ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA (Downward Facing Dog)
Have you ever seen a dog wake and stretch? Just watching it makes you feel good. Downward Facing Dog is a pose which expresses spring so beautifully. It allows us to tap into the inner strength that resides in our hearts and is expressed through the entire body.
We'll begin in Balasana or Child's pose, allowing us to turn inside to watch the pulse of nature, which expands and contracts. We see this from the smallest atom to the largest star. We see it in the seasons, where the winter is time for the earth to draw inward and honor itself for its beauty and strength, and when it moves into the summer, the earth expands fully with life. In ourselves, we feel nature's pulsation by watching the breath, which expands and releases the body. Even yoga can express itself in this fashion, as we will soon see.
In Child's pose, we sit back on our heels, bring our forehead to the floor and our hands stretch out in front of us resting on the floor. Separate your knees slightly if it is difficult to breathe or difficult to bring your forehead to the floor. If the forehead is still not touching the floor, then let the forehead rest upon your hands. Here, we rest and turn inward. Begin to visualize your heart as a beautiful flower. It is currently the night when even the most beautiful flower closes to honor its own beauty.
We'll start setting the foundation for Downward Facing Dog. Keep your arms outstretched and your feet where they are, then come up to your hands and knees in table pose. Picture that it is just before dawn and the flower of your heart is anticipating the golden light of the sun's rising. Make sure the hands are shoulder width apart and slightly in front of the shoulders, and the knees are just behind the hips, then tuck your toes under. Notice where the weight is on your hands. Is it mostly on the heels of your hands? If so, then stretch the fingers out from the wrists like rays of sunshine and press into every knuckle. Feel how the forearms engage. Now, we are almost ready.
As the first light of dawn begins to shine, we soften our hearts, allowing the chest to lower between the shoulders. This softening to Grace brings the-shoulder blades towards each other so they lie flat on your back. Picture two doors sliding together and closing. Turn back to your breath and feel its pulsation throughout your body, the pulsation of life.
When you are ready, inhale and lift your knees off the floor by lifting the seat bones up and away from your hands. Let the blossom of your heart fully open in the morning sunshine by expanding from the heart through the arms and hands into the earth and concurrently through your spine to reach your seat bones towards where the ceiling and wall meet each other. Your upper thighs press back while your upper inner thighs roll inward towards the wall behind you to allow the seat bones to expand. Then, slowly descend the heels towards the floor. Keep the breath long and steady like a warm spring breeze. Feel your whole being expand in the celebration of life while the radiance of your heart shines brighter than a thousand suns. When you are ready, come down and rest in Child's pose, turning inward, bowing to yourself–your inner beauty and strength.
Repeat the series once or twice more and notice how radiant the whole inner and outer body feels. Keeping a connection with nature through your breath and yoga practice shows us we are each an individual expression of something greater. If we disconnect from it, we feel alone as if we have to do everything by ourselves. But staying connected, we tap into the ocean and feel its pulse.
Mark Stevens