Karen Reeves demonstrates Flip the Dog pose in a beautiful bed of wildflowers. Photo: Fred Padilla
By Karen Watson Reeves
We have all heard the phrase “jump for joy,” but sometimes I just want to flip for joy!
What makes you joyful? Pause in the reading for a few breaths, close your eyes, and name things that fill you with joy. A few of the things on my list are family, amazing special friends and relationships, yummy food, springtime, warmth, and the rebirth/flowering/greening of the earth.
May is the month noted for bringing flowers. So, it was a fun Earth Day outing with Fred to be outdoors. As he cleaned out undergrowth, I planted flowers. Then we went in search of flowers for this month’s photo.
Wildflowers are some of my favorites! With no effort, they come up year after year, giving us color and beauty. So I flipped for joy in a mass of wildflowers near the Hot Springs Greenway Trail.
The pose is called Flip the Dog because it is approached from Downward Facing Dog. Often students are cued in a vinyasa (flow) class to step into Flip the Dog, a challenging pose. And like any yoga pose or arduous task, there is a feeling of satisfaction when the feat is accomplished.
The student who moves into Flip the Dog is joy-filled. Fear of stepping back, balancing on one arm into the backbend is overcome. The wrists, arms, upper back, shoulders, quadriceps, and glutes are all strengthened. Because it is a backbend, the heart, chest, upper abdomen, and neck are stretched. The pose helps boost energy in the entire body and creates a gushing flow of joy. It is also an inversion (head below the heart), creating a release of those feel-good endorphins. So if you feel stuck, a little down or blue, or just need to get more energetic in a natural way, Flip the Dog is a great pose to try.
The Sanskrit name for the pose, Camatkarasana, translates as miracle pose or surprise pose. Enjoy the merry month of May, watch out for the miracles all around, and surprise yourself occasionally by flipping for joy!
Karen Watson Reeves has called Hot Springs home since 2006. Owner of The Yoga Place, at 301 Whittington Avenue, she became a registered yoga/children’s yoga teacher in 2011. She is on the Hot Springs YMCA teaching staff and is an adjunct instructor at National Park College. When not on the mat, Karen enjoys the beautiful outdoors of the National Park, especially from her bicycle. For more information about her studio and her schedule of classes, visit www.theyogaplacehs.com.
