Upward Facing Dog in Vinyasa Flow

From Chaturanga Dandasana you can inhale into Upward Dog
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/469

The word vinyasa has become short-hand for the specific sequence of poses moving from Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) to Up Dog and then back to Down Dog. (Vinyasa is also commonly used in two other ways: to describe a step-by-step progression from one pose to the next or to signify the concept of linking breath with movement.)


The specific three-pose sequence is common to Ashtanga, flow, and Power yoga, and many students are both challenged and mystified by it. It's an important transition to practice and understand because, when done incorrectly, it can compromise the alignment of the poses it connects, whereas when mastered it tends to enhance and reinforce them.

The key to the transition is moving the chest and legs in opposition, which keeps the center (abdomen and pelvis) from collapsing and protects the shoulders and lower back.

When you move from Chaturanga to Up Dog, push your toes back so that they move an inch or so toward the back of your mat as you roll over them. Making your feet travel on a sticky mat requires some serious effort in your legs, which is useful since active legs are crucial to both Chaturanga and Up Dog.

As you slide your toes back, simultaneously pull with your hands (they won't actually move) while drawing your chest forward and up, so that your upper body and lower body move in opposite directions.

Only your hands and feet touch the floor in this transition. To keep your body from sagging toward the floor, use the strength of your arms (pulling your sternum forward) and legs (pushing your toes back). To vizualize how this works, imagine holding a piece of ribbon between your hands. When your hands are closer together, the center of the ribbon droops. When you pull your hands apart, it becomes taut. The latter image is the blueprint for your transition.