Learn how to externally rotate your arms and strengthen your forearms in this amazing dolphin pose variation by Jill Miller.

Two essentials for yoga inversions are external rotation of the arm bones forearm strength.

External rotation is the thing that allows you to take the training wheels off and start flying. It connects your shoulder girdle to your core via your Serratus anterior muscle.

The Serratus is a badass muscle that lives underneath you underarm  and wraps your front body to your back body. Hiding from plain view like a ninja shrouded by darkness this muscle doesn’t get noticed.

Until now…(cue dramatic music…)

To my delight this variation on dolphin pose addresses both of those issues!

On top of all that it also feels delicious in its ability to solidify the shoulders onto the upper back. It feels sturdy. Always a good thing when you plan to balance upon them.

I owe this genius photo and pose to Jill Miller of Yoga Tune Up. I found this in a wonderful article of hers on wrist health. To read the original article click HERE.

Dolphin Pose with Palms Facing Up

a) Rest forearms on a yoga mat, and place a yoga block in between the wrists along the pinky side of hands.

b) Pike the hips upwards, forming an upside down “V” shape with the body (bend the knees if the hamstrings are very tight).

c) Attempt to press the thumb side of the hand into the floor, and feel the traction and stretch deeply within the muscles of the forearms as the spine extends away from the rooted forearms.

(Item D is my addition to Jill’s amazing instruction)

d) Prepare for world domination now that you have the mighty Serratus holding your shoulders on your upper back like superman’s cape!