Plank AKA Extended Four Limb Staff Posture

I love practicing plank with my dog. It creates such a beautiful shared moment, a lot of fun, and it is an incredible opportunity to validate stronger communication.

In Sanskrit, this body position is called Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana, extended four limb staff posture, and I love how this connects with the posture’s western name. Both a plank and staff offer support to someone who needs it, much like how our pets support our practice building a joyful life, and we support their growth in this world, as well.

To practice extended four limb staff posture, bring your hands under your shoulders and step your feet back to fully extend your body.

Lift your hips to be at the same height as your shoulders.

Piking your hips or lifting them higher than your shoulders indicates that you are still building enough strength in your abdomen to keep them level and is preferred to having your hips too low. If you allow your pet to balance or rest their weight on your back while your hips are lowe than your shoulders, you rush hurting your lower back, both from the additional weight of your animal in a precarious alignment, and from creating a surface that isn't level and can cause your dog to be moving around, risking further injury to you or to themselves by falling off without control of their body.

Long story short … don't let your hips droop.

When you have your shoulders stacked over your wrists and hips at the height of your shoulders, you can engage your core and safely ask your pet to balance on your back.

Continue to follow your breath and keep your core engaged while supporting your animal's added weight. When you are ready, you can release your animal and prepare for the added resistance of them pushing down on your back as they jump off.

The longer you can hold this posture as you pet balances on and jumps off your back, the more endurance and strength you both build, and when your dog gets tired, they can lay down beside or beneath you. If you get tired first, you can step your knees forward into table, changing the shape your body creates and signalling an end to the game.

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