Yoga Back Bend Pose

Video Transcript

"Starting on a soft surface or mat, or sometimes people take a blanket underneath their knees or a soft pillow. Just sit back toward your heels. You want to take your knees and start them out, sometimes to make it easier. It's more challenging to keep your knees together, but you want to feel this arch of the foot first, and then move down toward the front part of your mat, so when you actually go back your head is on the mat. I'll start with my knees out, so you can see as you lean back, you can take your hands and just rest your hands right here to start off with a back bend. The shoulders go back and the chest goes up and the head just looks up towards the ceiling, take a deep breath in, and exhale. Now you can challenge yourself a little bit more by coming down into your arms into the floor and letting the shoulders relax and the face is up towards the ceiling. Breathe in deep through your nose. And exhale, now you can lower the head down to the floor and take your hands down to your thighs or down to your ankles, breathe in deep through your nose, exhale. Tilt the head right down towards the floor and breathe in deep through your nose, exhale. Now you want to feel the chest opening, the shoulders opening. You want to feel the back relax, so just release the hips. Breathe in deep through your nose. And exhale and lengthening all the organs within the abdominal area, breathing in again deep, and exhale. Now to ease yourself out of that, just guide yourself up, release the back, take your hands, touch the floor, bring the knees right in and shake it out."