Chaturanga Dandasana Is the Yoga Pose of the Week

As I mentioned in a recent blog post about yoga injuries, I know that it's possible to hurt yourself doing chaturanga dandasana because I have done so myself. It can put a lot of stress on the shoulders, so if you are doing sun salutations, I always recommend warming up with a few rounds of knees, chest, chin and cultivating the awareness to revert to that pose or skip the vinyasa when you start to get tired. Having recovered from my tweaked shoulder, I've been working on refining the alignment of my chaturanga. One of my teachers pointed out that it's tough to get the desired right angle with your arms if you are pushing back into your heels when lowering down, as is often instructed. Instead, try bringing your plank forward a bit before lowering. Try not to let your body dip below the level of your upper arms. It's a lot of work on the arms, but it's a safer position for your joints.