Have you ever heard the yoga teacher in a class say, ‘Follow the right flow’, or ‘Do a Vinyasa’ or ‘Chaturanga’? You may know how to do the basic yoga movement but Chaturanga Dandasana, which means four-limbed staff pose, can certainly use a little breakdown as it is not that easy to perform. Chaturanga yoga is a part of ‘Vinyasa’ or ‘flow’ often which the yoga practitioners follow while returning to the Downward Dog yoga pose. A Chaturanga flow may also be performed during advanced Sun Salutations. Advantages of Chaturanga Helps to increase the strength of arm and wrist. • Helps to tone the abdominal area. • Corrects the overall posture of the body. • Improves the body balance. Also called as plank half-way down, this kind of transitional yoga pose is not just an ordinary push up and needs different kinds of alignment and focus on muscles. Chaturanga Vinyasa is a stumbling block which a lot of yoga practitioners face in their yoga practice. The sequence requires a lot of strength, especially in the arms, shoulders and the core. Therefore, it is important that you maintain the correct alignment to avoid any shoulder or wrist injuries. Instruction for practising Chaturanga Start Chaturanga from the plank pose. Align the shoulders just a little above the wrists. The core should be engaged. The heels and the thighs should be pushed up. Engage of your body muscles into the midline of the body. Then shift or roll forward on the toes. Now lower your body down as slowly as you can and stop when the shoulders form a 90-degree angle with the elbows. Pause and stay in this pose. Hug the elbows on the side of the body. Keep the core engaged in building stamina and strength. To release and come out of this pose, lower down on the floor or the mat and rest or press back into the plank pose. Or you can even inhale and come to the upward-facing dog pose. Here are five tips for perfecting the Chaturanga 1. Take as much time you require: Although the Chaturanga pose is not as much enjoyable compared to the other yoga pose, it does not mean that you will not try and work harder for it. However, don’t rush yourself from the plank pose to the downward dog pose as if you are participating in a race. Rather, work hard to ensure you follow the correct alignment in each step of the poses in order to build the strength required to perform each step properly. 2. Keep the shoulders back: Many people are stronger from the front part of the shoulders and in the chest region, which makes it easy for them to round forward. But instead of this, you should try and focus on pulling the shoulders blades backwards starting from the beginning till the end. So if you engage the upper back region through this way, you will be able to avoid injuries which may happen as a result of doing the pose incorrectly. 3. Keep your spine straight: This may seem simple but many people tend to make a mistake of not keeping their spine straight. To ensure that your eyes focus just a few inches away from the floor and not in the front, to avoid unnecessary strain in the neck. 4. Think of the forward and not downward movement: We mostly tend to think the high-to-low push up is a downward movement. However, in this pose you will actually need more of a forward movement. If you really push through with all the strength you have then you will be able to attain the proper 90 degree angle between the shoulder and the elbow. 5. Do not hold an ego when you practice: Even though the Chaturanga sequence is challenging for most of the yoga practitioners of varied experience levels, having the strength to execute it in the right manner will help you gain the benefits. However, do not try to execute it in the incorrect way as in this way you will be harming yourself instead of doing good. Do not be scared to work on your arms, shoulder or the core strength. Keep the core engaged and your shoulder blades back and with time, you will eventually build up the strength that you require. So keep these simple tips in mind when you practice the Chaturanga sequence. Remember that Yoga is all about harmonising the mind, body and spirit. Don’t expect the results to show up right away. Just commit yourself to the practice and put in the effort to gain the benefits every time you practice. For more information about Chaturanga: https://www.yogateacherstrainingrishikesh.com/category/blog
