We know the main focus of Yoga is not making crazy shapes with your body.
However, advancing your practice & trying new exciting postures is a lot of fun & it can really bring out the wild side of yoga & yourself!
If you like a friendly challenge "Wild Thing" really helps you discover your confidence & courage. Two things that you can take off that mat & use in day to day experiences.
"Wild Thing" has got to be one of my favourite postures. Everything about it, the beautiful shape, the expression & the boost of crazy it gives you. Sure it's fun but sometimes can be a daunting posture when you dont know how to do it.
What is "Wild Thing?"
Sometimes called "Flip Dog" because thats literally what you do, flip your whole body over.
It's a great heart opening posture which requires shoulder stability whilst in an expressive back bend.
When I first came across it, i didn't have a clue what to do, know where I was meant to end up or how to get there, but the teacher suggested "maybe find wild thing", so I peeked under my arm, noticed everyone had flipped over so I just went for it & hoped for the best!
Very daring i know but probably not the best method.
Therefore, I dont want you to be like me. I want you to have a good guide of what it is, where your body should be & how to get there safely. It still needs a bit of an "here we go, hope for the best" kinda attitude.
Thats what makes it wild!
Learn "Wild Thing"
Lie down on the front of your body, hands flat on the floor by your breastbone & bend your right leg
Roll onto the left side of your body so your sitting bones find the floor and push up to straighten your left arm so your body is up-right
Keep your right leg bent with the foot flat on the ground & straighten your left leg (make sure your legs are at least a mat width apart)
Push your left hand into the floor & squeeze your glutes to lift your hips up, lift your right heel of the mat and roll the left foot down into the ground
Right arm reaches overhead & you look back towards your fingertips, trying to open your heart to the ceiling
Now try to...Flip your Dog!
From three legged dog, with your right leg in the air, open up your hip, right foot is heavy like its being weighed down towards the left hand side of your mat.
Let the weight of your foot start to flip your body over, more weight comes into your left hand (This is your "just go for it moment")
Right foot finds the floor & you squeeze your glutes to push your hips high
To come out, flip your body back over so right hand comes back around to find downward facing dog/ one legged dog.
Voila!
Remember that Yoga isn't all about fancy shapes & things like this are more about exploring how it makes you feel so be kind to yourself on the mat take it steady & only go for it when you feel confident enough.
So maybe the next time a teacher suggests "maybe find wild thing" you'll be clued up with where your going & what you have to do to just go for it you crazy animal!
If you like the fun elements of Yoga & like to be creative with your practice you'll love Vinyasa Flow.
Our Tuesday evening class is full of little mini challenges & postures to explore, so why not join us on a Tuesday evening at 6pm!
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