Flowing with Chataranga

Chataranga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) is an endangered species, one increasingly lost in the rushed transition from Plank Pose (Phalakasana) to Upward Facing Dog Pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana). The result is not only loss of insight arising in the asana itself, but also the effects on the shoulders, neck and low back when flowing into Up Dog. Let’s explore this.

When flowing among asanas in a vinyasa-type yoga class, the asanas ideally make an actual appearance as asanas. This means being in the asana for a moment – specifically, in the natural pauses in breathing, when the lungs are full or empty. When the breath moves, we move; when it pauses, we pause, and it is there that we experience the asana’s full expression.

To best experience a sustainable Chataranga practice, start with steady breathing, making that more interesting and important than the asana. (As with the entire practice, try to sustain a steady flow in your breathing, with the inha...

We often hear the instruction to spread the fingers and thumbs as wide as we can in Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose) and other hand support asanas.

Don't!

The idea behind spreading the fingers and thumbs as wide as possible is to establish a more firm and balanced foundation in the hands. A firm (yet resilient) and balanced foundation in the hands is important in reducing potentially injurious pressure in the wrists, and it's also important for stability in arm balances. 

However, with the thumb stretched as far as one can place it from the index fiinger (abducted), we overstretch the commissural ligament that traverses the traingular thenar space between the thumb  index finger. We can also place undue pressure on the palmar cutaneous branch of the median nerve.

In practicing and teaching hand support poses, we want to emphasize spreading the fingers as wide as one comfortably can, the thumbs not so wide. Reduce the space between the thumbs and index fingers by ab...

The top seven results of a Google search for the terms “skin” and “yoga” are all about the most superficial aspect of skin – not the health of the skin, but how it appears.

Search results promise yoga for naturally glowing skin, 6 powerful yoga asanas for glowing skin, 5 yoga poses for beautiful skin and more.

In her book Yoga Cures: Simple Routines to Conquer More Than 50 Common Ailments and Live Pain-Free, Tara Stiles offers practices for four specific skin conditions: acne, cellulite, dark eye circles, and wrinkles.

Working under the theory that stress causes acne, Stiles prescribes stressful asanas—plank, chataranga dandasana, side plank, and bow. By simply learning to stay calm through challenging asanas, Stiles asserts, practitioners will limit the negative impacts of stress, thereby reducing acne.

We can appreciate this idea, and recognize that learning to stay calm in stressful situations is a general benefit of practicing many yoga asanas. But the truth is, the development...