Do you take time in the morning to set the tone for your day? To take a moment to contemplate how you want the day to go?
Jumping on your mat, and flowing through some asanas is a great time to mindfully manifest what you want to happen and how you want to feel.
Consider this as you move through the 7 poses outlined below.
- Side Bends – Sit comfortably, lengthening up through the crown. Bring the chin parallel to the floor. Reach arms out to the side. Exhale, reach one arm up and over. Keep sit bones grounded. Inhale to pull back up. Exhale to the other side. Flowing side to side about 5 times.
2. Spinal Twists – Keep the arms extended out, turning the palms to face down. Inhale to lengthen. Exhale to rotate open to one side. Keep the hips and knees facing forward. Rotating side to side with the breath. Noticing your range of motion in your mid to upper back.
3. Thread the Needle – Come to table top, with hands under shoulders and knees under the hips. Reach the right arm up to the sky, then thread it behind the left hand. Bringing the right ear and shoulder down to the mat. Push into the right hip. Maybe extend the left arm forwards. Push right arm and left fingertips down into the floor. Pull the low belly in. Push back up to table top and switch to the other side.
4. Three-Legged Dog – From table top, walk the hands slightly ahead of the shoulders. Tuck the toes. Lift the hips up and back to downward dog. Kick the left leg up to the sky, bend the knee and reach the heel towards the glutes. Push into the opposite heel. Keep shoulders squared. Lower foot and repeat on other leg.
5. Sphinx (with optional quad stretch) – Ripple forward and lower to the belly. Bring the forearms down, elbows under shoulders. Extending the legs back behind you. Lift the chest up, keeping the shoulders down. To add a quad stretch, bring the right fingers towards the left corner of the mat. Bend into the left knee and reach left hand back to draw the foot towards the glutes. Take on both sides.
6. Child’s Pose – Bring the big toes together. Keep the knees together or apart, whichever you prefer. Press the hips back towards the heels. Walk the hands forward and lower the forehead down. Take 5 slow steady breaths.
7. Low Lunge (with optional quad stretch) – Step the left foot to the top of the mat, between the hands. Sink the hips forward and down. Bring the left hand to the left thigh, opening the chest to the side. Keep the right shoulder sliding down. Add a quad stretch by bending the left knee and draw the foot in using the left hand. Repeat on other side, making note of any differences between the two.
These 7 poses come from a 10 minute morning sequence I posted on YouTube. Practice with me below.
Namaste,
Kassandra
