I’ve taken a few weeks off to enjoy the holidays, and I hope you all had a wonderful, memorable holiday season as well.
While it was wonderful to take a break I also appreciate getting back into my family’s normal structure. Like most little ones, my kids really thrive on structure and predictability in their schedule and I’m glad to be able to provide that to them again.
It’s also nice to indulge over the holidays, right? I definitely did and I’m working to get myself back on track now. I haven’t been hitting my mat daily like I normally would like to, but I got back on track this week with a fantastic, energizing standing sequence that challenges your core to improve balance and stability.
More on that soon, but I had to detail my favorite yoga pose from this sequence: dancer. In this post, I’ll share with you all the details and tips you need to accomplish this challenging pose with practice.
This pose is very challenging, it takes time and patience – so please be gentle with yourself.
How To:
1. Begin in mountain pose. Focus your gaze on an immobile object in front of you, engage your legs, core and upper body for balance.
2. Shift your weight to your left foot and grasp your right foot behind you as if you were to do a quad stretch. Face your palm out toward the right as you grasp your foot.
3. Slowly raise your right foot behind you, keeping the knee bent. Stretch the left arm outward in front of you keeping your gaze forward and focused on your immobile object.
4. Apply equal amounts of pressure into pulling your body forward and kicking your right foot back to hold the pose.
5. Hold for 5 – 10 breaths and repeat on the other side.
Tips:
If you need a modification, stand near a wall or bar so you can hold on for support
If your struggling with this pose, remember it will help you to balance if you engage your body. Tighten your standing leg, core, and upper body. Maintaining your gaze on one immobile object will also help you to feel less wobbly.
For a challenge, you can try increasing the depth of your backbend by pulling your right foot in to be held in place by your right elbow instead of your hand (similar to full pigeon) or even try to grasp the foot from an overhead angle with your elbow facing the sky.
For another challenge, try reaching the front hand down until it touches the floor. A yoga block can be very useful here (that’s what I did).
Dancer is a wonderful pose that builds strength and confidence, plus it’s one of those poses that make you look like a total pro, but it’s attainable for many intermediate-level yogis.
In addition to getting back to my mat, I’ve also been doing daily meditation with the help of this amazing mindfulness app, Aura. Aura makes daily meditation easy and also includes a library of thought-provoking life coaching sessions to improve mental health. I’ve benefitted tremendously from this app and highly recommend it! Learn more here.
Enjoy! And Namaste.
I’ve taken a few weeks off to enjoy the holidays, and I hope you all had a wonderful, memorable holiday season as well. While it was wond…
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