How Do You Do Chaturanga?

After training yoga around the world for four years, I’ve noticed that there are a few positions the majority of people fight with. Most of these are yoga poses that are on the more advanced side, but there’s one beginner stance that I see people getting wrong more often than not — and that’s Chaturanga.

Chaturanga is the Four-Limbed Staff Pose, and if you’ve ever taken a Vinyasa yoga class, you’ve done your fair share of Chaturangas. They’re incorporated into the flow of Vinyasa, and you often stir through a Chaturanga and Upward Facing Dog just before you land back in your Downward Facing Dog. Chaturanga is affectionately known as the yoga push-up, and albeit it’s done many times in a basic yoga class, it’s uncommon to see an instructor instruct it in depth.

The most common mistake I see is that people are letting their shoulders fall too far forward, almost all the way to the ground. Yoga teachers will call this "dumping" in the shoulders. This is worrisome because it could compromise your shoulder girdle. You never want your shoulders to go below the line of your elbows, because not only does that stop you from building strength, but it could eventually cause harm in the joints in your shoulder area.

Here are the top things to keep in mind when you’re doing Chaturanga:

• Never let your shoulders come below the line of your elbows.
• Your elbows should always be directly above your wrists.
• You should be looking down at the ground in front of you, so you don’t strain your neck.
• Draw your shoulder blades together on your back.
• Squeeze your elbows into your bod as much as you can.

Just like with any other type of exercise, if you don’t perform yoga positions with the correct form, you could be at risk for injury. If you have trouble keeping this form when you’re flowing in and out of Chaturanga, simply perform the position on your knees. You don’t have to do the utter pose right off the bat. It’s better to modify and build up the strength rather than do it wrong and potentially hurt yourself.

Next time you attempt Chaturanga and you do it with the decent form, you’ll see how much firmer it is, but that’s exactly the challenge you’re going for!

If you want to smash your Chaturanga, take some time outside of your yoga class to simply practice going from plank to Chaturanga and back again, as many times as you feel is necessary. It might even help to do the stir in front of a mirror so you can see your form. You know how the telling goes: practice makes flawless.

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