URDHVA MUKHA SVANASANA – that’s Sanskrit for Upward Facing Dog…  Sanskrit’s one of the 22 official languages of India…  it’s also one of the earliest attested members of the Indo-European language family, the family which includes English and most European languages.

That’s why it’s even conceivable that I can kinda sorta understand it, in regard to naming yoga poses. It’s akin to Latin & Greek and pronounced very much like Spanish …

Anyway, urdhva is upward, a mukha is a face (like a mug!) and a svana is a dog … asana is what the name of most yoga poses ends with, meaning .. POSE!

This pose can certainly be done on it’s own but is traditionally part of a vinyasa flow sequence or sun salutation, usually preceded by chaturanga (2 inch push up with elbows close to the ribs, like a cricket’s front legs) and followed by downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana).

SO – here I am in a creek in Leiper’s Fork, TN (where else would I be?), being photographed by the great Anthony Scarlati in a pretty respectable up-dog. Checkpoints for this pose:  I’m on the tops of my feet.  My shoulders are back & down, not up around my ears because I’m not hanging from my shoulders.  My ribs are pressed forward, sternum lifted … somewhat because my leg muscles are engaged, lifting me up on the tops of my feet.  My nose & chin are slightly raised but not so much as to compress the back of my neck or strain my throat.  The inner creases of my elbows are facing forward.  And you can’t really see it, but my fingers are spread wide with the index and middle fingers pointing straight ahead… and this is important if you have any wrist issues like carpal tunnel – most of the weight in my hands is to the inside, the thumb and index side.

WHY do it?  well, it feels good (especially if you’re wet, in a creek , plus, it strengthens your spine, arms & wrists, stretches your chest, lungs, shoulders & abdomen, firms your glutes (medius, maximus & minimus) & helps relieve sciatica, mild depression, fatigue & asthma!

CAUTIONS:  If you’re pregnant, this pose is contra-indicated after the first tri-mester because it stretches the muscles of the abdomen, strains the uterus and puts pressure on the womb.  The hormone, relaxin, that’s produced to facilitate baby delivery, makes that area more soft & malleable, therefore more fragile.  ALSO, if you already have a wrist injury, you can try up-dog with the knuckles of your balled fists to the mat, palms facing each other… but bottom line:

IF IT HURTS, DON”T DO IT!

Peace, Love & Namaste,

Suzi

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Yoga by Suzi