Yoga Dude Post - If You Knew Then What You Know Now

Busted!

Ladies...are you being sticky beaks, hoping to get the inside poop on what make us yoga dudes tick?

Sorry to disappoint, but this is gonna be bat crap boring for you.

If Only I Knew Then...

Ok lads, you know how sometimes you wish that you could go back in time, knowing then, what you know now? Sure you do.

Well here's a blast from the past future...

If you are a dude, when you reach your hands above your head, chances are that you can't get your elbows further back than your shoulders. Nope, you only think you can.

...alright, go and get your selfie stick...this is the ONLY time it's ok to use one of those things...and what are you doing with one anyway? Busted! Whatever.

Raise one arm to the position you "know" your elbows are further back than your shoulders and take a shot using aforementioned device.

Ok, now that we've got past that little delusion, let's get on with reality...

Being able to take your elbows over your head, further back than your shoulders, is key to a lot of advanced postures.

The trouble is, that by the time it dawns on you that this would be a good thing to get into, you'll wish you started practicing this a whole lot earlier.

So, if you want to get ahead of the curve, start this now. 

The Girly Stuff Won't Work

Putting your elbows on blocks and adopting a modified playful puppy pose (uttana shishosana) won't cut it for you either. I know, I know, that's the pose the (female) instructor does to get their - girly - elbows back there. 

But you are a muscular neanderthal, and that pose won't do squat to open your shoulders. You need to amp it up a bit if you are going to overcome a life time of chin-ups and lat pulldowns.

This Is The Ticket

First up, you need to strengthen the muscles required to hold your arms back there. This is headstand hollow back. 

Start with your knuckles at the wall. Come into headstand. Put your bum on the wall and lift your head up and take your shoulders forward. Repeat 10 times. Move your ground dragging knuckles a fraction of an inch further from the wall each time you come into the pose.

Next up, come into the beginning of a head stand pose about a legs distance from the wall. Take it up, lift your head off the mat, and then let your feet go back to the wall. 

Now start using those muscles we just warmed up, and take your shoulders forward. As you do this, let your feet come down the wall. 

I like to gently (and I mean gently) bounce. My feet sort of bump their way pleasantly down the wall an inch or two each time, as my shoulders stretch forward.  

When you can feel it in the front of your chest/shoulder area hold for 10 breaths. 

Consistence And Persistence

Like anything in yoga, it's gonna take continued practice over a long period of time to open those suckers up. But it's time well spent. 

Back to the intro of this post. If you are starting out (by starting out I mean less than 5 years or so) then do yourself a favor and start this now. It's one of those things I wish I'd started much earlier, and it's going to be the same for you. 

Sure, there are flashy poses to explore, but I promise you this...the sooner you can open them shoulders, the sooner the really advanced stuff will come.

Prep time is now. J