Yoga Day 63

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. Chair Pose (Utkatasana)

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.

2. Straight-Legged Warrior I Salute Flow (Virabhadrasana I)

Transition: Release from Chair Pose back into Mountain Pose, then step your right foot forward and left foot back, coming into Warrior I Pose.

Inhale your arms straight out to the sides in a T-shape.
On your next inhale, straighten your legs and sweep your hands up overhead, joining palms or holding them parallel to each other. Shift your gaze skyward.
Exhale and return to Warrior I pose, bringing your arms back into a T-shape and bending your right knee.
Repeat 1-2 more times.

3. Warrior II Intense Leg Stretch Flow (Virabhadrasana II)

Transition: With your right foot forward and your left foot rotated outward a bit, pivot your body to face the left (Warrior II).

Stretch your arms straight out to the side in a T shape and shift your gaze out to your right hand. Breathe here for 20-30 seconds.
On an exhale, slide your right arm down your right leg and bring the left elbow overhead, your left hand reaching up and behind you. Gently shift your gaze up toward your elbow. Breath here for 20-30 seconds.
Inhale and extend your reach to the right, bringing your upper body over the right leg. Shift your hips back slightly.
Exhale your right arm down, bringing the right hand to either your ankle, a block, or the floor. Rotate the front of your ribcage toward the ceiling, reaching your left arm straight up.
Lengthen through the sides of the neck, keeping the neck aligned neutrally with the spine. Shift the gaze straight ahead or up toward your left hand.
On an exhale, bring your left hand down to the mat on the inner side of your leg, lengthening your spine and neck into a neutral position.
Ground down into the floor with all 4 corners of your feet and bring both hands to the floor (or on blocks). Take a breath or two here.
Inhale and walk your hands to the center, lengthen your spine down toward the floor now, being careful not to round the back. Keep your spine and neck nice and straight as much as possible.
Breathe here for 20-30 seconds.

4. Revolved Wide-Legged Forward Fold Pose (Parivrtta Prasarita Padottanasana)

Begin in Intense Leg Stretch Pose.
Inhale and lift your upper body so that it is parallel to the floor. Extend both arms straight out to the sides in a T-shape.
On an exhale, gently twist so that you’re facing to the right. The fingertips of your left hand should graze the floor/mat, while the right arm extends skyward.
Breathe here for 30 seconds, then release from the twist and step or jump your legs back together.

5. Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana)

Transition: Inhale yourself back up from Revolved Wide-Legged Forward Fold, remaining in a wide stance.

Start out facing the left side of your mat with your feet roughly 3 ft. apart from each other.
Rotate the right foot to face the upper right corner of your mat, and the left foot to face the upper left corner of your mat.
Exhale and bend your knees, sinking into a squat. Try to get the bottom of your thighs parallel to the floor.
Draw the shoulder blades down and bring your arms up into a T shape. Bend your elbows so that your fingers are pointing skyward with your palms facing away from you.
Maintain this pose for 30-45 seconds, breathing deeply.

6. Warrior II Pose (Virabhadrasana II)

Remaining in a wide stance, point your right foot toward the front of your mat. Bend the right knee roughly 90 degrees as you straighten the left leg, angling your left foot inward a bit.
Stretch your arms straight out to the side in a T shape and shift your gaze out to your right hand.
Breathe here for 30 seconds.

7. Reverse Warrior Pose (Viparita Virabhadrasana)

Begin in Warrior II Pose.
On an exhale, slide your right arm down your right leg and bring the left elbow overhead, your left hand reaching up and behind you. Gently shift your gaze up toward your elbow.
Breath here for 30 seconds, then release back to Warrior II Pose.

8. Warrior III Pose (Virabhadrasana)

Transition: Inhale your torso back up, returning to Warrior II Pose.

Inhale your arms up, extending them straight ahead of you or straight out to each side. Feel the energy flowing through your arms as you lengthen your side body.
Slowly begin to shift your weight onto your right leg, firming the inner thighs and engaging the core.
Inhale and lift your left leg, extending it straight and pressing through the heel. If you can, try to lift your leg so that it creates a straight line from the crown of your head to the heel of your left leg. Keep the right leg engaged.
Challenge yourself to remain here for 30 seconds, keeping your breaths slow and deep.

9. Sugarcane Pose (Ardha Chandra Chapasana)

From Warrior III Pose, rotate your upper body and pelvis outward to the left and bring your right hand to the floor (or a block).
Inhale and bend your left knee. Roll your chest open as you grasp the top of your left foot with your left hand.
Shift your gaze skyward and hold this pose for 30 seconds.

10. Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)

Beginning in Sugarcane Pose, inhale, extend your left leg straight, and reach your left arm straight up toward the ceiling.
Remain here for 30 seconds, keeping the core engaged and right leg strong.

11. Dancer Pose (Natarajasana)

Transition: Release from Dancer Pose, take a breath or two, then prepare to find your balance again.

Bend your right knee slightly and begin to shift your weight onto your right leg. Float your right arm forward.
When you’ve gathered your balance, begin to lift the left leg up behind you and reach back to grab the top of your foot with your left hand. Keep your neck neutral by gazing forward.
Breathe here for 30 seconds, trying to deepen the pose with each exhale.

