During yoga a commonly practiced vinyasa or flow, is moving from downward facing dog to cobra pose. Since we practice this transition so frequently it is important to align the upper body to avoid straining or injuring your shoulders. Alma is here to demonstrate the proper alignment. Beginning in down dog, make sure your stance is long enough, so that when you move to plank pose your shoulders are directly above your wrists and your body is parallel to the floor. Your hands are shoulder distance apart. From Plank pose, lower your knees thighs and then your hips trying to keep your shoulders lifted onto your back. Without letting your shoulders fall, press up into cobra pose and pull your shoulder blades onto your back to open the chest. From here either move back to table pose or down dog.
Yoga in Practice, led by master instructor Stacey Millner-Collins, is designed to teach the foundations of yoga to the at-home student, and to encourage a daily yoga practice that is more than simply physical exercise. To purchase DVD episodes of Yoga in Practice, visit ShopSCETV.