday - Eagle Yoga Pose

My fitness focus has been on adding more workouts to my weekly gym routine and I have found that I have a lot more work to do in the leg and core strengths areas.  One of the best ways for me to grow strength in certain areas is by adding new yoga moves to my practice and then adapting them into my gym workouts.  One of my least favorite yoga poses is Eagle pose, a pose that I have struggled in my before due to lacking strength in the above-mentioned areas.  

When I first started working lunges into my leg day routine, one of the first things that this exercise reminded me of was Eagle pose.  In both the pose and exercise, core strength is needed for stability and leg strength is also needed.  I will be forcing myself to work this yoga move into each and every one of my upcoming Vinyasa sessions in the hopes that I can grow my strength in both of these areas.

The steps for a proper Eagle pose...

- Stand in Tadasana.  Bend your knees slightly, lift your left foot up and, balancing on your right foot, cross your left thigh over the right.  Point your left toes toward the floor, press the foot back, and then hook the top of the foot behind the lower right calf.  Balance on the right foot.

- Stretch your arms straight forward, parallel to the floor, and spread your scapulas wide across the back of your torso  Cross the arms in front of your torso so that the right arm is above the left, then bend your elbows.  Snug the right elbow into the crook of the left, and raise the forearms perpendicular to the floor.  The backs of your hands should be facing the floor.

- Press the right hand to the right and the left hand to the left,  so that the palms are now facing each other.  The thumb of the right hand should pass in front of the little finger of the left.  Now pass the palms together (as much as is possible for you), lift your elbows up, and stretch the fingers toward the ceiling.

- Stay for 15 to 30 seconds, then unwind the legs and arms and stand in Tadasana again.  Repeat for the same length of time with the arms and legs reversed.

I have seen my yoga teachers do squats in this position but that is definitely a goal for once I have conquered this pose.  I will start by working Eagle into my Vinyasa routines and continue to add more reps to my lunges with leg day!

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Triangle Yoga Pose

Today we are back to another Fitness Friday and I have decided to return to looking at yoga poses.  Triangle pose is my current favorite yoga pose and has been one of my favorite poses since I first did yoga last summer.  Triangle pose is one of the standing postures that is contained in the Primary Series and one of the first standing postures that is learned in a Level One yoga class.

The following steps are used when getting into Triangle pose...

- Stand in Tadasana.  With an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart.  Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach them actively out to the sides, shoulder blades wide, palms down.

- Turn your left foot in slightly to the right directly over the plane of the right leg, bending from the hip joint, not the waist.  Anchor this movement by strengthening the left leg and pressing the outer heel firmly to the floor.  Rotate the torso to the left, keeping the two sides equally long.  Let the left hip come slightly forward and lengthen the tailbone toward the back heel.

- Exhale and extend your torso to the right directly over the plane of the right leg, bending from the hip joint, not the waist.  Anchor this movement by strengthening the left leg and pressing the outer heel firmly to the floor.  Rotate the torso to the left, keeping the two sides equally long.  Let the left hip come slightly forward and lengthen the tailbone toward the back heel.

- Rest your right hand on your shin, ankle, or floor outside your right foot, whatever is possible without distorting the sides of the torso.  Stretch your left arm toward the ceiling, in line with the tops of your shoulders.  Keep your head in a neutral position or turn it to the left, eyes gazing softly at the left thumb.

- Stay in this pose from thirty seconds to one minute.  Inhale to come up, strongly pressing the back heel into the floor and reaching the top arm toward the ceiling.  Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the left.

Blocks can be used to modify this pose as needed and the hand can be placed anywhere from the shin to the floor.  I tend to prefer wrapping my hand around my ankle and playing with my balance.  I will admit that I fell backwards the first few times that I tried this version of the pose and trying this variation of the pose was actually harder than initially learning the pose itself.  I have been all about playing with my balance lately and trying to deepen poses so I really enjoyed challenging myself with that modification.

Another modification to challenge your balance is leaning backwards in the pose versus keeping yourself with a straight back.  I have tried doing a slight back bend while in this pose but I don't love this type of modification.

I think that I will be back on the yoga pose train for the next few Fitness Fridays...

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Seated Twist Yoga Pose

I am starting off these year's coverage of Fitness Friday with another new yoga pose, yoga has become a huge part of my life ever since I first started practicing it and I fully anticipate that I will keep improving and growing in my practice this year.  I make no secret of the fact that my favorite poses are nearly all standing poses and I feel that I have the most area of growth in my practice with any poses other than these.  I have often tended to feel that seated poses were more of a "cool down" and practiced them after standing poses however I took a class the other week that consists of all seated poses and I struggled more than I thought possible.  I decided that I needed to grow my practice in this area in order to really grow in my overall yoga practice.

