Foundation Friday: Downward Facing Dog

This post is an instalment in a series that delves into the basics of yoga—looking at its postures (asana), breath (pranayama), philosophy, and all the other essentials—giving you the foundations upon which to build a solid practice. This post focuses on the ubiquitous downward facing dog.

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Foundation Friday: Downward Facing Dog

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Pose, or "Asana" Downward Facing Dog, or “Adho Mukha Svanasana” odd-oh mook-ah shvah-nass-ah-nah (not to be confused with savasana)

Why do we practice downward facing dog?

Downward dog is probably one of the most prevalent of all yoga postures. Though it may not feel like one when you first begin practicing, downward facing dog is actually a resting pose, and is often offered as a break between sequences, or as a starting and finishing point in a flow, or vinyasa. This pose will likely be taught in your first-ever beginner's class, and will carry you through as you advance your practice—downward dog is a quintessential pose, so it's important to get your alignment, er... down!

Downward dog may help…

• Calm the mind, relieving stress and mild depression
• Energize your body
• Stretch your shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands
• Strengthen your arms and legs, which acclimatizing you to weight-bearing in your arms
• Improve digestion
• Offer relief for sinus pain, headaches, insomnia, back pain, and fatigue
• Ease conditions of menopause, high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, and sciatica, and prevent osteoporosis

Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture tend to favour Downward Facing Dog for its activation and extension of the Bladder Channel, the longest channel in the body. According to their perspective, elongating the spine throughout this posture aids in strengthening immunity, among a host of other benefits.

How do I get there? 

1. Start from a table top position, on your hands and knees. Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder distance apart and spread your fingers wide.
2. Turn your hands so that the space between your pointer finger and your middle finger points to the top of your mat.
3. Press down through the four corners of your hands, especially the mound of your thumb and pointer finger, while gripping your mat with your fingertips.
4. Tuck your toes under, and press your hips up so that your body looks like an inverted pyramid from the side.
5. Squeeze your forearms towards each other, and roll your upper arms away from each other.
6. Ensuring your feet are hip-distance apart, take a soft bend into your knees and press your heart back towards your thighs.
7. Roll your inner thighs back and wide behind you.
8. Tilt your sitting bones skyward, and draw your tummy in towards your spine.
9. Hug your shins towards each other, and press your heels down towards your mat (but it's okay if they don't touch!)
10. Look between your feet, shins, thighs, or upwards at your belly.

It sure sounds like a lot of steps—but since this is such a foundational pose, it's important to be aligned optimally to avoid injury and promote a sustainable practice. Try focusing on one step of the posture within each practice, and then slowly start to add more as you integrate each part into your body until you've got your downward dog totally down!

If this position is uncomfortable, you can:

• Place your hands on blocks if your shoulders are quite tight
• Prop a towel, rolled mat, or some small sort of padding underneath your palms to alleviate pressure on your wrists
• Take a bigger bend into your knees if your legs are tight
• Support your head with a bolster or a block
• Or, start from standing with a wall or chair in front of you, then bend at your waist and press your palms into a wall or chair instead of the floor. Progress by walking your hands lower towards the earth as the posture becomes more accessible.

We hope this helps you better understand the concept of downward facing dog. Please feel free to comment on our Facebook with any further questions. And let us know if you have something you would like to see featured in Foundation Friday!