Today marks the start of a new month. This was an opportunity to think about a focus. It immediately occurred to me that I could work on my strength. I have two books about planks in my Kindle library. One is by Sean Vigue and it’s called ‘Thirty days of Planks’. That’s inspiration enough for me for now. When you practise planks, you train your whole body.

The pose looks easy, but it’s not. If I hadn’t taken any pictures, my inclined plank would have been pushed forward.

The shoulders should be above the wrists and not further forward or further back. To achieve this, I started by standing on four feet. This made it easier to get the arms into the right position. Ideally, they should be vertical to the wall.

The body should be straight, a straight inclined plank. There is a tendency to push the buttocks upwards. I suspect that this will make the position easier. To maintain the straight inclined plane, it is advisable to tense the abdominal muscles. The point of the exercise is to become stronger and not to hang in one position.

I noticed the feet in the pictures. I also wanted the soles of my feet to be parallel to the wall. So I took another picture. The body remembers correct postures, but first you have to do the pose correctly. Pictures provide feedback.

You are supposed to hold the position for 10 breaths. I think you can definitely increase this to one minute.

Planks can also be integrated well. You could insert them between the asanas of the 1st series or practice them after the sun salutations.