Art & Om: Dancer Pose
Art & Om is our weekly collaborative project with Karma Yoga Denton. We will explore Denton's art scene and also give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to master new yoga poses. We want to encourage you to get out and support the local arts, with a little flexibility.
This Saturday, May 28 you can join the ladies of Karma Yoga Denton on their first ever Denton Juice Crawl! A refreshing change from all of the pub crawls, KYD's Juice Crawl will start at 9am and venture to four different local juice bars. You can buy tickets here or peep the Facebook invite here, and you can save $5 on your ticket if you use the code "JUICED" - you're welcome.
Pose: Dancer to Revolved Dancer Pose
Mural: Tucked in between the Subway on Hickory and Italian joint on Oak.
Yogi: Clair
Dancer always seems more daunting than it truly is, and this balancing posture really helps you to understand how weight distribution plays an important role in the more advanced postures.
We will take this pose from the right side, or rooting down through the right foot. Try lifting up all five toes, and feeling all four corners of the foot connect into the mat. Place the toes down on the mat and spread them wide, this allows us to start creating a strong foundation from the ground up. Place your left hand out to the side and create a cup shape with the hand, fingers pointing away from the body. Bend the left knee drawing the heel towards the glute, and place the foot into the hand. The top of the foot should be cupped in the palm.
Firm up the right quad, you should feel the knee cap lift, and begin to extend out through the right hand as you reach it to the sky. Knit in the low ribs with each exhale, engaging the core, and drawing the navel up and in to create lightness in the body.
The trick here, is to hinge forward and keep reaching out through those extended fingers tips while simultaneously pressing the top of the foot into the palm. This opens up that left shoulder, and finding an equal balance in weight well help you find a sense of stillness in the pose. If you get the wobbles, don’t worry about it. Allow yourself to fall out of the pose, pause for a breath, and give it another go. Sometimes the best experiences on our mat, are the ones full of laughter and compassion for ourselves.
To revolve your dancer, switch the grasp to the opposite foot. So if the left hand is cupped, we will bend the right knee, and place the top of the right foot in the cupped palm. The right hand extends to the sky, but we are rooting down through the left foot. Imagine muscle wrapping to bone, with each exhale drawing our energy into the midline and lifting through the crown of the head so that the body grows taller and longer. Remember, the balance comes from the core, and each time you tumble out of a pose is just another opportunity to breathe and give it another go.
Dance on yogis!