A Double Dip of Dog

A chaturanga may be off your menu these days, but there are ways to double down on building strength and stamina in your practice through your down dog. In a flowing sequence, whether it be the dog in your salutations, or a down dog that bridges one pose to another, you can up the ante in upper body strength, and increase the length of long muscle groups by adding an extra dog to your flow. There are a number of ways to build this into your practice.

In a salutation, holding the down dog for a number of breaths can be a challenge for a person just starting to build upper body strength. These people can substitute the tabletop position in place of the down dog, or they can use the tabletop as a resting spot rather than holding the down dog beyond their capacity for strength and stamina. But for the more practiced person, holding the down dog position can become a moment of respite within a flow, and is also a place to deepen one’s breathing, and refine nuances of alignment. It is also a place to add a double dip.

On occasion, taking a double dip of dog is both fun and challenging. Before completing the down dog portion of an A series salutation and moving forward into a standing arch, instead, after you complete your three to five breaths in the dog, drop to your knees into the table top position. Next, take an inhalation as you arch your chest forward, lifting your head, and sink your lower back (as in the cat-cow position). With your next breath on the exhalation, push yourself slowly back into the down dog for a second time. Now, either continue on with your salutation, or take another series of several breaths before you move onward.

This same little dip can be used outside of salutations and added to the down dog when used as a transitional asana. Taking this double dip of dog can deepen all the aspects of this pose. A double dip gives the opportunity to lengthen the long muscle groups activated in this asana. It serves to strengthen your upper body and build stamina by holding or repeating the pose. It increases your breathwork, and it helps focus on the refinement of alignment, all while changing the pace of your practice.

Where once there was a chaturanga used in a single or a double dip, you can now leave out the excessive shoulder stress sometimes inadvertently accrued in a push-up position, and instead, build steady-paced, well-placed shoulder strength and stamina into your practice.