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Hannah Cole

Hannah Cole writes and looks after the yoga.com pose library - the guides that walk through each posture step by step, what it asks of the body, and how to make it kinder. She came to yoga the way a lot of people do, through a body that complained: years of desk work and running left her hips and shoulders asking for something slower. More than a decade of steady practice later, the poses are still her favorite teachers. Her rule for the column has not changed. Every claim about what a pose does for the body has to trace back to a named source at the end of the piece, and where the research is thin, the piece says so. Most weeks you will find her on the mat, testing a modification before she recommends it, or back in the library re-checking an old guide against newer research.

Hannah Cole

By Hannah Cole

Upward Bow Pose with Straight Legs (Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Upward Bow Pose with Straight Legs (Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana)
Upward Bow with straight legs deepens the classic wheel backbend, stretching the hip flexors and spine while building full-body strength.
Hannah ColeMay 18, 20264 min read
Two Arm Left Bend (Pārśvāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Two Arm Left Bend (Pārśvāsana)
Sweeping both arms overhead and arcing the spine to the left, Two Arm Left Bend (Pārśvāsana) stretches the side body and builds shoulder sta...
Hannah ColeMay 16, 20264 min read
Supported Shoulderstand with Right Leg Lowered Behind the Head (Eka Pāda Sarvāṅgāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Supported Shoulderstand with Right Leg Lowered Behind the Head (Eka Pāda Sarvāṅgāsana)
Shoulderstand meets leg-behind-head in this advanced inversion, requiring deep hip mobility and serious shoulder strength to hold the positi...
Hannah ColeMay 13, 20264 min read
Supported Shoulderstand (Sālamba Sarvāṅgāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Supported Shoulderstand (Sālamba Sarvāṅgāsana)
Shoulders pressed into the mat, hands firm against the mid-back, Sālamba Sarvāṅgāsana holds the entire body in a vertical balance that build...
Hannah ColeMay 12, 20265 min read
Supported Plow Pose (Sālamba Halāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Supported Plow Pose (Sālamba Halāsana)
Supported Plow Pose (Sālamba Halāsana) uses folded blankets under the shoulders to make this supine inversion safe and accessible for beginn...
Hannah ColeMay 10, 20264 min read
Supported Headstand with Feet Together (Sālamba Śīrṣāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Supported Headstand with Feet Together (Sālamba Śīrṣāsana)
Sālamba Śīrṣāsana with feet together is the classical supported headstand, balancing on forearms with legs fully extended and inner feet pre...
Hannah ColeMay 10, 20264 min read
Supported Headstand with Legs Parallel to Floor (Ūrdhva Daṇḍāsana, Sālamba Śīrṣāsana stage) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Supported Headstand with Legs Parallel to Floor (Ūrdhva Daṇḍāsana, Sālamba Śīrṣāsana stage)
Hold both legs horizontal in this advanced headstand variation - demanding precise hip-flexor strength, scapular stability, and breath contr...
Hannah ColeMay 9, 20264 min read
Standing Half Forward Bend with Blocks (Ardha Uttānāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Standing Half Forward Bend with Blocks (Ardha Uttānāsana)
Learn Ardha Uttānāsana with blocks - a beginner-friendly half forward bend that teaches spine-lengthening and hip-hinging technique.
Hannah ColeMay 8, 20264 min read
Standing Half Forward Bend (Ardha Uttānāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Standing Half Forward Bend (Ardha Uttānāsana)
Standing Half Forward Bend (Ardha Uttānāsana) trains a long, flat spine halfway into a forward fold - a key transition in Sun Salutation.
Hannah ColeMay 7, 20264 min read
Standing Forward Bend with Hands on the Floor (Uttānāsana) - by Hannah Cole
Body, Mobility & Posture Standing Forward Bend with Hands on the Floor (Uttānāsana)
Uttānāsana with hands flat on the floor deepens the classic standing forward fold, stretching the hamstrings and lengthening the full poster...
Hannah ColeMay 6, 20264 min read