Simple Steps: #12 Dog Facing Down

Welcome back to Simple Steps. So far you have covered a great deal of territory that has the capability of changing your thoughts, your habits and your observances for a lifetime!

Do not abandon what you have practiced so far!

Todays Simple Step will highlight just one aspect of the physical practice of yoga.

As one practices, asana fosters a quieting of the mind, thus becoming both a preparation for meditation and a meditation sufficient in and of itself.

As with all your physical practice sessions, find a quiet, clean place for your practice, again polish up your patience with yourself and get ready to try something new, or do this familiar practice in a new way or with a renewed attitude.

Todays Simple Step

For the technical aspect of execution, I've adapted this 4-step text from Yoga Journal and added my own comments on how to relate to the pose at the end of the post.

Come onto the floor on your hands and knees. Set your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Spread your palms, index fingers parallel or slightly turned out, and turn your toes under.

Exhale and lift your knees away from the floor. At first keep the knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis. Against this resistance, lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and from your inner ankles draw the inner legs up into the groins.

Then with an exhalation, push your top thighs back and stretch your heels onto or down toward the floor. Straighten your knees but be sure not to lock them. Firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward slightly. Narrow the front of the pelvis.

Firm the outer arms and press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor. From these two points lift along your inner arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then widen them and draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the head between the upper arms; don't let it hang.

Just for today, allow yourself to accept that there are times in life when things simply go upside down and backwards!

Bring to mind an event or situation that you can relate to personally.

Perform this pose as you appreciate the comforts - and discomforts - of stretching new muscles to fit unusual circumstances.

See that you can survive being upside down! Perhaps over time you may actually feel comfort as you adjust and adapt.

This is today's simple step.

Till next time...

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Photo credit GCA by Bob Alba