Pincha Mayurasana is a strong, advanced arm balance that can be quite challenging but also very rewarding.

To begin, come to all fours and measure out the distance between the arms by placing the hands on the opposite elbows. Keeping the elbows exactly where they are, place the hands the exact same distance apart so that the forearms are parallel. Walk the feet toward the hands trying to bring the hips over the shoulders and the shoulders over the elbows. The more you can stack here, the less momentum you will need to find the final balance. Look in-between the hands. For those with really open hamstrings, you might be able to walk the feet close enough so that you can lift into the pose one leg at a time. For most of us, however, we will need to kick up. Try and use only as much momentum as necessary to find your balance. It helps to have a spot here in the beginning to help you find that perfect amount of kick. Try and alternate the leg you kick up with so that you stay balanced in the body.

(Note: For many beginners, inflexibility in the shoulders is the limiting factor in the pose and as a result, the elbows splay out, the hands squeeze together, and in the final pose, a significant back arch develops. Check with your teacher to see if you are ready to take the final pose. You can work to open the shoulders by placing a strap around the elbows and keeping a block in-between the hands and instead of coming all the way into the pose, simply walk the feet forward, pressing the chest back toward the feet. The closer to 180 degrees you can open the shoulders, the easier the pose becomes and you avoid creating tension in the upper back, which can easily happen if you start practicing Pincha Mayurasana before you are ready – be patient)

Once you are up, draw your front ribs back into the body and lengthen your low back by tucking the tailbone. Keep the shoulder blades firm against the back and rotate them wide by engaging the serratus anterior (those muscles on the outside of the rib cage). Lift the shoulder blades by pressing into the mat and lifting the head a little further away from the floor. Holding here, engage mula bandha, draw the bellybutton back toward the spine, and lift through the inner legs. I like to imagine that there is a rope attached to my ankles, drawing me up toward the ceiling.

Hold for however long you like, eventually working your way up to a minute or more. To come down, keep pressing through the shoulders to maintain the relationship of the arms to the torso as much as possible while piking the legs down as slowly as possible. Working to strengthen the torso on the negative will help you control the lift of the legs when coming into the pose.

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!

Bhekasana provides a strong stretch on the quads, is a bit of a backbend, and opens the front of the shoulders and chest. It is also one of the few poses in yoga to strongly stretch the tops of the feet. This is the full version of the pose. For a more beginning variation, take one leg at a time in Half Frog.

Begin by lying down on your belly. Bend the legs and lifting the head and chest, reach back for the feet. Beginners can take the outside of the feet here to bring the heels in toward the buttocks. Those with more open thighs will take the inside of the feet with the thumb facing up. On an inhale, again lift the head and shoulders away from the floor. Then, lifting the elbows toward the ceiling, rotate the palms so that the hand presses into the top of the foot with the fingers curled around the toes. The more open the front of the shoulders (and pectoralis minor) are, the easier it is to curl the fingers around the toes here. Also, the more open the quads are to begin the easier this becomes. Taking Virasana before Frog can be a great preparatory pose as it a similar action in the legs, just flipped over.

As flexibility allows, you can take the heels to the outside of the hip and press them down toward the floor (being careful not to stress the knee). Keep the tailbone tucked and make sure the knees stay in line with the hips. Also check to make sure that the thigh is centered (neither internally or externally rotated). If you feel any pain in the knees, you might need to come out, stretch out the legs and come in again with more attention to your alignment. If you still feel pain, come out and take a different pose or simply rest.

Hold for as long as feels comfortable here, trying to lengthen through the low back as you reach the sternum forward and breath evenly. Once you are done, release the feet to extend the legs and press back to downward dog for a few breaths.

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!

Not a classical yoga pose, but a really useful one. This simple stretch can be a relaxing way to open the front of the shoulders (deltoids), the upper arms (biceps), and the chest (pectorals).

To begin, lie down on your belly and extend the arms 90 degrees out to the side. Take the left hand underneath the left shoulder and then roll over to your right. You can experiment with the angle of the arm a bit here. Generally, the closer to 90 degrees, the deeper the stretch, though play around a bit and find your sweet spot – that part of the shoulder and chest that could use a little extra attention. Rest the side of the head comfortably on the floor.

