basics chaturanga by Natasha Rizopoulos

Hug elbows into body

Lengthen lower back

Keep shoulders elbow height Lift lower belly

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Learn to hover FOR THE FIRST COUPLE of years of my life, with grace in (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) this character- was the bête noire of my practice. As a flexible building pose. person with loose shoulders, I thought the pose was designed for another species—one that had a strength that was completely alien to me. Over time, though, DON’T Dip shoulders Chaturanga has become a great friend and teacher, helping me to lower than elbows. develop the strength and stability that once seemed elusive and imprint actions and principles that serve throughout my prac- tice. The pose is challenging for many students, but its payoffs are great: It strengthens the arms and legs, tones the abdominals, builds healthy shoulders, and prepares students for arm balances, inversions, and . And it’s character building. Chaturanga presents different challenges for different bodies. It can initially be harder for women than for men. Men gener- ally have stronger pectoral muscles than women and can use their power to muscle through Chaturanga. The key to making the pose doable for any body is to learn proper alignment. Cor- rect alignment builds strength for those who struggle in that department and teaches the sturdier student, who often relies on brute force, to refi ne the pose in ways that prevent damaging the shoulders. Learn to set yourself up accurately, and you’ll see DO Keep shoulders elbow height.

Press heels back

Engage quadriceps

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0062-066_bas_210.indd62-066_bas_210.indd 6363 33/4/08/4/08 44:33:49:33:49 PMPM BASICS 1 Maintaining this alignment in the shoul- ders and chest while bearing weight is as challenging as it is crucial. But there are a few ways to make a well-aligned Chatu- ranga more accessible. First, practice the pose with your knees down on the fl oor and closely monitor your elbow align- ment. Next, notice how deep you go as you lower yourself toward the fl oor and catch yourself before you go too far. Finally, share the effort of the pose between the upper and the lower body so that the legs 2 can play an active role. USE YOUR TRICEPS Try a variation that takes some of the diffi culty out of the pose so that you can focus on the details that will protect your shoulders as you develop strength.

Begin in Plank Pose. See that your GAIAM STRAP: LULULEMON; MAT: YOGABELA; AND SHORTS: TOP hands are directly underneath your shoul- Figure 2 (version of Chaturanga) is described on page 66. ders, your feet hip-distance apart, and your heels stacked over your toes. Pull that Chaturanga isn’t just about upper- the navel in to engage your core. Extend body strength—that’s a misperception. your sternum forward as you press your To practice with integrity and ease, you’ll heels back, so that you feel your body get- need to distribute the work throughout ting long and strong. Draw the front of the entire body by rallying the power of your thighs toward the ceiling—but don’t your abdomen, spine, legs, and heels. allow the tailbone to follow, or you’ll wind ) up with your butt stuck up high in the air. Pose Benefits NOT A PUSH-UP Instead, release your tailbone toward your Strengthens arm, shoulder, The tendency with Chaturanga is to prac- heels and notice how that makes you more and leg muscles tice it like a push-up, letting the elbows compact at your center. Develops core stability fl are out and burdening the upper body. Keeping your gaze on the floor, look Prepares body for inversions This creates misalignments in the shoul- slightly forward so that the crown of your and arm balances ders, placing these delicate joints at risk. head is a continuation of the line of your To understand how this happens, hold spine. From Plank, drop your knees to your arms out in front of you at shoulder the fl oor but maintain the lifted, engaged Contraindications height with your hands shoulder-distance feeling in your lower belly—almost as Wrist or shoulder injury apart, as if you were in Plank Pose. Then though it were a tray carrying your lower Pregnancy bend your elbows, allowing them to stick back (see figure 1). Keep your toes tucked (though there is some out. Observe the effect that this has on under so you can retain a sense of your debate about this) your shoulders; the heads of your upper heels pressing back. From here, reestab- arms fall forward and your breastbone lish your alignment: Inhale, drawing the (sternum) sinks. Now do it again, but this heads of the shoulders up away from the time hug your elbows in at your sides. fl oor and reemphasizing the lift in your Notice the position of your upper body: belly as you direct the tip of your tailbone ( The head of the upper arm is in line with down. As you exhale, bend your elbows, (not in front of) the side of your body, and keeping them drawn in against your

the sternum remains buoyant. sides, and slowly lower yourself toward VERONICA SJOEN/ARTIST UNTIED; HAIR/MAKEUP: HEINEKEN; LYN STYLIST: CHRISANDRA FOX; MODEL: STUDIO; EARNSHAW/SANDBOX RORY PHOTOS:

