Challenge Yourself to Create Balance

What have you been avoiding because it looks difficult or pulls up emotional funk? Is there something you've been ignoring that you could be working towards?

People tend to get all too cozy in their comfort zone. They don't focus on their weaknesses very often (if ever) - which allows them to get weaker and weaker. In the meantime your strengths get stronger and stronger. This creates an ever-expanding gap in your abilities. Sounds like a huge imbalance. The more advanced your yoga practice gets the more your imbalances can come back to haunt you. The smallest weak spot can completely throw off a pose and lead to injury. Easily avoidable if you just do the work - all the work, all the time.

via FuckYeahAshtangaYoga

Take a good look at your practice. Is there an entire direction you aren't moving? Is there a category of poses you avoid? Is there a tweaky chronic pain that needs to be addressed?

Don't think that being a beginner or an intermediate practitioner excuses you from this. That's exactly when you need to be creating good habits of introspection and filling in the gaps.

Challenge yourself by looking into those spaces before you have the Grand Canyon of imbalances staring you in the face.

via Yoga, Water, Sun, Light

Drop Backs for Beginners

If you want to work on improving your backbends and working towards drop backs - this video from Kino MacGregor is for you. I've been sorta stalled out on the 3rd option with straight arms for a long time. Mostly 'cause I'm a slacker and I don't work on it very often, but I do the first two versions all the time for fun.

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Yoga Sequence for Confidence & Strength

Finish off National Yoga Month with this Lower Body Sequence via Core Integrity with Cat. 

Practice awareness while strengthening your legs and core. 

I recommend holding each pose for 5 long slow breaths.

Don't forget Savasana!

Sequence for Hanumanasana

via FitnessLoveAffair who says:

Yoga for the Splits

Print this out and practice these poses everyday to gain flexibility for the splits. Start by holding each pose for 30 seconds on each side. Work your way up to 1-3 minutes as your muscles start to open up. When you’re ready to try the splits use a block or pillow under your front leg for support until you feel ready to go without.

Forearm Stand Tips

When people first start doing forearm stands (pincha mayurasana) they tend to want to fight about how their arms should be placed. They're supposed to be parallel to each other, but the hands want to slide towards each other OR the elbows want to slide away from each other... OR the practitioner simply wants to set up with hands together elbows apart from the beginning. They claim it's more comfortable or easier this way. One person even told me that asking him to put his arms parallel to each other was ridiculous.

What does this mean and why is it important?
Hands or elbows sliding can mean you're not rooting down properly. Elbows sliding out specifically says you're not pulling them in towards the midline enough. Practice just holding your arms and clawing your fingers in dolphin (aka pincha prep) for a while before you start kicking up.

All of these things usually point to tight shoulders. It requires pretty open shoulders/chest to comfortably place your bent arms parallel to each other and raise them overhead. If you find this totally uncomfortable then focus more on shoulder openers before attempting your forearms stands. Maybe even set aside your plans for forearm stands for a while and regularly practice shoulder opening poses if it's really uncomfortable.

 Practice with a block as seen in this post to help learn proper set-up.

This all matters because - kicking up and having your foundation sliding into this triangle shape is just practice for a rotator cuff injury. These hurt a lot, may require surgery, and will ruin all your plans for a long while during the recovery process. They're also one of the most common injuries in yoga, so be patient and safe to avoid being injured from the beginning.

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Baby Steps to Forearm Stands

Press to Handstand

So with the whole Briohny Smyth underwear video there's been a lot of buzz about pressing to handstand. No matter where you stand on the Too Sexy or Not debate - you probably agree that her handstand press abilities are solid.

Now everyone wants to know how to add this fun little number to their practice. Here are a few videos to help you out. Featuring Kino Macgregor, Briohny Smyth, and Ranil Kumara with a few different methods to get you floating tall.

Word of warning: Kino admits it took her 5 years to get this down - so expect to put forth some dedication and time into learning it.

The sliding thing Briohny does with the blanket I've done quite a bit. I picked it up from a Sianna Sherman workshop. It's work and I can definitely say it's helpful.

A similar method for the gym is with a stability ball. You'll either love it or hate it.

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Baby Steps to Forearm Stands

Forearm stands are super intimidating things. They really are. I'll guarantee that 99% of you looking at this post THINK you can't do them. Couldn't do them in a million years. Well you're wrong. For me personally - they're easier than handstands... and anyone can do a handstand.

