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Yoga Mudra pose

 

 

Yoga Mudra is one of the best basic yoga poses to stretch your shoulders and upper back. This pose also calms the mind like most forward bends. There are a couple variations of this pose if you cannot feel comfortable in it or cannot do it properly. One variation is if you cannot place your forehead on the floor you can put a folded blanket there to make it easier. Another variation is for people with knee problems (like me actually), if you cannot sit on your heels then you can put a folded blanket between your heels and buttocks to help.

 

A resource for you that is very helpful and I highly recommend is Scientific Keys Vol 1 - The Key Muscles of Hatha Yoga, It is an excellent book that details the muscle and bone alignments for the shoulderstand as well as many other postures. It has brought my training to a whole new level. (The ability to visualize what is happening inside the body can really make allot of the more difficult poses easier to do). They have a free first chapter on the site, I encourage you to check it out.

 

 

How to do this pose .

1. kneel on the floor with your knees hip width apart and the top of your feet flat on the floor.

2. Exhale as you sit back on your heels and relax.

3. Place your hands on top of your thighs, close to your knees with palms down

4. Keep your back straight and relax your upper body and shoulders.

5. Interlace your fingers behind your back.

6. Breath out and press your hands down away from your shoulders.

7. As you do this you should feel your shoulder blades come together and your chest open.

8. Breath out and bend forward from your hips.

9. Breath in as you raise your arms behind you as far as it is comfortable for you.

10. You forehead should move closer to the floor as you raise your arms behind you.

11. Continue to lift your arms and lower your forehead until it touches the floor. (or if cannot touch the floor use a folded towel in from of you)

12. Hold this pose for 30 seconds to 3 minutes

 

***Use Caution in this pose if you have neck, shoulder, arm or knee problems. Remember yoga is not a race, take your time and listen to your body***

 

This pose is very nice if you have alot of stress in your life and can help relive the tension and calm the mind. I hope you are enjoying my section of free yoga positions. If you enjoy these free online yoga lessons please remember to visit my sponsers and help support my site. I wish you all the best and do not forget to sign up for our RSS feed to the left to be notified of new pages as they come.

 

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