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SVANASANA 

Dog Poses

 Adho MukhaSvanasana 

Eka Pada AdhoMukha Svanasana 

Parsva Adho MukhaSvanasana 

Parivrtta Adho MukhaSvanasana 

Salamba AdhoMukha Svanasana 

Urdhva MukhaSvanasana 

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Downward Facing Dog

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Adho Mukha Svanasana 

Demonstrated by Melora Griffis Demonstrated by DougKeller  

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©OM yoga center 

Cindy Lee, Director135 West 14th street, 2nd FloorNew York, NY 10011

Tel: 212-229-0267

©DoYoga

Home Studio: The HealthAdvantage Yoga Center 

1041 Sterling Road, Suite202Herndon, VA 20170Tel: 703 435-1571

As you grow more flexible,get an extra stretch by

putting your head on thefloor -- Don't sacrifice thearmpits or shoulder blades,though!

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Downward Facing Dog Poseby Mark Stevens ©Sun and Moon Studios 

Have you ever seen a dog wake and stretch? Just watching itmakes you feel good. Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward

Facing Dog is a pose which expresses spring so beautifully. Itallows us to tap into the inner strength that resides in our heartsand is expressed through the entire body.

We'll begin in Balasana or Child's pose, allowing us to turn insideto watch the pulse of nature, which expands and contracts. We seethis from the smallest atom to the largest star. We see it in theseasons, where the winter is time for the earth to draw inward andhonor itself for its beauty and strength, and when it moves into thesummer, the earth expands fully with life. In ourselves, we feelnature's pulsation by watching the breath, which expands andreleases the body. Even yoga can express itself in this fashion, aswe will soon see.

In Child's pose, we sit back on our heels, bring our forehead to thefloor and our hands stretch out in front of us resting on the floor.Separate your knees slightly if it is difficult to breathe or difficult tobring your forehead to the floor. If the forehead is still not touchingthe floor, then let the forehead rest upon your hands. Here, we restand turn inward. Begin to visualize your heart as a beautiful flower.It is currently the night when even the most beautiful flower closesto honor its own beauty.

We'll start setting the foundation for Downward Facing Dog. Keep

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your arms outstretched and your feet where they are, then comeup to your hands and knees in table pose. Picture that it is justbefore dawn and the flower of your heart is anticipating the goldenlight of the sun's rising. Make sure the hands are shoulder widthapart and slightly in front of the shoulders, and the knees are justbehind the hips, then tuck your toes under. Notice where theweight is on your hands. Is it mostly on the heels of your hands? If so, then stretch the fingers out from the wrists like rays of sunshineand press into every knuckle. Feel how the forearms engage. Now,we are almost ready.

 As the first light of dawn begins to shine, we soften our hearts,allowing the chest to lower between the shoulders. This softeningto Grace brings the-shoulder blades towards each other so they lieflat on your back. Picture two doors sliding together and closing.Turn back to your breath and feel its pulsation throughout your 

body, the pulsation of life.

When you are ready, inhale and lift your knees off the floor bylifting the seat bones up and away from your hands. Let theblossom of your heart fully open in the morning sunshine byexpanding from the heart through the arms and hands into theearth and concurrently through your spine to reach your seatbones towards where the ceiling and wall meet each other. Your upper thighs press back while your upper inner thighs roll inwardtowards the wall behind you to allow the seat bones to expand.Then, slowly descend the heels towards the floor. Keep the breathlong and steady like a warm spring breeze. Feel your whole being

expand in the celebration of life while the radiance of your heartshines brighter than a thousand suns. When you are ready, comedown and rest in Child's pose, turning inward, bowing toyourself?your inner beauty and strength.

Repeat the series once or twice more and notice how radiant thewhole inner and outer body feels. Keeping a connection withnature through your breath and yoga practice shows us we areeach an individual expression of something greater. If wedisconnect from it, we feel alone as if we have to do everything byourselves. But staying connected, we tap into the ocean and feelits pulse.

