Yoga Day 61

WARM-UP

1. Crocodile Pose (Makarasana)

Begin by lying prone (on your belly) with your arms relaxed to your sides, fingertips pointing behind you, and your forehead on the floor. Place the tops of your feet on the floor/mat and point your toes.
Breathe here for 30 seconds.

2. Locust to Wide-Legged Chariot Flow

Begin by lying prone (on your belly) with your arms relaxed to your sides, fingertips pointing behind you, and your forehead on the floor. Place the tops of your feet on the floor/mat and point your toes.
Inhale and raise your head, upper body, and lower legs off of the ground slightly. Exhale here.
On the next inhale, try to raise up higher as you spread your legs slightly wider than hip-width and spread your arms like airplane wings.
Exhale and bring your arms and legs lower and closer together as you did in step 2.
Inhale, then on the next exhale, lower yourself back to the floor.
Repeat this flow for 60-90 seconds.

3. Prone to Supine Corpse Pose Flow (Savasana)

Transition: Release and lower your body down to the floor.

Take 1-2 breaths in a prone position, forehead to the floor.
When you’re ready, roll over onto your back and take another breath or two before moving on.

4. Half Plow Pose Flow (Ardha Halasana)

Begin in a supine position with your feet flat on the ground.
Inhale and bend the knees 90 degrees, thighs raised straight up and stacking your knees above your hips. Keep your feet engaged.
On your next inhale, straighten your legs into Half Plow Pose. Now your ankles, knees, and hips should be stacked.
Slowly exhale your legs back down to the mat as far as you can without flattening or rounding the small of your back, keeping them extended straight.
Repeat this flow for 30-60 seconds, maintaining slow, deep breaths.

5. Bridge Pose Bound Angle Flow

Begin in a supine position with your feet flat on the ground. Take a moment to completely relax the spine and bring awareness to your breath.
Inhale and engage your back, core, glutes, and quads to lift your body up, keeping your shoulder blades planted. Use your arms for support by placing them palm-down beside you. Take 1-2 breaths here.
On an exhale, release to the ground and bring the soles of your feet together to come into Reclining Bound Angle Pose. Spend another breath or two here, allowing gravity to pull your knees closer to the ground to open your inner hips and thighs.
On an inhale, raise back up into Bridge Pose. From there, raise your right leg, extending it straight into the air. Push up through the heels, keeping your core strong. Take 1-2 breaths here, then release.
Repeat this flow for 60 seconds, alternating legs.

6. Full-Body Stretch to Seated Forward Fold Flow

Begin by lying supine on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Engage your feet, pushing your heels away from you. Lengthen the back of the neck.
Inhale and sweep your arms overhead, keeping them flat on the floor with palms facing upward. Extend them fully, feeling an energizing stretch all the way from your fingertips to your heels. Take another deep breath here as you start to engage your core. (Full-Body Stretch Pose)
On the exhale, use your core to raise your torso up to a seated position. Take a moment to straighten your spine nice and tall, ground your sit bones, and take in a deep inhale as you extend your arms forward.
Exhale and hinge at the hips to bring your upper body toward the thighs, arms reaching for the outer edges of your feet, ankles, or lower legs. (Seated Forward Fold Pose)

7. Wide-Legged Upward Plank Flow (Prasarita Purvottanasana)

Transition: Release from Seated Forward Fold Pose and widen your legs to the edges of your mat (a bit further than hip distance apart).

Place your hands on the mat next to your hips, fingers pointing straight ahead. Rotate your big toes toward each other, and rotate the heels outward a bit to create space there. Rotate your inner thighs down toward the mat slightly.
Inhale and knit your shoulder blades in toward each other, lifting and broadening your chest.
Exhale, point your toes forward, then reach forward and down with the bottoms of your toes. Plant your feet and toes firmly, keeping your big toes rotated in toward each other.
Press down into your feet and toes, lifting your knees and pelvis. Relax your head back, but not so far that it disrupts breathing.
Remain here, breathing deeply for 30-60 seconds, then release and come into Seated Forward Fold Pose.

8. Boat to Half Boat Pose Flow (Navasana)

Transition: Release the forward fold and come into a seated position.

Lift your legs off the floor while leaning back, creating a V-shape with your body, and balance on the sit bones.
Bring your arms to shoulder height outside of your legs, palms facing inward toward each other.
Inhale, allowing the legs and back to float down, coming to hover a few inches away from the ground
Exhale, zipping your body back into a V-shape again, shoulder blades gliding down the back.
Repeat this flow for 30-60 seconds.

