Awkwardness: How to Avoid It When Moving in Between Poses
We all want to achieve that “flow state”. You know – the one where everything else around you turns into a blur and you’re only focused on the present moment. Maybe you have experienced it when you’re writing and the words just pour out on the paper effortlessly or if you’re doing crafts or a DIY project and you just zone out and let your mind relax. It can feel like an out-of-this-world (or out-of-body) experience. We highly recommend trying to get in it whenever possible. And yoga makes for a great way to do so.
In yoga, getting into the flow state feels amazing. Your body and your mind move effortlessly from one pose to another, never stopping to think too much about the day, life happenings, and your always growing to-do list. In that moment, you just are.
If you’re interrupted during your flow state you can lose your concentration and even become annoyed at whatever (or whomever) it was that interrupted you. You try hard to get back in, but that feeling is often gone. Not cool.
As a beginner to yoga, moving between poses can be awkward. If you’re practicing at home, you may not have a large inventory of poses to reference or you may not be sure how to move from one pose to another. In this post, we’re going to give you a few simple ways of getting from one position to another to help you move into a flow state.
There are some easy ways to move between standing poses, arm balances, seated poses, twists, backbends, and other positions. Here’s a little inspiration for some helpful ways to transition between common positions.
Moving from Your Stomach to Back
Come up to downward dog –>
move into a side plank –>
move other hand behind you and go into bridge –>
come down into a position involving laying on your back or sitting down
Laying Down to Sitting (or vice versa)
Savasana (or other pose) –>
unsupported (or supported) boat pose –>
move into a bound angle pose with your feet off the ground –>
seated bound angle pose (or another seated pose)
Laying Down to Standing (or vice versa)
savasana (or other pose) –>
turn on side and push up to a side plank –>
bring other hand and foot down into a regular plank –>
jump feet forward into a standing toe stretch
Kneeling to Standing
hero pose –>
scooch body weight back to balance on balls of feet –>
standing toe stretch
Kneeling to Sitting
hero pose –>
move hands back and push up to bridge –>
come down into a seated position
We hope you can use some of these transitions as inspiration as you start your yoga practice or take it up a notch in your home practice. If there are any transitions or sequences you particularly enjoy or find helpful, leave them in the comments below!