Happy 7th everyone! Hope your first week of December went well! Here’s today’s mini sequence. The first pose is great for easing out the muscles which get tight from sitting lots. Abs with a Roll is a really nice way to dredge out tension from the low back. Your zingy pose is a really open one today, to counteract all the hunching against the cold we’ve all been doing. Hope it helps you feel great!
Do each pose for five to eight breaths (or five to eight breaths on each side, if it’s asymmetrical). Do five to eight rounds of abs.
Never stretch into pain. Take care of your body. If you’re pregnant then skip the abs exercise and don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right.
Take three deep breaths, focussing on the sensation of breathing.
Gentle stretch: Baddha Konasana Twisting Variation
How to do it: Sit on your mat and bring the soles of your feet together in front of you. Press the balls of your feet together, press the heels of your feet together, and flex your toes back to support your ankles and knees. This is Baddha Konasana. Inhale and lift your heart, then exhale and bring your hands towards, or either side of, your left knee. You can bring your torso down as far as feels good for you. Inhale and telescope your ribs, then exhale and plug your right sit bone down into the mat. You’re seeking a stretch in your right low back. Once you’ve found a delicious stretch, on exhale pull your belly button back towards your spine, to tug into the stretch a little. Take five to eight breaths here, then switch sides.
Abs exercise: Abs with a Roll
Something zingy: Warrior II with Archer Arms
How to do it: For Warrior II feet, stand facing the long edge of your mat and step your feet about four feet apart. Turn your left toes towards the front of your mat, and turn your right toes in about 30 degrees. Your left foot is your front foot. Align your front heel with the arch of your back foot. Bend your front knee deeply, and activate your front foot by lifting the toes up and spreading them wide apart. Tuck tailbone to keep low back spacious. For Archer arms, send your left hand up towards the ceiling, then drop your hand down your back. Either bring right fingertips to your left elbow and use that contact to help lift up and make space in your left shoulder, or bring right arm behind your back to clasp hands. If you come into the bind then move both elbows away from each other and tweeze shoulder blades together. Use this pose to make space around your collarbones and in your shoulder joints. Take five to eight breaths here, then switch feet and arms and repeat.
Final relaxation: Lie on your back in a warm place for at least a minute and let tension drain from your body.