The Thirty Different Ways To Do Downward Dog

How many ways can you do Downward Dog?

Depending on where you have taken yoga classes from, who was teaching you, or your general exposure to the yoga community you might have differing thoughts and opinions on this question. There are those who feel like there is one to two “correct” ways to do Downward Dog pose and there are those like me who would argue there are as many ways to do it as there are bodies in the world :)

I would love to hear your thoughts on this question. How many ways have you done Downward Dog in classes before? How many ways do you think you could come up with on the spot?

Here is the BIG (not really) REVEAL…. There is no one way to do any pose in yoga and here’s why….

👉 When I sit down on my mat to teach a yoga class I look out at the room of students and ask “what can I do for you and your bodies today?” This seems like a simple question with a simple answer, “do yoga”, as of course this is what everyone is here for. However, I like to teach to who is in the room.

I previously would create long and sometimes elaborate lesson plans for each class I taught and would become stressed when I veered too far from the plan or forgot a transition step when I couldn’t look at my notes. Imagine trying to teach a yoga class while looking at a notepad for instructions (oh the good ol’days). I don’t do this anymore and it is so much better for me but especially for you.

💡Why? Because I am teaching to who is in the room. The bodies I can see right in front of me and I don’t know ahead of time who that is going to be, how those bodies are boing to respond in each yoga pose, or what tempo each student is wanting to take in their practice that day.

So I ask. I observe how everyone is moving through each pose and I feel out the energy from each student as we are working through the practice. I love being able to say at the end of class “thank you for letting me guide you through this practice” because it is a reminder to you and to me- I am just a guide. I am not the leader, the Sargent, the end all be all commander in class. That role can only be filled by you, isn’t that so exciting 😉

Bringing it back to Downward Dog :) There is no one way to do Downward Dog because your body might (read “most likely will”) change between classes and you would therefore would have different needs in the pose each time. One day your feet might be close together the next as wide as your mat. You might use blocks underneath your hands or maybe you are placing them underneath your feet. Use the wall, use a chair, use a blanket. Look ahead, look behind. The list of available options to alter the pose could really go on and on.

⁉️ Then how do you know which version to do? LISTEN to your body- it will tell you what it wants. If you are new to this listening practice it might be in a very small voice and you might have to build up the ability to hear your body and then learn how to respond to its needs. I have seen students who automatically look to me to know what to do with their bodies for each pose during class. I understand the fear of ‘doing it wrong’ or not knowing what you are supposed to be doing with your body. There are also times where I look to a teacher because the listening part of my brain was not online and I missed the cue (it happens 🤷‍♀️). How do you get out of this habit? You could start trying to not look at the teacher while you are taking a class and see how that changes your practice. Build up the trust and confidence that your body knows what it needs from you, knows what poses it wants to take, and in what ways it wants to move through them.

🕯️At the first Fat Yoga Friends class last Saturday we experimented with these thoughts and there was time spent throughout the class where I didn’t lead. Instead, the students were asked to go inward and move how they wanted to in that moment. This was uncomfortable, for them and for me, but it proved to be a great way to lean in and listen.

Know there is no right or wrong way to move, and in my classes, you are always in a safe space to explore and HAVE FUN.

This is your permission slip 🎫 to let go of following along perfectly with what the teacher is doing and carve your own path, no matter what class you are in. Remember you are not there to win the teachers favor or as I tell students there are no gold stars given out at the end. This is your class, your practice, and your time to take care of you. You know how to do that best over any teacher out there because you are in your body. Therefore, you know how to do each pose better that any teacher because you are the one in it! You can of course ask for options, variations, etc. from your teacher to maybe understand the principles of the poses but ultimately the choice is yours.

If you experiment with these challenges let me know how they work out?? Was it harder or easier than you thought? I would love to hear.

If you want to learn…

✨ how to take each yoga pose and change it to best fit your body

✨ the basic place to start with each pose

✨ how to use props in each pose

✨ And what physical sensations you are trying to create in each pose in your body

You belong in my beginners series running for the next 5 weeks. I had initially thought to have enrollment for the series close after the first week. However, I wasn’t able to fully plan and prep things to get the word out as soon as I would have wanted so I am changing my mind (the beauty of running my own business). If you would like to join this class you can choose which dates to join in on over the next 5 weeks, you don’t have to attend each one, and you can pay for them each separately ($12.50 per class). Also please know there is a tech bug on the Mindbody ap for iPhone users which hides the class off the weekly schedule. Please use the link provided to access the class through your browser not the app and navigate to the enrollments tab. If you are wanting to enroll and you can’t find the class please reach out to me and we can get you signed up, no fuss.

Thanks a bunch for being here and reading my thoughts :) I hope you have a fantastic week!

-Lots of Love,

Janae