strength

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Yoga Pose: Plank - Do's & Don'ts

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Yoga Pose: Plank - Do's & Don'ts

Ohhh the Yoga Plank - loved by some and loathed by even more. Plank Pose is a strengthening yoga pose that works the arms, legs, and core muscles. It is often practised as part of your Sun Salutation or Flow, so usually you aren't left working in it for too long, which can mean you aren't always in proper alignment. Today I wanted to break the Yoga Plank down a bit more to show you some "Do's" and "Do Not's" while in the pose, simply because it's a very easy pose to be a bit "sloppy" in. Unfortunately, if you aren't doing Plank correctly, you are missing out on some of it's wonderful strengthening properties, but it will still feel like a very difficult pose (maybe even more difficult than if you are in proper alignment). Keep reading for my list of "Do's" and "Don'ts" for your Yoga Plank. 

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Yoga Student Question: Why can't I Balance??

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Yoga Student Question: Why can't I Balance??

When I teach balancing postures - Tree pose, Eagle Pose, Warrior 3 - I usually say at some point in the practice "If you fall over, just have a laugh and keep trying - it's just Yoga". In my experience as a Yoga teacher, I see the most frustration and stress around poses that involve balancing on one foot. If people cannot stay balanced, they get very discouraged and stressed and it can effect the rest of their practice as they carry those feelings into the next poses. So, today I wanted to address the question of "why the heck can't I balance on one foot?!" here on the blog. 

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Yoga Pose: Warrior 3

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Yoga Pose: Warrior 3

Warrior 3 - Virabhadrasana 3 - is perhaps the most challenging of all the Warriors as it requires strength, balance and flexibility. This pose provides many benefits to it's practitioner, including strengthening the legs, feet and ankles, strengthening the core muscles, opening and toning the shoulder muscles, and helping to improve balance. Keep reading to learn how to move into this pose. Since balancing in this pose can be especially difficult for beginners, I have also included the supported version of this pose as well. Enjoy!