Here are a few tips to make your Dandasana a rewarding experience:

• When you are in this pose, if you can feel your vertebrae sticking out, put a blanket under your hips. Also use a blanket if you feel at all uncomfortable. Remember, unless you have been doing Yoga regularly for quite a while, your body is not used to sitting at a right angle. Give it some help for as long as it needs.
• You already know your back should not be slumped, but make sure that you aren't arching your back, either. Dandasana is not a backbending pose! Your chest should simply be open - do not jut it out. Your abdomen should feel relaxed, but it shouldn't stick out - keep the abs in.
• Your shoulders and neck should also be relaxed. Are your shoulder blades down? Your head should rest comfortably on your neck, your chin parallel with the floor (this does not mean your whole jaw - that would raise your head too high).
• Your hands are on the ground beside your hips, fingers pointing forward, palms pressing down lightly. Recheck your shoulders to make sure you are not pressing too hard. Don't lock out your elbows.
• From the waist down, Dandasana is a very active pose. Every muscle in your hips and legs is engaged. Make sure your are sitting right on the tips of your sitting bones - move your buttocks back just a bit if needs be. Your hip position is crucial.
• Are your kneecaps pointing at the ceiling? They should be - roll your thighs inward until your kneecaps are facing up. Your legs should be long and straight. Be firm without being forceful.
• Your feet should be vertical, the center of your heels resting on the ground. They are flexed and parallel to each other, with the balls pressing away from you. Spread your toes - fan them out.
• Sit tall, as if there is a string pulling you up from the crown of your head. Make no effort while imagining this - remember, the string is doing all the work! Your legs should feel energized, your torso light.
• As always - breathe!

Dandasana may look simple, but it's not. It's a marvelous exercise in awareness and it teaches your body proper posture. It gives you the best of what Yoga has to offer... and you don't even have to get up off the floor!

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