Downward dog pose is one of the most common postures in yoga.
It is an inverted three-dimensional style, which can exercise arm strength.
This position fully stretches the back of the leg (hamstring and calf muscles).
In addition, the entire spine is stretched.
Bend your hips and straighten your knees to focus the stretch on your hamstrings.
When we straighten our arms, actively press our palms into the cushion and push our body back towards our legs, it will further deepen the extension.
Some of the basic joint positions in downward dog pose are as follows: bend the hips, point the sciatic bone to the ceiling, and extend and straighten the knees and elbows.
Press your palms into the mat, spread your fingers evenly, and rotate your shoulders outward.
Lumbar extension, cervical curvature.
Downward dog anatomy in the flow yoga sequence, downward dog is a resting position.
Beginners may have some difficulties.
Understanding the anatomy in downward dog pose will help us practice it better.
Shoulder anatomy one of the most important and misunderstood structures in the human body is the rotator cuff.
It’s easy to get hurt.
The rotator cuff consists of a set of four shoulder muscles, which surround our shoulders like cuff.
The main function of the rotator cuff is to support and position the ball forming the upper arm bone to make it suitable for the socket of the shoulder joint.
The four rotator cuff muscles are subscapularis, infraspinatus, teres minor and supraspinatus.
All these muscles start from the scapula and are inserted into the upper arm bone near the humeral head.
The subscapularis muscle is located below the scapula, between the ribs and the anterior surface of the scapula.
The supraspinatus muscle is located above the scapular spine and the infraspinatus muscle is located below the scapular spine.
If our shoulders are tight, they tend to pronate, elbows extend to both sides, and may even bend.
In this case, maintaining a certain external rotation will keep the teres minor and infraspinatus muscles contracting.
In the lower dog pose, in terms of spinal anatomy, the main focus is to extend the spine and open our upper back.
Pushing the shoulder blades back to the waist is an excellent action to exercise the back and prevent hunchback.
Anatomy of core muscles when we expand through the inner body in downward dog pose, our outer body elongates through both sides, and also elongates the core trapezius muscle and the intercostal muscle between the ribs.
In this pose, we can imagine how the space between each rib grows.
The anatomy of hamstring and lower leg when doing downward dog pose, our body is in an inverted “V” shape, and the muscles at the back of our legs and back muscles are well stretched.
These muscles also involve the latissimus dorsi, teres major and posterior deltoid bundles, as well as the gastrocnemius or soleus complex, long toe flexors, hamstrings and gluteus maximus.
The degree to which we can stretch the calf muscles is measured by the flexibility of the ankle.
The more flexible the ankle, the more able it is to stretch the calf muscles and Achilles tendons.
If our ankles are flexible, we can easily keep our heels on the ground when practicing downward dog pose.
If the range of motion of the ankle is limited or the calf muscles are tight, we will not be able to keep the heel on the ground in downward dog pose.
The breathing dog pose is an handstand in which the spine extends axially.
Invert naturally moves the diaphragm, so the abdominal movement becomes very deep during exhalation.
When inhaled, the expansion of the thoracic cavity promotes the activity of the thoracic structure.
When exhaling, we need to focus on the movement of the legs, pressing back and down through the lower legs and heels.
This breathing meditation during downward dog pose can be very relaxing and powerful at the same time.
Downward dog pose is a basic posture that allows us to achieve deep balance.
In this basic pose, we can check our alignment in a very positive and practical way…