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the fl oor. Keep your body as straight as a staff of life plank of wood, neither letting your cen- Practicing Chaturanga Dandasana (Four- ter sag nor sticking your butt up in the Limbed Staff Pose) plays a vital role in air. Notice the distinction between this doing the Sun Salutations that are central INVERSIONS Chaturanga creates a modifi cation and the Knees-Chest-Chin to Ashtanga and vinyasa fl ow yoga. The stability in the shoulders, a sense of variation taught in many classes. Knees- pose strengthens and tones the entire compactness at the center, and an Chest-Chin has many fi ne qualities but body, helps teach important alignment, alertness in the legs. These are crucial is not an ideal model for imprinting the and prepares you for a multitude of to doing safe inversions. When practiced positions, including the following: with attention to alignment, Chaturanga alignment of Chaturanga. Make sure that becomes the ideal training for poses ARM BALANCES The upper-body and as you lower yourself toward the fl oor, the like Sirsasana (Headstand), Pincha lower-belly strength that you develop heads of your upper arms remain at the (Forearm Balance), and by practicing Chaturanga, combined same height as your elbows (rather than Adho Mukha Vrksasana (). with the confi dence it instills, translates dropping toward the fl oor as they do in beautifully into the kind of power and BACKBENDS The legs feature pro- Knees-Chest-Chin). core consciousness you need for arm minently in a healthy Chaturanga and in If you are correctly aligned, your belly balances such as (Crane Pose, healthy backbends (in which the curve of will reach the fl oor before your chest does. often called Crow Pose), Galavasana the spine is evenly distributed). Learning Keep your elbows by your sides, pull up (Flying Pigeon Pose), and Vasisthasana to use the legs effectively in Chaturanga (Side Plank Pose). through your core, and press back up to all imprints this awareness, so that the legs can play an active role in poses such as fours. You’ll feel your triceps working. If Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing you don’t, you have probably allowed your Dog), Setu Bandha (Bridge elbows to splay out, with your shoulders Pose), and Urdhva (Upward bearing the burden of the work. Bow Pose, often called Wheel Pose).

CATCH YOURSELF The next modifi cation teaches two fea- and tailbone down will engage the belly, another is to leave the butt up in the air tures of a healthy Chaturanga: catching giving the pose vitality at its center. To as the shoulders dip toward the fl oor (cre- yourself at elbow height and activating deepen the diffi culty and reinforce cor- ating a pike). The more you can activate your legs. With a strap, make a loop that’s rect actions, use your core and legs to the front of your body so that it supports as wide as your hips. (When you hold the press back up to Plank. the back of your body, the more success loop fl at across your abdomen at hipbone you will have at avoiding these polarities. level, it should go from one side of your SHARE THE WORK Engage the belly and quadriceps by lifting hips to the other.) Place it around your Ready to try the full pose? Come to Plank. the tops of the thighs to the ceiling and arms just above the elbows and come into Ideally, your body in Chaturanga will look drawing your tailbone toward your heels. Plank. As you inhale, reach your sternum just like your body in Plank, except with Another pitfall is to put so much energy and heels in opposite directions to get bent elbows. Emphasize these qualities, into reaching the chest forward that you long, then lift the tops of your thighs lifting and fi rming the entire body. Look forget to press the heels back. When this and direct the tailbone toward your heels. slightly forward so that your head is not happens, you come too far forward onto Feel how the previous two actions prevent drooping (which tends to drag the shoul- your toes and lose the strength of the you from collapsing at your center and ders down as you move legs, forcing the shoul- activate your core. As you exhale, ener- into Chaturanga). As Online Extra ders to work overtime. gize your legs, keep the shoulders lifted you exhale, keep your To read more Basics columns, If the shoulders carry and the chest extended forward, and bend elbows drawn in and visit YogaJournal.com and the pose, they often your elbows until the strap catches you your shoulder heads click on “Basics” in the collapse, sacrificing (see figure 2). Your shoulders should be at lifted. Slowly lower( navigation bar at the top. )alignment and creating the same height as your elbows, so that down. Create 90-degree vulnerability. To prevent each arm creates a 90-degree angle. angles with your arms, with your upper this, stack your heels over your toes in When you lower yourself beneath arms parallel to the floor and forearms Plank, and keep pressing them back even elbow height, it is very hard to maintain perpendicular. Your goal is to stay straight as you enthusiastically extend your ster- correct alignment in the shoulders, and and strong; keep pressing your heels back num forward and move into Chaturanga. they can become compromised. With the and reaching your heart forward so that When your legs come to the party, your strap to support you, stay in the pose and your body remains taut. shoulders will thank you. ■ reactivate the legs so they are lively par- Avoid common Chaturanga pitfalls: ticipants. Heels back and heart forward One tendency is to either sink at the cen- Natasha Rizopoulos lives and teaches yoga in will galvanize the quadriceps; thighs up ter of the torso (creating a ), Los Angeles and Boston.

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