Technique
Sphinx
Inhale, bringing your body forward into
plank and drawing your shoulders over your wrists, then lower your body to the
mat, bending your elbows.
Place your elbows slightly ahead of your
shoulders to support your body. Extend your forearms ahead of you.
Press your pubic bone into the mat and
extend your legs back, lengthening the front of your thighs away from your
hips. Press your feet into the mat.
Keep your legs together to release the base
of your spine or to deepen the sensations by keeping your legs apart.
Draw your chest and sternum forward. The
pose is a deep compression into the back.
Hold for 5to 20 breaths then lower your
chest to the floor.
Locust
Technique
Locust
Remain lying on the mat. Inhale and draw
your hands behind your head, interlacing your fingers and placing them on the
crown of your head.
Lift your chest and draw your sternum
forward. Stabilize your back as you exhale.
Inhale, lifting your legs and keeping your
feet together. Beginners may prefer to keep their legs hip-width. Try to spiral
the inner thighs inward.
Hold for 5 to 10 breaths, lower your chest
to the floor.
Draw back to child’s pose and then extend
to downward dog.
Pigeon pose
Technique
Carefully
draw yourself upright and step back into downward dog. Repeat on your left
side.
Inhale and, from downward dog, draw your
right knee forward and place your right foot behind your left wrist.
Exhale and slide your left leg straight out
behind you. Allow your right knee to drop open to the right side and draw your
heel in toward your left hip.
Now square your hips and place your palms
on the floor in front of your leg.
Allow your lower back to curve softly. Draw
your lower abs back, toward the spine, and lower your chest over your right
shin and knee. You can rest on your elbows or lower your chest to the floor.
Hold for 5 to 20 breaths.
Carefully draw yourself upright and step
back into downward dog. Repeat on your left side.
After completing the moves on both sides,
kneel and cross your ankles behind you, sit down and roll over your ankles to
draw your legs out in front.
Bridge
Technique
Walk
your feet wider apart and allow your knees to knock together.
Lie on your back with your knees bent, your
feet parallel (placed about 5 inches from your bottom) and your arms on the mat
next to your torso.
Inhale, and gently draw down with your
lower abdominals, so that your hips tip upward.
Exhale and press into your feet, slowly
lift your hips, chest and ribs off the floor and come to rest on your
shoulders.
Press the outer edges of your shoulders
into the mat. You can interlace your fingers behind your back and press your
arms and hands into the mat to stabilize the pose and lift your hips higher.
Hold the pose for about 10 to 30 breaths.
Lower your torso by rolling down through
the spinal column, vertebrae by vertebrae. Walk your feet wider apart and allow
your knees to knock together. Hold for 10 breaths.
Repeat 1 to 3 times then hug your knees to
your chest, keeping your knees apart.
Revolved abdomen pose
Technique
Revolved
abdomen pose
Remain lying on your back. Bend your knees
and place your feet flat on the floor. Draw your arms out to the sides, not
higher than your shoulders, with your palms facing down.
Inhale and lift your knees up toward your
belly, keeping your spine long and your hips on the floor. Exhale and twist to
the right as your knees slowly drop to the left.
Allow your right shoulder to soften toward
the ground and let your chest open.
If you have no neck issues, inhale,
lengthen the spine, and exhale, turning your head toward your right hand Allow
gravity to work with the breath to assist in the deepening rotation and
releasing of the spine.
Hold for 5 to 30 breaths.
Inhale and gently draw in your lower abdominals
to lift your knees back to the center and allow your spine to return to
neutral. Repeat the pose to the right side.
Corpse pose
Technique
Lengthen
your neck slightly by pointing your chin toward your feet and softening your
jaw, forehead and neck.
Lie on your back on the mat and make
yourself comfortable. Allow your legs to extend out along the length of the mat
and let your feet roll outward.
Try to get your lower back to lie as flat
as possible on the mat by sliding your tailbone away from you.
Let your arms rest beside your body and let
your shoulders relax and flatten into the floor.
Lengthen your neck slightly by pointing
your chin toward your feet and softening your jaw, forehead and neck.
