Yoga Basics: Airplane Pose or Dekasana How to Strengthen Your Core and Improve Balance in one posture

Balance. Everyone LOVES TO HATE IT. 

Working your balance every single day is important especially as we age, because every 11 seconds, a senior falls. Even if you’re not a senior, the more you work your balance, the better it’ll be throughout your whole life! 

Here’s the best bonus for balance: it’s core work too! 

So if you’re looking for a way to improve your balance and get some good core work in, check out this quick tutorial on Airplane Pose or Dekasana in Sanskrit.

Jennifer Dixon ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Teacher leads you on this informative journey through one of her favorite balance postures, Airplane Pose. This is a basic yoga pose found in many different types of yoga classes and has many different ways you can practice.  Here, Jennifer talks about “best practices” you can do to help keep your back safe and pain free.

Key points to remember when practicing your Airplane Pose or Dekasana:

1. Start in a balanced, standing position like Tadasana with your belly muscles strong, and feet pressing evenly into the floor, crown of your head reaching high
2. Lean forward slightly
3. Lift one leg off the floor and press it into an imaginary wall behind you
4. Try to get both of your hips even
5. Lengthen down through your tailbone to encourage abdominal engagement
6. Draw your belly button to spine (which engages your abdominal muscles)
7. Hold your shoulders down and away from the ears.
8. Try to squeeze the shoulder blades together
9. Try to have your toes pointing downward
10. Top of the head  reaches forward, your gaze is down and slightly forward 
11. Your hands are either at your hips, your heart center, or reaching back, palms down (which can help to steady you).
12. Hold this pose for several breaths 

Remember, always keep your stomach muscles engaged 

and try not to tilt that tail bone out.  (this cue can reduce back pain) This pose definitely builds some heat in your body, so be patient as you build the strength in your core, but also in your hamstrings and glutes (bottom muscles), as well in your hips. This is a powerhouse of a posture, and you can do it with us!

Did you like this tutorial? Did you feel it really working your core, glutes and balance?  (I hope so!) If you’re looking for more engaging low impact but high intensity exercises, don’t forget to check out Thrive Online the first live, interactive platform full of high intensity, low impact yoga inspired exercises to help you reach your wellness goals.

About the Author and Studio

If you would like to learn more about Jennifer or if you would like to practice with Jennifer in person and you’re in the Chattanooga, TN area, come to Thrive Yoga and Wellness.  We offer almost 40 classes each week in a variety of modalities from beginners to advanced, to chair and seniors all the way to super physical HIT yoga. It’s a great studio in the suburbs with ample parking and the community vibe even the folks at Cheers would be proud of.  (How’s THAT for showing my age?!?!)

Or if you’re not in the area and still want to practice with me, you can totally do it for free, virtually.  I even have a free free 5 day HIT (High Intensity Training) Yoga challenge you can sign up to do and get 5 free HIT Yoga classes delivered straight to your inbox.  It’s a lot of fun and a lot of work. You’ll take your yoga skills and strength to a whole new level and be sore in the best possible way that you won’t want to stop on day 5!  I can’t wait to practice with you!

In the video, I was practicing on one of the studio’s Mantra Lux Pro mats (that is an affiliate link, it doesn’t cost you a dime but it helps out a small business, so thank you!)  I wrote a blog post about this mat so if you’d like to check it out, go here.
This post was written by Jennifer Dixon MBA ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher.  She is the lead teacher in the Thrive Yoga and Wellness 200 hr Yoga For Every Body Teacher Training program: the Chattanooga area’s ONLY modular 200 hr Yoga Alliance approved Teacher Training program that allows you to train when YOUR schedule allows.  With two semesters each year and plenty of opportunity to practice and train year round, this is the BEST yoga teacher training program for busy folks. Gone are the stresses about missed training weekends, you don’t have to worry about exhaustion and tears from super long intense weekend trainings every month–with the Thrive Yoga Teacher Training program, you train when your schedule allows and live your best life now.  Yoga Teacher Training should be fun, come practice with us and let us show you how! Another great perk of training at Thrive? You get an unlimited membership to the studio for one full year while you train! NO ONE ELSE offers this amazing deal (worth $1100!) and it’s the PERFECT way to get the training you want with the practice you need. We offer two semesters each year in the fall and in the spring, so come and join us in studio or virtually!!  See you on the mat soon!