YOGA FOR ATHLETES
BASICS OF DOWNWARD-FACING DOG
By Sage Rountree
As you wrap up your competitive season and head into a well-earned offseason, your focus will shift away from triathlon and toward fun and new activities. Even better if these new, fun activities help address the imbalances your triathlon training can introduce to your body – and better still when these activities can build strength and focus. Yoga fits the bill nicely. The offseason is the right time to begin a yoga practice if you don’t already have one. It’s also the right time to enjoy more strenuous forms of yoga, such as power yoga, power flow, power vinyasa (or any other variation of those words), Ashtanga and hot yoga. In any of these classes, with the exception of hot yoga, you can expect to do a lot of downward-facing dog. At first, downward-facing dog, or down dog as we yoga teachers lovingly call it, can be a taxing pose. Your wrists can ache, your shoulders can pinch, your hamstrings can scream. In time, with diligent, safely aligned practice, the pose gets easier. And in the context of a kicking power flow class, it becomes a rest pose, a welcome break for being still and breathing and locking back in to focus. Learn to practice good alignment in this pose by following these do-and-don’t tips, and have your teacher check your form when you are in class.
DO keep your hands pressing firmly into the ground, fingers facing forward and shoulder-distance apart. At the other end of the pose, DON’T worry about forcing your heels down. DO lock in a long line hips to heels of the hands, and hips to heels of the feet. But if your hamstrings are tight, DON’T hesitate to bend your knees, which will help you angle your pelvis to get a better line along your back.
DO release your chest and head toward the ground. But DON’T overstretch your shoulders by forcing a backbend in the pose.
Sage Rountree is author of The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga and The Athlete’s Pocket Guide to Yoga and a USAT Level II certified coach. Based in North Carolina, she teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide. Find her schedule and free post-workout yoga videos at
sagerountree.com.
USATRIATHLON.ORG USA TRIATHLON 17
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