Today we are looking at Seated Twist pose (also know as Half Lord of the Fishes pose), a pose that literally twists the spine.  Yoga Journal states that this pose is designed to "energize the spine and stimulate the digestive fire", I have never tried this pose after eating a meal and I don't think that I ever plan too...

The Yoga Journal website provides the following step by step instructions on how to achieve this pose.  This is one pose that few teachers expect students to be able to get into on their first try and it will need to be practiced before the spine is capable of the full twist.

- Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, buttocks supported on a folded blanket.  Bend your knees, put your feet on the floor, then slide your left foot under your right leg to the outside of your right hip.  Lay the outside of the left leg on the floor.  Step the right foot over the left leg and stand it on the floor outside your left hip.  The right knee will point directly up at the ceiling.

- Exhale and twist toward the inside of your right thigh.  Press the right hand against the floor just behind your right buttock, and set your left upper arm on the outside of your right hip near your knee.  Pull your front torso and inner right thigh snugly together.

- Press the inner right foot very actively on the floor, release the right groin, and lengthen the front torso.  Lean the upper torso back slightly, against the shoulder blades, and continue to lengthen the tailbone into the floor.

- You can turn your head in one of two directions: Continue the twist of the torso by turning it to the right; or counter the twist of the torso by turning it left and looking over the left shoulder at the right foot.

- With every inhalation lift a little more through the sternum, pushing the fingers against the floor to help.  Twist a little more with every exhalation.  Be sure to distribute the twist evenly throughout the entire length of the spine, don't concentrate it in the lower back.  Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then release with an exhalation, return to the starting position, and repeat to the left for the same length of time.

I can hold this position well on my right side but I still have more work to do on my left side.  This deep twist really works the muscles in my back and has become my new favorite seated yoga pose.  I will keep growing my practice with seated poses and will write up a few more in my upcoming Fitness Fridays!

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Supported Shoulderstand

Today is another Fitness Friday that will be focusing on yoga poses, I feel that many of my Fitness Friday posts have been all about yoga and I know that many more will be about yoga.  One of the most exciting parts of the semester end was signing up for a few more yoga classes over the next few weeks and knowing that I will have some time to start up a home practice.  One of my goals over this vacation is to create a special night flow that I can use before going to bed at night.  I will post that flow once I have come with the pose sequence.

Today's yoga pose is the first inversion that I ever tried, Supported Shoulderstand is the pose that starts most students' experience with inversions.  I still struggle with an unsupported version of this pose, so we will look at the supported modification of the pose.  This pose can easily become unsupported by pulling the blankets away and using no support on the shoulders. 

Yoga Journal provides details on the pose and the steps to follow in order to safely start working up into Shoulderstand. 

- Fold two or more firm blankets into rectangles measuring about 1 foot by 2 feet, and stack them on top of each other.  You can place a sticky mat over the blankets to help the upper arms stay in place while in the pose.  Then lie on the blankets with your shoulders supported (and parallel to one of the longer edges) and your head on the floor.  Lay your arms on the floor alongside your torso, and bend your knees and set your feet against the floor with the heels close to the sitting bones.  Exhale, press your arms against the floor, and push your feet away from the floor, drawing your thighs into the front torso.

- Continue to lift by curling the pelvis and then back the torso away from the floor, so that your knees come toward your face.  Stretch your arms out parallel to the edge of the blanket and turn them outward so the fingers press against the floor (and the thumbs point behind you).  Bend your elbows and draw them toward each other.  Lay the backs of your upper arms on the blanket and spread your palms against the back of your torso.  Raise your pelvis over your shoulders, so that the torso is relatively perpendicular to the floor.  Walk your hands up your back (toward the floor) without letting your elbows slide too much wider than shoulder width.

- Inhale and lift your bent knees toward the ceiling, bringing your thighs in line with your torso and hanging the heels down by your buttocks.  Press your tailbone toward your pubis and turn the upper thighs inward slightly.  Finally inhale and straighten the knees, pressing the heels up toward the ceiling.  When the backs of the legs are fully lengthened, lift the balls of the big toes so the inner legs are slightly longer than the outer. 

- Soften the throat and tongue.  Firm the shoulder blades against the back, and move the sternum toward the chin.  Your forehead should be relatively parallel to the floor, your chin perpendicular.  Press the backs of your upper arms and tops of your shoulders actively into the blanket support, and try to lift the upper spine away from the floor.  Gaze softly at your chin.

- As a beginning practitioner, stay in the pose for about 30 seconds.  Gradually add 5 to 10 seconds to your stay everyday or until you can comfortably hold the pose for 3 minutes.  Then continue for 3 minutes each day for a week or two, until you feel relatively comfortable in this pose.  Again gradually and 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay until you can comfortably hold the pose for 5 minutes.  To come down, exhale, bend your knees into your torso again, and roll your back torso slowly and carefully onto the floor, keeping the back of your head on the floor.

