Float Forward from Downward Dog

Floating forward from downward dog to the front of the mat is one of the most coveted transitions in vinyasa yoga. It is so desired for its clear expression of strength and elegance. It is a leveraged exploration of multiple key actions all in the space of maintaining a foundational experience in the body while flying through the air from there to here!

To Begin

To begin, understand that there is a learning curve and it is difficult until it is not. Therefore, offer yourself the permission to explore the practice of learning to float forward with love and devotion to the messy places in your life. We learn, more than flying here, to get out of our own way and marvel at our unique strength and capacity to BE the mystic on the mat.

Key Actions and Technique

Form wise, let’s break the key actions and technique down from the roots through the flight to the landing. We lovingly call this “flight school.”

In Downward-Facing Dog…

HANDS and ARMS:

Place the hands shoulder distance apart from one another, which means that the middle of the wrist is in a straight line relationship to the out edge of your upper arm. The stronger you get, the wider will sweep your hands.

Creases of the wrists should be horizontal to the front of your mat. Fingers and index knuckles each press deep and down into the mat, clawing the floor beneath you. As you press the fingers down, feel the tone rise into and through the forearms. This activation allows you to actively suck weight off of the heels of the hands.

Keeping toned forearms, roll the forearms towards one another.

With the forearms rolling towards one another, roll the upper arms away from each other. Give your ears some space.

BODY and CORE:

Integrate the core by toning the lower ribs into support the length of the spine. With increased flexibility in the spine, it is natural to drop the lower ribs forward, as the body naturally flows into the spaces of least resistance. However, this lower rib drop drops the top of the core forward and it becomes difficult to support the body in transition. The float forward requires that the entire core be lit up and engaged to slow the lowering of the legs between the hands.

FEET AND LEGS:

Step your feet a little closer, a few inches, to your hands to turn on the ability to engage momentum of the legs.

Bend the knees and LOOK FORWARD to the space between the hands. Holding the gaze to the space between the hands, spring BOTH feet from the earth in a pike, two strong, radiantly extended, parallel legs off the earth. The second the springing legs leave the earth, engage them to feel like two fire hoses shooting from the pelvis out the feet.

Return the feet to downward dog and repeat.

To experience the pike, one most encourage the hips to fly at the same speed as the toned forearms, which brings us to hips over heart, over shoulders, over wrists.

TO LOWER:

From the pike, begin to land half way up your mat with straight legs. It may feel a little jarring at first; however, it diffuses the drama and we begin to feel the possibility of landing with straight legs between the hands. As we get closer and closer, confidence grows.

As confidence grows and the feet beneath straight legs begin to land closer and closer to the space between the hands you will begin to experience the HOVER point of hips over wrist.

At this point, play with pulling the lower ribs in as deep as you can, creating space between the belly and the thighs. This degree of core integration will begin to inspire a slowing of the descent of the feet beneath the hands.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Engage this transition like any huge life change with an appreciation for where you have come from, full participation in each moment as it presents itself, and in deep hope and full gaze to where you wish to land in the future.

Audio:

Audio of Shannon Teaching Flight School to Skill In Action Class on June 12, 2011