Name: Yoga Practice Fundamentals: How To Walk From Downward Facing Dog To The Top Of Your Mat
Uploaded: 2024-03-02T02:02:58.632Z
Duration: 40 s

When a yoga instructor say's "from your downward facing dog walk to the top of your mat." Do you wonder, how am I supposed to do that? 

As an instructor myself, I cannot begin to tell you how often I see students ruthlessly try to get their feet to their hands. This is a big transition that for the most part, does not get addressed. 

Please utilize the tips found in this video, they are small adjustments that can lead to big changes in your practice. These adjustments with yoga blocks will allow you find efficiency of movement, with less struggle.  Over time, you can test this movement without the blocks to see if you've made change in your body. 

As you walk, make sure you are consistently pressing the ground or blocks away, this gives you the added therapeutic benefit of generating upper body strength (pressing power). 

Yoga

The physical practice of yoga began intertwining itself into Matthew's life in 2012. A friend recommended a Power Vinyasa Yoga class which shifted the trajectory of his path, it was a feeling of rejuvenation mixed with a stronger sense of empathy and compassion towards himself and others. Since that first class Matthew had practiced for five years and in June of 2017 he earned his 200 hour teacher training certification through CorePower Yoga. Continuing his education, during the summer of 2021, Matthew completed a 500 hour Budokon Mixed Movement Arts Training in Montana. That following fall of 2021/spring of 2022, he received his 50 hour Budokon Yoga as well as his 50 hour Budokon Mobility certification.

Matthew has evolved his teaching style to predominately speak to the body, where students will learn more about their own anatomy and how to achieve depth in their yoga shapes using leverage and muscle activation.  Constant learning is what makes yoga a lifelong practice, one way to create this longevity is to cross-pollinate with other movement practices. This has led Matthew to instruct an unconventional style of yoga that often includes added mobility routines along with the added practice of functional human movements. Matthew whole-hardheartedly believes yoga needs to translate outside of the studio because it is how we move ourselves during the 16 or so hours in which we are awake that greatly impacts how we practice movement for only one of those hours.

Private Mobility Offering: 

Budokon Mobility - Created by Cameron Shayne, the father of mixed movement arts, BDK Mobility focuses on transitions through five primary positions. These positions include: upright, side body, supine, prone, and inverted. In this movement practice we will also focus on animal locomotion, which will further magnify the subtle areas of the body that may be overlooked. We address the athletic, martial arts application of BDK Mobility, in short, this type of training originated as shadow boxing for jiu-Jitsu. If you're a jiu-jitsu practitioner, this will enhance your transitional movements when grappling.  

Private Yoga Offerings:

Vinyasa Yoga - Simply put, vinyasa is 'linking breath to movement in series of poses' - this is quite open ended as you may imagine. This has spurred me to teach an unorthodox style of vinyasa yoga in which I will draw upon different perspectives from other movement practices (i.e. weight lifting, jiu-jitsu, mobility) to incorporate into my classes, with the goal of evolving and progressing my students quicker.

Budokon Yoga - This is a style of yoga created by martial arts and yoga master Cameron Shayne beginning in 2001. The foundation of this style is the Budokon Yoga Primary Series. This series consists of 7 intelligently assembled sections of slow and controlled movements designed to improve mobility, agility, flexibility and strength. The techniques are learned through repetition and precision, the emphasis being on the transitions from posture to posture, rather than the holding of postures.

Yoga Practice Fundamentals: How To Walk From Downward Facing Dog To The Top Of Your Mat

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Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Includes:

50hr BDK Yoga & 50hr BDK Mobility

500 Hour Budokon Teacher Training Certification

200 Hour Teacher Training Certification

*Certified to teach C1 & C2 level classes at all suburban studios.
*Certified to teach Hot Power Fusion.

Yoga Instructor

*Certified to teach C1 & C2 level classes at all city studios.
*Certified to teach Hot Power Fusion.

