Mini Yoga Workout: Downward Facing Dog to Plank and Back
Video
Description
– A master yoga instructor shows us how to get a great workout in just 5 to 7 minutes! In her words: This mini-series that I’m about to show you is a combination of two of the foundational, fundamental yoga postures used in every Yoga class all over the world, put together in a unique way that lends itself to it’s own mini full body workout and has a variety of benefits. Today we’ll be focusing primarily on the abdomen, but this pose cannot be done without also activating the arms and the thighs. We’ll start in Downward Dog – the signature yoga pose. Right away the upper arms, shoulders, hamstrings and back will be engaged. We’ll begin breathing here, loosening and also starting to heat the body. For some individuals, this is a very difficult posture, but I will demonstrate ways to make it a bit more accessible and comfortable since we won’t be holding it long. The focus here remains on the breathe, as we always want to move with our breathe in Yoga – this gives us extra power in our movement and actually lowers risk of strain. From downward dog, we’ll be moving into plank position by engaging our abdomen and initiating the movement from our center (or core). Although our body’s shape will change, plank pose will keep our arms, shoulders, back, thighs and abdomen engaged in a similar, yet different way. We’ll then again engage the abdomen again to push back into downward dog yet again. We’ll repeat this movement several times. What we’re accomplishing here is learning to engage our abs not only before we move, but with any and every moment we do. All bodily movement initiates in our core and the more we can remember than and learn to activate in a way that allows it to carry the burden and takes the effort out of the arms and thighs. The result? A strong and flatter center and better health!
Pose: Adho Mukha Svansana – Downward Dog to Ardha Chaturanga Dandasana – Plank Pose, Moving Dynamically.
Video Producer
Larry Cook