9. Rowing the Boat Flow

Transition: Release from Boat Pose, sitting up tall with your legs extended in front of you.

Begin in Staff Pose.
Inhale, leaning the torso back. Pretend you’re holding invisible rowboat oars, bringing your hands up near your chest.
As you exhale, row your hands forward as you bring the upper body into a forward fold. If possible, try to grab the outer sides of your feet.
Inhale once again, lifting your upper body and rowing the hands toward the chest, then return to a forward fold on the exhale.
Repeat the flow slowly for 30-60 seconds.

10. Garland Pose Salutation Flow (Malasana)

Transition: Release from Rowing the Boat and plant your feet. Rock forward, coming into a deep squat in Garland Pose.

Bring your feet slightly wider than hip distance and angle the feet outward a bit.
Exhale and bend your knees all the way, coming down into a deep squat. Bring your thighs slightly wider than your torso and lean your torso forward slightly.
Bring your palms together in the center with your elbows tucked against your inner thighs.
Inhale deeply, close your eyes, and really sink into this pose. On the exhale, extend your arms forward, palms still together and fingers pointing away from you. As you do this, shift your weight forward slightly. If you can, come up onto the balls of your feet.
On your next inhale, bring your joined hands back to your chest.
Repeat this 5-10 times, syncing your breath with your movement.

11. Woodchopper Pose Flow (Kashtha Takshanasana)

Transition: From Garland Pose, straighten your legs to come into a standing position.

Begin with your legs slightly wider than hip distance apart. Inhale your arms up, clasping your hands together as if you were holding up an ax.
Exhale and swing your ax downward. Bend your knees and come into a squat as you swing it down and below you.
Inhale your arms back up into starting position, straightening your legs.
Repeat 5-10 times.

12. Wide-Legged Standing Backbend Forward Fold Flow

Transition: From Woodchopper Pose, widen your legs just a bit more.

Beginning in a wide-legged stance, place your hands on your hips.
Inhale deeply, feeling the lengthening in your spine and broadening the chest. Take a gentle backbend here, allowing your head to roll back a bit. Keep your neck a continuation of the curve created by your spine. Take 1-2 breaths here.
On an exhale, hinge forward at the hips for a forward fold. Keep your hands on your hips and take 1-2 breaths here. With each exhale, feel gravity pulling you deeper into the fold.
Repeat this flow for 30-60 seconds.

13. Dangling Intense Leg Stretch Pose (Baddha Prasarita Padottanasana)

Beginning in Wide-Legged Forward Fold, release your hands from your hips. You can either grab your elbows or allow your arms to hang freely.
Spend 60 seconds here, breathing deeply.

14. Intense Side Stretch Pose w/ Tiptoes (Parsvottanasana)

Transition: From Dangling Intense Leg Stretch Pose, release your palms to the floor.

Turn your right foot toward the front of the mat and rotate your left foot inward slightly.
Walk your hands to the right, bringing your torso above your right thigh. Try to fold forward as far as you can without pain or excessive discomfort beyond a reasonable stretching sensation.
Inhale and raise up onto the ball/tiptoes of your left foot. If this isn’t giving you an optimal stretch, try widening your stance a tad bit more.
Spend 30 seconds here, then walk your hands to the center.
Repeat on the opposite side.

15. Moonflower/Sunflower Pose Flow

In a wide-legged stance, rotate your feet outward so that your right foot points to the right corner of your mat, and the left foot points to the left corner.
Raise your arms. Bend your elbows and face your palms away from you, separating your fingers from each other. Your wrists should be roughly the same height as your shoulders. Sink downward into a squat and bring the bottoms of your thighs parallel to the floor.
Exhale your lean your torso forward slightly, straightening your arms and extending them downward, roughly aligned with your thighs.
Inhale and straighten your legs, raising your arms straight up.
Exhale and return to the beginning pose by bending your elbows, facing your palms out, and sinking back into a squat.
Repeat this flow for 30-60 seconds (5-10 reps).

16. Volcano Pose (Urdhva Hastasana)

Transition: Release from the Moonflower/Sunflower Pose Flow. Straighten your legs and step them inward to come into Mountain Pose.

Begin in Mountain Pose (Tadasana).
Inhale and sweep your arms up over your head, either joining your palms together or keeping them parallel to each other.
Shift your gaze up to the ceiling and breathe here for 30 seconds.