Supported Shoulderstand is usually the first inversion that a yoga teacher will start to work their students into.  I will say that I fell out of this pose many times before my teacher decided that I was going to learn this pose in a different way.  The only way that I could learn how to straighten up correctly was to do this pose with my feet against a wall.  Once I mastered being able to hold that for 3 minutes, I then worked on doing this pose with the blanket supports and holding it for a minute.  I have worked up to holding the pose for three minutes and I am still working on holding it for longer.

I have yet to try this pose in the unsupported fashion and I will be working up to this in the next few weeks.  I plan to use this winter break to practice yoga as much as possible...while pushing myself at the gym.  I have four weeks until class starts again...time to use it wisely!

photo courtesy of YogaJournal.com

Fitness Friday - Yoga Bridge Pose

We are back on yoga poses for this week's and next week's Fitness Friday.  Today we are looking at Bridge Pose and then we will be looking more at Shoulder Stand next week.  Bridge is one of the preparatory poses for Shoulder Stand and belongs to the family of Backbend Poses.  Bridge is a very versatile pose, I have done it to get ready for Shoulder Stand and to begin preparations for more inversion poses.  I have also done this pose in a more supported fashion using well placed blocks during a  restorative yoga session.  Nearly anyone can perform this pose in the supported fashion, we will look at the true pose and then I will provide details on how to modify the position as needed. 

Yoga Journal provides steps to safely get into the pose...

- Lie supine on the floor, and if necessary, place a thickly folded blanket under your shoulders to protect your neck. Bend your knees and set your feet on the floor, heels as close to the sitting bones as possible.

- Exhale and, pressing your inner feet and arms actively into the floor, push your tailbone upward toward the pubis, firming (but not hardening) the buttocks, and lift the buttocks off the floor. Keep your thighs and inner feet parallel. Clasp the hands below your pelvis and extend through the arms to help you stay on the tops of your shoulders.

- Lift your buttocks until the thighs are about parallel to the floor. Keep your knees directly over the heels, but push them forward, away from the hips, and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees. Lift the pubis toward the navel.

- Lift your chin slightly away from the sternum and, firming the shoulder blades against your back, press the top of the sternum toward the chin. Firm the outer arms, broaden the shoulder blades, and try to lift the space between them at the base of the neck (where it's resting on the blanket) up into the torso.

- Stay in the pose anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. Release with an exhalation, rolling the spine slowly down onto the floor.

To modify the pose into Supported Bridge, place a block under the sacrum and rest right on it.  This modification makes the pose more restorative and is a wonderful addition to a nighttime routine.  The modification is best used to start the position and by anyone that feels any type of twinge or pain in their lower back when getting into the full pose.  I have been trying to deepen my pose by getting my shoulders closer and closer together each time and then lifting even higher to deepen the back bend. 

Bridge is one of the most versatile yoga poses, it can be relaxing or challenging based on how deep you wish to get into the pose.  I have found that this pose helps to work out the cramps that I can get in my shoulders when writing blog posts and graduate school papers and I have been using this pose more and more as the semester is coming to a close.  Next week, we are going to look at how to start in Bridge position and then begin to experiment with yoga inversions by pushing up into Shoulder Stand.

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Reclined Spinal Twist Yoga Pose

I was on the fence about what to look at this Fitness Friday, yesterday was Thanksgiving and there was a part of me that wanted to look at a high intensity cardio exercise and another side that knows that there are very few people that have the motivation to hit the gym today.  I was fully planning on hitting the gym this morning and then I woke up later than usual and did not want to move out of my bed.  I have decided that I will be skipping both the gym and the mall today so I am hanging out in my favorite sweatpants and I have decided that I will not be writing a post about cardio activities until I return to my normal routine in the next few weeks.

Today we are going to be looking at a restorative yoga pose that I have done in both the beginning and end of many yoga classes.  This pose also helps with stomach issues and bloating, two common problems that occur after the Thanksgiving meals.  This would be a great yoga pose to try today and I enjoy doing it as many nights as possible before bed.

The Yoga Outlet website provides some great background on the benefits of the pose and how to reap the benefits of it.  "Twists are a great way to decompress and squeeze out the anxiety and frustrations of your day — just like wringing out a sponge. They also stimulate and detoxify the organs of your torso. If you’ve ever felt worn out at the end of a workday or after a weekend of over-indulgence, Reclined Spinal Twist is a great pose to help restore balance."  This pose is great for back or stomach issues but today we are going to focus on how it helps to relieve bloating

Reclined Spinal Twist helps to "wring" out the digestive organs and simulate digestion.  It will help to send fresh blood to the digestive system and keep them functioning in a healthy manner.  It will help move excess gas out of the stomach and reduce bloating, while keeping digestion flowing in the correct fashion.

- To begin, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. You can rest your head on a pillow or blanket for extra neck support. Let your arms rest at your sides.