Have a beautiful and radiant spring!

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Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana 

Demonstrated by NanceSamuels

Demonstrated by Elsie 

of  Elsie's Yoga Kula and some of thevery first yoga class Podcasts on the'net!

Salamba Adho Mukha

Svanasana

Supported Downward Facing

Dog

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Salmaba AdhoMukhaSvanasana Demonstrated byPatricia Walden 

Photo by Andree

Lerat Andree LeratPhotography Tel. 617-738-9553

©1999 YogaJournal Tel: 510-841-9200or eMail 

Parsva Adho Mukha Svanasana

Side Downward Facing Dog

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ParsvaAdho MukhaSvanasana Demonstrated by Jennifer Hayden 

OK, I madethis name up.

The Anusarafolks call thisTwisted Dog,The WildThing,Tinkling Dogand many

otherimaginativenames.Whatever youchoose to callit, it's anamazing

stretch. Be

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careful not tosink into theopposite armand relax yourneck!

Fire Hydrant Pose or

Tinkling Dog

by Barbara Benagh

©Yoga Journal 

In Adho Mukha Svanasana, raise your right leg, bend the knee,and open your right hip toward the ceiling. Shift your weight to your left hand, come onto your right fingertips, and let your right leghang behind you to create a spinal rotation. Breathe steadily andkeep reaffirming the length from your hands to your hips to insuresmooth shoulder rotation. Deepen the twist, gradually bringing your right foot as close to the floor as possible.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

Upward Facing Dog

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UrdhvaMukhaSvanasana Demonstrate

d by B.K.S.Iyengar  

Light on Yoga:

Yoga Dipika by B.K.S.Iyengar

©1966George Allen& UnwinPublishters,Ltd.;ISBN 0-8052-

1031-8

Urdhva Mukha

Svanasana

Upward Facing Dog©Yoga Dancer.com 

This asana is a back bend, countering the forward bend. After practicing poses that bend in one direction, it is important to workthe body in the opposing direction.

Place your hands at breast level, with the index fingers parallel toeach other, pointing straight ahead.

Leading with the heart, hinge at the elbows as you slide the torso

forward, roll over the toes to the tops of the feet and curve up fromChaturanga Dandasana. To protect your elbows and shoulders,

keeping the elbows close in to the ribs. The "eye" of the elbowshould face each other as thought they were cross-eyed. Do nothyperextend!

Straighten the arms as you curve up, bringing the backbend fromthe upper spine, rather than the lumbar area, but moving downalong the spine as you lift. At the last, lift your chin to look gentlyupwards, but only as far as you can without jamming the back of the neck.

If you find your shoulders lifing up towards your ears, or your 

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bottom sagging, back off and don't come up as far until your upper back is more flexible.

Spin curved, shoulders open with shoulder blades moving downthe rib cage.

Tuck the tailbone under as you look up to the ceiling. Advancedstudents can curve the spine and neck further by looking to theback of the room.

The body is lifted, with thighs engaged to keep the strain out of thelower back. The feet area parallel, rather than permitting the heelsto drop outwards. Only the hands and the tops of the feet shouldrest on the ground. Lift the heart out of the shoulders as theysmooth them backwards.

In this version, arms are straight, but you can bend the arms a littleand roll your shoulders back to reaffirm your shoulder blades downalong the rib cage.

Hold ths asana for five nice long, even in/exhalations. Lower downby keeping the elbows tightly into the ribs, thinking forward rather than down, or more advanced students may move back into AdhoMukha Svanasana by engaging the abs and leading backwardswith their hips, rolling back over the toes.

Parivrtta Adho Mukha

Svanasana

Revolved, Downward Facing Dog

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Parivrtta Adho Mukha Svanasana 

Demonstrated by Elsie 

of  Elsie's Yoga Kula and some of the very first yoga class Podcasts on the 'net!

Created on ... September 21, 2001 by Yoga Dancer Designs. 

This page was last updated on Tuesday, 24-Apr-2007 10:07:55

EDT,

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