As you roll to the side, you can bend the left leg and place the left foot on the floor behind the right leg. If your shoulders are really open, you might be able to bend both knees and place both feet on the floor, but only if you can still keep the arm extended at your optimum angle. Press through all 5 knuckles of the extended hand and notice the subtle shift of the stretch at the shoulder. Another thing to experiment with is to tuck and untuck the tailbone and notice how what you do with the hips also subtly affects the shoulder stretch.

Hold here for as long as feels comfortable. Concentrate on the breath to release tension in the front of the shoulder and relax your way further into the stretch. Once you are ready, switch sides, holding for as long as you held on the first 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!

Note: The traditional version of revolved side angle has the back heel on the floor and one arm extended overhead. This can be difficult for most people to achieve without undue tension, so I will describe a modified version here.

Begin by coming into a high lunge with the left foot in front. Keep the right leg active and keep the tailbone gently tucked. With an exhale, lean forward and lengthen all the way from the right foot out through the crown of the head. I generally recommend spending at least a round of breath finding this length before coming into the twist. As in most twists, it is more important to find length in the spine than more rotation. Lift the back of the right knee up toward the ceiling and strongly press back through the right heel.

Begin to twist to the left, bringing your right upper arm to the outside of the left thigh. As hip flexibility increases, the thigh will move up the arm closer toward the armpit so that eventually the thigh hugs in to the torso. Don’t rush this though. If you have to lose length in the spine to get the thigh further up the arm, you have gone too far. Try and keep the hips level as you twist. Some people like to take their left hand and rotate the left thigh outward, pressing the femur toward the mat. Keeping the legs steady and engaged, bring both hands together so that the forearms create a straight line. You can gently press the palms together for a little encouragement in the twist, but let the twist originate mainly from the internal muscles of the torso. Cranking on the arms to go deeper into the twist can put the spine at risk. Be gentle.

To take it further, you can open up the arms, bringing the right hand to the floor or to a block, and reaching the left hand up toward the ceiling. For some, a bind might be available, reaching around the back with the left arm and under the left thigh with the right arm. Again, don’t try and crank your way further into your twist. Make sure to keep a focus on lengthening your spine to create space, then twisting around that space.

Because the torso is quite compressed in this pose, breathing can be more difficult. Just keep the breath as steady and even as possible. Hold for as long as feels comfortable (at least 30 seconds or so), then repeat for the same amount of time on 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!

A balancing pose with an added twist, revolved half moon strengthens the legs, core, and lower back, while lengthening the hamstrings, outer hips, and pelvis. Make sure you are warmed up for this pose, as it can be quite demanding. Use props as needed.

We will begin by finding Virabhadrasana 3 with the right leg lifted. Bring the right hand to the floor or to a block and bring the left hand to the sacrum. Ground the standing foot, pressing evenly into the big toe mound, heel, inner, and outer edges. Hug the femur (thigh bone) with the thigh muscles so that the knee cap is drawn up toward the hips. Keep the hips level so that the left toes point straight down to the floor and make sure both legs are straight. If this is not possible, bring more height underneath the right hand.

From here, lengthen your spine, reaching the crown of the head forward and keeping the front of the chest open. Keep the shoulder blades comfortably drawn away from the ears. Don’t feel like you need to do more than this. This can be plenty of work right here, lengthening the spine and extending through the legs. To come into the full pose, begin to open the torso to the left. Try and keep the pelvis stable here so that the twist happens in the upper body around the axis of the spine. We are looking to keep the hips not only level, but square to the front of the mat. If you find that either leg bends or that you lose straightness of the spine, you have gone too far. If this means you only twist two degrees, then only twist two degrees.

Eventually, if it is available, reach the left hand up to the ceiling and gaze up toward the left palm. If gazing up to the left palm strains the neck, simply gaze out to the side. Stay here and breath for at least 30 seconds (more if possible) using the breath to find openness and lightness in the torso, then step back for a few breaths in downward dog or child’s pose before switching sides, holding for the same amount of time.

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!