Rethinking Your Downdog

Downward dog is one of the staples of yoga poses. It's like milk and eggs, it's always in stock. I've been to a lot of different yoga classes, of all styles and traditions, and the constant is always downward dog. This pose, when done correctly, has many benefits and is great if you're looking for a quick overall body stretch. But when done incorrectly, it can cause more harm than good. One important thing to consider when doing your downward dog is your level of flexibility.

When we first come to yoga with our tight muscles, most poses, when done correctly, are safe and good for the body. As we gain flexibility these same poses can cause us harm. This happens when we have stretched our muscles past their stretch point. When this happens the muscles no longer respond to the stretch and you are doing more damage than good. The stretch that you feel, is the stretching of your tendons and ligaments rather than the muscle. This weakens the support structure of your body leading to chronic joint pain. Ask around in class and see how many seasoned yogi's have SI joint pain or issues with their knees or shoulders.

Downward dog when done correctly has its benefits. However, if you are hyper-flexible you should consider switching from your traditional downward dog to what is called high dog.

High dog is a pose from the YogAlign method. You'll still get the lovely stretch of downward dog without compromising your joints. The first picture is high dog. Notice how she is able to maintain the natural curve of her spine. This puts less strain on her SI joint and knees, preventing any damage to the joints.

The height of her heels allows for the stretching of her fascia lines, helping to release tension throughout the back side of the body.

Next notice her shoulders, they are strong and engaged rather than dropping. This allows the upper back to get a nice stretch. If the shoulders are dropping, like in the second picture, you are stretching the tendons in your shoulder joint rather than the muscles in your upper back. If you do a traditional downward dog and don't feel any stretch in the upper back, you're doing it wrong and your shoulders will pay the price.

 

Above is a picture of our fascia lines. When we do high dog, verse downward dog, we're getting a better stretch through the back fascia lines. This in turn helps to maintain a better posture. I'll write in another blog ways to stretch the front fascia lines which significantly improves your posture.

To find the stretch in your upper back in your high dog (or downward dog) come into table top.

Flip your palms up and expand the shoulder blades down and out slightly. You should feel a good stretch between the shoulder blades. Once you've got the stretch, flip your palms back down and come into dolphin with your heels up. Make sure when you've made this transition that you didn't lose the stretch in your shoulders. If you did, return to table and find it again.

Next move into high dog and see if you can maintain that stretch in your upper back. If you lost it, go back to dolphin or to the table position and find it again. It will take some time to train your brain to remember to engage these muscles, especially if you have been practicing for years and you've gotten into some bad habits. If you're new to yoga, this is a great habit to get into and will prevent joint pain.

Every time you come into your down dog, or high dog, make sure you're feeling the stretch where it is intended. You shouldn't feel anything in the knees, low back or shoulder joints. If you barely feel any stretch at all, engage more in the legs and upper back. Don't push harder trying to find a stretch (you'll be stretching connective tissue), but engage the muscles to help build strength.

How do you know when you've reached the point of flexibility and you're no longer stretching the muscles? Pay attention to where you feel the stretch. If you don't feel it in the belly (middle) of the muscles, you've reached your stretch point and your connective tissue will pay the price. Be mindful in your practice, always pay attention to what is going on in the body.

I've only been practicing this new high dog for two weeks now, and I can honestly say I notice a difference. My low back, shoulders and neck hurt less. Why? I'm hyper-flexible and by engaging and positioning my body better I'm putting less strain on them. High dog isn't much of a change from your regular downward dog so you can still flow through your classes with ease. But with high dog, your joints will be much happier.