12. Standing Forward Fold Pose (Paschimottanasana)

Transition: Release from Dancer Pose and come to the top of your mat, bringing your legs together hip-width apart in Mountain Pose.

Beginning in Mountain Pose, exhale and take a very slight bend in the knee, folding your upper body forward and bringing the hands to the ankles, feet, or ground (or as close as you can comfortably reach!).
Take a deep inhale into your chest, lengthening the spine.
On the exhale, try to take that slight bend in the knee a bit straighter, making sure not to hyper-extend or lock your knees.
Take another inhale, and as you exhale, feel your spine lengthening further down toward the ground. Lengthen and stretch the neck, keeping your shoulders pulled away from your ears.
Remain here for 30-60 seconds.

Repeat poses 1-12, switching to the opposite side as necessary for asymmetrical poses.

COOL DOWN

1. Seated Star Pose (Tarasana)

Transition: From Bound Angle Pose, keep your feet together and scoot your heels forward, slightly away from your groin.

Inhale and lengthen your spine forward over your legs as you hinge at the hips. As you exhale allow your upper back to relax toward the floor. Stay grounded through your sit bones.
Close your eyes and breathe deeply here for 60 seconds.

2. Head-to-Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)

Transition: Inhale yourself up out of Seated Star Pose. Extend your right leg, keeping your left heel near your groin.

Sit up tall, lengthening the spine as you inhale.
Exhale and hinge at the hips to fold forward over your right leg. Reach for the sides of your right foot with both hands. Keep the spine and neck straight, your gaze down.
Stay here, breathing deeply for 30 seconds.
Inhale your torso up, straighten your left leg, and bring your right heel to your groin to repeat on the other side.

3. Boat Pose w/ Knees Bent (Navasana)

Transition: Inhale your torso straight, extending both legs.

Bend your legs at the knee to bring them close to your chest. Place your hands behind your knees for support.
Lean back slightly as you engage your core, coming to balance on your sit-bones.
Breathe here for 30 seconds.

4. Easy Boat Pose (Sahaja Navasana)

Bend your legs at the knees, resting the feet flat on the floor/mat close to your body. Raise your arms straight in front of you, parallel to the floor with palms facing inward toward each other.
Now, engage your core and lean back slightly as you inhale.
Hold the position for 30-60 seconds, then exhale and return to the starting position.

5. Staff Pose w/ Hands Back (Dandasana)

Transition: Exhale your hands down to the floor behind you, leaning your torso back a bit.

Take a breath or two here, supporting your torso with your palms.

6. Reverse Table Top Pose (Ardha Purvottanasana)

With your hands planted on the mat behind you, your torso leaning back, and your feet firmly planted, push the ground away with your feet as you lift your pelvis. Create a straight horizontal line from the crown of your head to your knees.
Breathe here for 30 seconds.

7. Caterpillar Pose

Transition: Release from Reverse Table Top Pose, sitting up straight in Staff Pose.

Start in a seated position with your sit bones grounded and your legs extended in front of you. Your legs should be together or hip-width apart.
Inhale and bend your knees slightly, keeping the heels on the ground. Engage the feet so that your toes point upward.
Exhale and hinge at the hips to bring your torso forward to meet the thighs.
On your next inhale, extend your arms forward to grab the outer sides of your feet.
Breathe deeply for 30-60 seconds here.

8. Supine Knee Circles

Transition: Inhale yourself up out of Caterpillar Pose, extending your legs and lowering your back to the floor in a supine position.

On your next inhale, lift your feet, and bend your knees. Lift your knees straight up, placing your palms on top of them.
Bring both knees together and use them to draw circles in the air for 30 seconds clockwise, then counterclockwise.

9. Half Wind Release Leg Raise Flow (Ardha Pavanmuktasana)

Transition: Exhale your legs back to the floor/mat, extending them straight.

Beginning in a supine position, inhale your right knee up toward your chest, grasping it with both hands. Keep your left leg straight and your foot engaged, pushing out through the heel.
On your next inhale, raise your left leg straight up until your heel faces skyward.
Slowly exhale your left leg back down, keeping your foot engaged and your left completely straight.
Repeat 5-10 times on this side, then exhale your right leg back to the mat. Inhale your left knee up to your chest and repeat 5-10 times on that side.

10. Supine Spinal Twist II Pose (Supta Matsyendrasana II)

Transition: Release both legs to the floor/mat, straightening and extending them.

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 right leg, bending at the knee ~90 degrees.
Exhale and bring the inner side of your right knee or foot to the floor on the other side of your left leg, taking a gentle twist in the spine. Shift your gaze to your right fingertips.
Stay here for 30 seconds. Close your eyes and really relax into this posture, allowing gravity to pull your right knee closer to the ground.
On an inhale, roll your right hip back down to the ground, then exhale and release your leg back to the floor.
Repeat on your left side.

11. Supine Tree Pose (Supta Vrksasana)

Transition: Release both legs straight back down.

Inhale and bend your right knee, bringing the bottom of your right foot to your inner left thigh.
Take 2-3 breaths here, then straighten your right leg and repeat with the left leg.

12. Full-Body Stretch w/ Gesture of the Pond (Supta Utthita Tadasana)