For as long as I can remember, in countless yoga classes and workshops, I’ve needed to demonstrate chaturanga.

Yoga teachers, do you relate?

I would cringe seeing the rounded upper backs and strained shoulders repeated over and over with each new sun salutation A or B.

And so I had to say something, pause the practice, demonstrate the pose with an open chest and strong upper back, and then hope for the best.

If you teach yoga, you know how hard demonstrating chaturanga can be, because you have to hold it long enough to describe what’s going on, and it’s excruciating! I could only hold it for 10 seconds if I was lucky.

But then something changed. I started weight training and functional fitness.

All of a sudden I could hover in chaturanga in demos, and wax poetic for days about the pose!

You see, one of the unfortunate ironies of yoga asana is that all the chaturangas in the world will not make a stronger, more aligned chaturanga.

If you practice chaturanga with compromised alignment because of weak upper back muscles, the repetition will pattern rounded shoulders and shoulder strain into your body over time.

To build the upper body strength for good alignment in chaturanga, weight training is everything!

With a strong upper back, you’ll be able to hit your chaturangas in great form, and pattern in impeccable posture with every repetition.

Finally, I’ve created a mini weight training sequence video just for you and your chaturangas.

All you need is a piece of furniture (e.g. a couch, fit ball, pouf, or ottoman), one 3-5lb+ weight, and a rod (e.g. a mop handle).

Try out this weight sequence and leave us a comment on how it impacts your sun salutes!

About the Author
Amy Ippoliti is known for bringing yoga to modern-day life in a genuine way through her intelligent sequencing, clear instruction, and engaging sense of humor. She shares her passion for yoga, health, earth conservation, with her writings for Yoga Journal, Organic Life, Prevention, Mantra, Origin, Mind Body Green, and Elephant Journal. She has appeared on the covers of Yoga Journal, Boulder Lifestyle, and Fit Yoga Magazine and has been featured in Self Magazine, New York Magazine, Allure (Korea), and Newsweek and on the front page of Yahoo.com. A teacher on Glo.com, she is a pioneer of advanced yoga education, cofounding Vesselify (formerly 90 Monkeys). She is the co-author of The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga. Learn more at amyippoliti.com.