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Hot Yoga

Jun 10
0

Triangle Pose: Yoga Pose of the Month

By Hot Yoga, Pose of the Month

Every month Funky Buddha likes to focus on a different pose; one that shows up in our every day practice and sometimes deserves a little extra attention.

June’s Yoga Pose of the Month is Triangle (Trikonasana).

To get into Triangle Pose from Warrior II, straighten your front knee and reach your bottom hand to the outside of your front foot and bring your top arm up to the sky. You can place your hand on your shin, a block or the floor. Keep your chest open by stacking your arms in one vertical line and see if you can keep your entire body – hips, head and heart – all in one plane.

Triangle Pose - Yoga Pose of the Month | Funky Buddha Hot Yoga

With every pose comes its own set of benefits. Triangle pose sculpts the legs, hips, butt and creates an overall opening through your chest and back.

Triangle Pose Variation - Funky Buddha Yoga Hothouse

As a modification, if it’s hard to keep your torso stacked, use a block under your lower hand or gaze down to collect your balance.

To kick it up a notch, lift your bottom arm parallel with your top arm… try that one on for size (look, Batman’s doing it!).

How do you Triangle pose?

Feb 24
0

Why Right is Oh So Right

By Hot Yoga

Why Right is Oh So Right - Funky Buddha Yoga

So you’re almost done with practice.

The sweat is finally starting to cool your skin as you’ve been laying in heavenly savasana for the last five minutes. This is the greatest. As you slowly start to wiggle your fingers and toes, the instructor says to lay on your right side. It takes all your strength, but you do it.

Why? Why the right side? Why don’t we just sit up and end class? Why do we lay in a fetal position to wrap up an energizing flow? And why don’t we balance out on the left?

Well, you aren’t alone in wondering why.

There are many reasons why laying on the right side is oh so right for us at the end of our practice. Most of it has to do with the physiological benefits it offers as our bodies wake up after savasana.

First, did you know our lungs have lobes in them – two on the left and three on the right? When we lie on our right sides, the extra lobe in our right lung can allow for a higher volume of oxygen to get into our lungs. Science, man.

Another small but mighty anatomical reason for rolling on the right is to elevate and take pressure off the heart. When your heart is on top, it remains open and free from pressure – a signal for the body to wake up after being in a restful position. You’re literally and figuratively leading with your heart.

The kicker of all reasons for why being on our side is beneficial to not only our practice, but during other stressful times, has to do with our nose! Did you know we typically breathe out of one nostril at a time and our nose cycles between nostrils throughout the day? WHAAAAA?!

Take that, and the fact that the right side of the brain is wired for calm, creative and emotional feelings. When we lay on our right side, our left nostril can allow oxygen to reach the right side of the brain, which engages our imagination, expression and peaceful emotions. Who knew!

There’s a reason for everything in practice. So next time you’re on your right side after a strenuous class, know you’re bringing that beautiful oxygen to your lungs, brain and heart. And why you feel so euphoric after.

Pretty cool, right?