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Every morning I wake up, slip on my boots, and walk down the same street to the same neighborhood coffee shop where the same baristas know my order before I say it. If I wouldn’t show up for a few days, they’d worry about me. But one morning earlier this year, feeling stuck and stagnant in my life, I spontaneously decided to walk in the opposite direction. I found a little cafe I’d never seen where they offered me a drink I’d never heard of before and proceeded to spell my name wrong on the cup. Enchanted, I spent a while sitting there and having a conversation with a complete stranger.
On the walk back, I felt space in my mind that I hadn’t experienced in awhile. And in the days that followed, I felt creatively revived from just that small shift.
In yoga, we usually find ourselves visiting the same destinations every day—Down Dog, Side Angle, Pigeon Pose. We visit these postures so frequently that it’s easy to find ourselves moving on autopilot. But what if we approached these shapes in a new way? How might we see them and ourselves anew through some creative yoga transitions?
Radical thought: If you’re craving a shift of some sort in your life but don’t know where to begin, start small.
5 Uncommon Yoga Transitions Into Common Poses
Coming into any pose where can become habitual pretty quickly. Some creative entries can deter that from happening. Try these unexpected ways to origami your way into familiar poses on the mat and see whether you also experience a shift off the mat.
1. Down Dog to Seated Forward Bend
Shout out to yoga and meditation teacher Zach Beach for this unexpected—and exhilarating—yoga transition that looks and feels so intuitive you may wonder why it’s not more common.
How to: Inhale in Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) as you extend your right leg upward in Three-Legged Dog. Exhale as you shift your weight forward over your wrists, bend your right knee, and draw it toward your left elbow. Straighten your right leg and reach it toward the left side of the mat as if you were coming into Fallen Triangle and then lower yourself to the mat with your legs straight. Turn your chest to face the back of the mat, fold forward in Wide-Angled Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana), and breathe here.
2. Standing Forward Bend to Head to Knee Pose
I like to think of this yoga transition as swinging through to sitting.
How to: From Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), inhale as you half-lift with a flat back, and then exhale as you bring more weight into your left foot. Plant your right hand about a foot inside your left foot as you pivot your left foot toward the back of the mat. Bring your entire weight into your left foot and allow your right knee to bend as you swing it through the space between your right hand and left foot as you come to a seat facing the back of the mat. Keep your right leg straight and bring your left foot toward your right leg, making contact with the thigh. Breathe in and out, folding forward from your hips in Head to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana). Don’t forget to repeat on the other side.
3. Down Dog to Pigeon Pose
As you come into your preferred version of Pigeon Pose from a Figure-4 Down Dog, it helps to consider it “Landing Pigeon.”
How to: Start in a Downward-Facing Dog and shift into Figure-4 Down Dog by bringing your right ankle to your left thigh just above your knee. Inhale and then as you exhale, draw your shoulders forward over your wrists as if you were coming into Plank. Bring your right knee just outside your right wrist and allow your left leg to extend behind you and lower to the mat. Make any adjustments needed with your front shin. Remain upright or fold forward into Sleeping Pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana).
4. Standing Forward Bend to Side-Angle Pose
Here’s how to build your Side Angle “from the basement to the roof.”
How to: Begin in a Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend. As you exhale, angle your right toes toward the front of the mat and bend your right knee. Allow your left foot to shift so your toes point angle toward the front edge of the mat in a Warrior position. Bring your right forearm to your right thigh and engage your core as you extend your left arm over your right ear and lengthen through your side body. Breathe here. Repeat on the opposite side.
5. Boat Pose to Down Dog
The challenge is to keep your arms straight the entire time so you’re moving from a “dog overboard” shape to a traditional Down Dog.
How to: Begin seated on your mat in the Boat Pose (Navasana) of your choice, legs straight or knees bent, stretching your fingers toward your feet. Bring your arms alongside your ears and turn your palms to face the ceiling. You’re in the exact same V-shape as Downward-Facing Dog but facing the ceiling rather than the mat. From there, cross your ankles and keep your arms straight as you bring your weight forward, plant your hands and knees on the mat, uncross your shins, and flip your boat to land in Down Dog. Adjust your foot placement as needed.
Photos taken at Brooklyn Flow Yoga in Park Slope.