PEAK FLOW

1. Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

Begin in Mountain Pose.
Inhale and extend your arms forward, interlocking your fingers with your palms facing outward. On your next inhale, raise your interlocked hands high above your head. Shift your gaze skyward.
Remain here for 30 seconds, breathing deeply.

2. Upward Salute Side Bend (Parsva Urdhva Hastasana)

Transition: Release from Tree Pose back to Mountain Pose.

Beginning in Mountain Pose, inhale and raise your arms above your head, palms parallel and palms facing each other. Feel your spine and side body lengthening.
As you exhale, take a gentle side bend to the right. Take deep, slow breaths here for 30 seconds, then inhale and straighten your torso.
Repeat, this time with a side bend to the left.

3. Chair Pose (Utkatasana)

Transition: Release your arms and inhale back to the center in Mountain Pose.

Beginning in Mountain Pose, make sure you have a firm base of support through your feet.
Bend the knees and slowly lower your tailbone as if you’re about to sit in an invisible chair, leaning the upper body very slightly. Try to make your thighs as parallel to the ground as you can.
Breathe here for 30 seconds.

4. Forward Fold Flow (Uttanasana)

Transition: Release from Chair Pose back into Mountain Pose, then exhale and hinge forward into a Forward Fold.

Beginning in Standing Forward Fold Pose, inhale and raise your torso into a straight, neutral position. Place your hands on your shins.
Exhale back down into a full forward fold.
Repeat this flow 4-5 times.

5. Downward Dog Crescent Lunge Flow

Transition: Plant your palms on the floor and step or jump your feet back, creating an upside-down V shape with your body in Downward-Facing Dog Pose.

Beginning in Downward-Facing Dog Pose, inhale your right leg straight up and back behind you, pushing out through the heel.
Exhale your right foot forward on the mat near the inner side of your right hand and your left knee to the floor.
Ground down through your right foot and inhale your torso and arms up, joining your palms overhead.
Exhale and take a subtle backbend in this low lunge position. Breathe deeply here for 30 seconds.

6. Low Lunge Pose w/ Cat-Cow (Anjaneyasana)

Transition: Inhale your spine straight, lifting out of that subtle backbend.

Beginning in a low lunge, clasp your fingers behind your head and place the cupped palms of your clasped hands in a comfortable position at the base of your skull.
Inhale and arch your back, pushing your tailbone back and upward. Tilt your head back slightly, keeping your shoulders engaged and opening the chest. (Cow)
On your exhale, tuck your chin and tailbone inward, pull your shoulder blades apart, and round your spine like a cat that’s stretching or startled. (Cat)
Repeat this movement for 30 seconds.

7. Crescent Low Lunge to Revolved Side Angle Pose Flow

Transition: Inhale your arms back up and take a slight backbend to come back into Crescent Low Lunge.

Take a breath or two in Crescent Low Lunge, then exhale your arms down to shoulder-level in a T shape.
On your next exhale, twist to the right, arms still forming a T and now aligned with the right edge of your mat. Take another breath or two here.
On an exhale, join your palms in front of your chest and bring the back of your upper left arm to the outer side of your right leg. Take one last deep breath here before moving on to the next pose.

8. Vinyasa I

Transition: Plant your palms on the ground and step both feet back into Plank Pose.

Exhale and lower yourself to the ground through the Four-Limbed Staff Pose, keeping your elbows stacked above your wrists.
Inhale and extend your arms, pushing down into the floor through the tops of your feet and toes as you lift your torso into Upward-Facing Dog Pose.
Exhale and tuck your toes, lifting your pelvis up and back, pushing yourself up into Downward Facing Dog Pose.

Repeat poses 5-8, switching to the opposite side as necessary for asymmetrical poses.

9. Downward Dog to Plank Pose Flow

Beginning in Downward-Facing Dog Pose, exhale and bring your body forward, shifting the weight onto the hands to come into Plank Pose.
Take a breath here before moving on to the next pose.

10. Three-Legged Downward Dog to Tiger Curl

Transition: Inhale and lift back up into Downward-Facing Dog Pose.

Begin in Downward Facing Dog Pose.
Inhale and lift your right leg, extending it up and out.
As you exhale, really draw your core in and round your back slightly to bring your right knee to your elbow or nose.
Repeat this motion 2-3 times on your left side.

11. Pigeon Pose (Kapotasana)

Exhale the outer side of your right leg down onto the mat. Your right knee should be aligned with your right hip and your pelvis facing squarely forward. Lay the top of your left foot on the mat/floor, and keep your front foot flexed.
Inhale and lengthen your spine, sitting up tall and broadening through the chest.
Breathe here for 30 seconds.

