-
HW 30DYC: Day 21 Grounding series
In the grounding series is’t about getting in touch with the first chakra, with mother earth, bringing space into your feet, calves, hamstrings, quadriceps and hips. These exercises mainly target the lower part of our body. By giving more space there, and releasing the tension, we can move more easily and the energy of the 1st chakra flows better.
During these exercises, keep attention on the contact triangle in the feet (big toe, little toe, heel) and in the hands (thumb mouse, pink mouse, the top of your palm connecting the index and pink and your wrist).The exercise I have chosen is Downward facing dog, and its variations.
The Downward facing invites you to ground in both the feet and the hands.– Stand in quadrupedal position
– Place your toes on the mat
– Take a moment to properly ground with your hands. Fingers are slightly spread. Your index finger is pointed forward. Thumb mouse, peak mouse, wrist make contact with the ground.
– Now let your hands be and turn your elbows forward, just as if you were opening a jar of jam. You’ll feel that this makes the arms more active and your shoulder blades more firmly pressed against your torso.
– Keep the tension in your shoulder girdle as you push yourself up. Bring your knees off the floor leaving contact only with your hands and feet. You are now standing in downward facing dog.
– Lengthen your torso, aim for a straight back, tilt your pelvis forward / your tail up. If necessary, you can let the legs bend and bring your heels of the floor a little to achieve this trunk stretch.
– Take your dog for a walk and alternately bend and stretch your left and right knee. While doing this, feel a little more stretch in your calf and hamstrings on the side that remains stretched.
– Now try to put both heels on the ground. While keeping the back straight (Pay special attention to your lower back, it tends to arch).– Place both feet together on the midline. Leave your right foot standing and bring your left foot up with a stretched leg. Downward dog split. Make sure your weight is distributed evenly between your 3 supports, your right foot and both hands. Keep the shoulders active and the shoulder blades glued to your torso.
– Stay in the same position, the only thing we change is the knee of the left leg. Bend the left knee so the foot is towards your buttocks. Shift your weight slightly to your right hand. This allows you to open the left hip a little more by bringing the leg further up. Downward dog split leg bend.
– To get out of this pose. Stretch the left leg first. Put the left foot back next to the right foot. Slowly come down to the ground with the knees. If necessary, do some cat-cow movements.
You can make these poses easier at all times by bending the legs a little and letting the heels come off the ground. This puts less strain on the hamstrings and calves and makes it easier to do the pose. If you have mainly shortened calves, placing hands and feet closer together also makes the pose easier. (The foot then makes a smaller dorsal flexion angle.) Avoid arching the back, this also makes the pose easier but is not intended in the downward looking dog.
-
3 Replies
-
-
Yes! Thumb Mound ! Sorry for the confusion! Thanks for your feedback. How would you call it at the pinky side?
-
-
Yes, pinky side works 🙂
Log in to reply.