Editor’s Note: This is a guest post series entitled “Yoga Pose of the Month” by yoga teacher and life coach Laura Erdman-Luntz.
I love yoga. In fact, one could say I revel in it. I enjoy studying individual poses to learn more about how they affect me and how to better teach the pose to my students. Please join me as I study one pose each month. I will be posting the new pose on Share Yoga at the beginning of each month with a few ideas for studying the pose further. You can also join me on my other blog: museasana for studying the pose more deeply. I post weekly over there on what I am learning or questions that come up.
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog Pose)
Laura shows us Upward Facing Dog Pose
This month we are studying Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog Pose). I love this pose, especially if I am really engaging the back body and core well. I feel strong and powerful from the pose. I have also found it is a pose that has challenged me over the years, especially learning how to use my legs more effectively to be able to open my back up better to open my heart. I am looking forward to studying it even more this month!
Here are some ideas for studying the pose. Please share if you have other ideas:
1. Play with how strong your legs need to extend. How far can you engage before they feel rigid? How far can you release before they are sagging? Where is your happy medium?
2. What can you do to get more openness in the upper back? Can you so something with your arms to create more openness? Legs? Core?
3. Play with going into the pose through a flow (Adho Mukha Svanasana to Chaturanga Dandasana) or pushing up from the ground. Compare the two with no judgment. What I mean is, assume one is not better than the other (and even let go of preferences…have a Beginner’s Mind), they are just different and teaching you something different. What is each one teaching you?
4. What pose do you feel like doing when you are done with this pose? Why?
Editor’s Note:
Here are additional resources to support your learning of Upward-Facing Dog Pose:
- Muselan Blog
- About.com on Upward Dog Pose
- Yoga Journal, Step by Step Instructions for Upward Dog Pose
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