Abilities Expo Virtual Experience November 20-21, 2020

BYOMyoga is proud to provide scheduled and on-demand yoga workshops on meditation, movement, and mindfulness, fully captioned for all abilities levels, ON DEMAND for the entire weekend of the Abilities Virtual Expo. Be sure to register for access to these programs and more, like creating sensory rooms, designing ability-supportive home spaces, mental and physical health, and fundraising.

We're Going Virtual

No need for masks or gloves, and you can connect with the disability-focused resources you need day or night in your pajamas. Take that, COVID-19! Until it's safe to meet in person again, we look forward to seeing the digital you at the Abilities Virtual Experience. Register for free today!

Find Products & Services

Visit exhibitor "booths" to learn what exciting technologies they have to offer. There will be product images, videos and special exhibitor events to engage you. Have a question? Your click is their command!

Attend Info-Packed Workshops

Our experts are almost as excited for this virtual format as we are! Access on-demand workshops on a such important disability issues as nutrition, financial planning for special needs families, affording the medical equipment you need, therapeutic cannabis, service dogs and more.

Good Times for the Whole Family

We are packing a ton of adaptive fun into your Abilities Virtual Experience! From the comfort of your living room, you can join the Rollettes dance party. You can improve strength and flexibility with adaptive yoga. How about learning a paracheer routine? Settle in...it's going to be a blast!

Register for free today: https://www.abilities.com/virtual/register.html#form

Day 22 of 22: Standing Spinal Balance (Cross-Body Limb Extension)

Final day of the challenge and I tried to be creative with a unique twist on a plank hold: alternate arm and leg raises (shoulder extension rear hip extension). Often in a yoga class this movement "posture" is done on the hands and knees (table top). Whether horizontal or on an incline, the lifting of the arm, with hand in "handshake position" which creates a small external rotation to root the shoulder blade on the back, and moving the entire leg backwards and upwards against gravity uses the gluteus maximum and hamstrung muscles, with the lower back. Lifting the limbs simultaneously requires core activation to stabilize the body, and keep the arm and leg moving smoothly. Done slowly and mindfully it can even be used as a stretch for the back, the calf, the forearm, the obliques, and the neck, and more. 

I noticed in watching the video that I started to lose the straight alignment of my plank (I was slightly bent forward at the hip joint). It would behoove me to move closer to the chair, raise my hand support, and/or pull my hips slightly forward next time I practice this movement. It is important to not fling the arm and leg up and be sure to move with muscular stability rather than momentum to keep the joints, especially the lumbar vertabral joints, protected.

One set of movements consists of extending the Right Arm/Left Leg, then the Left Arm/Right Leg. I did eleven of these "sets" for twenty-two total movements.

My physical challenge commitment is complete, but I will be carrying the lessons learned, the creativity developed, and the spirit of supporting our veterans forward into our chair yoga classes. Watch videos at byomyogavideos.com and you never know when you'll see us drop into another challenge and shout out to our #activeheroes. Thank you for your support!

To donate to my challenge, click here: https://fundraise.activeheroes.org/fundraiser/2872670

To start your own challenge, click here: https://activeheroes.org/22pushups/

Day 21 of 22: Pushup with Lowered Hold

As I am coming close to the end of this internet challenge, I wanted to create a little bit more of a physical (and appropriate) challenge for myself, but still keep it in the spirit of accessible gentle yoga. I played with the idea of holding in the lowered version of the pushup on a small incline to build tricep, shoulder, back, bicep, and chest muscles strength, in addition to creating core stability awareness. 

This was more intense than the diamond pushup, but had the positive aspect of creating no pain in my shoulder. The elbows pinning in to the ribcage, like in a traditional chaturanga yoga pushup, kept my shoulders in a safe position, and with all the training we've done, I was able to hold for a few second all the way through two sets of eleven with integrity.  Kumbaya!

To donate to my challenge, click here: https://fundraise.activeheroes.org/fundraiser/2872670

To start your own challenge, click here: https://activeheroes.org/22pushups/

Day 20 of 22: Plank-to-Lunge-Pushup

As we get closer to the end of the 22 day challenge I am starting to combine different pieces of other challenges to create new types of "pushups" and keep the challenges interesting. Today we combined the plank-to-lunge transition with the lunge-pushup from days past, to create the "Plank to Lunge Pushup."

This combination can be done completely vertically at a wall, and with very little force on the arms at all! I opted for a gentle incline using my chair that was secured not only on a yoga mat but also against a couch (pressed against a wall), so I had a strong base in which to press. This, and doing the pushup during the lunge gives more control over the amount of resistance (push back) one provides with the arms.

We start in a plank position, and step one foot forward to a lunge. A gentler option is to walk both feet forward, and slowly ease one forward and one back to a comfortable lunge-style stance. Once here, bend the front knee, and the elbows, to bring the body towards the chair/wall, providing resistance as appropriate with the arms. Return to lengthened arm position, then either step the front foot back to meet the rear, or bring both feet together and walk them both back to a comfortable distance to find a chair/wall plank. Repeat the process on the other foot. 

We did twenty two of these, which means a total of 11 sets of left/right plank-to-lunge pushups.

(Note: For those that wanted to try this from a horizontal/maximum intensity position, they might be better served doing the pushup from the plank position instead of the lunge).

To donate to my challenge, click here: https://fundraise.activeheroes.org/fundraiser/2872670

To start your own challenge, click here: https://activeheroes.org/22pushups/

Day 19 of 22: Side Plank Leg Abduction

We worked lateral shoulder holds again on day 19, with a side plank position, and then added a layer of complexity with a lateral leg extension, a.k.a., hip abduction. In vasistasana (side plank) the yoga pose, one of the variations has the upper leg lifted, which creates a star shape with the body. There is a large emphasis on the lower leg adductors and side obliques for body stability, and all the muscles of the rotator cuff to hold the shoulder in place; then the abductors of the top leg work against gravity to raise that leg. 

In this variation we've dialed down the intensity by having our incline much closer to vertical, and not holding the leg lift for more than a brief moment. The alignment points are to keep the toe and knee of the lifting leg facing forward so the outer hip flexors are doing the lifting (not the quadriceps), and keeping the body relatively still (core control, and protection for the standing knee). The body and standing leg shouldn't twist and the movement should be slow and with muscular control. 

We did one set of eleven for each leg to finish this day's challenge! 

To donate to my challenge, click here: https://fundraise.activeheroes.org/fundraiser/2872670

To start your own challenge, click here: https://activeheroes.org/22pushups/

Day 18 of 22: Diamond Pushups

There to be a dispute among internet sources of which muscles a diamond pushup affects more deeply (triceps, chest/pecs, back), and whether it's "better" to do it with arms tight against the sides (like the yoga chaturanga) or wide. 

If you watch this video, you can see that when I held my arms tight, I had a lot more stability, and was able to smoothly transition to the lowered position, as well as keep my shoulders in neutral position. When I tried to go wide-elbowed for the second set, I couldn't descend as far, and I will admit I was experiencing anterior shoulder impingement on my right arm that made me very unhappy post-video. That is NOT ahimsa (non-harming). 

So, that being said, for an adaptive yoga practice, trying out new forms of pushups, I would say that if someone was going to try a "pushup" with hands close together, elbows close to the side, bending back toward the ribs is a far more supportive approach to keep the entire shoulder girdle, chest, and upper back musculature in concert to support the body weight. 

For today's #22pushupchallenge for #activeheroes, we did our two sets of eleven to finish up day 18!

To donate to my challenge, click here: https://fundraise.activeheroes.org/fundraiser/2872670

To start your own challenge, click here: https://activeheroes.org/22pushups/