Consciously draw in your low belly while you breathe and hold for 3 slow breaths, building up to 5 breaths. This is a yoga balance pose, so know that any wobbling and self-correcting is stimulating your proprioceptors, and is a sign of you getting stronger. On the last repetition, hold the extension, with right leg and left arm lifted, but flow the breath. If you want a challenge, extend your left arm at the same time (pictured), and draw your fist in on the exhale. Continue to flow through these two shapes 3-5 times. On an exhale, draw your right knee toward your nose as you round your spine like you did in Cat Pose. Inhale and extend your right leg behind you, toes lifted.

Option: Turn one or both hands to the side of the mat to give your wrists an extra stretch and prepare them to bear your body weight later in the sequence. Link your movement to your ujjayi breath. Move through a few Cat-Cows to warm up your spine. Then shift into Tabletop with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.

(Photo: Renee Choi) Bird Dog Flowįirst, take a moment in Balasana (Child’s Pose) to settle your body and breath. Have a chair or blocks handy, and practice near a wall or counter if you are newer to yoga. It targets proprioceptors in your feet and ankles and offers creative opportunities up-level your stability game. This sequence, created by yoga teacher Dana Slamp, was shot after a balance-challenging blizzard in New York City. Stimulating these neurons under strengthens them and builds new neural connections, which, over time, can lead to better balance. These specialized neurons tell you where you are in space and help you sense how you’re moving.

Your skin, muscles, and tissues contain sensory receptors called proprioceptors. I suggest thinking of balance as a verb, which you put into practice with yoga.” Fishman explains, “There’s ‘balance,’ the noun, which you lose when you fall. Loren Fishman, Medical Director of Manhattan Physical Medicine and senior yoga therapy faculty at Prema Yoga Institute, has been prescribing yoga to his patients of all ages for decades–even patients with osteoporosis. And since physical balance is something we need throughout our lives, we can start the practice of improving it at any time, regardless of age or yoga experience.ĭr. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!įeeling a little scattered, clumsy, or stuck in your head? Yoga balance poses are an exceptional way to use your body, breath, and focus to ground yourself in the moment.

Perfect balance yoga and massage