- On an exhalation, draw both knees to your chest and clasp your hands around them. This is Knee-to-Chest pose.

- Extend your left leg along the floor, keeping your right knee drawn to your chest. Extend your right arm out along the floor at shoulder-height with your palm facing down.

- Shift your hips slightly to the right. Then, place your left hand on the outside of your right knee.

- Exhaling, drop your right knee over the left side of your body. Keep your left hand resting gently on your right knee.

- Turn your head to the right. Soften your gaze toward your right fingertips. Keep your shoulder blades pressing toward the floor and away from your ears. Allow the force of gravity to drop your knee even closer to the floor. If your right toes can touch the floor, allow your foot to rest.

- Hold the pose for 10-25 breaths. On an inhalation, slowly come back to center, bringing both knees to your chest in Knees-to-Chest Pose (Apanasana).

- Exhale, and extend your right leg along the floor. Repeat steps 3-6 on the opposite side.

- When you’re finished with the pose, hug your knees to your chest for a few breaths in Knee-to-Chest Pose (Apanasana). Then, slowly exhale as you extend both legs along the floor.

The digestive benefits of this yoga pose as easy to understand on the day after Thanksgiving but this pose also will help with back muscles and wringing tension out of them.  It also helps to tone and refine side abdominal muscles, which is how I will be using this pose the majority of the time.

Hopefully this pose helps to make yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner a fond memory and I am sure that all of us will get right back on the exercise bandwagon next week...

photo courtesy of Yogaoutlet.com

Fitness Friday - Child's Pose

Today is the official start of the holiday season for me, we have been looking at holiday collections for the past month but I just can't accept the holidays until Halloween is over.  Today starts both the holiday and finals stress and I will be turning to the gym and yoga as much as possible this holiday season.  I have six weeks until finals and eight weeks until the peak of the holiday season so I will be adding as many yoga sessions a week as possible.

Today I wanted to get back to the basics of yoga, we are looking at one of the most effective rest poses today and one that can be adapted to everyday life during stressful times.  Child's Pose is gone often during any yoga practice to bring the heart rate down after harder flows or working into peak positions.  I have also taken to holding this pose for a minute before going to bed to help relax and de-stress after my day.  Whether or not you practice or have any interest in a yoga practice, this pose with help you relax and de-stress as needed throughout the season.

Yoga Journal provides the details on how to maximize this pose...

- Kneel on the floor. Touch your big toes together and sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips.
- Exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs. Broaden your sacrum across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward the navel, so that they nestle down onto the inner thighs. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis while you lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck.
- Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor. Feel how the weight of the front shoulders pulls the shoulder blades wide across your back.
- Balasana is a resting pose. Stay anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes. Beginners can also use Balasana to get a taste of a deep forward bend, where the torso rests on the thighs. Stay in the pose from 1 to 3 minutes. To come up, first lengthen the front torso, and then with an inhalation lift from the tailbone as it presses down and into the pelvis.

The arm position is really up to you in this position.  During a yoga practice, I like to place my arms out in front of me with my palms touching the floor.  I will use this position to push myself back up for the next flow and use it as a quick rest.  When I am using this pose to relax at night, I will place my arms along side my body with my palms up.  This allow me to relax faster and stay in the position longer instead of using it as a quick resting position. 

Relaxing in this pose allows me to breath deeply and relax most of the muscles in my body.  I will continue to use this position each night to help get rid of the day's stresses...

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Boat Pose

Today's Fitness Friday will be going right back to my yoga obsession...we are going to be looking at Boat Pose today.  This is one of my favorite and least favorite poses all at the same time, I love how it works my core but hate how it feels when working my core.  This pose is very similar to doing forearm planks and the focus can be on holding the pose for multiple breathes or on using core strength to go up and down in the pose.  I am trying to hold the pose for five breaths and I haven't even began trying the latter way of using it to build my core.

The version of the pose that I have pictured with this post is the full pose, I can't hold the full pose yet and I use the variation of having my legs up but bent at the knees.  My problem with trying to hold the full pose is balance, I tend to fall backwards when bringing my legs all the way up.  I need to work my core more in the variation before I can work to the full pose.

Yoga Journal provides instructions on how to work into and achieve the pose.  The instructions are for the full pose however using a modification in the second step is a great way to work into the pose slowly.

- Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Press your hands on the floor a little behind your hips, fingers pointing toward the feet, and strengthen the arms. Lift through the top of the sternum and lean back slightly. As you do this make sure your back doesn’t round; continue to lengthen the front of your torso between the pubis and top sternum. Sit on the “tripod” of your two sitting bones and tailbone.

