According to Hindu beliefs, Marichi was the son of Brahma, and one of the 10 Prajapatis, caretakers of creation as appointed by Brahma. Marichyasana is a spinal twist but also requires a fair amount of hip flexibility to execute comfortably, so go slowly and us props as needed.

From Dandasana, bend the right knee to bring the right foot in front of the right sit bone with about a palms width distance in between foot and thigh. Pull the right hip back slightly. The majority of the twist here (or in any spinal twist really) happens in the thoracic (upper) spine, so un-squaring the hips allows you to stabilize the lumbar spine and direct the twist into the upper back. Firm the back of the left leg into the mat and keep the left toes pointed straight up. Lengthen the spine, pull the belly in to the thigh and lift the crown of the head up toward the ceiling. Beginners may find that a lack of hip flexibility prevents straightening of the spine here. To counter this, add a couple of blankets or a bolster under the sit bones.

To begin the twist, wrap the left arm around the right thigh, place the right hand on the floor behind you, and lengthen the spine again on an inhale. Make sure that your right sit bone stays grounded as you begin to twist. If you can maintain an upright spine, you can bring the left elbow to the outside of the right leg. Advanced practitioners can work to bind here, reaching the left arm around the right knee and the right arm around the back. If you find that you lose alignment in the attempt to move further in the twist, you will be better off staying where you are to maintain focus on keeping the spine as straight as possible and the sit bones grounded. Draw the shoulder blades down the back and widen across the front of the chest and shoulders. Try and keep the right knee from crossing the center line by engaging the right abductors. Use the breath to lengthen the spine as you inhale and empty and engage the belly as you exhale, supporting the lumbar spine while twisting from the thoracic.

You may notice that breathing can be more difficult in the twist. The twist restricts abdominal breathing as well as the expansion of the lower ribs and therefore restricts diaphragmatic breathing. While breathing may be slightly restricted here, try and make sure that the breath stays even and steady. Hold the pose for as long as feels comfortable, then gently unwind and after taking a few breaths in neutral, find the second side.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you or see you at one of my classes!

At the end of each week, I post the sequence that I’ve been teaching that week during my classes in Seattle. For more sequences from other weeks, click here. And if you would like to see these sequences in action, come join me for a class!

Grouding and Warm Up

Flow 1 – 3x

Standing Poses

Seated Poses and Inversion

At the end of each week, I post the sequence that I’ve been teaching that week during my classes in Seattle. For more sequences from other weeks, click here. And if you would like to see these sequences in action, come join me for a class!

Grouding and Warm Up

Flow 1 – 2x

Flow 2 – 2x

Standing Poses

Seated Poses and Inversion

Chaturanga is part of the sun salutation series and can also be a great way to build strength when practiced by itself. The pose requires a lot of strength to perform correctly, so modifications are a great idea until enough strength is developed to be able to hold the pose with relative ease.

From Plank, keep your legs firm and the tailbone tucked and firm the shoulder blades by engaging the seratus anterior muscles (the muscles on the sides of the rib cage). Keeping weight evenly distributed across the hands, lower down until the torso is a few inches above the floor. If the belly drops and the lower back curve deepens as you lower, try dropping to the knees before lowering to maintain focus on keeping the core steady. The legs should be slightly rotated inward and the toes still tucked under, and energy moving back out the heels.

As you lower, make sure that the elbows hug the sides of the waist. Letting them wander away from the body means you are relying too much on the pectoralis muscles instead of building up strength in the shoulders and arms. For most beginners, the shoulders will stay above the elbows and the forearms will have a slight backward angle. Eventually, you can come slightly forward so the forearms are perpendicular to the floor and the elbows higher than the shoulders. This requires quite a bit more strength. It also means that when flowing into upward dog, you need a really deep backbend in order to keep the shoulders above the wrists and get the full benefit of that pose, so find the modified version until you have sufficient openness and strength developed.

A good way to practice the specifics of the pose is to come up against the wall and practice upright, standing a few inches away from the wall with the hands a little lower than the shoulders. This way, you can practice keeping the proper alignment without having to hold your entire weight.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you or see you at one of my classes!

Plank Pose often gets neglected as just a transitional pose, but how you set up in plank affects the poses that come after and it can also be a valuable pose all by itself. By finding proper alignment and engagement in plank, you strengthen the arms, shoulders, and core, and prepare the body for many other postures, including arm balances.

When you come into plank pose, you want to align your shoulders directly above your wrists so that the arms are perpendicular to the floor. The hands should be placed shoulder width apart and weight should be distributed across the entire palm, making sure to press into the first knuckle of the index finger. With the back of the neck long (the gaze should be down), draw the shoulder blades down the back and rotate them to the outside of the rib cage while at the same time staying wide across the collarbones. Stay firm in the core, tucking the tailbone slightly and making sure the low back stays long (don’t let the belly drop). At the same time, lengthen the legs so that the back of the knees lift up to the ceiling.

Tip: Setting up correctly in Plank pose sets up the hands and feet for Downward Dog. With the hands directly under the shoulders, the body nice and long, and the toes tucked under (about a 90 degree angle in the ankles), press back, lifting the hips up and back towards the feet. While shortening or lengthening this distance is appropriate for certain specific body mechanics and needs, for the majority of practitioners this provides the perfect distance between hands and feet for Downward Dog.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you or see you at one of my classes!

At the end of each week, I post the sequence that I’ve been teaching that week during my classes in Seattle. For more sequences from other weeks, click here. And if you would like to see these sequences in action, come join me for a class!

Grounding and Warm Up

Flow 1 – 2x

Flow 2 – 2x

Standing Poses

Seated Poses and Inversion

Downward Dog is a deceptively complex pose. Because of its omnipresence in most yoga classes, people get the impression that it’s supposed to be a basic pose and can feel discouraged when they struggle with it. Don’t. There is actually a lot that goes on in Downward Dog and it requires a fair amount of openness in the back of the legs as well as in the shoulders. For most people it takes some time before they can feel comfortable here. As you spend more time with it however, you will begin to relish the role that this pose plays in your practice.

Start on all fours, with the knees under the hips and the hand slightly in front of the shoulders. Spread the fingers wide on the mat, making sure to keep weight in all 10 knuckles of the hands. Tuck the toes underneath as you get ready to press back, making sure to keep the feet hip width distance apart and the hands shoulder width. Keeping the knees bent, push the palms down and forward as you lift the sitbones up and back toward the feet. Keep your spine long as you begin to straighten the legs and lower the heels. If your hamstrings are not yet that open, you can keep the knees bent here as a variation. You should still be able to find a nice stretch on the back of the legs without letting the lower back round excessively.

Keep your arms externally rotated so the shoulder blades widen across the back, and draw the inner thighs up towards the hips with a slight inward rotation. As you press the palms forward, try to straighten the arms at the elbows. As you widen the shoulder blades, the armpits roll towards the chest. This is important as it develops strength in the shoulders and sets the stage for backbending and arm balances. You will most often hear that the shoulder blades should be drawn down the back, but this brings the humerus outside the line of force through the shoulders and since you are bearing weight here, you actually want to push up in the shoulders. Keep the sides of the torso long. If you have a hyperflexible lower back, resist sagging here, and instead support the back with your core as you extend the upper body.

One you have found a nice balance in the pose, settle in and let the breath be steady and even. In many classes, Downward Dog serves as a transitional pose or as a resting place during a flow sequence, but it can be a beautiful pose to practice just by itself.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you or see you at one of my classes!