We have A TON of poses to cover this week, so I'm gonna cut down the descriptions a little bit in favor of key words.
Shall we get started back bends!?
There are so many back bends you can do that are not specifically "back bend postures". You can do slight back bends in Warrior 1 and Crescent Pose. And you'll see below, a few of my one-legged poses are actually back bends too! Before I just start throwing out keywords as possible prompts, I want you to know that all back bends are also heart openers. So, I'm not gonna list that as a key word for all of the backbends we're about to go over.
1. Baby Cobra - easy back bend, baby, try to lift your hands up off the floor
2. Sphinx - forearms down, right angle elbows, easy back bend,
3. Locust - no hands, no feet
4. Cobra - elbows bent, hips down
5. Upward Facing Dog - straight arms, legs off the floor (easier than it looks)
6. Bow - flexed feet, bent knees, use your feet to lift your chest, shoulder stretch
7. Camel - option to use blocks on either side of your feet if you can't reach, or keep your hands on your low back for support.
8. Bridge - option to take it into a shoulder stretch by interlacing the hands underneath your low back
9. Wheel (or Upward Facing Bow) - can also be done on one leg,
10. Upward Facing Two-Footed Staff - forearms down,
11. Wild Thing - one arm, one bent leg, one straight
Ok, time for one leg balance poses - all of which can be paired with the prompt one leg OR balance OR BOTH!
12. Tree - hands can be in namaste (prayer) or up in a sun salute.
13. King Dancer (two hands) - back bend, dancer
14. Revolved Extended Hand to Big Toe - twist, toe-grab, can also use a strap to hold the foot if you cant reach.
15. One-legged Chair - bent leg, chest up, shoulders down, palms can touch or not, hands can be in namaste
16. Extended Hand to Big Toe - toe-grab, can also use a strap to hold the foot if you cant reach.
17. Folding variation of Extended Hand to Big Toe - standing, forward fold,
18. Revolved Half Moon - twist, one hand, make sure the hips are square and the back foot is flexed.
19. Sugarcane - back bend, toe-grab
20. Royal Dancer - back bend, dancer
21. Half Moon - stacked hips, one hand, pick the bottom hand up to make it a balance pose, if you take the top arm around your back, its a half wrap, or maybe you really feel like challenging yourself taking taking bound half moon for a full wrap?
Ok, I know we just covered A TON of yoga poses. I am here for you and want to help as much as possible. So, if there's a pose up there that you've never done and want to try, TELL ME! Leave me a comment, send me an email, tweet me! Ask me all the questions! I want to help you get into it. I want to encourage you to try new things and challenge yourself.
Don't see a pose up here that you think should be? You're probably spot on. There are hundreds of yoga poses with just as many variations! Let me know if you want to try one that's not up here! Same thing applies every week. If you have questions, I want you to ask them!
That's all for today's giant inspiration post!
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