- Exhale and bend your knees, then lift your feet off the floor, so that the thighs are angled about 45-50 degrees relative to the floor. Lengthen your tailbone into the floor and lift your pubis toward your navel. If possible, slowly straighten your knees, raising the tips of your toes slightly above the level of your eyes. If this isn’t possible remain with your knees bent, perhaps lifting the shins parallel to the floor.

- Stretch your arms alongside the legs, parallel to each other and the floor. Spread the shoulder blades across your back and reach strongly out through the fingers. If this isn’t possible, keep the hands on the floor beside your hips or hold on to the backs of your thighs.

- While the lower belly should be firm, it shouldn’t get hard and thick. Try to keep the lower belly relatively flat. Press the heads of the thigh bones toward the floor to help anchor the pose and lift the top sternum. Breathe easily. Tip the chin slightly toward the sternum so the base of the skull lifts lightly away from the back of the neck.

- At first stay in the pose for 10-20 seconds. Gradually increase the time of your stay to 1 minute. Release the legs with an exhalation and sit upright on an inhalation.

I like how Yoga Journal describes the best way to get into the pose and then ways to work into the full pose.  I know very full people (other than yoga teachers) that can work all the way up into the full pose so I am working on this and wondering how long it will take until I can get into it. 

I currently hold Boat Pose for three breaths and my small goal is to get up to five breaths.  The goal is to do the work from your core and strengthen all of these key muscles. I will report back over the next few months as I grow into the core crunching pose.

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Chair Pose

This week we are back to yoga poses for Fitness Friday, I have been doing yoga two to three times a week and keep looking to improve and deepen all of my poses.  I have been able to work my way through the whole Primary series while being guided by my teacher and now I am working on being able to do the Sun Salutations with no guide.  The start of the second Sun Salutation is Chair Pose, the pose that we will be focusing on today for Fitness Friday.

Chair Pose is the first pose from the second series of Sun Saluations, this pose is a standing pose that works the inner thigh and core muscles.  Today we will focus on learning the basic pose and then in the coming weeks, we will look at the more advanced variations that can be done to deepen the pose.  Beginning yoga students will feel their core working when they begin doing this pose and it will give beginners a good idea of what this type of work will feel like on their bodies.

Yoga Journal gives an advanced step-by-step instruction on how to enter and hold this pose. 

- Stand in Tadasana. Inhale and raise your arms perpendicular to the floor. Either keep the arms parallel, palms facing inward, or join the palms.

- Exhale and bend your knees, trying to take the thighs as nearly parallel to the floor as possible. The knees will project out over the feet, and the torso will lean slightly forward over the thighs until the front torso forms approximately a right angle with the tops of the thighs. Keep the inner thighs parallel to each other and press the heads of the thigh bones down toward the heels.

- Firm your shoulder blades against the back. Take your tailbone down toward the floor and in toward your pubis to keep the lower back long.

- Stay for 30 seconds to a minute. To come out of this pose straighten your knees with an inhalation, lifting strongly through the arms. Exhale and release your arms to your sides into Tadasana.

The benefits of the pose are as follows: Strengthens the ankles, thighs, calves, and spine; stretches shoulders and chest; stimulates the abdominal organs, diaphragm, and heart, and reduces flat feet.

Beginners will find it easier to keep their thighs at a 45 degree angle and then sink deeper into the pose as they work on it more.  My goal is get my thighs parallel to the ground and "sit" into the invisible chair.  I can feel this pose in my core and in my inner thighs, working these muscle groups at the gym will help one to hold the pose deeper and longer. 

My next goal to work toward in this position is to twist during it and add more core work.

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Reverse Warrior Yoga Pose

Today is the last week that we are looking at the Warrior Pose series from yoga.  Reverse Warrior is the last of the Warrior series and the one that I have tended to use the least in my Vinyasa classes and rarely in my Ashtanga classes.  All of the Warrior poses are standing poses and require a good amount of leg strength and flexibility, along with a good amount of balance.  Reverse Warrior is literally the reverse of Warrior One and flexes a different series of muscles than the other poses.

Reverse Warrior is a mild to deep backbend, depending on how far you take it during your practice.  I am finally able to take it to a deeper backbend than I was previously and this is one of the few backbends that I can do while standing.  I found more information on this pose from the About Health website, Reverse Warrior is a "standing backbend" that strengthens the leg and improves the flexibility of the spine.

The following are instructions for entering and holding the pose...

 - From Warrior II, bring the rear hand down the back of the rear leg.

-  Bring the front arm up next to your ear.

-  Keeping the front knee bent and directly over the ankle, reach the rear hand down as you come in to a backbend. Try not to put too much weight into the back hand so that your support is coming from the core, instead of your hand resting on your leg.

- Bring your gaze up to the front fingertips.

- Hold for up to five breaths and then switch sides.

