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Deer Pose: Spinal Lengthening
This is an excerpt from Hands-On Yoga Assists by Kiara Armstrong.
STUDENT ALIGNMENT
Mrigasana: Deer Pose
The legs are either scissored or stacked one on top of the other.
The torso is fully supported by a bolster running parallel to the student’s spine.
Both shoulders are squared toward the bolster.
The arms extend toward the top of the mat; the elbows are ahead of the shoulders.
The head is rotated either toward or away from the knees, based on the student’s comfort.
Purpose
Deer pose is a prone twist that emphasizes a unilateral stretch along the back of the body. This assist emphasizes the line of stretch along one side of the back, from the pelvis to the shoulder. Because this pose stretches one side at a time, you should assist both sides.
Stance
High Squat
Roughly align your heels with your student’s midthighs. Adjust your stance accordingly to ensure your shoulders stack over the anchor placement at the student’s hip.
Your legs will help you hold the anchor. As you press the anchor hand down or toward the student’s feet, bend your knees slightly and sink into your heels, drawing the weight of your body backward in the same direction as the anchor pressure.
Anchor Tool: Palm of the Hand with Prominence Toward the Hypothenar Eminence (Pinky Side of the Palm)
The shape of the tool, or how you hold your hand, will mimic the semicircle shape of the handhold. Create a cupping action with your hand, as if you are holding water in your palm. Then, turn your palm downward and angle your fingers inward so that the pinky side of your hand is pointing forward. Hook into the tissue with the pinky side of your palm while maintaining the cupping shape with your hand.
The anchor hand will be the hand that matches the same side as the student’s hip you’re anchoring. If you’re assisting their right hip, the anchor is your right hand. If you’re assisting their left hip, the anchor is your left hand. You will crisscross your arms with your anchor and stretch placements. This allows you to use more strength in your chest—namely, your pectoralis major muscles.
Anchor Placement: Gluteus Medius, Soft Tissue Inferior to the Iliac Crest
The anchor is at the posterolateral iliac crest, the pelvic bone found at the base of the spine and lower back. Look for the bony ridge of the iliac crest of the ilium and aim to contact the soft tissue just inferior to (beneath) this ridge. The pinky side of your palm will hook into the soft tissue between the iliac crest and the greater trochanter of the hip. As a result, it may feel like your palm is cupping the hip.
Stretch Tool: The Hooked Surface Between Index Finger and Thumb
The stretch tool mimics the shape of the shoulder blade. You will apply most of the pressure with the area between the index finger and the base of the thumb, although your whole hand can rest on the student’s back.
Stretch Placement: Transverse and Ascending Fibers of Trapezius, Latissimus Dorsi; Soft Tissue Bordering Medial Border and Inferior Angle of the Scapula
The shoulder to assist is on the same side as the hip you’re assisting; for example, if you’re assisting the right hip, you’ll assist the right shoulder.
Align your index finger and thumb around the medial border and inferior angle of the student’s shoulder blade. Your fingers will run parallel to the medial border of the shoulder blade, and your thumb will hook the inferior angle. The placement is not on the shoulder blade but rather on the soft tissue just medial and inferior to, or just outside of, the shoulder blade.
Follow the Lines
The lines follow the latissimus dorsi muscle. Imagine a large V shape running from the sacrum and hips out toward the shoulder. You are following this diagonal line from the sacrum to the shoulder.
Apply the anchor first and maintain pressure throughout. Using more of the pinky side of your palm, press inferiorly toward the student’s back knee or the feet. The direction is back toward you rather than directly downward. If you were to press directly downward, it would press the student’s hips into the floor, which would not feel good. Note that the anchor is only on one hip, the hip that is stacked on top.
Sink your stretch hand into the student’s tissues alongside the medial and inferior angle of the scapula. Gently press in toward the rib cage to hook into the myofascia, and then press at a diagonal toward the humeral head or outer shoulder. You can also think of it as pressing toward the student’s elbow.
You are feeling for the line of stretch between your two hands, at the lateral hip or anchor and the shoulder blade or stretch placement
Myofascial Region
Stretch will occur in the thoracolumbar fascia, quadratus lumborum, spinal erectors, latissimus dorsi, and ascending trapezius. You will apply stretch compression to the latissimus dorsi and ascending trapezius. You will apply anchor compression to the glutes, specifically the gluteus medius.
General Precautions
Many people have dense lower back tissue or thoracolumbar fascia. Be mindful to listen to your hands and not apply too much pressure. The tissue should feel supple between your hands. If you feel a tightening of the tissue between your hands or a sense that the tissue is resisting, that’s the boundary; do not apply more pressure. A little goes a long way in this region because it’s very collagen dense.
Common Misalignments
If a student cannot rotate fully and place their chest squarely on the bolster, do not offer this assist. You may need to offer the student a block to place beneath their bolster to provide elevation and more assistance to the spinal twist. A student who cannot twist completely will usually look as though they are lying sideways with one shoulder on the bolster. This student needs an adjustment in their props rather than a Rubber Band Method® assist.
Troubleshooting
Many students will pull their elbows toward their sides in this shape, as if hugging the bolster. If you apply pressure near the shoulder blade, it will press the student’s elbow into the floor. This is uncomfortable for the student and can cause the assist to move into the neck. Consider gently moving the student’s arms and elbows forward a bit, or use cuing to invite them to lengthen their arms farther forward before relaxing.
The range of motion in the scapulae can vary considerably from student to student. Be sure to look for the bony landmarks of the scapula to help you identify the handhold. The scapulae are not always located close to the spine; in mobile students, they are often upwardly rotated a great deal away from the spine.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
- Step over your student and find a high-squat stance, aligning your heels with their mid- to upper thighs.
- Create the anchor with the arm that matches the same side as the hip you’re assisting. Visually find the ilium or pelvic bone at the lower back. Using the pinky side of your palm, hook into the tissue just inferior to the ilium and press inferiorly toward the student’s feet or back towards you.
- Maintain the pressure of the anchor by recruiting your legs. Sink into your heels and draw your body weight backward in the same direction in which you’re anchoring.
- Look for the medial border (inner edge) of the shoulder blade to place your stretch hand. Using the space between your index finger and thumb on your opposite hand, sink into the tissue around the inferior angle of the scapula. Once you are hooked into the tissue, gently apply directional pressure toward the shoulder. There should be little to no movement of the scapula.
- Apply directional pressure slowly to feel for the resistance or tightening of tissue between your two hands as you apply the stretch.
- When you feel the tissues become taut or give some resistance to the stretch, pause and hold the assist for a few moments.
- To release the assist, gently back out of the stretch and then release the anchor hand last, ensuring your student’s tissues have returned to their natural resting position before removing your anchor hand completely.
SHOP
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