Tip of the Week: Full Locust Pose

Tips:

*Arms should be out to the side like stiff airplane wings (contract those triceps!).

*Contract your thigh and butt muscles and keep your legs glued together (Remember...a tight body is a light body).

*Look up instead of straight ahead. It's tempting to see how you're doing in the mirror, but your body goes where your eyes go, and you will lift your torso up higher the higher you look.

*BREATH IS KEY FOR THE LIFT! You will have so much more energy and be able to stay in the posture longer if you are breathing properly.  Take one strong, deep inhale as you lift, then only let 20% of your breath out as you exhale through your nose.  Inhale 20%. Continue with this 20% exhalation and inhalation as you hold the pose, keeping the lungs 80% full. 80/20 breathing is very important in this posture. DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH. If you come out of the posture with a big sigh and are panting heavily, you are not breathing correctly. Read more on 80/20 breathing by clicking "here". 

*Don't try to go to your full expression of the posture with all of your energy right away. Begin by lifting your entire body up slowly, then lift your chest up a little bit more. Then lift your feet up a little bit more. Then lift your chest up a little bit more, and so on until the teacher says to "come up one more time!" This is where you exhale one last time and lift your entire body, head, chest, feet with everything you've got.

*Activate the muscles of your back while engaging your core and pushing your hips into the mat. The more you push "down" with your hips, the more you'll be be able to come "up" with your chest and feet.

*If you're having a hard time lifting your feet very high, try separating them and they should lift higher. Then during the final instruction of "come up one more time!" bring your feet together.