Camel Pose or Ustrasana Never teach anything that you can't comfortably do yourself. Don't teach a posture that you cannot demo and hold for two seconds. If you, as a teacher, have not spent time in the pose and felt the pain, where to move and adjust in order to change that for your body, please don't offer it to your students. Generally, alignment cues are designed to create safe postures, but the reality is that one set of alignments will not work for everyone. For years, I practiced this pose the way that my teachers instructed me. Knees hips width distance from each other, squeezing a block between my thighs. Belly against the wall, trying to keep the ribs in and the lower back safe. It never worked. I always had back pain...and knee pain! So, first and foremost, begin in a place that feels comfortable for your knees and for your hips. For some folks, this may mean that the knees are set wider than the hips. The trick to this pose is to keep the large, superficial abdominal muscles working so the ribs can stay tucked in. Usually when we back bend, we collapse. We cannot breathe and then panic begins. It's a terribly uncomfortable ordeal. Here is a simple tip...the freedom of the postures that I have learned from my years of experience and the resistance technique I learned from @simonsynergy 💯. Whatever you are doing, do the opposite. When you come into camel pose and bring your hands to your ankles, pull upward like you are trying to pull your legs off the floor while simultaneously feeling the energy of trying to stand up on your knees. Basically, pretend like you’re trying to come up without coming up. Be in a back bend while trying to come into a forward bend and hold. Don't squeeze or tighten the belly on top of all of this effort. The abdominal muscles will respond the way they are meant to with this resistance exercise. Happy safe practicing! 👍🏽#camelpose #ustrasana #safeyoga #firstpractice #yogateaching #nepdx #alamedayogapdx #safepractice #yoga ... 📸 @chiefmem (at Alameda Yoga Studio) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtTuEH4ALny/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1cvhzpx5bhecf
