Dragging your feet, slumped over, rubbing your eyes to wake up? Try rolling out your mat and working your way through these poses instead of grabbing a coffee!
- Cat/Cow Tiger Variation – Start in table top, with hands under shoulders and knees under hips. Inhale to lift the right heel up to the sky, while dropping the belly and lifting the gaze. Exhale to round and contract, touching knee to nose. After a few rounds, holding with heel up. Keep the thigh rotating in. Maybe reaching the left hand back to clasp hold of the ankle. Pushing foot into hand to deepen back bend. Repeat on the other side.
2. Runner’s Lunge to Pyramid – Step the right foot forward between the hands. Come up to the fingertips and lift the left knee off the mat. Hold for a few breaths. Then push right heel and straighten right leg any amount. Try to push left heel towards the floor.
3. Three-Legged Plank – Step the right foot back. Stacking shoulders over the wrists. Keep the hips low. Then lift the right foot off the floor. Tap the toes down and up 5 times.
4. Side Plank Variation – Drop right knee to the mat. Roll to the inner edge of the left foot. Reach the left arm up to the sky. Lift the toes up to hip level, tap down and up 5 times. Then keep the foot lifted, bend the knee. Reach left hand back to clasp foot in a bind. Pushing foot into hands. Keeping knee and foot at hip height.
Repeat 2 through 4 on the other side.
5. Down Dog Forearm Variation – From hands and knees, bring the hands a bit ahead of the shoulders. Come down to the right forearm. Tuck the toes under and lift the hips up and back. Use the left hand to stabilize as you kick the left foot up to the sky. Try on the other side.
6. Humble Warrior with Eagle Arms – From downward dog, step the right foot to the top of the mat. Spin the left foot parallel to the short edge. Push into the feet, lifting up to Warrior 2. Bend the elbows and loop right under left, binding once or twice. Dive down inside the right thigh. Squeezing the right thigh open. Switch sides.
7. Locust Pose – Come to the belly. Extend the arms in front of you, turning the palms towards one another. Keeping the tops of feet grounded to the floor. Push sides of hands into the ground to lift the upper body off mat. Lift the right arm. Turn the palm outwards, then reach it back towards the hip. Bring it forward and repeat other arm. Then see if you can lift hands and feet for the full pose.
These 7 poses come from a 30 minute morning power yoga class I shared on my YouTube channel. Check it out below.
Namaste,
Kassandra
