It’s Springtime!
Never have the signs of spring felt so incredibly welcome after a long winter of being cooped up and stuck in social isolation.
I designed this short yoga sequence to help you release all that pent up tension for a little more freedom mentally and physically!
Click here to download printable version!
Forward Fold
- Stand with your feet together
- Root down through all four corners of your feet
- Slightly bend your knees
- Fold your torso over your legs by hinging at your hips
- Keep spine long on the way down
- Release your hands to the ground or onto your shins
- Stay long throughout your neck
- Draw your shoulders down your back
Hold 10 breaths
Twisted Forward Fold
- Stay in forward fold and lift halfway
- Heel toe your feet about hip-width apart
- Place one hand directly center, slightly in front of your feet onto your fingertips
- Take a slight bend in the same side leg Extend your opposite arm into the sky
- Twist your torso upwards
- Gaze up
- Stack your shoulder blades
- Keep your hips squared to the front
Hold 10 breaths each side
Chair
- Stand tall with legs together
- Reach arms straight up overhead
- Turn palms to face one another
- Weight is distributed back toward the heels
- Sit the hips low
- Lengthen the spine by drawing lower abdomen in and up
- Arms reach overhead with palms facing one another
Hold 10 breaths
Twisted Chair
- Stay in chair pose and pull hands in a prayer position into your chest
- Slide shoulder blades down back
- Twist your left elbow across your knees
- Press your left elbow against outer edge of right knee
- Keep heart above the hips
- Return to center with hands & switch sides
Hold 5-10 breaths each side
Chaturanga
- Start on all fours
- Hands are shoulder width distance
- Fingers are spread wide
- Press down through knuckles of index finger and thumb
- Walk the feet back to plank pose
- Keep feet at hips width distance
- Press forward onto your toes, so your heels stack over your toes.
- Lower halfway down to create a 90 degree angle at the elbows.
- Hug elbows in towards the ribs
- Stretch the crown of your head forward and create a long line from the heels out through the crown of the head.
- Draw your tailbone down toward your heels
- Draw the navel in toward the spine
Hold 5-10 breaths
Low Lunge Hands Clasped
- From all four bring your right foot forward into low lunge
- Press into all four corners of the right foot (front foot) into the ground
- Untuck the left toes (back foot) and flick the toenails into the floor
- Scissor the legs towards one another for stability
- Roll the shoulder heads back
- Clasp the hands behind you
Hold 10 breaths both sides
Twisted Monkey
- Begin in a low lunge with right foot in front
- Place both hands on the inside of your front foot and bent knee
- Drop your left (back) knee to the ground send it back further
- Hinge forward slightly to open your hip flexor
- Pivot your top foot to the corner at a 45-degree angle
- Flex and firm up your right (front) foot and ankle
- Allow your front bent knee to rotate outward
- Ground outside palm to the mat
- Bend your left (back) knee
- Reach around with your right hand to catch your left foot or ankle
- Roll right shoulder open
- Keep weight on top of left (back) knee and not directly on knee cap
- Allow spine to twist and chest to rotate upward
- Broaden your collar bones
Hold 5-10 breaths both sides
These poses can be practiced separately or added into your own routines as part of a flow!
Sending so much love as we start off the spring together!
XOXO Mary
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