Chaturanga Dandasana
Benefits: This pose builds a great deal of strength in the arms, wrists, lower and upper back as well as the abdominal muscles. The benefits of toning these muscles come back in many other yoga poses, not to mention benefitting your overall posture.
Procedure: Start by coming to a plank pose, keeping the wrists under the shoulders, and heels pushing back. Keep your core engaged. Start to roll forward with your toes, keeping your elbows tucked in close to the body. Keep going as far forward so that your arms come to a 90 degrees angle as you lower yourself towards the floor. Drop the knees down if this feels too much for the arms!
Lower yourself towards the floor, keeping the elbows close to the body, and stop once your arms are at a 90 degrees angle. Stopping here requires some serious arm power!
Exhale, and lower yourself with control onto your stomach, and continue onto cobra or an upward facing dog with the next inhale.
