Working on These Advanced Poses in 2019
How is the yoga challenge progressing ? Have you mastered home practice, or maybe heading into the gym or yoga studio? We can only do so much in a month, and you can really devote years to doing some of the more ambitious asanas. So it’s great to look ahead at this time of year.
I want to talk about goal postures, things that you would like to do, but you have not yet reached the goal. Maybe you need to be more flexible, maybe you need to get stronger, or maybe you just need to spend more time learning how to make the pose work for your body.
I would like to hear what goals you set for yourself or what you have recently managed to accomplish. I like to balance on my arms, and maybe I’m not very good at Raven (bakasan), but I feel like a real monster whenever I have the opportunity.
When I first tried this pose, I did it with my forearms on the ground, which means your shins and nose are just an inch above the mat. This is a great way to gain confidence and try a more traditional pose. From there, you can move on to the same pose with better shape, or try one of these variations. I once went to a lesson that developed us over the course of an hour to a relative of the crow called flying pigeon pose (you can see the diagram from this link ), which was a terrific new pose.
Some target poses to try:
- For flexibility : forward bend, garland pose, dancer pose (see this and more here )
- For Strength : Really immerse yourself in a chair or chaturanga pose, or focus on holding any rigid posture for a longer time (some ideas here )
- For balance : In addition to balancing the arms like a raven, it’s always great to work on standing balance like Warrior III or tree pose.
Practicing a new yoga pose in these last days of December may be exactly what you need to distract you from the holiday chaos, but as always, take your time and be aware of your own abilities. What are your goals?