The One Yoga Pose Most People Should Avoid
Western bodies need Western modifications.
Take a moment to become aware of your posture. Is your head dipped so you can read this? Even if you’re sitting down and reading this on a computer, notice your shoulders. Are they in an internal rotation? If you don’t know, we’ll get to that in a moment.
Wherever you are, stretch your arms out to your sides with your fingers outstretched and palms facing down. Make this a little more active by imagining someone on each side of you pulling on your middle finger so your arms extend further.
Now take a few breaths, noticing the stretch on the inside of your shoulders and biceps. With every breath, stretch your arms further, noticing the subtle variation of the stretch as you inhale and exhale.
How does this feel? Can you breathe a little more deeply?
Now flip your palms so they face upward. Take a look at your elbows. How far can you rotate the inside of your elbows backward?
Notice how this feels. You’ll probably still feel the stretch on the biceps and inside of your shoulders, but now you might also feel the muscles in your upper back engage. While still working on extending your arms longer, see if you can begin drawing your palms behind you. If you can imagine your arms…
