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BACKBENDING
OPEN YOUR HEART
Benefits of Back Bending
mobilize the spine
Backbends have a number of benefits for overall health, including mobilizing the spine, opening the shoulders, and releasing the front of the body by opening the heart.
Backbends could actually be called heart openers because they open the front of the chest or the heart space, improving mood and increasing feelings of love, joy, and gratitude.
Adult humans spend most of our time with the front of the body in a forward folded state, especially when sitting, which can cause tight muscles and spinal compression. Backbends help to balance out the body and can restore us to the 360° mobility that we all had as children.
camel pose
a beginner accessible backbend
Begin on the knees hip distance apart with the shins parallel, using padding if necessary.
Place the hands on the hips, and push the hips forward. Lift the chest and look upward.
Allow the front opening to arch you upward and forward, rather than dumping weight into the back, which allows the lower back to lengthen.
Place the hands behind you on the feet or on elevated blocks (or books) on either side of the feet.
Breathe for 5 or more breaths.
Inhale and ush through the chest and hips to come forward.
DROPBACK/STANDUP
OVERCOME FEAR
The next progression after Urdhva Dhanurasana in Ashtanga yoga is dropback/standup. Overcome your fears and learn to ground through the feet and legs in this dynamic and fun movement.
One of the keys to this move and all of Ashtanga yoga practice is coordinating breath to movement. Exhale down, inhale up. The breath initiates and guides the movement.
Bridge pose is a great backbend to start off with when you're new to yoga or if you have tight shoulders.
BACKBEND POSES
![asana [virabhadrasana]-03.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d27afd_78da64ac59114796b19cc8d64949ffa1~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_0,y_3,w_858,h_858/fill/w_225,h_225,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/asana%20%5Bvirabhadrasana%5D-03.png)
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