I started doing this pose a few weeks ago but was placing too much pressure in my back hand and wasn't working my core correctly along with being afraid of putting pressure on my knee.  I need to focus on only placing my hand on the back of my thigh and not pressing down.  To make the pose harder and therefore work your core harder, you can wrap that hand around your back and then place all of the work into your core.  I have tried it this way once and I need to improve my core strength to remain in this position for five breaths on each side.

We are ending our Fitness Friday series on the Warrior Poses today and we are going to move away from yoga poses for the next few Fridays.  I think we are going to move back to food next...

photo courtesy of About Health

Fitness Friday - Warrior Three Pose

We are continuing our Fitness Fridays by working through the Warrior series of poses that are used in the yoga series.  I am still continuing to improve at Warrior Two and am making attempts at correctly getting into the Warrior Three pose that comes soon after.  Warrior Three is a challenging balance pose and I will often end up falling when working my way into this full pose...the wall is my best friend when working up into this asana and I have also grabbed onto a chair when playing around with this pose outside of the yoga studio.  I have not mastered this pose by any means and will need to continue to challenge my balance to stand unaided in the position.

Yoga Journal provides a picture of the full pose and a series of step by step instructions.  I have learned that arms can be in different places in this pose depending on the individuals' comfort level with balancing.  Arms reaching out in front is the full pose and is still out of my reach at times.  Arms can be extended back to help aide the balance or placed in front of the heart, either pose will help a beginner to feel more secure in the asana.

Here is how one would get into and hold the Warrior Three pose...

- Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), exhale and fold foward to Uttanasana. From Uttanasana, exhale and step your left foot back into a high lunge position. Your right knee should be more or less at a right angle. Lay the midline of your torso (from the pubis to the sternum) down on the midline of the right thigh (from the knee to the hip crease) and bring your hands to your right knee, right hand to the outer knee, left hand to the inner. Squeeze the knee with your hands, lift your torso slightly, and with an exhalation, turn it slightly to the right.

- Now from the lunge position, stretch your arms forward, parallel to the floor and parallel to each other, palms facing each other. Exhale and press the head of the right thighbone back and press the heel actively into the floor. Synchronize the straightening of the front leg and the lifting of the back leg. As you lift the back leg, resist by pressing the tailbone into the pelvis.

- Normally students come up into Virabhadrasana III by lunging the torso forward. This tends to shift the body weight onto the ball of the front foot and unbalance the position. Don’t allow the torso to swing forward as you move into position; instead, as you straighten the front knee, think of pressing the head of the thighbone back. This centers the femur in the hip joint, grounds the heel into the floor, and stabilizes the position.

- The arms, torso, and raised leg should be positioned relatively parallel to the floor. For many students the pelvis tends to tilt. Release the hip [of the raised leg] toward the floor until the two hip points are even and parallel to the floor. Energize the back leg and extend it strongly toward the wall behind you; reach just as actively in the opposite direction with the arms. Bring the head up slightly and look forward, but be sure not to compress the back of your neck.

- Stay in this position for 30 seconds to a minute. Release back to the lunge on an exhalation. Bring your hands to the floor on either side of the right foot, and on an exhalation, step your left foot forward to meet your right. Stay in this forward bend for a few breaths, then repeat for the same length of time on the other side.

I need to be fully warmed up and well into an hour-long yoga session before this asana even becomes a possibility.  I usually have to spend some time in another type of standing or balancing pose to in order to start gaining my balance.  As I suggested above, first try the pose near a wall and with your hands in one of the alternate placement and I guarantee that it will come easier than trying to get right into the pictured pose. 

We have looked at three of the Warrior poses so far and next week we will look at the last one.  Technically there are two more after that however they are not used very often and are found in more advanced yoga classes so I will be putting them off until I can practice at a level that is high enough to make them a possibility.

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Warrior Two Pose

Last week we started to look at the Warrior series of yoga poses and looked at the first pose in that series.  Warrior One is used the most of the poses, it is part of the Second Sun Salutation that is used in nearly every class that I have taken over the past two months.  Today we are looking at the second pose in this series, a pose that I consider to be one of the beautiful yoga asanas and one that I struggled with for several weeks before finding correct alignment in the asana (asana = pose).  In fact, I still have to mentally correct and view my alignment when working into the pose and still do not consider myself to have "mastered" Warrior Two.

The Yoga Journal provides a description of the asana and then the best ways work in and out of it.  "Virabhadra = the name of a fierce warrior, an incarnation of Shiva, described as having a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet, wielding a thousand clubs, and wearing a tiger’s skin."  This is one of the original asanas in yoga and is contained in the Primary Series of poses.

The step-by-step instructions to get into the pose...

- Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). With an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach them actively out to the sides, shoulder blades wide, palms down.

- Turn your right foot slightly to the right and your left foot out to the left 90 degrees. Align the left heel with the right heel. Firm your thighs and turn your left thigh outward so that the center of the left knee cap is in line with the center of the left ankle.

