Yoga 101: How to Chaturanga Like A Champ

Several years ago, long before becoming a yoga teacher — and spending MANY weekend hours in training — I thought that the object of yoga was to make yourself look like the picture of the pose. If you could do that, then you could say you’d mastered the pose. Boy, was I wrong …

You see, yoga isn’t really about what your expression of the pose looks like and how closely it resembles the picture of the pose. Yoga is about the experience of being in the pose — something that can’t be gained or felt by simply comparing how your body looks in pose to someone else. As soon as I learned how to experience a pose, rather than force it to look “textbook,” my yoga practice (and life) began to change dramatically.

It’s time we stop looking at all the super bendy bodies expressing poses so beautifully and wondering if we’ll ever be able to make it look so pretty and effortless. It’s time to stop caring how we look and start focusing on how it feels to be in our own skin.

The truth is that yoga is for everyone, not just for the super flexible or super strong. So we’ve decided to break it down and bring it to the masses in our Yoga 101 video series.

How to Chaturanga Like A Champ

In this video, we’re focusing on proper shoulder alignment in Chaturanga Dandasana — but don’t worry, we’ve tailored it based on ability so you can safely start to build some superhuman strength no matter where your yoga journey is starting.

Want more valuable pose pointers? Check out our past Yoga 101 posts for Mastering Mountain Pose and Breaking Down Downward-Facing Dog.

Give it a go and let us know how it goes! Can’t you feel yourself getting stronger? —Alison