Flow Motion

You've done Chaturanga and Updog hundreds of times, but are you doing them right? Learn the secrets of flawless flow.

By Jason Crandell

At this point, the only things touching the floor are the tops of your feet and the palms of your hands. To complete Upward Dog, make a few last adjustments in your upper body: First, observe how your weight is distributed on your hands and wrists. Is it concentrated on your wrists? Localized on one side of your palm? Or is it dispersed evenly? Make subtle shifts in your hands and arms until the weight is evenly distributed and no part of your wrists are being stressed. (You can check this by looking at your mat—if you see an even handprint, you know you've got it.)

Stay in the pose as you lift, broaden, and draw your chest forward. Lift your collarbones as if they were going to loop over the top of your shoulders, and slide your shoulder blades down your back. As you did in Chaturanga, draw the lower tips of your shoulder blades toward each other and firm them into the back of your chest. Bring your shoulders down and back and observe how this helps lift your chest even more. Lastly, with your head placed directly over your shoulders, gaze forward and up. Avoid dropping the back of your skull toward your shoulders. Instead, maintain an easy, natural curvature of your neck as you look up.

After three to six breaths in Upward-Facing Dog, bring your knees to the floor and transition into Child's Pose.

ALL TOGETHER NOW
Now that you've practiced Chaturanga and Upward-Facing Dog separately, you can link them together and incorporate your breath into a flowing sequence.

Begin on all fours with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees about a foot behind your hips. Draw a full, smooth inhalation into your body. As you exhale, bend your elbows and lower your chest downward (and forward) until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Inhale and straighten your elbows until your shoulders are directly over your wrists. Continue inhaling, filling your lungs to the brim, and lift the top of your thighs and knees away from the floor. Exhale and shift back onto all fours, or, as you do in Sun Salutations, come into Downward-Facing Dog.

Practice these poses consistently and they'll feel less clunky and more silken. When this happens and the postures feel natural and graceful, congratulate yourself (humbly) and begin to lift and straighten your legs as you practice Chaturanga. Most important, enjoy the feeling of flow in your body at every stage.

Jason Crandell teaches yoga in San Francisco and around the country. You can contact him at www.jasonyoga.com.

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