How was everyone’s weekend?! I had quite the busy weekend (in a good way!). Friday I went to yoga per the usual and then Angela came over afterward and we chit chatted and ate cupcakes <<my kinda Friday. Saturday I worked for a few hours and then went out to dinner with my two college roommates and then the three of us went to our friend Carleigh’s housewarming party, which was lots o’ fun. Sunday morning I worked again and then went grocery shopping and out to dinner with Miguel to celebrate my birthday. Another year older….time literally flies. …..anyway, let’s talk about yoga, shall we?
When people think of yoga, they think a calm and relaxing workout, and certainly nothing too strenuous. While I wouldn’t call yoga strenuous, it definitely works your major muscle groups! When I started attending regular yoga classes, I noticed the next day my shoulders and triceps would be sore and I thought, ‘huh, well whatdaya know?!’ I had no idea that yoga could make your muslces feel sore the next day.
Every time you move through a vinyasa, you work your triceps and you shoulders. You work other muscles as well, but for this post, I want to focus on yoga poses that can help you build upper body strength. Below the sequence you will find a thorough explanation of how to do each move and then how to move through the vinyasa smoothly.
(1) Start standing straight up with your hands behind your back in a prayer pose, pushing your shoulders back. Hold this pose for a few counts and then
(2) move into crow pose. For a complete tutorial on crow pose, click here. If you cannot do crow pose that’s ok—simply lower down to the ground from standing position and balance on the balls of your feet, placing your hands gently on the ground.
(3) From crow pose, bring your legs out from your triceps and chataranga back so that your body is complete straight and your arms are bent. This should be a smooth, light movement and you should feel this work your tricep muscles. Hold that pose briefly and then
(4) push up so that your arms are straight and your are in a straight arm plank position. Hold the plank for at least 30 seconds, and then
(5) push back into downward facing dog. To do downward dog correctly, you should be pressing your hips back and heels down to the ground, which should cause you to feel your upper back muscles working. After holding downward dog,
(6) slowly lift your left arm up into the air and look up at your hand. You should feel a stretch in your left shoulder blade. Hold that pose for a few breaths, and then
(7) do the same thing on the right side.
(8) Bring your right arm down and then, keeping the downward dog position, place your forearms on the ground for dolphin pose. Hold for a few breaths and then you can either take child’s pose or repeat the sequence a second time through.
This sequence is a great way to start and/or end the day, and obviously a wonderful way to work your shoulders and back. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know if you have any questions! Xoxo
Q: Tell me one thing you did this weekend.
Original article and pictures take thealmondeater.com site
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