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Chaturanga is one of the most taught transitions in yoga classes.

But what if you want to teach something different?

Here are 10 options for you to practice when you want to take a break from chaturanga! Each one has its benefits, as you will see and feel when you practice them & teach them to your students. Enjoy!

1) Plank Holds

Instead of chaturanga think about the benefits of just holding planks & the amount of upper body strength it takes to hold still w/o allowing your form to suffer. Plank holds can be gradual. Holding for 3 breaths and then increasing to 5 or 8. I’ve even done plank challenges before where instead of counting breaths we increased the amount of time in plank. From 1 minute to 2; 3 minutes to 5, and increasing as the days go on.

In your yoga practice when you practice plank, stay there then push straight back to downward facing dog.

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2) Hover One Foot

Instead of 4 points of contact (two hands & two feet) you only have 3, in which case makes holding plank just a little bit harder. The musculature of the remaining planted leg and foot must engage more as the weight of your lower body is supported by only one leg instead of equally distributed between two.

3) Crossed Ankles

Sometimes hovering one leg feels a bit unsupportive so to relieve that feeling, cross your lifted leg ankle over the opposite one. Stay here and hold plank, then transition back to downward facing dog.

4) Shift Forward & Back

This variation is often taken in forearm plank. However when you perform it in plank pose your wrist joint, forearm & shoulder muscles get a healthy dose of new movement. This will require more extension on the wrists, so be mindful of that if you have students with wrist injuries. 

5) Sway Right & Left

When you sway left and right you mobilize your wrist joints differently. Getting out of the sagittal plane is great and necessary for healthy movement of your joints. Closed chain (hands rooted) wrist movement might be a lot at first, so if the load (your body weight) in plank is too much to start with, lowering your knees to your mat and decrease the amount of weight bearing on your wrists.

6) Pec Taps

In plank, take one hand and touch it to your opposite chest, Then, switch to the opposite hand. Similar to when you hover one foot, this increases the weight and load on your planted hand and arm, as it has to accommodate the added weight when you lift your other arm. Try a few reps to start, then increase as you feel ready.

7) Rhomboid Pushups

To strengthen your rhomboids (the muscles that attach your thoracic spine to your scapulae) retract and protract your shoulder blades. While everything else remains still, you move your shoulder blades in and away from your spine. Keep your arms straight throughout the exercise. Start in tabletop (hand and knees planted) and progress to plank when you’re able to keep good form.

8) Tricep Pushups

Instead of lowering as much as you would in chaturanga, lower half of that amount and then push back to plank. Continue for as many repetitions as feels ok. Again begin with knees down and then progress to straight-leg plank when you feel ready.

9) Knees Down Lower Slowly

In plank, lower your knees to your mat then take your time to lower all the way down to your stomach. The idea here is SLOW. How slowly can you control your body as you lower?

10) Lower Slow to A 5 Count

To quantify the time you take to lower, use a 5 count. Can you lower slow and steady to your mat? Taking time to lower down instead of speeding through it helps you pay attention to your form. In the slower movement do you dump your shoulders down? Do you sag your hips? Are you engaged throughout the entire lower to your mat? All questions to ask yourself during this variation.

Now it's your turn to get creative! Which variation will you add to your sequences? Enjoy!

Many times, I've adjusted my sequences on the fly because I spot a student in class who would benefit from one of my variations!

I would love to know which of these you choose & how they worked out for you & your students.