Pose Series: Kicking A Yoga Rut

Yoga is a continuous journey. You can practice for years, and still find new areas to explore and improve. That said, we can all get stuck in a rut, and we know what it’s like to crave something a little extra or new.

Try these variations to switch it up in some of your favorite poses:

L-Kick

• Start in Downward Facing Dog.

• Shorten your dog so your shoulders are stacked over your wrists

• Lift one of your legs in the air 

• Bend the knee of your grounded leg.

• Press your palms in to the mat, engage your core and kick your lifted leg up into handstand, while the other leg stays at 90 degrees. 

1-Legged Crow

• Start in Crow Pose.

• Find your drishti, slowly begin to shift the weight in to one side of your body

• Lift the other knee off your elbow and begin to find your new balance.

• Move your knee towards center so it hovers in between your elbows.

• Hug your elbows in to midline, press down into your palms and straighten your lifted leg. 

Archer Arms Warrior

• Start in Warrior II.

• Reach your back arm up and over your head, then bend your elbow and let your hand rest flat between your shoulder blades. 

• Sweep your front arm around your back to meet your other hand. If you can’t reach your other hand, find a half-bind by resting your front hand on the small of your back. Know you can always try this on with a strap too!

Tree Variation

• Start in Tree Pose with hands at heart center. 

• Once you find your balance, grow your branches (raise your arms). 

• Exhale and bring one elbow down to your hip crease. 

• Inhale and feel your side body lengthen.

Side Plank Variation

• Start in Side-Plank.

• Bend the knee of your top leg, and capture your big toe with your ring and middle fingers.

• Slowly begin to straighten your leg while keeping your hips lifted.

• Continually lift your bottom hip and press the earth away with your grounded palm.

Wild Thing

• Start in Downward Facing Dog.

• Lift one leg, and bend the knee.

• Continue to flip all the way over, slowly landing your lifted foot on the ground.

• Let the knife-edge of one foot rest on the ground. Press your grounded foot in to the earth and engage your quadriceps

• Reach the opposite hand toward the front of the room.