Former yoga teacher in Wellington New Zealand
I have a regular column in Wilderness Magazine. They ran a series on garuda or eagle pose. This is a great balance pose that stretches your arms and strengthens legs and challenges you to balance all at the same time!
We’ve been working on building strength in the shoulders and back through plank and chattaranga (press-up), down dog and cobra. Purvottanasana (or up dog) is often called the counter pose to press-ups because it stretches the muscles across your chest,
The forward fold (or uttanasana) is another common posture. We often don’t pay much attention to it, but we use this pose all the time to transition. On it’s own, it can be a good stretch for your hamstrings and
Parsvottanasana is often translated into English as the ‘intense side stretch pose.’ It is an intense and excellent stretch, often for the hip and glutes as well as the hamstring, but the alignment is a bit specific. You’ll know when
Last week we looked at ways to strengthen the shoulders. This week I feature another pose strengthening pose that also incorporates active stretching for the shoulders. To get in to dolphin pose, start on your hands and knees. Bring your
There are several muscles you can and should be using in plank and a press-up. This example from Daily Bandha focuses on just the rectus abdominis (some of the muscles that make up your ‘abs’) and gluteus maximus (your bum) in
Have you noticed in class I keep saying to press in to your index finger and thumb when your hands our on the floor? In fact, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to your hands, whether you’re
Plank is an essential part of every yoga class, as it’s in every sun salutation. But that’s not the only reason it’s important. It’s a great way to strengthen the arms, shoulders and upper body and believe it or not,
We do warrior 2, virabhadrasana 2, in class all the time. There are two very important alignment cues in this pose. The first one you’ll regularly hear me say – to make sure the knee is going straight ahead, not drifting
One of the essential asanas or physical poses in every yoga class is down dog, or Adho Mukha Svanasana. It stretches hamstrings, calves and shoulders while also providing strength in your arms and back. Start on your hands and knees,