- Exhale and bend your left knee over the left ankle, so that the shin is perpendicular to the floor. If possible, bring the left thigh parallel to the floor. Anchor this movement of the left knee by strengthening the right leg and pressing the outer right heel firmly to the floor.

- Stretch the arms away from the space between the shoulder blades, parallel to the floor. Don’t lean the torso over the left thigh: Keep the sides of the torso equally long and the shoulders directly over the pelvis. Press the tailbone slightly toward the pubis. Turn the head to the left and look out over the fingers.

- Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Inhale to come up. Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the left.

My biggest problems with the pose started with lack of balance, I could balance in the first Warrior pose but had large issues staying balanced in this pose.  If I was balanced, then I found that I wasn't in the pose correctly and my torso and shoulders were not directly over my pelvis.  I would end up with my torso at an angle and then could not correctly place my arms and then would have problems transitioning out of the pose.  Holding my arms was an issue when I first started working through the pose and this was corrected through arm strengthening exercises at the gym. 

The advice that is given in the four step is the best way to work correctly into the pose.  Rather than turning the head and allowing the shoulders and torso to follow, I have found it best to align the torso and shoulders and then simply turning the head. Using this type of motion is the only way that I can achieve correct alignment in the pose, it also helps me to envision that I have a wall behind my torso and I cannot twist my torso forward. 

Warrior Two is used in nearly every yoga class and is a beautiful pose once correct alignment is achieved.  One you have achieved your balance in this standing pose, you might be ready to start testing your balance by trying out the next pose in the Warrior series...

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Warrior One Pose

Fitness Friday this week will see a return to yoga poses and this will be the topic for the next few Fridays.  I have been diving deeper into my yoga practice and want to learn more each time that I have a lesson.  Today we are going to start looking at some of the poses that are contained in the Warrior series, there are quite a few poses in this series and the difficulty level ranges from easy to quite difficult.  Warrior One is the beginning pose in this sequence and one of the easier ones to master so we will start with this pose today.

The first Warrior pose is known as Warrior One and is contained in the first Primary Series and used in nearly ever single class that I have attended this summer.  It is a standing pose and has helped me to feel more balanced when standing in yoga poses and when sequencing in and out of poses.  It is also the first pose to master when beginning to learn how to flow between the rest of the Warrior Poses. 

I found more information and pose directions from the Yoga Journal website and I will share that information here so that you all can try to master this pose.  "Virabhadra’s Pose is also known as the Warrior Pose (there are three variation of Warrior, of which this is customarily numbered I). It may seem strange to name a yoga pose after a warrior; after all, aren’t yogis known for their non-violent ways? But remember that one of the most revered of all the yoga texts, the Bhagavad-Gita, is the dialog between two famous and feared warriors, Krishna and Arjuna, set on a battlefield between two great armies spoiling for a fight.  What’s really being commemorated in this pose’s name, and held up as an ideal for all practitioners, is the “spiritual warrior,” who bravely does battle with the universal enemy, self-ignorance (avidya), the ultimate source of all our suffering."

Here are the step by step instructions from the same website.

- Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). With an exhale, step or lightly jump your feet 31/2 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms perpendicular to the floor (and parallel to each other), and reach actively through the little-finger sides of the hands toward the ceiling. Firm your scapulas against your back and draw them down toward the coccyx.

- Turn your left foot in 45 to 60 degrees to the right and your right foot out 90 degrees to the right. Align the right heel with the left heel. Exhale and rotate your torso to the right, squaring the front of your pelvis as much as possible with the front edge of your mat. As the left hip point turns forward, press the head of the left femur back to ground the heel. Lengthen your coccyx toward the floor, and arch your upper torso back slightly.

- With your left heel firmly anchored to the floor, exhale and bend your right knee over the right ankle so the shin is perpendicular to the floor. More flexible students should align their right thigh parallel to the floor.

- Reach strongly through your arms, lifting the ribcage away from the pelvis. As you ground down through the back foot, feel a lift that runs up the back leg, across the belly and chest, and up into the arms. If possible, bring the palms together. Spread the palms against each other and reach a little higher through the pinky-sides of the hands.  Keep your head in a neutral position, gazing forward, or tilt it back and look up at your thumbs.

- Stay for 30 seconds to a minute. To come up, inhale, press the back heel firmly into the floor and reach up through the arms, straightening the right knee. Turn the feet forward and release the arms with an exhalation, or keep them extended upward for more challenge. Take a few breaths, then turn the feet to the left and repeat for the same length. When you’re finished return to Tadasana.

This is the first Warrior position that I learned and then I was able to begin with the second Warrior pose right after it.  Yoga Journal states that this pose is a good beginning pose to work into Warrior Three and then into further back bends.  I have seen Warrior 3 demonstrated but have not tried it myself yet.  Since I plan to work through the Warrior poses on my next few Fitness Fridays, I will be trying it out with my teacher in the next few days. 

