How to Strengthen Your Chaturanga
Chaturanga Dandasana is an integral part of the vinyasa. It strengthens your biceps, triceps, pecs, and even the muscles between your shoulder blades. The problem is that it’s challenging — in order to practice it correctly, it requires you to have strength. It’s important to first build up that strength by practicing the modified version of Chaturanga before attempting the full variation. Keep reading to see Alo Moves yoga instructor and master teacher trainer Briohny Smyth explain common misalignments in Chaturanga, as well as how to practice the modified and full variations.
Common Misalignments in Chaturanga
Because Chaturanga is often cued as part of the vinyasa, it’s important to make sure that you’re set up correctly in Downward Dog and Plank. Here are a few common misalignments in Chaturanga that stem from misalignments in those two foundational poses.
Your hand and shoulder placement is off.
First things first: make sure your hands are set up correctly in Plank and Downward Dog before moving into Chaturanga. If your hands are slightly turned in beforehand, shifting forward and moving through Chaturanga will cause your arms to internally rotate and your elbows to splay out. This can hurt your shoulders, specifically your rotator cuff, as well as your elbows. And, if your index finger knuckles are lifted, this will send the weight into your outer wrists. Combined with bent elbows and internally rotated upper arm bones, it’s a recipe for future injury.
“We see this a lot in our yoga classes, and it’s not great,” says Smyth. “It hurts the wrists, it hurts the elbows, and it hurts the shoulders.”
How to fix it:
To safely engage your hands and shoulders in Chaturanga, Smyth suggests the following tips.
Spread your fingers wide and make sure your hands are shoulder-distance.
Place either the middle fingers to face forward for a more traditional stance, or the index fingers pointing forward for tighter shoulders or people dealing with shoulder, wrist, or elbow injury. That slight external rotation will help to create space.
If you have trouble straightening your arms, try turning your hands out slightly so your index finger knuckles point forward. This helps with wrist issues or shoulder pain.
Grip the mat with your fingertips and press down through your index finger knuckles. Gripping with your fingertips takes the position of your hand from extension into flexion. It turns on your forearm muscles, which protects your wrists.
Firm your forearms in, and counter that by externally rotating your arm bones, and spreading your shoulder blades wide.
Lack of core engagement in plank.
If your hips are sagging down or piking up in Plank, you’re not properly engaging your core muscles. Because most teachers cue Down Dog to Plank, the length of your Down Dog is going to affect the integrity of your Plank (which will in turn affect your Chaturanga). If your Down Dog is too short, you’ll shift forward and won’t have enough space. This leads to planching, which can hurt your wrists, or it leads to piking up your hips.
How to fix it:
Even if you have a short Downward Dog, you can take the proper steps to align yourself correctly in Plank.
Make sure your shoulders stack over your wrists.
Step your feet back so your shoulders stay in place. Make sure the balls of your feet are underneath your heels. “This is harder, but it forces you to use the muscles in the adductors of the legs to help you engage your core,” says Smyth.
Continue engaging in your Plank by drawing your ribs and navel in, then firm your inner thighs together as you try to squeeze your butt without externally rotating your legs.
Your shoulder tips are dropping.
Once you’re ready to move into Chaturanga from Plank, shift forward all the way to the tips of your toes, then bend your elbows. As you lower down, make sure your elbows are stacked on top of your wrists and your shoulder tips stay lifted. If you notice your shoulder tips are dropping in Chaturanga or you struggle to hold the lifted position, that’s a cue to bend your knees and take a modified Chaturanga.
How to Do a Modified Chaturanga
Inhale, shift forward into plank.
Make sure your shoulders are right over your wrists and the heels are over the balls of your feet.
Shift all the way forward into a planche position, shoulders past the wrist.
Drop your knees down to the mat.
Keep your ribs and navel into the spine, and keep your gaze slightly forward.
Bend your elbows and lower halfway, keeping your shoulder tips lifted and forearms in.
How to Do a Chaturanga
Start in Plank Pose.
Make sure your hands are shoulder distance apart and your hands are stacked over your wrists.
Stack the balls of your feet underneath your heels with your feet hip distance apart.
Shift forward to the tips of your toes, bringing your shoulders past your wrists.
Bend your elbows and squeeze them into your body, drawing your shoulder blades down your back. Bring your shoulders in line with your elbows.
Gaze down and keep your neck long.
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