Say it with me, You don’t have to do every chaturanga. Or any!

No one is keeping track… except maybe your shoulders that feel a little cranky from the sudden increase in push-ups they’re experiencing now that you’re back in the studio flowin’ like a 2020 shutdown never happened.

Push-ups are hard. They’re a bodyweight move and your body is a heavy weight. To build up to your pre-pandemic sun salutes (or your first full strong feeling sun salute) start by doing fewer chaturangas and slowly adding on. This gives your body time to adapt. Similar to how you might train for a marathon - you don't start with 20 miles, you start with one. Sometimes it’s helpful to hear these reminders even if we know them conceptually. So here is your reminder. Listen to your body, not the patriarchy.

When I was dealing with shoulder pain years ago I received the most helpful advice that I still use today. It goes like this: Find all the pain-free ways you can move and do those. Instead of feeling discouraged by my shoulder pain, I became invested in finding ways to still do what I love most, moving my body while still honoring and caring for the parts that needed more support, rest and strengthening.

I love coming up with different ways of doing vinyasa without chaturanga. Here are FIVE for you to try.

This doesn't mean I don't like chaturanga or think it's a bad movement (there's no such thing). It does mean that for chaturanga to feel not so hard and insufferable we must have reasonable expectations for what our shoulders can handle right now, not 12 months ago. Want to do more chaturangas? Add some strength work into the mix and you'll be Chaturanga-ing to your hearts content. You got what it takes. Let movement amaze you.

You got what it takes. Let movement amaze you.

Trisha