Part 2 – The favourite pose – OMG, it’s downward facing dog?!!

I am struggling with deciding my favourite pose because I want to choose a fancy pose to make people go “WOW”… however, when I gave some serious thoughts about which pose really impressed me, the pose is Adho Mukha Svanasana – the downward facing dog pose. 

I can still clearly remember the first day of our 200YTT course, Adho Mukha Svanasna got me into a state of panic for rather long. I could not hold the pose for more than 5 breaths, I hurt my right elbow after the first session of practice because I put all my weight onto my wrists and palms; till now, I can still feel the pain if I overexert my right elbow.

Downward Facing Dog is supposed to be a resting pose; however, the challenge to me was how to transform it into a resting pose because I struggled with maintaining the posture for more than 5 breaths. From the 200 YTT course, I understand that to achieve one pose, you may need to do other poses/ exercises to prepare and build up your body strength and flexibility, and finally lead you to the final pose. To achieve Downward dog, I practised shoulder rotation with the aid of a towel by pressing and flattening my shoulders and chest against the wall to open them up; by practicing seated forward bend to loosen my hamstrings. Furthermore, in order for my muscles to remember the feeling of doing the pose properly, I practised by gripping a towel between my abdomen and thighs.

After the detailed study of pose technique and body alignment and many practices, I finally grasp the technique of the correct pose and enjoy the resting pose with a peaceful mind. Even though, I was not capable of doing the pose properly at the initial stage, I feel a sense of achievement by overcoming the challenge and eventually acquiring the right technique.

Serena