There's still time to get a little sunshine in your life at the Miami yoga retreat! Get in touch now!
This is for all my bendy people who are working on full dancer's pose. I guess I'll just jump right into it and say the obvious which is that dancer's pose is no freaking joke. It's essentially a deep, deep backbend on one leg. We're combining back-bending with the added challenge of balancing, and it just makes me happy. It's one of my personal favorites.
But the grip can be confusing, so I create the graphic above to break it down for ya. If you're new to full dancer's then I recommend using a yoga strap.
1. Find one place to look in front of you. This is your drishti. Fold the strap in half and hook the middle of the foot into the loop you've created. Place your hand as close to the foot as you comfortably can.
2. Lift your leg, keeping it in life with the body, and simultaneously bring your elbow out to the side and then up to the sky. Keep your toes active.
3. Now, begin to lean forward as you open the chest and lengthen the armpit and continue to lift the leg. Bring your other hand to the strap, as close to the foot as you can.
4. Slowly begin to walk your hands closer and closer to the foot until you can grab hold of the foot with one of the hands.
5. With the other hand, gently wiggle the yoga strap away from the foot and discard.
6. Grab the foot with both hands, and lengthen from the knee to the elbow. Imagine your back is a wide U shape, rather than a V shape. Make sure you keep lifting the standing leg's kneecap so the quad is engaged and protecting the hamstring. Breathe, breathe, breathe and then gently release the pose.
Related How to use a yoga strap.
Let's talk Have you tried it? How'd it go? What other poses are tricky for you?