The Dancer pose is a beautiful combination of balance, strength, flexibility, and meditation. It will tone your legs and open your chest while also helping you focus better. Heck, it will even release negative emotions and stress. Since the Dancer pose is not a very simple asana, it requires proper preparation. So, make sure you warm up with these effective tips.
Top 5 Tips on How to Prepare & Align Your Body for Dancer Pose
1. Targeted Focus
Try to bring a balanced awareness on all four corners of your soles. During this pose, one must engage in an open-eye meditation. Just choose a spot to fix your gaze on while you shift your body weight on your right foot. Once you prepare this pose, it is time to lift your left leg off the mat, bend the knee, and grab your ankle with your left hand.
2. Mild Pressure
While holding the Dancer pose, you must put a little pressure on your left palm by kicking your lifted leg into it. This way, you will extend your spine from the tailbone all the way up to your neck and head. The more you kick with your leg into your hand, the better your balance and stability will be. So, strength is the key to success in this asana.
3. Thumb Positioning
When you grab your ankle with your hand, make sure to place your thumb outwards as far away from your body as possible. This way, you will be able to open your torso more and rotate your shoulder. To gain balance while doing this, your right arm should be extended in front and facing towards the horizon.
4. Hips Square Position
Every time you perform the elegant Dancer pose, you should try to square your hips. This way, you will align your left knee with the rest of your body. Avoid opening your body out to your left side.
5. Standing Knee Protection
A common mistake during this pose is the hyper-extension of your standing knee. This happens because the standing knee tends to bend way past its normal range of motion during a straight standing position. To prevent your knee from over-extension, engage your quads and try to just bend your standing knee a little bit.
Additional Tips
Relax your shoulders and bring them back as much as you can.
Open your chest and lift your upper torso, but don’t forget to lower your belly area and tighten your core.
Try not to put too much pressure on your spine. Don’t compress any area of your backbone. Even though you extend your lumbar area, you should try to keep it in a slightly neutral position.
If you want to do a more complex and advanced Dancer pose, you should try different variations such as using a strap and lifting your left arm up.
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If you like the legging pictured above, you can find it here.
Summing It Up
Although the Dancer asana is challenging, it is a great and fun yoga pose to do. It improves your strength, flexibility, and mental focus. For a full experience, you should consider trying different variations of this pose. It is a graceful asana that can make you feel as light as a feather while rocking those fashionable yoga leggings.
