My First Publication. magazine 1 | Page 11

Tips  Rinses/massages internal organs.  It’s a deep hip opener – the glutes and piriformis muscles get a deep stretch.  Arm balance – strengthens arm, shoulder and upper back muscles.  Strengthens core/abs and legs. Common Mistakes  Not opening hips enough – this pose requires that you’ve done a fair amount of poses like pigeon and pigeon twist to the foot poses to open the hip area up and twist before attempting this pose.  are used as the brakes which help from falling forward and create balance in the pose.  Not bending elbows enough – the practitioner won’t be able to get into the arm balance if the arms are not bent enough, as the foot r e s t i n g o n t h e u p p e r a r m w i l l h a v e n o ‘ s h e l f ’ t o b a l a n c e o n .  possible damage of these muscles over time if repeated a lot. Here are some tips to get into this pose:  Stretch out the wrists before getting into the pose.  Stick the resting foot high up the upper arm - get deeper into the upper arm.  Practice lots of hip openers, twists, basic arm balances like crow, to strengthen your abs, stretch out upper back and shoulders for the strength and mobility required. Awareness You are doing an arm balance, so the fear of falling on your face may s h o w u p . K e e p y o u r a w a r e n e s s i n y o u r c o r e r e g i o n a n d i t m a y h e l p and press out through the ball of the extending foot to make that leg e n g a g e d a n d l i g h t e r . L i f t c h e s t b o n e f o r w a r d s o n c e i n t h e p o s e . !"#$%$#$&'()*+"% 17 10