hands and knees - part one

Hands and knees pose is a foundation pose for many warm up poses and vinyāsas.

In our practice of Yoga, it’s important to pay attention to 1) engaging the entire body with ease; 2) maintaining a neutral spine when we aren’t intentionally working an area of the spine in a specific way (for example, backbends and twists); 3) breathing deeply in through the nose and out through the nose and generally coordinating our breath with our movements.

This deceptively simply pose can build arm strength, leg strength, strength in the lower abdominals; and, precisely because the pose is simple, it allows us the opportunity to get a sense of what it means to engage the entire body in a pose. If you come to hands and knees and your body is not engaged, it’s not a yoga pose, it’s just hands and knees. But, when we engage our entire body and begin to breathe in through the nose and out through the nose, sensing the breath traveling the full length of the spine as it flows in and out; and, when we push our hands and knees into the earth and draw the energy of the earth up through our hands and knees, that’s a yoga pose. So, you get the idea….

* Place your hands under the shoulders/shoulder directly over the wrists
* Your fingers should be spread wide with middle fingers pointing forward
* Place your knees directly under the hips/hips over the knees
* Push into the earth with your hands
* Engage the arms
* Rotate the upper arms in so the eyes of the elbows face each other
* Though subtle, rotate the lower arms outward (this movement asks the hands to do their part in supporting the upper body in this pose)
* Engage the lower abdominal muscles
* Push the knees into the earth engaging the thighs
* Option: Turn the toes under to engage the feet and lower legs
* Crown of the head is reaching forward (not looking down and not looking up --- sensing that neutral curve of the neck)
* Sense that, at this point, you have a neutral spine from the tailbone to the crown of the head

Now close your eyes and breathe. Breathing in through the nose, the breath travels the length of the spine to your tailbone; and, breathing out through the nose, the breath travels the length of the spine back to the crown of your head. Breathe several rounds of breath until you begin to feel the energetic work of your arms and legs.

You can also sense, as you breathe in, that your hands are pulling new energy from the earth into your body, traveling up your arms, down the length of your spine, down your thighs, through the bend in your knees, down the calves, into the feet; and, on your exhale, the breath travels back the way it came and the energy goes back into the earth for recycling.

Enjoy your practice and let me know how it goes.

“The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.” ~Robert Louis Stevenson
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Thank you to my teacher, Shari Friedrichsen, for collaborating with me on how to best describe the mechanics of this pose.