Class Formats (Online and In-Person):

Vinyasa style levels 1 & 2
Yoga for Climbers 
Restorative (Yin)

Vinyasa style levels 1 & 2
Restorative (Yin)

I am highly focused on technique (i.e. transitioning into and setting up a shape) as well as activating the proper muscle groups within that shape. This not only allows me to build a solid foundation for my students, but it also allows them to generate a steady awareness and understanding of their physical self.  

Vinyasa Yoga - Simply put, vinyasa is 'linking breath to movement in series of poses' - this is quite open ended as you may imagine. This has spurred me to teach an unorthodox style of vinyasa yoga in which I will draw upon different perspectives from other movement practices (i.e. weight lifting, jiu-jitsu, mobility) to incorporate into my classes, with the goal of evolving and progressing my students quicker. 

Budokon Yoga - This is a style of yoga created by martial arts and yoga master Cameron Shayne beginning in 2001. The foundation of this style is the Budokon Yoga Primary Series. This series consists of 7 intelligently assembled sections of slow and controlled movements designed to improve mobility, agility, flexibility and strength. The techniques are learned through repetition and precision, the emphasis being on the transitions from posture to posture, rather than the holding of postures.

Mobilize with Budokon Contralateral Gorilla transition in under one minute.

What does this transition offer?

- With the hips low this encourages us to use the high hip flexors as we step. If our hips are elevated too high, the quads will be targeted more.

- The core of this movement stems from the power of our press. The more we can drive the fist into the floor, the more we utilize the upper back and the shoulders. This directly influences our hip flexion and spinal flexion ability. 

- Teaches us to become aware of what our spine is doing as we move in and out of position. Spinal flexion as we press, towards spinal extension as we descend. 

- Gives us a chance to establish efficiency in balance as we shift our head towards the grounded foot, creating more of a stack. All the while strengthening the balancing foot on a small surface area.


Budokon Contralateral Gorilla Tutorial In Under One Minute

In this tutorial we explore:

1) Stance (feet and hands)

2) Elbow positioning

3) How to create opposition

4) Controlling the lift of each foot

5) Building a full crow pose

Learn How To Practice Crow Pose In Under One Minute

Contralateral Gorilla Benefits: 

1) Generates our maximum hip flexor strength.

2) Taps into shoulder girdle power.

3) Spinal mobility

4) Fosters a cross-body connection

Budokon Mobility Transition - Contralateral Gorilla 

If you are an experienced yoga practitioner and are looking to explore ways to hold your arm balances longer, this is your missing link.

In order to understand yoga shapes, we need to break them down to a universality they all share: OPPOSITION. If you forge this principle into your practice, not only can you find strength, which leads to depth, but sustainability in your shapes.  

Yoga Practice (Intermediate/Advanced): The Missing Link To Help Sustain Time In Crow Pose

A common transition we see in many yoga styles is walking from a downward facing dog to the top of your mat. 

Adding the 'why' behind what we do is key. If you walk more efficiently during each class and learn how to transfer your lower body weight to the upper body, over time you'll be able to float the feet and grow into a full handstand press.


Yoga Practice: One KEY For Strength Gains

Stepping transitions are commonly seen in most styles of yoga. This stepping movement is typically utilized from a three-legged downward facing dog into a low lunge. 

1) Understand that we need to strengthen the hip flexors in order to step efficiently. This is the THERAPEUTIC benefit. 

2) Become aware of your body during stepping: Do you struggle to keep your hands fully planted? Are you unable to land into a broad stance?  Do you feel you cannot flex the spine or the hips to your fullest potential? Is your pressing power not up to par?

If you answered yes to any of these, then you'll want to utilize blocks under your hands. Why? This will allow the hands to remain rooted (this helps the forearms to lengthen over time), to build space to create more spinal flexion and hip flexion (this gives your more press power), and to land with more broadness to your low lunge.

Matthew A.

Yoga Practice Fundamentals: How To Walk From Downward Facing Dog To The Top Of Your Mat

Matthew's Yoga videos

Budokon Contralateral Gorilla Tutorial In Under One Minute

Learn How To Practice Crow Pose In Under One Minute

Budokon Mobility Transition - Contralateral Gorilla

Yoga Practice (Intermediate/Advanced): The Missing Link To Help Sustain Time In Crow Pose