Demo: Side-to-Sides Can Yoga build a strong chest? Anyone w..
Added 2020-03-15 23:10:44 +0000 UTCDemo: Side-to-Sides
Can Yoga build a strong chest? Anyone who comes to my classes knows the answer to this question is, absolutely. Over a series of demos I’m going to teach you guys the many different push-up variations you can incorporate into your time on the mat. Side-to-Sides are the second installment in this series. Set your blocks at their middle height at the top of your mat wider than your mat. Come into Plank with your hands on your blocks. Set your Plank. Meaning, push down into your hands without locking your elbows, push up between your shoulder blades (no valley between your shoulder blades), tuck your tailbone and push up into the back of your knees. Setting Plank ensures your whole body moves through the Side-to-Sides as a stable unit. As you inhale, slowly lower down. Your chest dips down to the height of or just below the surface of the blocks. Slowly shift your shoulders from side to side, always passing through the center slowly. Between sides or every few sides press back up to High Plank for a brief break. Then lower back down for another round. Maintain your Plank throughout. Side-to-Sides can be inserted into any Yoga sequence. A good place is usually right before lowering all the way down into Cobra or some other prone backbend. One thing to consider is to never lower all the way to your mat with your hands still on the blocks. This can create stress on the shoulder joints. When you finish a couple of rounds of Side-to-Sides press up into Dog, then shift forward into Plank with your hands on your mat and lower all the way down for your backbend.
Give this a try. Start building a big chest so there’s more room for a big heart! 💙✌️
