Doga is Yoga for us dogs.  What you will find in my Doga pages are instruction and demonstration of exercises that will lead to increased flexibility, improved concentration, developing self awareness and a whole bunch of ideas for a Doga/Yoga practice you can do with your human.

A really good Doga session should always start with

breath awareness. First, place your little doggie butts

solidly on the floor. With front paws firmly planted in

front of you, expand your chest area. Concentrate on

controlling your breathing. If you can’t count, ask your

human to count for you...inhale 1-2-3-4-5, exhale 1-2-3-

4-5, inhale 1-2-3...you get the idea. Practicing breath awareness regularly will result in mastery over the oxygen flowing throughout your body which will increase your energy level. You know you have gained complete control when you can even control the fluttering of your whiskers during your practice.

We are now going to move into our next Doga

pose called the Mountain Pose. Anastasia along

with her mom are here to demonstrate this

pose for us. Rising to a standing position,

feel your weight evenly distributed onto all four

paws. Keeping your gaze soft, feel an intense connection to the earth.

Next, we’ll move onto one of the best known poses, Downward Facing Dog. One

of the youngest members of our Doga class, Aldo, will demonstrate. He begins this posture by pushing his entire weight onto his back

paws and lifting his hips. With the front paws facing for-

ward, Aldo tries to seperate them so they are shoulder

width apart. Trying to stretch the chest area, Aldo, and

you too, will attempt to put a slight arch in the back as

you become more experienced with this pose.

Our final pose for our first lesson is Upward Facing Dog.

Unfortunately, Dallas, who was going to demonstrate this

pose for us was called away on an emergency, so we will

need to refer to this drawing for our inspiration. You’ll find

this pose invigorating while being excellent for the spine and

kidneys. From a balanced standing position on all four paws, stretch the neck and reach forward with the nose towards the sky. Release muscle tension, relax and hold for a count of 5. Again, you may want to ask your human to count for you. Release the pose completely and repeat when ready.

I hope you have enjoyed this introductory lesson. As time goes on, there will more Doga instruction pages added, developing a complete Doga program/practice for you and your human. Until we meet to share again...

Namaste (the Divine nature in me honors the Divine nature in you)

To view Astrid’s handcrafted items in her shop, please click on the above seal. ALL proceeds are donated to the Santa Cruz Human Society in Nogales, AZ.

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