Here is a brief description of the
P90 X Yoga Workout
Part One: The Dynamic
The first half of Yoga X consists of
moving asanas, which are a series of dynamic, flowing, high energy poses.
Tony will start you off with some
light stretching and a series of three sun salutations. Once warmed up, you’ll
start incorporating more challenging moves, starting with the Warrior series.
To make them less challenging, let me
share with you a few insights I've gained during my own workout on how to make
these poses work:
Warrior One: The key to all Warrior poses is to
make sure you keep your rear leg engaged and keep your weight centered rather
than leaning forward. Straighten your rear leg and tighten that glute. Don’t
keep all of your weight on your front leg.
Warrior Two: In addition to keeping your rear leg engaged, be mindful of
keeping your hips and shoulders stacked one on top of the other. This centers
your weight and allows you to distribute it more evenly between front and back.
Again, think center, not front. Think stacked, not leaning. Think powerful,
like a warrior, not flopping around like a fish.
Reverse
Warrior: This pose will get slightly harder
but more rewarding overall if you don’t plant your hand on your rear leg and
lean all of your weight on that hand in order to get into the deepest backbend
possible. Accept a shallower but much stronger backbend by putting 10-20% of
your weight on that hand and using your core and strong legs to hold up the
rest.
Triangle Pose: Here, worry less about getting your hand all the way to the
floor and more about getting your chest and shoulders straight and square and
open. You can push through your lower hand in order to open your chest and
shoulders more.
Twisting
Triangle Pose: Shuffle your rear foot in a little in order to get into this
pose a little better. A block is very helpful here.
Chair Pose: In this pose, think of drawing everything towards a center line
that runs from the middle of your forehead down to your big toes. Squeeze your
toes, knees, and thighs together towards that line. Squeeze your shoulder
blades in to keep your back straight and strong. If you think ‘in’ rather than
just ‘down’, and think with your whole body rather than just worrying about
your legs, you’ll find much more strength and stability in this pose.
Right Angle
Pose: This pose is agony, especially in
the clasped hands version. Don’t feel bad about having to straighten your front
leg and take a break now and then. Do remember, as with the Warrior poses,
don’t let your rear leg flop around back there without doing anything! Keep
both legs engaged, not just the front.
Prayer Twist
(in a lunge): This is a tough balance pose for me. To get the most out of it,
do as you do in Chair Pose and try to think of drawing everything in to your
center. It actually becomes easier to find your balance here if you’re flexible
enough to reach the floor with one hand. If balance is your weak spot, though,
you might be better off keeping your hands in prayer position and fighting for
that rather than getting deeper into the stretch.
Warrior Three: If you have low back problems or a weak back, keeping your
hands forward in Warrior Three is going to be difficult for you. Don’t feel bad
about keeping them back, but do, as always, remember that you still have a rear
leg here.
Standing
Splits: If you can’t hold onto your ankle
with both hands,don’t worry about it. Do what you can.
Half Moon: Rear leg again. You have one, or at least I assume you do, so
use it. I know it seems strange that you can stand on one leg and do anything
with the other leg that might help you, but it’s true. Tighten both glutes,
pull your abs in, and you’ll find this pose becoming miraculously more stable.
Twisting Half
Moon: Keep that rear toe on the floor if you can’t
keep it raised. Don’t hurt yourself. Work into it as far as you can, then
accept that you’ve gone as far as you can, and stop.
Here ends the dynamic portion of the
workout. If you’re planning on doing the second half later in the day, this is
your chance to spend some extra quality time in Downward-Facing Dog.
Part Two: Balance and Static
Tree: To lock it down, pull
your raised knee back and buttocks in towards that center line. Hang out.
Imagine sprouting leaves.
Royal Dancer: Keep thinking of that concept of ‘center line’ here, and while
you do, also think of tension and counter-tension. To achieve stability in
Royal Dancer, you need to reach towards the front with one hand and pull on
your raised leg with your other hand just as much as you need push back with
that leg. Let your torso and upraised arm and leg form into a bow shape,
seeking equilibrium between all of its parts. The more you can equalize that
tension between the two components of the pose – reaching forward and pushing
back - the more stable you’ll become.
Standing Leg
Extensions: These appear to be unique to P90X,
with the only variation I found having the leg held to the side rather than the
front. In any case, this is another example of flexibility actually making a
pose easier, in some ways. If you can grab onto a toe while your leg is
extended, the forward push of your foot combined with the pullback from your
arm and torso will stabilize you. Think, always, of finding equilibrium between
pushing and pulling. If you can’t go for toe lock, though, you’ll lose that
advantage and rely more heavily on hip flexor and quadriceps strength to keep
your leg extended. If you can, try both and see which you find more rewarding.
If you can’t or you’re feeling pooped today, just hug your knee into your chest
and enjoy the stretch.
Crane: Now this is hard. To get it right, think
not only of drawing in to that center line, but also of tucking your body in
towards your core, almost folding in towards your absolute center of gravity.
Don’t let your butt go high up or your knees flare out. Pull in through your
core. Keep your fingers spread wide for stability. If you have wrist problems,
curl your fingers slightly so that they’re not flat on the mat. It’s a tough
pose,just breathe, inhabit the moment, do what you can, and accept what you
can’t.
Seated Spinal
Stretch: If you have back problems, go as far
into this pose as is comfortable and no farther. Be gentle to your back.
Cat/Cow: Don’t skip this, especially if you have back issues. Do try not
to over-exaggerate the arch in your lumbar spine, though. Again, go as far as
is comfortable.
Frog: Really wonderful stretch for the hips and inner thighs. I could
hang out in this one forever. Pay attention to your knees if you have knee
problems, since this position may be awkward for some kneecaps, and make sure
to aim for that 90 degree angle between hips, knees, and shins.
Bridge or
Wheel: If you have low back problems, do
not go into a full Wheel. It’ll put far too much strain on your lumbar spine.
If you have wrist problems, you might want to be careful, too. Stay in the
bridge pose. You’ll still get some benefit, and you’ll get it without the
backache.
Plow to
Shoulder Stand: Another difficult pose for those with
any kind of vertebral issues, I find that this one simply puts too much strain
on my neck, even with cushioning. Strain on the neck is bad, and the benefits
of this pose aren’t worth the risk. If you feel pain in your own neck, skip
this one.
Table: Listen to Tony’s advice on adjusting
wrist position if you have wrist problems. Otherwise have fun.
After this, the poses are all very
straightforward stretches as well as a few abdominal exercises.
Check out the P90X Yoga X Review Here
