Do you suffer from sore wrists? All those planks and downward dogs in a standard yoga class getting to you? You don’t have to do those poses to do yoga – give these 7 standing and seated poses a try today!
It’s still very much a full body practice, and in fact even a little bit more intermediate in nature.
1. Standing Side Bend – Stand at the top of the mat with feet hip width apart. Let the left hand rest on the thigh. Reach the right arm up and over to the left. Let the right hip press out to the side. Gaze up or down, whichever feels better. Hold for a couple of breaths. Push into feet, and use the obliques to lift up to center. Repeat to the right.
2. Half Sun Salutation – Inhale to reach the arms up and bring palms together. Exhale to dive down, bending into the knees as you fold. Inhale half lift, fingers to the shins and weight in to the balls of the feet. Exhale to fold once more. Inhale to circle the arms wide, push into the feet and lead with the chest to rise. Exhale the hands to the heart. Do 3 rounds.
3. Warrior 3 Flow – Keep the hands at the heart and feet hip width distance. Step the right foot back to high lunge. Bend into the left knee, trying to get the thigh parallel to the ground. Bend the right knee if needed. Reach the arms up. Hinge forward, sweeping the arms down and back. Shift the weight and kick off the right foot in to Warrior 3. Bringing the chest, at most, parallel to the ground.
4. Chair Pose – Step the right foot to the top of the mat to hip width apart. Bend the knees and sink the hips. Bring the arms up overhead. Keep most of the weight in the heels.
Repeat 3 and 4 on the other side.
5. Goddess – Turn to the long edge of the mat. Take the feet wide, turning heels in and toes out. Bend into the knees. Work on squeezing them open by engaging the glutes. Interlace the fingers, releasing the index fingers and bringing arms overhead. Add a side bend by leaning over to the left. Inhale to center. Exhale to the right.
6. Yogi Squat – Toe heel the feet to just wider than hips. Keep the heels in and toes out. Bend deeper in to the knees to lower all the way down into Malasana. Bring the elbows inside the knees, using them to push the knees open. Lift the crown of the head up.
7. Straddle Flow – Lower all the way to a seat, extending the legs out to the side. Come into a side bend, right arm reaching up and over. Roll the shoulder back. Look up if it feels good. After a couple breaths, inhale up and repeat to the other side. Then lift back up, and rotate chest towards the left leg and fold down. Repeat to the right.
These poses come from the first half of a 25 minute feel good flow I shared on my channel and app.
Kassandra
