Highlighted Yoga Pose for the Month of January: Downward Facing Dog

After the whirl and swirl of the crazy holiday season, it is time to settle back down. Downward Facing Dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana (AH-doh MUK-ha Shvuh-NAH-suh-na), will help you ground down and settle into the New Year.

The upper half of the body has an upward channel of energy that keeps us going. This helps us accomplish all the things we need to get done. The lower half of our body has energy channels that keep us grounded. These energy channels are called Vayus and this image illustrates these channels well.

When you flip your upper body over and place both your hands and feet down firmly, that upward energy is in reverse and now you are doubly connected to the ground. All of a sudden everything shifts and tension starts to roll off your back. In a yoga class, it feels like there is a collective exhale from the entire class as soon as we enter the pose for the first time.

In our culture, there is an emphasis on upward energy, and possibly even more so during the busy holiday season, which is why Downward Facing Dog will feel like such a relief this month.

Do Downward Facing Dog often as you settle into the New Year. Let go of all of those things that did not serve you well in yesteryear. From here, we can begin again.

SIMPLE STEPS

  1. Come down to hands and knees. Hands shoulder width apart and knees hips width apart with the feet right behind.
  2. Curl your toes, and lift your hips.
  3. Root down with your whole hands, fingertips and knuckle pads too. Focus on the inside of the hand, index finger and thumb side.
  4. Lengthen from the wrists to the hips. Go for a nice, long spine. If you have rounding in the lower back, or feel a strain there, softly bend your knees.
  5. Keep the arms straight and keep the width in the shoulders. Rebound energy up the arms and shoulders  away from the floor and the ears.
  6. Release your head and neck. As you gaze toward your legs and feet, make sure your feet are hip width apart.
  7. Lift the quadricepsand stretch the hamstrings. Press the thighs back, including at the inseam of your legs.
  8. Imagine widening the sit bones.

TIPS

If you are very muscular or tight in the shoulders, take your hands a little farther than shoulder width, and the wrists and the fingers can fan out slightly.

If you have wrist issues, roll the front of your mat a few times and place the wrists on the roll. Or you can bring the hands up onto foam blocks.

For tight hamstrings,  try taking the feet slightly farther apart, or lift the heels and take a slight bend in the knees. Explore what feels best in your body.