Warrior One helps to both strengthen and stretch the arms, shoulders, and many of the leg muscles.  I have found that it especially works my shoulders and then helps to lengthen tight hamstrings.  I struggled with my balance the first times that I tried it out and have been able improve over the past few weeks and should be able to improve into the other Warrior poses in the coming weeks.

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

Fitness Friday - Cow Position

Last week, we started looking at what I have been learning in my new yoga classes and I talked about one of the beginning sequences that is used in nearly every single yoga class and the benefits of which can be reaped by anyone.  Cow position is the other part of the Cat-Cow sequence and is one of the warm ups used to loosen up in the beginning of my hour-long yoga classes.  I have also heard of this stretch being used in group fitness classes and recommended to people that are recovering from back injuries or have frequent back pain.  Therefore this is one of the best yoga positions to learn and start doing on a daily basis.

I don't know if any of you started trying Cat position last week but now you can quickly learn the sequence and get into the habit of a simple practice.  "The cat-cow stretch is a yoga classic, and with good reason. It consists of moving the spine from a rounded position (flexion) to an arched one (extension). It's a simple motion, but one that is enormously beneficial in preventing back pain and maintaining a healthy spine. Each movement is done in conjunction with either an inhalation or exhalation of the breath, making this a simple vinyasa. If you already have back pain, check with your doctor before beginning to make sure these movements are appropriate for your condition.", states the About Health website. 

The instructions to start out the sequence..,

1. Start on all fours, bringing the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips.
2. Think of the spine as a straight line connecting the shoulders to the hips. Try visualizing the line extending forward through the crown of the head and backwards through the tail bone. This is the position of a neutral spine.
3. Keep the neck long, as the natural extension of the spine.

From this position you will move into Cow pose.  This will be the position that you take when you inhale and then you will move to Cat position when you exhale.

1. Curl your toes under.
2. Drop your belly, but keep your abdominal muscles hugging your spine.
3. Take your gaze up toward the ceiling.
4. Let the movement in your spine start from your tailbone, so that your neck is the last part to move.

As you exhale, you will move into the Cat position that we looked at last week and then repeat the sequence as many times as you like.  This sequence is a great way to start a simple yoga practice and will leave you wanting to try more poses and then start attending a class.  Even if you only use this sequence in the morning to help you wake up and start your day off on right note, you will reap the benefits of this sequence and will start your day off on a better note than usual.

I will keep reporting back with more yoga poses as I learn them and I am hoping to keep my practice up when the semester starts up again.

photo courtesy of Prevention Magazine

Fitness Friday - Cat and Cow Sequence Part 1

This week's Fitness Friday post veers of the course that we have taken for the past two weeks, we are moving away from food and juice and now we are going to look at beginner yoga poses.  I started doing yoga lessons at the beginning of this month and I have been really enjoying it so far and wanting to learn more with each passing week.  We start with warm ups and then do a whole hour of the primary sequence and move on to cooling down, I have increased my flexibility a good amount but still have more to work on with upper body strength.  Once I have my upper body strength built up, then I can start inverting and building up my poses.

We are going to start with a core beginner yoga sequence, this is one that is often used in warm ups and one that anyone can do to improve posture and flexibility.  This is the first part of a two week post, today we will look at Cat position and then next week we will look at Cow position.  They can be done in a sequence or done individually during stretching.

Cat is an early front runner for my favorite yoga position, the name itself makes me want to love it and I love the benefits of the position even more.  I tend to do make a sequence of this position with the Cow position and use them in my opening sequences of my yoga session.  If you do this pose alone or in the sequence, this is one of the best back stretches that I have ever done.

The Yoga Journal website provides a photo of the position and instructions on how to achieve the best posture in the position.

"Start on your hands and knees in a "tabletop" position. Make sure your knees are set directly below your hips and your wrists, elbows and shoulders are in line and perpendicular to the floor. Center your head in a neutral position, eyes looking at the floor."

"As you exhale, round your spine toward the ceiling, making sure to keep your shoulders and knees in position. Release your head toward the floor, but don't force your chin to your chest."

"Inhale, coming back to neutral "tabletop" position on your hands and knees."

"This pose is often paired with Cow Pose on the inhale for a gentle, flowing vinyasa."

This sequence is very versatile, I have used it to warm up for yoga and for any type of cardio workout.  I also use it in the morning to wake up and I know people who have used it to help fall asleep at night.  With use of that logic, it could also be used to relieve tension and stress throughout the day.  I would recommend it to those who spend most of their days working in an office setting and experience back pain...only if their co workers could not see what they are doing of course.

Next week we will look at the Cow position and then how to best use the two positions in sequence, I recommend trying this position to start getting the feel of the stretch and then mixing it up with the Cow position that we will look at in detail next week.

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal