Gomukhasana - Modification

Gomukhasana is a difficult pose for tight-shouldered people, who aren't able to hook their fingers together. To resolve this, use a strap to hold between the hands. Begin the pose with a strap draped over the shoulder of the bottom arm. In step 2, as the bottom arm swings behind the back, slide the forearm as high on the back torso as possible (Remember to keep the elbow close to the side of the body), then grab the bottom end of the strap. In step 3, stretch the other arm overhead and then reach down the back for the other end of the strap. Pull with the top arm. See if you can draw the bottom arm higher onto the back, trying to work the hands toward each other to eventually clasp them. Some students may be able to clasp the hands on one side, but not the other.

Another way to bring the arms into position: Take both arms behind the back and clasp opposite elbows. With the right hand, pull the left elbow towards the spine. Bring the left hand in between the shoulder blades. Release the right hand. Raise the right arm, bend at the elbow and reach down to clasp the left hand. Use a strap as necessary.

Beginners Tip
Beginners often have a difficult time getting both sit bones to rest evenly on the floor, which can make it difficult for the knees to stack on top of each other evenly. When the pelvis is tilted, the spine can't properly extend. Use a folded blanket or bolster to lift the sit bones off the floor and support them evenly.

Variation
From the full pose, lean forward and lay the front torso down on the inner top thigh. Stay for 20 seconds, then inhale and come up.


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Gomukhasana

Gomukhasana : Cow Face Pose
(go-moo-KAHS-anna)
go = cow mukha = face

Type of Pose: Seated

 Benefits
 • Stretches the ankles, hips and thighs, shoulders, armpits and triceps, and chest

 Contraindications
 • Serious neck or shoulder problems

Step by Step
1. Sit in Dandasana (Staff Pose), then bend your knees and put your feet on the floor. Slide your left foot under the right knee to the outside of the right hip. Then cross your right leg over the left, stacking the right knee on top of the left, and bring the right foot to the outside of the left hip. Try to bring the heels equidistant from the hips: with the right leg on top you'll have to tug the right heel in closer to the left hip. Sit evenly on the sit bones.
2. With an inhalation, take the right arm behind the back, bending the elbow and taking the hand up toward the shoulder blades, palm facing out. Tuck the forearm in the hollow of your lower back, with the right elbow against the right side of your torso. Roll the shoulder back and down, then work the forearm up your back until it is parallel to your spine. 
3. Now inhale, circle the left arm up and over head. Exhale, bend the elbow and reach to clasp the right hand. If possible, hook the right and left fingers.
4. Lift the left elbow toward the ceiling and, from the back armpit, descend the right elbow toward the floor. Firm your shoulder blades against your back ribs and lift your chest. Keep the spine lifted, tailbone growing into the ground. Try to keep the left arm right beside the left side of your head. Head stays lifted, gazing forward.
5. Stay in this pose 30 seconds to 1 minute. Release the arms, uncross the legs, and repeat with the arms and legs reversed for the same length of time. Remember that whichever leg is on top, the same-side arm is lower.


Modification
Gomukhasana is a difficult pose for tight-shouldered people, who aren't able to hook their fingers together. To resolve this, use a strap to hold between the hands. Begin the pose with a strap draped over the shoulder of the bottom arm. In step 2, as the bottom arm swings behind the back, slide the forearm as high on the back torso as possible (Remember to keep the elbow close to the side of the body), then grab the bottom end of the strap. In step 3, stretch the other arm overhead and then reach down the back for the other end of the strap. Pull with the top arm. See if you can draw the bottom arm higher onto the back, trying to work the hands toward each other to eventually clasp them. Some students may be able to clasp the hands on one side, but not the other.

Another way to bring the arms into position: Take both arms behind the back and clasp opposite elbows. With the right hand, pull the left elbow towards the spine. Bring the left hand in between the shoulder blades. Release the right hand. Raise the right arm, bend at the elbow and reach down to clasp the left hand. Use a strap as necessary.

Beginners Tip
Beginners often have a difficult time getting both sit bones to rest evenly on the floor, which can make it difficult for the knees to stack on top of each other evenly. When the pelvis is tilted, the spine can't properly extend. Use a folded blanket or bolster to lift the sit bones off the floor and support them evenly.

Variation
From the full pose, lean forward and lay the front torso down on the inner top thigh. Stay for 20 seconds, then inhale and come up.

Dandasana

Dandasana (Staff Pose or Stick Pose)
(Dan-das-ana)

Type of Pose: Seated

Dandasana is the starting point for all the seated forward bends and twists. It helps improve sitting posture. It is an isometric, whole body exercise without movement.

Benefits
 
• Improves digestion, tones kidneys; 
• Helps prevent sciatic pain; 
• Stretches and activates the muscles of the legs. 
• Strengthens the back.
• Prevents tiredness in the feet by stretching the muscles of the feet;

Contraindications/Cautions
Practice against a wall if you have asthma, bronchitis, breathlessness, ulcers or bulimia.

Step by Step
1. Sitting on the mat with the spine erect, legs straight out in front. Pull the flesh away from your sitting bones so that you are able to feel your sit bones on the ground. Your hands are on the ground beside your hips, fingers pointing forward, palms pressing down lightly. Recheck your shoulders to make sure you are not pressing too hard. Don't lock out your elbows. If the arms are not long enough for the heel of the hands to reach the floor, place as much of the hand on the ground as possible. Otherwise use a block.
2. Draw the legs together. Engage the leg muscles, with the thigh muscles rotating inward, kneecaps facing directly up. Lengthen the calf muscles. Press the backs of the knees into the floor. Your legs should be long and straight. Be firm without being forceful.
3. There are a few variations of what to do with the feet: Your feet should be vertical, the center of your heels resting on the ground. They are flexed and parallel to each other, with the balls pressing away from you. Spread your toes - fan them out. Alternately, the feet are relaxed (ie. not flexed) but feeling extension through the top of the foot and into the toes. Or, flexing the foot, press through the heel – with the intention of engaging the legs enough that the heel comes off the floor.
4. The back should be working toward being perpendicular to the floor with out slumping or arching the back. The chest is opening while still maintaining length through the back with the tailbone drawing downward. The abdomen is slightly engaged.
5. The chin should be parallel with the floor. Shoulders and neck should be relaxed. Shoulder blades drop down the back and are coming toward each other. Gaze straight ahead.
6. Sit tall, as if there is a string pulling you up from the crown of your head. Your legs should feel energized, your torso light.
7. Breathe. Hold this pose for any length of time. If this posture is done correctly, after 5 minutes you can break a sweat.


Beginner’s Tips
If the student’s back is rounded and/or hip flexibility is poor, or if there is any discomfort in the back or the backs of the legs, have them sit on a block or folded blanket. Give more or less height depending on their flexibility. This allows them to have a more erect spine and to sit up straighter. It also releases tension from the hamstrings and hip flexors. 

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog)
(AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna) 
adho = downward mukha = face svana = dog

Downward-Facing Dog is an all-over, rejuvenating stretch.

Benefits
 • Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
 • Energizes the body
 • Stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands
 • Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause, moderates heavy menstrual flow
 • Improves digestion and relieves chronic constipation
 • Relieves headache, insomnia, lower back pain, and fatigue
 • Therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet (by strengthening the arches of the feet), sciatica, sinusitis
• Reduces stiffness in shoulder blades and arthritis in shoulder joints, wrists and fingers.
• Helps prevent osteoporosis
• Relieves pain in the heels.
• Counters the damage to the cartilage of the knee or hamstring muscles caused by jogging, walking and other sports

Contraindications/Cautions 
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
 • Diarrhea
• Varicose veins
 • Pregnancy: Do not do this pose late-term.
 
 •High blood pressure or headache: Support your head on a bolster or block, ears level between the arms.
• Prone to shoulder dislocations – ensure that the arms to not roll out.

 Step by Step
1. Come onto the floor on your hands and knees into a table top position. Set your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders, with the hands shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Spread your palms, wrists parallel to the edge of the mat and turn your toes under.
2. Exhale and lift your knees away from the floor. At first keep the knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor. Feet are hip width or one foot apart. Feet and hands should be far enough apart to allow for an ideal 90 angle between the legs and the torso, forming an inverted “V”. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis. Against this resistance, lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and from your inner ankles draw the inner legs up into the groins.
3. Then with an exhalation, push your top thighs back and stretch your heels onto or down toward the floor. Straighten your knees but be sure not to lock them. Firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward slightly. Narrow the front of the pelvis.
4. Firm the outer arms and press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor. From these two points lift along your inner arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then widen them and draw them toward the tailbone. In terms of placement of the head there are different schools of thought. Some say to keep the body in the two planes of an inverted “V”, keeping the head between the upper arms; don't let it hang. Others emphasize not holding tension in the neck and to let the head hang loosely. Iyengar says to rest the crown of the head weightlessly on the floor if you can, using a block if necessary.
5. Adho Mukha Svanasana is one of the poses in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence. It's also an excellent yoga asana all on its own. It can also be used as a resting pose. Stay in this pose anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes (Beginners’ 30 seconds). Then bend your knees to the floor with an exhalation and rest in Child's Pose.

Variation
To challenge yourself in this pose, inhale and raise your right leg parallel to the line of your torso, and hold for 30 seconds, keeping the hips level and pressing through the grounded heel. Release with an exhalation and repeat on the left for the same length of time.

Beginner’s Tip
If you have difficulty releasing and opening your shoulders in this pose, raise your hands off the floor on a pair of blocks or the seat of a metal folding chair.

Deepen the Pose
To increase the stretch in the backs of the legs, lift slightly up onto the balls of the feet, pulling the heels a half-inch or so away from the floor. Then draw the inner groins deep into the pelvis, lifting actively from the inner heels. Finally, from the height of the groins, lengthen the heels back onto the floor, moving the outer heels faster than the inner.

Misalignments
The back may be rounded. The student should have the intention of trying to flatten the back, drawing the chest in the direction of the floor. Students tend to take too much weight in the shoulders, wrists and arms. The posture should be supported equally between the upper and lower extremities. To correct this, engage the muscles of the arms isometrically toward each other and draw the shoulders down the back, staying open between the neck and shoulders. Ground the index fingers and the thumbs to draw the weight out of the wrists and arms, shifting it more into the legs. 

Teacher’s Tip
• Stand behind the student, place one foot in between the student’s feet to give yourself stability. Take your hands into the creases of the student’s hips and gently pull back at the same angle as the student’s torso. This will help shift the weight into their legs and out of their arms.
• Stand in front of the student and press gently with your hands into their shoulder blades, taking the weight out of their arms and into their legs. This will also help to deepen the posture.
• For students who are comfortable in this posture, stand in front of the student (facing away), place your hands out in front of you on the ground (shoulder width apart). One leg at a time, place your feet on the mid section of the student’s back. Only shift as much weight out of your arms as the student can manage. You are eventually working towards a downward dog position yourself.

Padangusthasana

Padangusthasana:  Foot to Fingers Forward Bend
(Pa-dang-us-thas-anna)

Step by Step
1. Stand in Tadasana, hands on hips (feet together or hip width distance apart). Exhale and bend forward from the hip joints, not from the waist. As you descend draw the front torso out of the groins and open the space between the pubis and top sternum. As in all the forward bends, the emphasis is on lengthening the front torso as you move more fully into the position.
2. If possible, with your knees straight, bend forward, wrap the index and middle fingers around the big toe, joining the thumb (“yogi grip”). With an inhalation straighten your arms and lift your front torso away from your thighs, making your back as concave as possible. Hold for a few breaths, then exhale and lengthen down and forward, bending your elbows out to the sides, using the biceps to assist going deeper into the pose. Keeping space between the shoulders and the ears, draw the shoulder blades down the back. Press the heels firmly into the floor and lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling. Turn the top thighs slightly inward.
3. With each inhalation in the pose, lift and lengthen the front torso just slightly; with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend. In this way the torso oscillates almost imperceptibly with the breath. Let your head hang from the root of the neck, which is deep in the upper back, between the shoulder blades. Stay in the position for 20 seconds.
4. To come out of the pose, release the fingers, bring the hands to the hips and inhale, come up with a flat back.

Beginner’s Tip
If student can’t reach the toes, have them hold the backs of their calves or thighs 

Misalignments
Legs should be perpendicular (90) to the floor. Watch for students leaning back into the hamstrings.

Padahastasana :  Foot to Hand Forward Bend

Step by Step
1. Stand in Tadasana, hands on hips (feet together or hip width distance apart). Exhale and bend forward from the hip joints, not from the waist. As you descend draw the front torso out of the groins and open the space between the pubis and top sternum. As in all the forward bends, the emphasis is on lengthening the front torso as you move more fully into the position.
2. If possible, with your knees straight, bend forward, place the hands under the feet (palms facing up), bringing the toes to meet the wrist. 
3. With an inhalation straighten your arms and lift your front torso away from your thighs, making your back as concave as possible. Hold for a few breaths, then exhale and lengthen down and forward, bending your elbows out to the sides, framing the head. Keeping space between the shoulders and the ears, draw the shoulder blades down the back. Keep the weight evenly distributed through the feet and lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling. Turn the top thighs slightly inward.
4. With each inhalation in the pose, lift and lengthen the front torso just slightly; with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend. In this way the torso oscillates almost imperceptibly with the breath. Let your head hang from the root of the neck, which is deep in the upper back, between the shoulder blades. Stay in the position for 20 seconds.
5. To come out of the pose, release the hands. Bring the hands to the hips and inhale, come up with a flat back.


Beginner’s Tip
Starting with bent knees, position hands with palms facing up under the feet, toes touching the wrist. Straighten the legs as much as possible, lifting from the buttocks and hamstrings.

Misalignments
Legs should be perpendicular (90) to the floor. Watch for students leaning back into the hamstrings.

Uttanasana

Uttanasana:  Standing Forward Bend
(OOT-tan-AHS-ahna)
ut = intense
tan = to stretch or extend

Type of Pose: Standing, Inversion

Benefits 
• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
 • Stimulates the liver, spleen and kidneys
 • Stretches the hamstrings, calves, and hips
 • Strengthens the thighs and knees
• Reduces fatigue and anxiety
• Relieves headache, migraine and insomnia
 • Improves digestion, relieves stomach ache.
 • Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
• Relieves abdominal and back pain during menstruation 
• Therapeutic for asthma, high blood pressure, infertility, osteoporosis, and sinusitis

Contraindications/Cautions
• Osteoarthritis of the knees 
• Diarrhea
• Scoliosis or excessive curvature of lumbar spine
• Back injury: Do this pose with bent knees, or perform Ardha Uttanasana (ardha= half), with your hands on the wall, legs perpendicular to your torso, and arms parallel to the floor. For slipped discs or other spinal disorder: forward bend to the point of having a flat back. Don’t put the head between the knees.
• Dizziness or Acidity: Place feet hip width apart

Step by Step
1. Stand in Tadasana, hands on hips (feet together or hip width distance apart). Exhale and bend forward from the hip joints, not from the waist. As you descend draw the front torso out of the groins and open the space between the pubis and top sternum. As in all the forward bends, the emphasis is on lengthening the front torso as you move more fully into the position.
2. If possible, with your knees straight, bring your palms or finger tips to the floor slightly in front of or beside your feet, or bring your palms to the backs of your ankles. If this isn't possible, cross your forearms and hold your elbows. Press the heels firmly into the floor and lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling. Turn the top thighs slightly inward.
3. With each inhalation in the pose, lift and lengthen the front torso just slightly; with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend. In this way the torso oscillates almost imperceptibly with the breath. Let your head hang from the root of the neck, which is deep in the upper back, between the shoulder blades.
4. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Uttanasana can be used as a resting position between the standing poses. It can also be practiced as a pose in itself.
5. Bring the hands back onto the hips and reaffirm the length of the front torso. Have a micro bend in the knees for coming up. Press the tailbone down and into the pelvis and come up on an inhalation with a long front torso. 


Beginner’s Tip
If a student cannot touch the ground, hold onto the backs of the legs wherever the hands fall (except for the knees) or cross the arms in front of the body holding onto the elbows. Let the head hang with gravity. If this is still too intense, take tension off the hamstrings and low back by bending the knees. Working with the breath, try “inhaling, bending”, “exhaling, straightening”. 

Deepen the Pose
To increase the stretch on the backs of the legs, stand in the forward bend with the balls of your feet elevated an inch or more off the floor on a sand bag or thick book or lean slightly forward and lift up onto the balls of your feet, pulling your heels a half-inch or so away from the floor. Draw your inner groins deep into the pelvis, and then, from the height of the groins, lengthen your heels back onto the floor.

Misalignments
Watch for students leaning back into the hamstrings. Legs should be perpendicular (90) to the floor with the weight slightly more into the toes. 

