Sphinx

Description

How to Do Sphinx

1. 1
   Setup

   Lie face down on your mat with your legs extended straight behind you, feet hip-width apart, and the tops of your feet pressing into the floor.

2. 2
   Setup

   Place your forearms on the floor in front of you, parallel to each other, with elbows directly under your shoulders and palms flat.

3. 3

   Gently press through your forearms and lift your chest and head off the floor, keeping your hips and lower body grounded.

4. 4

   Gaze forward, relax your shoulders away from your ears, and maintain a gentle arch in your lower back without crunching.

5. 5

   Breathe deeply and hold this position, feeling the stretch in your abdomen and the gentle compression in your lower spine.

Tips

• Engage your glutes slightly to protect your lower back and deepen the stretch in your hip flexors.
• Imagine lengthening your spine as you lift, rather than just pushing up, to create space between your vertebrae.
• If the stretch is too intense, move your elbows slightly forward, away from your shoulders, to reduce the arch in your back.
• Maintain a relaxed jaw and neck, allowing your gaze to be soft and forward, not strained upwards.

Common Mistakes

• ×Hyperextending the neck by craning the head upwards can strain the cervical spine; instead, keep your neck in line with your spine, gazing gently forward.
• ×Shrugging shoulders towards the ears reduces the chest opening; actively press your shoulders down and back, away from your ears, to broaden your collarbones.
• ×Lifting the hips off the floor reduces the abdominal stretch and puts excessive pressure on the lower back; keep your pelvis grounded and press your pubic bone gently into the mat.