These posts are about yoga.
As in the other bird poses (eagle, crow, rooster), peacock involves flexion of the thoracic spine, abduction of the scapulae, and extension of the cervical spine. It’s unusual to balance on the arms with the forearms supinated. This changes the action in the wrist because the extensors are more active to resist plantarflexion (falling into […]
Mayurasana – Peacock Pose Read More »
If the knees separate in this pose, the rotation is happening more in the hi joints than in the spine. In the rotated pose, the arms are more abducted and the spine is more extended than in bakasana. Because this is a bound pose, it can put a lot of force into the lower back
Parsva Bakasana – Side Crane Pose Read More »
In bird pose (eagle, crow, rooster, peakcock), common factors are flexion of the thoracic spine, abduction of the scapulae, and extension of the cervical spine. In other words, wings are spread and the beak is lifted. These actions require precision and strength in the muscles of the spine to achieve cervical extension without engaging the
Bakasana – Crane Pose Read More »
Astavakra was a very learned sage whose mother attended Vedic chanting class while pregnant. While he was in his mother’s womb, he winced at eight of his father’s mispronunciations of Vedic prayers, and was thus born with eight bends in his body.
Astavakrasana – Eight-Angle Pose Read More »
Weakness in the pose shows up in the lower body as lumbar hyperextension combined with hip flexion. To counter this, the coordinated action of the hamstrings is important. In the upper body, weakness in the triceps and serratus anterior can show up as a downward rotation of the scapulae and overuse of the pectoralis major
Chaturanga Dandasana – Four-Limbed Stick Pose Read More »
If the latissimus dorsi are tight, the flexion and upward rotation of the arms can cause hyperextension in the lumbar spine. Hands and Wrist Alert: It’s very challenging to maintain the integrity of the hands with all the weight of the body balancing on them, but it’s essential in this pose because collapsing into the
Adho Mukha Vrksasana – Downard-Facing Tree Pose Read More »
If the goal is to have extension distributed throughout the whole spine, there will need to be more action in the thoracic region and less in the lumbar and cervical regions. This translates into concentric work for the extensors in the thoracic spine and eccentric work for the flexors in the cervical and lumbar spines.
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana – Upward-Facing Dog Pose Read More »
To extend the elbows and resist collapse in the shoulder, the triceps are active. The latissimus dorsi often try to help this action, but they depress and internally rotate the shoulder, which creates impingement at the acromion process. The pronators are active in the forearm, but if there is a lack of rotation between the
Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward-Facing Dog Pose Read More »
From the previous analysis of muscular actions, it’s clear that with it takes to get into this pose is almost completely the opposite of what it takes to remain in it. Lifting the weight of the body into spinal extension requires a strong, integrated action of the arms and spinal extensors. Once past vertical, gravity
Viparita Salabhasana – Full Locust Pose Read More »
It can be challenging to lift the arms in this relationship to gravity, with the spine in extension. If the latissiums dorsi are used to extend the spine (rather than the deeper, intrinsic spinal muscles), they will inhibit the movement in the arms. This position of the legs uses a complex interaction among adductors, medial
Salabhasana – Locust Pose Read More »