admin The dancePoseThe pose can seem daunting in its traditional form alone. With these variations, we shift the view of the pose to Poseof play and creativity.
Try a different variation each time to keep things fun and interesting!
Quadricep Stretch
This is the perfect pose to Push you to find your balance and foundation. We can go a little further and focus on the quadriceps.
Raise the left arm and open the palm of the right hand while grasping the inner ankle.
As you bring your right ankle to your glutes, hug the inner thighs.
Draw the abdominals up and, in a while, drop the tailbone to the ground.
Tip: Keep the tailbone grounded to increase the stretch on the front of your thigh when you squeeze the right foot.
Dancer’s Pose
The full pose is an excellent example of balance achieved through movement. It requires constant kicking and pulling to achieve stillness.
As you begin to kick back, continue to hug the inner thighs.
A continuous hug will prevent the knee from moving to one side.
As long as your hips are square, the right leg should be behind you.
The leg will lift naturally if you focus on kicking your back.
After you have your back bent, hinge at the hips to tilt your body forward.
You can kick your hand if you find yourself leaning too far forward. If you start to fall, pull harder. This will help you find the fluidity of movement and balance.
Mermaid Dancer
Mermaid is usually a variation of Pigeon Pose. However, it can also be a great addition to Dancer Pose.
Move the right foot from the Dancer Pose into the crook on the right elbow.
Clasp your hands together by bending the left arm and reaching back.
Press the leg further up by lifting the heart and pressing the right foot gently into the arm.
Enjoy yourself! The Mermaid variation is not necessarily a deep backbend. However, it’s an iit’s’sy to express your creativity and inspire you to create new variations.
Scorpion Dancer
This Scorpion variant can be tricky to enter, but it allows you to square your hips more easily. This also removes some of the asymmetry from the back bend.
Begin by grasping the inner ankle and extending the quads.
Rotate the shoulder to point the elbow straight up.
Bring your left hand and right elbows together, hugging them inwards.
Kick your foot into the palms to increase the bend of the back and tilt it forward.
Tip: For most people, the rotation of the shoulders is the biggest obstacle to the pose. HoPoser, a strap can help overcome this. As you loop the foot into the strap, raise the elbows. As your flexibility increases, you can walk your hands along the strap to eventually grab your foot.
Full Split
The deepest expression is a pose that requires a lot of flexibility.
Full Split is a variation of Scorpion that can be played from the beginning.
Start by extending the right leg and kicking it back into your hand.
Slide your hand along the leg towards the ankle or calf as you feel resistance.
By internally rotating your leg and hugging towards the midline, you can keep the hips down.
To prevent hyper-extending the knee, the more you lean forward, the more weight you should shift to your toes.
Do not force yourself into the pose by pushing your leg straight. Keep the integrity of the position and roll the right hip downward as you extend your leg.
