Downward-Facing Dog to Upward Bow
By Barbara Benagh
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Consciously root your hands and feet to the floor, balancing the weight equally between them. Draw your front groins into the hips, move the inner thighs back, strongly ground your heels, and root the balls of your feet. Move your inner armpits toward the back shoulders to rotate your inner arms toward your ears, and widen your upper back as you extend your arms toward the balls of the hands. If you have difficulty widening your upper back, roll your shoulders back toward your tailbone and reaffirm the rotation of your inner arms. Although you're now upside down, can you feel that these are exactly the same actions you used in Downward Dog?
Exhale and let the chest bloom outward and upward to elongate the shoulders again; at the same time, if you're quite flexible be careful not to force your shoulders too far forward into hyperextension. Continue to breathe steadily as you release any tense muscles along your spine and adapt to the rich spinal arch this asana requires. You can continue to explore moving the spine as you did in Downward Dog, accompanying every movement with mindful breathing to enhance your liquidity and ease. Don't lose your connection with the internal rhythm of the breath. Yes, even in an asana as strong as this backbend, there's room to dance!
Whenever you're ready, begin your return trip to Downward Dog. If you have paid attention to the flow, you will, like Hansel and Gretel, have laid down breadcrumbs to mark your path. Returning to Downward Dog is simply a step-by-step reversal of the flow you followed to arrive in Urdhva Dhanurasana, and it's easier than you might think.
The most common mistake is trying to throw the right leg up and over. Instead, stay calm and methodical. Turn your left hand toward the right hand and press the left arm into the floor as you strongly inhale and roll your chest to the left, bringing the right hand off the floor. Pause and feel how the spine is now rotating to the left. Just pivot your left foot forward to face your hands, and the action of the twist will allow you to softly bring your right arm and leg back into Downward Dog. It's as simple as that.
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