Fitness Friday #3 – Sun Salutations (PiYo Live version)

This is one of my favorite combos in PiYo Live class. We call it a sun salutation, which is a collection of movements that can vary from class to class.

In our basic PiYo Live sun salutation, there are four moves:

• Plank
• Chaturanga
• Upward-facing dog
• Downward-facing dog

Here’s a short demonstration I posted on the Fitness with Aundra facebook page.

We use these in our “Heat Building” section, right near the beginning of class. I love this sun salutation combo as a warm-up for when I practice yoga before and after classes. Try 8-10 of these and you’ll feel your body start to warm-up, making it ready for your workout!

The trickiest part of this combination for me to learn was the chaturanga. I posted a photo demonstration on the Fit for Life facebook page earlier this week, but thought I could share a short video to really demonstrate the ‘trick’ I use in the chaturanga posture.

The key is to start in plank, then move slightly forward on the toes, hug the elbows into the side of the body, then push down between your arms to hover just above the ground. When in the down position, you want to make sure your elbows are bent and in line with your back, not positioned higher or lower.

You can absolutely drop those knees from high plank, maintain a long upper body, and slowly lower down to chaturanga. This is how I learned!

Chaturanga posture is so great to help develop the muscles needed for more complex poses and balances. For me, it was the key to unlocking the strength I needed for continuous push-ups and crow pose!

I love the moments of ‘glory’ when my students figure out this combo in PiYo Live class. We run through a series of these, sometimes taking it slower (which is super fun – hold, hold, hold!), or substituting the plank and chaturanga for tricep push-ups. There are tons of great variations of this combo.

Give this combo a try!