12. One-Legged King Pigeon Prep (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

Beginning in Pigeon Pose with your right leg forward, bend your left knee and inhale the left foot up.
Exhale your left forearm to the floor, twisting your upper body to the right and reaching your right arm behind you.
Grasp your left foot with your right hand and hold this pose for 2-3 more breaths.

Repeat poses 9-12, switching to the opposite side as necessary for asymmetrical poses.

13. Reverse Corpse Pose (Advasana)

Transition: Release from One-Legged King Pigeon Prep, bringing your body to the floor in a prone position.

Lying in a prone position, bring your forehead to the floor and relax your arms to your sides. Widen your legs slightly, bringing your feet to the outer edges of your mat.
Remain here, breathing deeply for 30 seconds.

14. Prone to Supine Corpse Pose Flow

Take one last breath here in a prone position, forehead to the floor.
When you’re ready, roll over onto your back in Corpse Pose and take another breath or two before moving on.

COOL DOWN

1. Rolling Happy Baby Variation Flow (Ananda Balasana)

Transition: Remain supine. On an exhale, draw your knees toward your chest for a variation of Happy Baby Pose.

For this variation of Happy Baby Pose, roll from side to side. When you roll to the side, bring your legs together. When you roll back to the center, bring your knees apart again.
Continue this flow for 60 seconds.

2. Bound Reclined Easy Pose (Supta Baddha Sukhasana)

Transition: Return to center, hands still on your knees, knees still wide apart.

Keeping your knees apart, cross your ankles just as you would if you were to sit in Easy Pose.
Grab onto your feet, close your eyes, and breathe deeply here for 30-60 seconds.

3. Half Plow Pose (Ardha Halasana)

Transition: Release your legs, relaxing them straight out in front of you.

Start out lying supine on your mat with your legs together and your hands placed palm-down next to your thighs/hips.
Inhale and lift both legs straight up so that they make a 90-degree angle with your upper body.
Breathe here for 30-60 seconds, making sure your shoulder blades and pelvis remain square and grounded.
When you release, do so very slowly without lifting your head.

4. Supine Spinal Twist Pose (Supta Matsyendrasana I)

Transition: Release your legs back to the mat straight in front of you.

Start out lying supine on your mat.
Extend your arms out to each side of you like you’re making a T shape.
Inhale and lift your legs, bending at the knees 90 degrees and keeping them together.
Exhale and bring your knees to the ground on your right side. Shift your gaze to your left fingertips.
Stay here for 30 seconds. Close your eyes and really relax into this posture.
Inhale and raise your knees back up, bringing them back to the center with your hips grounded. Exhale and release your legs back to the floor
Repeat on your left side.

5. Seated Forward Fold Pose (Paschimottanasana)

Transition: From Supine Spinal Twist, release your legs to the ground straight in front of you and push your torso up to come into a seated position.

Begin with your legs out in front of you, sit bones grounded and spine tall.
Push your heels away from your body, engaging the feet and toes. Your arms should be by your side with your palms or fingertips pressing down into the floor.
Inhale and keep the front of your torso long as you hinge forward at the hips and reach for your toes/feet.
Remain and breathe here for 60 seconds, lengthening your torso forward and walking your hands forward with each exhalation until you can grasp the outer sides of your feet.

6. Half Happy Baby Pose (Ardha Ananda Balasana)

Transition: From Seated Forward Fold, keep your legs straight and lower your torso to lie supine.

Inhale your right leg up, engaging the feet and pushing out through the heel.
Bend your knee ~90 degrees and grab your right foot with both hands.
Breathe here for 30 seconds. With each exhale, try to pull your foot closer. Your right knee should be angled wide enough for the front of your right thigh to come down to the outside of your torso (not on top of your torso).
Repeat on the other side.

7. Sitting Swan Pose

Transition: Release from Half Happy Baby Pose and push yourself back up into a seated position.

Start in a seated position with your legs straight in front of you.
Place your hands on the floor behind you and lean your torso back, shifting your upper body weight to your palms.
Bring your right ankle to your left thigh, just above the left knee.
Take a deep breath, then exhale as you bend your left knee and walk your left foot closer to your torso. Move it around until you find a satisfying stretch.
Your muscles might resist at first, but hold the pose and stay still for 30 seconds.
Repeat on the other side.

8. Half Cow Face Pose (Ardha Gomukhasana)