Variations on an Up Dog

Jen asked about the engaging the lower body and Anne-Marie asked about the arms. I did some research which was completely inconclusive (what did I expect), but here's what I found:

From the waist down, the body should be completely engaged, especially when first entering the pose. Light on Yoga sez tighten the legs; other sources say avoid tensing. The work of the legs is partially what makes it a dog pose (i.e. lengthening the backs of the thighs and calves), but I also think it's important to keep the legs and buttocks working to stabilize the lower back. My impression is that the important action of the pose is pressing into the hands and opening the chest while keeping the shoulders down...more than getting a deep arch in the lower back. I always do Up Dog with my toes curled under, but I see many pictures in the online resources with the tops of the feet pressed to the floor. Not sure that matters--but let me know what y'all think.

I don't see the issue of elbow placement addressed much, altho most pictures show the inner crease moderately or completely rolled forwards. I wish I could remember where I read the suggestion to have the the creases face each other to protect the wrists, because it really does prevent you from locking your elbows and more deeply engages the pectorals. However, if it is painful to do it this way, by all means, adjust.

Any other thoughts about all of this?

Let's be the Change...

Let's bask in the moment, its energy, our enthusiasm.
Let's lift the safe, protective veil of cynicism and get excited. Really excited.
Let's celebrate thinking and consideration and thoughtfulness.
Let's respect the differences and resist the urge to label.
Let's rise to the challenge and excel. Elite means "being among the best" and that is good, not an insult.
Let's turn the expectations back on ourselves and work to fix what is broken.
Let's harness the desire to be a part of the solution and start to solve.
Let's read books and play basketball and try new restaurants and keep our friends close.
Let's party. Happy Inauguration, y'all!

This post was inspired by the Suzan-Lori Parks poem "All the Love for the President-Elect"...here's an excerpt:
Oh, I just had to sing you a little something
Because you,
Mr. President,
You are embarking with Us on an awesome and beautiful
And potentially perilous journey
And so I am giving you
All the Love
All the Love
All the Love
All the Love
Mr. President
That I've got
Because I believe
In the dream
And I am ready
To wake up
And live it.

-3 ain't high by any stretch of the imagination

Tomorrow's "high" is supposed to be negative three degrees (Fahrenheit) in southeastern Wisconsin. Ridiculous. We've been having tons of snow, but at least we've been able to go outside and run and jump and shovel. Negative three means you get frostbite in 10 minutes, or something like that, so we're cooped up inside.

The trade off for all the snow and cold, if you want to be glass-half-full about it, is that we had the most wonderful full moon on Monday nite. The whole family went out to shovel after dinner and the Husb and I dragged the boys around in sleds for awhile. I love being outside at night in the snow. Everything has a strange glow and any noises seem muffled; very mysterious and magical. And with that full moon in the background behind all the snow clouds, the sky was especially pale and glowing that night--sort of like the daytime-at-night feel of Times Square from all the reflected light. I wanted to take a picture, but nothing about the sensory experience would have really been recorded, so I just absorbed it. It was very cool.

For the next two days we will have to enjoy the muffled glow from the living room, but the temperature may sneek above zero this weekend. Sun salutes and chest openers. Stay warm, y'all.

Unlocking the Up Dog

After class this morning, I stuck around to work on this week's pose--Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-facing Dog). I usually come to it from a Down Dog-to-Plank flow so I'm thinking about lengthening the arms and engaging the torso. Of course I couldn't hold it for 5 minutes (who thought up that dumb rule?), but I was there long enough to watch my elbows try to roll forwards and ease the work of the chest.

I'm not going to go into a long explanation here (because I already did here) about why you need to keep your inner elbow creases facing each other, but notice how much your inner creases want to twist forwards. This causes the elbows to lock and you rest the weight of your torso on the elbow joint, instead of keeping the chest engaged supporting the body with your pectoral muscles. Just try it and see...elbows roll forwards--easy, elbows face each other--arms start to shake.

A common instruction for Up Dog is to open across the chest and this action can easily lead to rotated elbows. As you open the chest, really concentrate on keeping the shoulder blades down in back, lengthening the neck and keeping the arms in line as you press your palms to the floor. Breathe into the work of the chest and upper arms...because, believe me, there will be work.

Then lift back to Plank and up (?) to Down Dog as a release pose. You bionic yogis may move into this from Chatturanga Dandasana, but I usually end up on my belly as my arms give out instead of curling up to Up 'Dog. I guess there's another goal to strive for...

(If you want to read more, here's an even earlier post on the wrist joints.)

Happy New Year!

Hey, everybody, remember me? That was one crazee holiday season, capped off with a major cold/cough situation that the entire crew at my house got to participate in (is still participating in, blah). We travelled, we celebrated Xmas about 4 different times with various family members and we are now awash in Hot Wheels cars...guess 2009 is going to be okay after all!

I've been catching up with everyone's blogs and checking out New Year's Rez, so I guess it's time to share mine:

1. The main overall Rez, is to exercise more. Move it, use it, push it. I've gotten into a rut both asana- and pranayama-wise and I need to spend a bit more time on the mat. Outside of teaching...being in front of a class is a different kind of practice and, while valuable, doesn't really count towards more exercise. Should probably work on my mental state a bit, too.

2. Get out in the yoga world. I've been using motherhood and location as an excuse to hunker down, but I'm really not all that far from busy, dynamic yoga communities (gotta use the term--sorry, Sama) that I could participate in on a montly/bi-monthly basis. Madison, Chicago, etc. Maybe some workshops away from home are possible...hello, Feathered Pipe.

3. Be a more regular correspondent. I think about this blog all the time and would like to write more. The short missive a couple times a week doesn't seem out of reach and it's nice to make contact. Less of a sermon, more of a conversation.

So, in the interest of Nos. 1 and 3, shall we try the Asana Project again? I think we left off at Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog)...