Yoga transitions refer to movements or poses to move from one asana to the next. Just like individual asanas, these have a purpose too. They help prepare our bodies for the next pose.
Lifting up and jumping back is quite a popular transition admired by yogis worldwide. Those trying the jump-through transition for the first time often find it difficult toget their sit bones more than a fraction of an inch off the floor. Putting the legs through the arms is another story altogether.
If this sounds intimidating, a good approach would be to learn the principles and mechanics behind the seemingly impossible movement. At Feelio Blocks, we believe that practice helps concur anything. So, we've gathered a few tips to help you develop the strength and control the jump-through transitions like a pro.
Helpful Tips to Crack the Jump-Through Transition Code
1- Mobile Wrists, Steady Hands
Jump-through and jump-back movements require having a fairly firm foundation in the hands. If it's weak, the negative impact can carry through an entire kinetic chain, making the movements impossible. If done right, the rebound energy is enough to support and lift the body's weight with the hands.
Additionally, since we need to bring the shoulders forward with the arms extended fully, the transition pose demands a lot of wrist extension. You can use the handles on the wrist support blocks to work on your range of motion in the wrists or mobilize them adequately.
Yoga block wedges are incredibly useful tools for helping reach the floor during yoga sessions. Newbies and experienced yogis can now perform complex poses that they otherwise would not be able to due to lack of motion range, flexibility, and other factors.
Yoga blocks support the knees, hands, wrists, and other body parts to ground comfortably into the yoga block. They help elongate the spine and wrists, aid proper alignment, prevent muscle straining, and deepen stretches during yoga sessions.
Wooden Feelio Blocks are astoundingly sturdy and offer a natural gripping texture while providing stability during handstands and arm-balance poses. They're flexible and multi-purpose; the handles are designed in a way that allows you to use them to support a wide variety of poses without worrying about injuries or pain.
2- Elongate Your Arms
Try cat stretches to develop the spinal flexion and blade protraction. The rounding of the spine and drawing of the shoulder blades helps make the arms functionally longer. It's as though the arms don't start from the shoulders but from the chest's center.
You can add a few valuable inches to your reach just by reaching as far forward as possible. These extra inches help create the extra way required for us to get all the way through. However, you'll need to follow two prime principles.
Core + Compression
Even if you've successfully made the arms 'longer,' the truth is there isn't still much space for you to conveniently squeeze through. The goal is to make the rest of the body compact, like tucking into as tight a ball as possible. Compress the abdomen and thighs together before squeezing the heels towards your sit bones to help keep the feet lifted.
3- Tuck in Tight
Working on the hip mobility is also important because this doesn't just require mastering the deep cross-legged forward fold but also enough strength in the hip flexors to keep the legs drawn to our body without depending on the gravity or using hands. Cross-legged forward folds coupled with squats help develop the required range of motion, whereas bent knee poses help work on hip flexor strength.
4- Elevate Your Hips
If you try the jump-through transition with a flat trajectory, chances are your feet would hit the mat way before they can reach the hands. Rather than jumping forward, consider jumping upwards to swing through. Also, instead of thinking about the seated position as the movement's endpoint, think about making it back up on the top edge towards the opposite side.
5- Practice, Practice, and Practice
Plenty of patience is required as you need to spend time working on diverse foundational poses that help build the momentum towards more challenging asanas.
Using yoga accessories and props is a great way of exploring things with confidence and progressively building technique, mobility, and strength over time.
Check out the range of yoga blocks, yoga parallettes, push-up stand parallettes, and other yoga accessories available at our online store to progress from basic poses to more challenging ones with ease.
Our wooden yoga wrist blocks are slip-resistant with a sturdy base, which helps significantly enhance stability and balance. They're excellent for relieving the stress on the wrists, making yoga much more efficient.
It doesn't matter if you're an experienced yogi or starting your journey. Our wooden yoga wrist blocks are for everyone! Connect with us to buy yoga props that will help elevate your yoga practice safely.