Yoga Pose of the Week

Camel Pose (Ustrasana)

This is a great pose for the desk workers or those that bend forward for long periods of time. This pose has lots of other benefits like: helping to correct posture, increasing lung capacity, improving blood circulation to all organs, toning the muscles of the back and spine, removing stiffness in the shoulders back and ankes, relieving abdominal cramps, and regulating menstrual flow. Those are just a few...

I picked this pose because after a long bike ride yesterday this was just the pose for me. I could feel my hip flexors stretch and it felt great to open my chest.

For how to get into the pose see:

http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/688

You can modify this pose by taking your arms to the small of your back and reaching your elbows toward one another.

For a variation, try taking one arm back towards the opposite ankle and leaving the other arm stretching towards the sun. You will get a nice twist in addition!

Enjoy!