Teaching Tip
If a student is having difficulty folding deeply into this pose, massage the lower back on both sides, a few inches away from the spine.

Prasarita Padottanasana

Prasarita Padottanasana – Wide-legged Forward Bend
(pra-sa-rita pa-dot-anas-ana)

Type of Pose: Standing, Inversion

Benefits 
 
• Strengthens and stretches the inner and back legs and spine. 
• Tones the abdominal organs; 
• Calms the brain and sympathetic nervous system; 
• Relieves mild backache, fatigue, and mild depression. 
• Energizes heart and lungs; reduces blood pressure. 
• Relieves stomach ache by reducing acidity; 
• Strengthens knees joint and makes hip joint supple. 
• Regulates menstrual flow 

Contraindications/ Cautions 
• Lower-back problems: Avoid the full forward bend. 
• Low blood pressure – come out gradually to avoid dizziness. 
• If you are able to reach your head to the ground, avoid tilting head and compressing neck.

Step by Step
1. Stand in tadasana, facing one of the long edges of your sticky mat, then step or lightly hop your feet apart from 3 to 5 feet (depending on your height: taller people should step wider). Rest your hands on your hips. Make sure your inner feet are pigeon toed. Lift your inner arches by drawing up on the inner ankles, and press the outer edges of your feet and ball of the big toe firmly into the floor. Engage the thigh muscles by drawing them up as well as engaging mula bandha. Inhale and lift your chest, making the front torso slightly longer than the back, while still maintaining a slight posterior pelvic tilt.
2. Exhale, maintaining the length of the front torso, lean the torso forward from the hip joints. As your torso approaches parallel to the floor, press your fingertips onto the floor directly below your shoulders. Extend your elbows fully. Your legs and arms then should be perpendicular to the floor and parallel to each other. Move your spine evenly into the back torso so that your back is slightly concave from the tailbone to the base of the skull. Bring your head up, keeping the back of the neck long, and direct your gaze upward toward the ceiling. 
3. Lengthen the front torso, and draw the inner groins away from each other to widen the base of your pelvis. Take a few breaths. As you maintain the concavity of your back and the forward lift of your sternum, walk your fingertips between your feet. Take a few more breaths and then, with an exhalation, bend your elbows and lower your torso and head into a full forward bend. Make sure as you move down that you keep your front torso as long as possible. If possible rest the crown of your head on the floor. 
4. Press your inner palms actively into the floor, fingers pointing forward. If you have the flexibility to move your torso into a full forward bend, walk your hands back until your forearms are perpendicular to the floor and your upper arms parallel. Be sure to keep your arms parallel to each other and widen the shoulder blades across the back. Draw your shoulders away from your ears. 
5. Stay in the pose anywhere from 20 seconds to 1 minute. To come out, bring your hands back on the floor below your shoulders and lift and lengthen through the torso. Then with an inhalation, rest your hands on your hips, pull your tail bone down toward the floor, and swing the torso up. Walk or hop your feet back into Tadasana. 
Variations
The pose as described here is technically known as Prasarita Padottanasana I. Prasarita Padottanasana II is a more challenging variation. Perform step 1 above then bring the hands into anjali mudra but behind the back - prstanjali mudra. To do this lean the torso slightly forward and round the back. Then press the palms together behind the back with the thumbs resting on the sacrum, fingers pointing toward the floor. Exhale and turn the fingers, first toward the back, then upward, so they point toward the ceiling. Slip the pinky sides of the hands up the back as high as possible, ideally between the shoulder blades. Roll the shoulders back and lift the chest, pressing the pinkies deeply into the spine. Finally exhale into the forward bend and bring the head close to or onto the floor. If this hand position isn't possible, simply cross arms behind the back and hold the elbows with the opposite hands. 

Beginner’s Tips
Some beginners aren't able to easily bring their hands to the floor and need a good deal of support in this forward bend to protect their lower back. Try raising the hands off the floor by resting each on the end of a block. If the back is still rounded, then use a folding chair to support the forearms. Always remember in forward bends to emphasize the length of the front torso. 

Misalignments
Watch for students leaning back into their knees. Have them shift their weight slightly forward to the balls of the feet, drawing the sit bones up towards the sky thus causing the legs to become perpendicular to the floor. This will help to increase the hamstring stretch and will protect the knees.