Lift Head and Chest
Lift your head and chest leaving your hands on floor.
In the previous position you exhaled, folded forward, lowered your torso towards your thighs and brought your hands to the floor beside your feet. This position, Lift Chest and Head, which is the third position of the Sun Salute A series, is a mild back bend. You are going to:
- Inhale
- lift your chest, straighten your arms
- keep your hands flat to the floor beside your feet and
- gaze down the nose
How to do it
In the previous position you are folded forward with your hands on the floor beside your feet. You enter this positon of the Sun Salute on an inhale.
Continuing to use Ujjayi breath begin inhaling and lift your chest up from your legs and straighten your arms.
Your back should be long with the tail bone slightly tucked in. There should be a slight rounding in your low back. You should continue to engage Uddiyana Bundha to provide support to and strengthen your back.
Your shoulder blades should continue to be flat to your back and moving down the back towards your hips.
Your neck should be long and extending straight out of your torso.
Your head should be in a neutral position at the top of the neck. It should be neihter lifted nor tucked in.
Your hands do not move in this position. If you hands were on the floor in the previous position then they should stay on the floor in this position. If your hands were not on the floor but they were on your shins instead then they should stay on your shins in this position.
The positon of your legs and feet do not change from the previous positon. If your legs were bent (to allow you to get your hands to the floor) or straight then that is the way they are in this position.
Your gaze continues to be down the nose towards the floor.
Modifications
You continue to use the same modifications that you used in the previous position.
If your knees were bent to allow you to get your hands flat to the floor then you continue to bend your knees here.
If your hands were on your shins to support your back becuase it was not possible for you to get your hands flat to the floor then you continue to keep your hands on your shins.
Cautions
Keep your shoulders down the back away from your ears. This prevents tension from developing in the muscles at the base of your neck.
Keep your hands flat to the floor or keep them on your shins. Both of these positons support your back and prevent stress from developing in your low back.
Keep your head in a neutral position. This will prevent tension from developing in your neck.
Next
The fourth position of the Sun Salute series is next.
Previous Position (Uttanasana)
Next Position (Chaturanga Dandasana)
