admin The Plank Pose is difficult to maintain. It works the arms and core muscles, and you may find yourself shaking while in a High Plank Pose. Its Sanskrit name, Kumbhakasana, is interesting because Kumbhaka means to retain (or hold) the breath.
You should not hold your breath but maintain your posture and position. Here are three alignment issues that students often struggle with and how to fix them.
Belly and Low-Back Sag
You can try to determine the cause of your sag. Is it because you’re not engaging these muscles properly? It could be that your muscles have become tired after five Sun Salutations, or you lack the strength to support yourself.
To correct this misalignment, you can lengthen your tailbone and move it towards your feet. Your abdominal muscles should be lifted upwards towards your lower ribs. The thighbones should be lifted upward.
Drop your knees down to the floor. You can then focus on strengthening the core muscles and gradually progress to a position where your legs are long, and your knees are up.
Hand placement
The wrists should ideally be aligned underneath the shoulders and parallel to the top of the mat. Students often angle their hands toward the pinky, placing weight on the outer edge and potentially throwing other joints out of alignment.
Keep the wrists below the shoulders, and pay attention to where you place your hands. Yoga practitioners can improve the alignment of their wrists by pushing themselves forward on the tiptoes during High Plank. This is often done when High Plank forms part of Chaturanga Dandasana.
For most students, a slight forward lean onto the tippy-toes will align the shoulders above the wrists.
Place the wrist crease parallel with the top of the mat to fix the angle. Press into the thumb-index finger side of your hand to work on an interior rotation.
Drooping Neck
Muscles in the neck can turn it from side to side and flex or extend to make nodding movements. They also connect to the shoulder and back girdle. These are just some of the functions that neck muscles perform. In Plank Pose, we sometimes allow the neck to drop and break the length of the spine.
Lift the back of your head up or backward until the ears align with the shoulders. You can also widen the shoulder blades. This will activate the muscles connecting your neck and back.
Plank pose can also cause many other alignment issues. I strive to improve my Plank Pose every yoga session. Although it is difficult to hold, it is great for strengthening.
