• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Find Your Warrior’s Path Through Turbo Dog

At first attempt, Turbo Dog may seem like nothing more than a good triceps and latissimus dorsi challenge. Hold longer and it will serenade ego and spirit to meet. Meet Turbo Dog!

Willow Ryan

Written by Willow Ryan Last updated on April 26, 2012

Last week’s article 25 Yoga Poses That Will Make You a Better Runner was focused on yoga and running, though many of the positions listed benefit all types of athletes and active people. In reality our clients range in the types of activity they enjoy and the varying levels of activity they participate in, from injured and recovering from surgery to weekend warriors or professional athletes. What all of these clients have in common is the love for getting stronger and gaining emotional composure. They are modern day warriors.

Turbo Dog was created by Ana Forrest as a way to alleviate aches, pains, and stresses of modern day living. Part of her legacy is leaving people feeling empowered and inspired to make necessary changes in life to be happier – even when it means making a challenging decision. Every time I’ve deepened my practice with Forrest Yoga, I feel my identity strengthening as well. It all begins with making a breath happen on purpose and holding still long enough for weakness to leave the body.

Let’s practice this with Turbo Dog. While it might appear to be about strengthening your arms and back, there’s a lot more to it. Start with Downward Dog:

Downward Dog (Hold 5 Breaths)

  1. On your hands (shoulder width apart) and knees (hip width apart)
  2. Wrap your shoulder blades toward your armpits
  3. Inhale – Breathe into the upper back and relax the neck
  4. Exhale – Lift your knees off the floor

Up-level to Turbo Dog to increase strengthening. Work up from 5 breaths to several minutes with no bone friction.

Turbo Dog (Hold 5 Breaths)

  1. On your hands (shoulder width apart) and knees (hip width apart)
  2. Wrap your shoulder blades toward armpits, lift the part of downward dog, yoga, forrest yoga, willow ryan, turbodogyour spine between the shoulder blades, feel for activating chest muscles and upper back, and relax head and neck.
  3. Inhale – Bend elbows 3 inches from the floor, moving them toward each other
  4. Exhale – Straighten your legs and lift into Downward Dog.
  5. Keep energy moving through your arms and chest, keep collarbones moving towards your feet. Reach your forearms away from your wrists. Use your upper back, chest, and arms to hold the space between the bones of the shoulder joint.

At first attempt, Turbo Dog may seem like nothing more than a good triceps and latissimus dorsi challenge. Hold longer and it will serenade ego and spirit to meet. It can stir up ancient sediment from the soul and require fortitude to hold steady when ego speaks, “Leave,” and spirit says, “Stay.”

In a culture driven by instant results, we often seek activities that graze the surface and miss opportunities to learn about ourselves in a deeper way. Holding steady and still requires focus, and a willingness to let go of achieving instant results. Many distractions limit our ability to grow into the person we yearn to be. Meditation in a specific position can be a reminder for us to stop seeking things outside of ourselves for pleasure and be content with knowing that we are good enough, the way in which we were born into this life.

Knowing our selves, knowing our strengths, and transforming our weaknesses is the warrior’s path. Staying on this path to better our selves and the lives of others is the life of a warrior. You are one. If you feel lost from your identity and path, return to Turbo Dog. Return to your breath. It’s that simple.

Don’t forget – you can email your questions to [email protected] and she will answer them in her Dear Willow column!

Willow Ryan

About Willow Ryan

Willow Ryan specializes in helping people rewrite past stories from a present perspective to move forward for personal renaissance. Willow has done so herself both personally and professionally several times over.

Willow is a dedicated Yoga practitioner and has received the highest honor, working with Ana Forrest as a Forrest Yoga Guardian to uphold the legacy of “Mending the Hoop of the People,” by assisting Ana as a trained Mentor for Forrest Yoga Teachers.

Willow has also acquired tools for personal development while participating in Anthony Robbins Programs - Mastery University, Business Mastery, and Date With Destiny – and is a trained Neuro Strategist and NLP Practitioner through Steve Linder's SRI Training.

In the Portland, Oregon area you can study with Willow at her studio, Inner Elements Yoga.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

catcowyogawoman1
A 10 Minute Yoga Flow for Low Back Bliss
mindfulnessandyoga
Use Mindfulness to Enhance Your Yoga Experience
Join the United Tribe of Fitness
The Magnificent 7 Yoga Poses for Lower Back Relief

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

2023 World’s Strongest Man Events Revealed

Actor Jonathan Majors Ate 6,100 Calories a Day to Become a Bodybuilder in “Magazine Dreams”

Eddie Hall Preps for Bodybuilding Debut by Training His Back With a Pro

How to Do the Dumbbell Split Squat for Single-Leg Size and Strength

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About