5 Tips for Improving your Yoga Poses

Here are five tips that you might  find helpful in improving your yoga poses.

1.    Find your roots.  This means pressing the four courners of the feet into the floor in standing poses.  In Downward Dog it is the feet and the hands that are your roots.  In seated poses, your sitting bones will ground you.  A strong foundation enables you to feel strong, stable and safe.

2.    Lengthen your spine.  Your poses will feel light and be much safer if you keep your spine elongated.

3.    Lengthen your tailbone.  This will prevent you sticking your bottom out and allowing your ribcage to fall forward.  Check that your tailbone is lengthening, your bottom is not sticking out and that your ribcage is in line.

4.    Firm your thigh muscles.  Firming the thigh muscles prevents you hyper-extending the knees and injuring them.

5.    Relax.  Find your edge and then relax off a little.  In this way you prevent injury and can hold the poses for longer.