Dandasana may look like a simple pose, but it's important to make sure that you're doing it the correct way because it is the foundation of all seated poses. Dandasana comes from the Sanskrit words Danda – meaning “stick”, and Asana – meaning “posture”.  This pose is best known as the base of all asanas in seating position, forward bends and twists.

It's easy for your everyday posture to slump forward since most of us suffer from poor posture, and staff pose helps correct us. When the spine is straight and the shoulders back, our breathing naturally becomes deeper and more regular. The nervous system relaxes and the mind and body become in alignment and harmony.
 
How to:

1. Sit on the floor with your back straight and extend your legs out in front of you
2. Now place your palms next to your hips flat on the floor. 
3. Press your glutes into the floor and point the top of your head up to the ceiling to lengthen and straighten the back. 
4. Inhale to lengthen your spine
5. Keep breathing normally, and hold the pose for about 5 breaths or 30 seconds.

Tips

• Keep you heels in line with your hips
• Engage the soles of your feet, by pointing your toes back towards your body
• Draw your thigh bones in together and down towards the floor
• Think about lengthening the spine
• Draw your shoulder blades back towards each other
• Never flatten or round the lower back
• If you've got really tight hamstrings you might find this pose difficult to do at first.  Try sitting with your back up against a wall, or sit on a few blankets or a yoga block to elevate you a bit more.

Caution:  People with high blood pressure should not perform this pose. In case of any wrist or lower back injury avoid this pose.

 

Routine is important, especially when it comes to maintaining or improving our health and wellness, but it can be hard to create. Creating and maintaining a routine that is supportive of your wellness can be a challenge, and deviating from your routine can be very easy. When you have a routine you’re less likely to make a decision that isn’t supportive of your wellness. When you begin to implement yoga as a daily habit, you’re much less likely to procrastinate.
 
Here are my 5 tips for creating a yoga routine:

1. Don’t focus on the numbers.
Don’t focus on how many Sun Salutes you did or how long you held Bakasana. What matters now isn’t how much you accomplish. What matters is that you show up to your mat every day. When you spend your energy worrying about the numbers, it’s easy to forget that you were present in the moment.
 
2. Make a commitment.
Tell yourself you’re going to practice daily. Yes, I know, a daily practice may seem impossible but it is doable. At the end of the week, make a commitment to practice for another 6 days. Before you know it, you’ll have practiced yoga for an entire month, without having thought about it.
 
3. Practice with a friend.
Go to a yoga class with your partner or  your bestie. Make it a date. When practice yoga with a friend or go to class with someone you enjoy spending time with, yoga becomes a social activity, making you more inclined to keep practicing. Yoga becomes a chance to see someone you care about, and a way to strengthen your bond and friendship.
 
4. Treat yourself.
A treat doesn’t have to be something unhealthy like a donut or cake; it should be something you enjoy that you wouldn’t normally do for yourself. How about a new yoga mat, that pair of leggings you’ve been wanting to buy, yoga blocks, a yoga book? Whatever you feel like treating yourself to, remember, it doesn’t have to be an expensive treat, it could be something as simple as a yummy green drink or a matcha tea after yoga class. Get creative with your treat. When your treat is something that is satisfying you’ll look forward to it, without slipping back into unhealthy habits.
 
5. Practice even on the bad days.
When you’re having a bad day or just feeling blah, that’s when you need yoga the most. When you’re tired, run down, sad, depressed, angry, there is nothing better than a good yoga practice. Yoga will ground you. Yoga will help you find your center. Yoga will help you find your balance. It’s easy to let a bad day takeover and not practice yoga. I have been there. I can recall when I was having a bad month and all I could bring myself to do were Sun Salutes and Savasana. Yoga is what kept me grounded throughout that experience. What people often don’t tell you is that when you show up for your yoga practice, your yoga practice shows up for you. It supports you; it comforts you. Show up on your yoga mat not just on the good days but, especially the bad days. When you use yoga as a tool to find your peace, your serenity, your sanity, and your strength, creating a yoga routine takes care of itself.
 

Wide-Legged Forward Fold comes from the Sanskrit words Prasarita meaning separated. Pada meaning legs or feet. Uttana meaning intense stretching. The literal translation is “wide-stance forward bend’. This pose can also be translated as “spread out feet intense stretch”. When practiced with compassion, inversions such as this pose, can be very beneficial to your well-being. They reverse blood flow, which usually has to fight against gravity on its way back to the heart, thus improving circulation. Similarly, they help to move the lymphatic system, which runs parallel to the vascular network but doesn’t have a pump. Flushing that system means increased immunity and decreased illness.
 
How to:

• Inhaling, open chest, lift the sternum and extend the spine.
• Exhaling, bend forward and grab the big toes. (the index and middle finger curl around the toe and the thumb presses into the nail)
• Inhaling, lift the head, and straighten the spine.
• Exhaling, fold forward. Bend the elbows, and use the arms to pull your head towards the ground.
• Hold for 5 breaths. With each exhale try to extend the spine towards the ground.
• Inhaling, release the toes, place the hands on the hips and come half way up, so the spine is parallel to the ground. Exhale here.
• Inhaling come all the way up.

 
Beginner's Tip:
The best beginner's tip for Wide-Legged Forward Bend is to place a soft padded yoga block or a soft folded blanket in front and place the crown of your head on the block of the blanket. Since beginners are usually not able to bend completely and place their crown on the floor, this helps maintain balance while still improving your stretch.
 
 
Caution: 
Do not hold this asana for more than 1 minute, especially if you are a beginner.
If you have low blood pressure or vertigo avoid this pose for longer times and perform for 2 to 3 breaths only. Come out of the pose gradually to avoid dizziness. Pregnant women should not perform this pose at all, especially during the 3rd trimester because of the excess belly weight..