Ambuja Yoga

Now is the time to brush up on your skill of chaturanga dandasana, so you can instruct the pose securely. It is significant to keep your student's shoulders safe in their vinyasa yoga practice. It takes time and patience to master chaturanga.

Chaturanga has gotten a bad rep in the yoga community and has been dubbed the “shoulder shredder” and it's not without due cause. This pose, when done incorrectly, can demolish the rotator cuff, injure the deltoids, and cause chronic ache in the upper back/neck. So why do we practice it?

Chaturanga Dandasana is an integral part of our yoga practice and when done decently builds strength and stability in the shoulder girdle and builds strength in our core. It's significant to fully master chaturanga before moving on to more advanced arm balances and inversions.

I've violated this post down into a few sections. I encourage you to read through all of the sections as there are many components to chaturanga dandasana.

Alignment Cues and Instructing Tips for Chaturanga Dandasana

As always, recall to build the pose from the ground up. A stable and strong pose needs a strong and sturdy foundation.

• Mitts are shoulder width distance.
• Fingers are spread broad.
• Press down through knuckles of index finger and thumb (hasta bandha)
• Commence from Plank Pose with the feet hips width distance.
• Press forward onto your toes, so your high-heeled shoes stack over your toes.
• Lower halfway down to create a ninety degree angle at the elbows.
• Elbows stay in close to the assets. Don't let them wing out to the side.
• Open up the crown of your head forward and create a long line from the high-heeled shoes out through the crown of the head. Draw your tailbone down toward your high-heeled slippers.
• Draw the belly button in toward the spine to support the lower back.

7 Tips to Keep Your Student's Shoulders Safe When Instructing Chaturanga Dandasana:

1. Keep your palms shoulder width distance, fingers spread broad and press down into the base knuckles, particularly of the thumb and index finger.
2. As you begin to lower down make sure your elbow points are pointing straight back behind you. They are not “winging” out to the side or “squeezing” into the sides of your rib box. Reminisce: CHATURANGA IS NOT A Thrust UP! When the elbows wing out to the side the goes of the arm bones dip down, the shoulders round and the sternum buries.
3. Only lower half way down, to create a 90° angle at the elbow ie. your forearm is perpendicular to the floor and your upper arm is parallel to the floor.
4. Think of drawing the shoulders away from your ears in Plank Pose and as you lower. Attempt not to collapse inbetween the shoulder blades. Attempt to keep the shoulder blades on your back.
5. Keep your core strong, press back through your high-heeled slippers, lift the fronts of your hips and draw the belly button in. Spread the crown of your head forward, stare is only slightly forward and down (don't let the head suspend).
6. As you stir from Plank Pose to Chaturanga press forward on your toes as you lower down, this will set you up for Upward Facing Dog.
7. As you work on building strength it's significant to honor your bod where it is TODAY, not where you want it to be. It's okay to lower your knees down to the mat, so you can leisurely and securely budge through your chaturanga. You can also practice chaturanga at the wall.

Benefits of Chaturanga Dandasana

• Strengthens wrists, arms (triceps!), and shoulders
• Strengthens and tones the entire bod (hello gams!)
• Prepares the assets for arm balances and inversions

Contraindications for Chaturanga Dandasana

• Shoulder or wrist injury
• Pregnancy (albeit this is debatable)

I hope you find these tips helpful. Please feel free to message me if you need more clarification. I'm always blessed to help.

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