Article By: Megan Stremick
Pose: Downward Facing Dog
Mommies, it’s time to down dog! Next to savasana, or corpse pose, where you lie on your back in relaxed meditation, down dog is one of the most widely recognized yoga poses. The mainstay in any yoga class, down dog is used as a warm-up pose, a pose to transition between poses, a strengthening pose, and much more. Recently I watched my one year old boy do a baby version of down dog and it was adorable. He had his hands and feet on the ground walking around like Mogley from The Jungle Book when he saw something between his legs that caught his eyes—so with his head down and butt up I couldn’t help but giggle at my little yoga boy in the making. This pose is great to do any time of day for a quick ‘all over’ stretch and energy boost.
Down Dog Benefits:
Energizes the whole body
Builds arm and leg strength
Beneficial in relieving symptoms of menopause or menstrual discomfort
Builds flexibility in the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands
Stimulates the nerves and calms the brain
Down Dog How-To:
- Start with your hands and knees on the mat—wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
- Curl your toes under and straighten your legs. Be sure your feet are hips distance apart.
- Your tailbone lifts up toward the sky then presses back. The top of your head reaches toward the earth as your chest reaches back toward your legs.
- Rotate the arms outward—imagine you are turning your hands so that your thumbs would point straight forward—this helps to create space between the shoulder blades.
- Engage the front of the thighs (quadriceps) as you draw the heels down to the mat. *For those with tighter hamstrings keep a slight bend in the knees but continue to work towards straightening the legs.
- Hold here for 5 deep, even breaths then release back to the starting position or release further into child’s pose by resting the tailbone back on the heels, bringing the arms back by your side, palms up, and resting your forehead on the mat.
Down DogCaution:
For those with frequent headaches or high blood pressure be sure to rest your head on a block or folded blanket in down dog.
If you have shoulder issues, take care by not rotating the shoulders and arms outward.
And lastly, if you are in the latter stages of pregnancy do not practice
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Anjeanette