I post pics of forearm stands (aka Pincha Mayurasana) every now and then. They're on my flickr, they're on my blog, they're on my bodyspace, they're just everywhere. I love them and I do them everyday. I used to think that I'd never be able to do them. Look at me now. Doesn't my doubtful past self feel sheepish? People sometimes ask me how to do them. So I teach them. I've been teaching forearm stands and getting people into their FIRST forearm stand since before I could do them myself. Today I'm going to break it down for you. Soak it in, practice it, and experience the revelation that is a forearm stand.

I always warm up with sun salutations before I do forearm stands.. I do this because I need the sun salutations to open my hips, hamstrings, and shoulders. I need them to wake up my feet, fingers, and core. Make sure that you're warmed up before you do any of these poses. If you don't - you may hurt yourself and that will suck.

Start in Downdog. Press your chest toward your feet to open your shoulders a little more.

From downdog, keep your feet and hands in place, but lower your forearms onto the floor. Make sure your forearm makes a straight line behind your wrist to your elbow parallel to the sides of your mat. Raise your hips up - just like downdog. Claw your fingers into the floor and walk your feet in towards your hands - as close as you can take it. Hold here and breathe.
If this is as far as you can go for a while - just practice this.

Once you can hold the previous pose for a bit - take one leg straight up. Think of making a straight line from elbows to toes. This will prepare you for kicking up later. Also - it brings more weight into your upper body. Lower the leg after a few breaths and switch sides. If you need it - take childs pose in between sides to give your shoulders a rest.
Get comfortable with these poses before you start practicing at the wall.

Once you're ready to start kicking up - grab a block and move to the wall. This is how you'll hold it. You want your fingers right up against the wall but don't smash them.

Set up just like before... forearms on the floor and parallel - lengthen your side body. Melt your heart down while you puff up the back of your kidneys a bit. Press into that forearm version of downdog - while holding the block as shown above. Press your wrists into the floor and draw your elbows energetically towards each other. They should feel active, but not move.

Remember the one leg up? Do that... then lightly bend your bottom knee and "hop" up. Keep it soft. Don't throw yourself around like you don't matter. Bring your heels to the wall and draw your legs together. Press your heels UP toward the ceiling - HARD. Press your wrists/forearms into the floor as if pushing the floor away from you. Tuck your tailbone away from the wall and look straight ahead, not down. Hold, Breathe.
Come down after a few breaths and kick up with the other leg.

Once you get up - remember you're balancing over your shoulders not your hands. Eventually you'll find the sweet spot and your feet will kinda find their own way off of the wall. (this might happen over months of practice) Keep your feet active, legs together, and tailbone super tucked.

Eventually you'll be ready to ditch the block. You'll know you're ready when you try it without the block and your hands don't drag themselves together when you press up into downdog/forearm stand.
Without the block - this is what setup looks like. Fingertips are maybe an inch away from the wall, palms flat like downdog. You want your hands shoulder distance apart - mine might be a little too close here. Otherwise everything else is exactly the same as before.

Without the block you have to claw your fingers into the floor instead of the block.

Once you're comfortable at the wall for a while you can gradually start adding distance between you and the wall until you're just out in the middle of the room. You'll probably fall all the way over a million times if you don't use a spotter. Grab a friend if you're not a good faller. I still fall all the time. In this pic I need to tuck my tailbone more and puff my kidneys a bit more to get my feet more above my shoulders a bit. Just so you know.

After working on your forearm stands spend some time in child's pose to relax and quiet your mind. Forearm stands always gets me pumped up, so I have to calm that energy down a bit. Also - a little tip I practice and tell my students to do: End on a high note. If you're practicing and you get your best one to date... or you just felt really stable... or whatever... if you're psyched... call it a day. Better that than quitting frustrated because you got a great one and now all the rest suck.

Now that you know all about how to do it. Practice Practice Practice. Practice in your kitchen, practice in your garage, practice at the gym, practice on the playground, practice against a tree, and practice with a Friend!

In general, this sequence is for anyone, but please don't try this sequence without speaking to your Dr. first if you have any medical/physical problems. Seek Peace At Your Own Risk!

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Forearm Stand - Foundation Tips