Dropping in with some more yoga opinions, and again, they are simply opinions so no need to get huffy if you disagree. Today explaining while you will never ever here me say "knees, chest, chin," in any of my classes, or really ever. Despite the controversy this could potentially bring up, I disagree whole-heartedly with the labeled chaturanga prep and I wish that it would disappear forever. Here are some reasons why i don't consider it an alternative to the very important Four-Limbed-Staff-Pose.
1. Knees-chest-chin reinforces the most common misalignment in chaturanga.
One of the most common misalignments in chaturanga is dipping the shoulders below the elbows. Chaturanga is a very tricky posture, as there is so much to keep in mind anatomically while practicing. Because it is a weight-bearing pose, one of the most important aspects of chaturanga alignment is to maintain the integrity of the very mobile shoulder joint. This can be achieved by keeping the head of the humerus (the upper arm bone) in its “perfect fit” within the shoulder socket. This means not allowing the front of the shoulder to dip below the elbow joint, as that action places too much weight (and, therefore, pressure) onto the joint of the shoulder itself. Ideally, you never want the front of the shoulder to be rounded in a downward-facing direction when practicing chaturanga.
But when you take knees-chest-chin, that is exactly what happens within the shoulder joint. By first placing the knees to the ground and then keeping the tailbone lifted as the chest is released to the floor, the head of the humerus reaches far below the elbow joint—causing your shoulders to round down toward the floor, and “dumping” the weight of the torso (including the forward momentum of the movement) into the delicate shoulder joint. This is not the safest action for the joint. And it also continuously reinforces into the practitioner’s muscle memory of the exact movement of the shoulders we want to avoid when practicing chaturanga dandasana.
2. Knees-chest-chin places unnecessary pressure on the cervical and lumbar spines.
In addition to placing undue pressure on the shoulder socket, the position of having the knees and chest touching the floor with the tailbone reaching skyward places the body into a fairly deep backbend that for many practitioners can cause compression in the lumbar spine (lower back). And there’s more: By releasing the chin to the floor, the posture creates a hyperextension of the cervical spine, crunching back through the neck—which, depending on the biomechanics and mobility of the practitioner’s body, can cause even more compression. The posture also reinforces another far-from-ideal movement pattern in yoga: an overextension through the neck during backbends.
3. Knees-chest-chin doesn't build the strength necessary to eventually practice chaturanga.
Knees-chest-chin reinforces a “collapse” within the shoulder joint, creating muscle disengagement that certainly does not help to strengthen muscles (such as the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis of the rotator cuff, which serve to stabilize the shoulder joint) in preparation for chaturanga. Furthermore, by first placing the knees on the floor and releasing the chest down, all while keeping the tailbone lifted, the core becomes disengaged and fails to support the forward and downward movement of the torso. Gravity is doing the vast majority of the work in this position. A yogi could potentially lower into knees-chest-chin for a lifetime, trying to work toward chaturanga, but never build the strength necessary to get there.
Ok, so now what? Since you can't all fly to NY and take a private with me, HA joking, schedule a private with a teacher near you, and be specific. "I'd like to build strength and work towards chaturanga without learning knees, chest, chin. Here is a youtube channel from one of my teachers, where she breaks down the steps to achieving chaturanga. Rather then having destination anxiety around not being able to do the pose just yet, try your best to recondition around your thoughts. Realize each step of the journey to four-limbed staff pose is important and that it's not going to happen over night, and YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN KNEES CHEST CHIN.
Love you.
